I’ve previously provided an introduction to the celebration of the Lords Super and discussions on the bread and the cup. You can find those posts here and here and here.  This post focuses on proclaiming the Lord’s death until he returns.  

The scene was set, and the end was near.  Jesus, in preparation for the culmination of his ministry, gathered at a table with twelve disciples.   As the twelve disciples clung to his final words, Jesus gave thanks to God, broke bread, and drank from a cup.  He then instructed, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

Two thousand years later we gather in sanctuaries, not in an upper room.  Yet, we still cling to Jesus’ words, the bread, and the cup. The bread and the cup symbolize the broken body and spilled blood of our Lord and Savior.  We eat and drink in remembrance of his death and resurrection.   As modern-day disciples, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and proclaim the gospel until Jesus returns for his church. 

Proclaim the Lord’s Death

The main thrust of 1 Corinthians 11:26 reads, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death.”  We’ve spent time on the bread and the cup.  If you missed those posts, please go read them.  We are now told that through the Lord’s Supper we proclaim the Lord’s death.  

Why the emphasis on death?  Why not focus on Jesus’ teaching, miracles, love of the outcast, or care for the poor?  I point you to Paul’s earlier words in 1 Corinthians:

At the heart of the gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Jesus died for your sins.  Jesus rose from the dead to give you life.  This is the gospel by which you are saved.  As we’ve discussed in previous posts, the Lord’s Supper tells the gospel story and creates gospel community.  We are to proclaim the Lord’s death.  

Until He Returns for His Church

The last phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:26 adds, “Until he comes.”  For the sake of clarity, we might add “until he comes again.”  We are to proclaim the death of Jesus.  For how long?  Until Jesus returns for his church. 

You are likely familiar with the popular funeral message passage of John 14:1-3,

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Jesus prepares a place for his disciple through his death and resurrection.  Heaven is experienced now through the believer’s union with the Father and the Son.  The Spirit abides in the believer until Jesus’ second coming.  

Please Know: You are not Worthy.

I want to end this series by addressing a common fear and misunderstanding regarding the Lord’s Supper. In 1 Corinthians, after the verses we’ve studied in this series, we find these words:

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.  Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.  For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.  That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.  But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. – 1 Corinthians 11:27-32

These verses have led many people to fear the Lord’s Supper and refrain from the celebration.  Yet, these verses sit within a larger context.  In 1 Corinthians 11:17-22, and then once again in verses 33-34, Paul addresses how the Corinthians were using the Lord’s Supper to magnify divisions among them.  In the words of 1 Corinthians 1:17, “Your meetings do more harm than good.” 

These divisions are outlined in 1 Corinthians 11:20-22,

So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.  Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

The Corinthians’ celebration of the Lord’s Supper had been corrupted with selfishness, drunkenness, and abuse against those of lower social status.  Participants were neither honoring God, telling the gospel story, nor forming a gospel community.  As a result, the Corinthian church was celebrating the Lord’s Supper – if you can call it that – in an “unworthy manner.”  

Thus, the majority of 1 Corinthians 11 is a corrective to this abuse.  Paul provides the church what he received from the Lord.  He then instructs them, 

Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.  For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. – 1 Corinthians 11:28-29

This instruction is Paul’s attempt to guide the church away from division and abuse and into a celebration of the Lord’s Supper focused upon the crucified and resurrected Lord in a manner which builds up the church and forms a gospel community.  

Some are afraid to celebrate the Lord’s Supper because they fear they are unworthy. I want you to know: You are unworthy. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”

It is when you realize you are unworthy that you become worthy to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus says in Mark 2:17, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”