When Jesus gathered with His disciples shortly before His death, He instituted the Lord’s Supper. This would be a memorial to remember His death, and would be observed by His people in the church until His return at the end of time. Because of this, we continue to observe the Lord’s Supper “on the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7), and by doing so, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
The Lord’s Supper is a simple memorial that reminds us of the body and blood of Jesus, which was offered on the cross for our sins. Jesus explained its purpose and significance to His disciples when He instituted it:
“While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom’” (Matthew 26:26-29).
When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he reminded them of these same instructions:
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
These instructions are fairly straightforward. However, that does not eliminate the possibility of controversy regarding the observance of the Lord’s Supper. One point of controversy that has arisen among brethren over the years has to do with whether or not the Lord’s instructions require us to partake of one singular loaf and drink from the same singular cup. We will consider this question here.Continue Reading
