Daily Devotional for Friday, July 25

The Purpose of the Lord’s Supper

“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come,” 1 Corinthians 11:26.

There have been many times in my life when I was told to do something without being told why I was to do it. It does not seem to matter if it is some chore or how to solve a mathematical problem with an established shortcut, I want to understand why I am doing it, and why I am doing it that particular way. Maybe like me, you have been told to do something simply because the person said so or because they were not able to explain why they said to do it a certain way. I have always found this to be frustrating and has even gotten me in trouble at times.

When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the night of the Passover, He showed us what the purpose was for observing this ordinance. He showed, while giving them the supper, that this was a remembrance ordinance designed to remember what Jesus had done for them, “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). He also showed what the grape juice represented when He said, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). This supper was never meant to be some sort of party of the haves and have nots in the church (1 Corinthians 11:20-22). That is why we are instructed to do some self-examination before we take the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:28) to make sure we are taking the supper for the right purpose and in a correct manner.

JUST A QUESTION

Are you really showing the Lord’s death when you take the Lord’s Supper or have you made it into something it was never meant to be?

Tim Chambers