In my previous post I provided an introduction to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  You can find it here.  This post focuses upon the bread.  In future posts I’ll cover the cup and proclaiming the Lord’s death until he returns. 

We need frequent and consistent celebration of the Lord’s Supper

The earliest church seems to have met on a daily basis in the home of believers to break bread. Acts 2:46 tells us, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.”  This is early vocabulary for celebrating the Lord’s Supper.  As time passed, the early church moved to a weekly meetings and breaking bread.  Acts 20:7 tells us, “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.”  I believe this shows us that there is no hard-and-fast rule regarding frequency of the celebration.  

We have questions about frequency, but we might also have questions regarding form.  Just as Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper in the context of a meal, so the early celebrations of the Lord’s Supper seem to have taken place in the context of a meal.  You see this in the Acts passages.  You also see it in 1 Corinthians 11 when Jesus provides the symbol of the bread and cup “after supper.”  In Jude 12 you get a reference to the church celebrating “a love feast” or what some call an “agape meal.”  More early vocabulary for the Lord’s Supper.

Yet, this meal gets abused in the early church.  In 1 Corinthians 11 references some going hungry in theses meals while others getting drunk.  Paul says, “That not the Lord’s Supper!  Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink!” I believe this shows us that there is no hard-and-fast rule regarding the form of the celebration.

When Jesus sat down to eat his last meal with his disciples, it was in celebration of the Jewish Passover which focused on the Israelites exodus from Egypt.  Jesus interpreted His death, resurrection, ascension through the framework provided by Israel’s history.  More on that in the next post in the series. 

How often should we celebrate it?  The Lord’s Supper is a powerful symbol and not a means of grace or salvation.  Thus, Baptist have a tradition of consistent but infrequent celebration.  Many Baptists celebrate it once a quarter.  I’ve led my church to celebrate it more frequently in effort to tell the gospel story and create gospel community.

Jesus: This is my body for you

The Journal of the American Medical Association is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of biomedicine.  In the 1986 Vol 255, No. 11 the journal published an article titled “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ.” 

It is a fascinating article filled with medical information, Scripture, and hand-drawn illustrations.  Here’s the article abstract:

“Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged, and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep stripe like lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage for hypovolemic shock, as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carry the crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion, his wrists were nailed to the patibulum and, after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post (stipes), his feet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with normal respirations. Accordingly, death resulted primarily from hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia. Jesus’ death was ensured by the thrust of a soldier’s spear into his side. Modern medical interpretation of the historical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead when taken down from the cross.“

These are obviously not the words of a preacher.  These are the words of a medical doctor published in a well-respected, peer reviewed journal.  

The words in this article do not describe the crucifixion of a criminal but the son of God laying down his life for the sins of this world.  Jesus died, not for sin of his own, for he had none.  He died for your sin against a holy God.  He died to pay your sin debt.  He died to reconcile you to your Creator, Provider, Sustainer, and Redeemer.  He died to save you. He died to give you eternal life.

Yes, for you.

On his last night with his disciples, with bread in his hands, Jesus said, “This is my body given for you.”  Many people have no problem understanding the love of God, but they have problem with the idea of God loving them on a personal level.