Communion
Communion: An Everlasting Memorial
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during one of the most precious hours of his earthly life. On the evening before his death, as he shared the Passover feast with his disciples, he “took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then he took the cup, and gave thanks, and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it all of you. This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:26, 27). “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).
Christians are united in their belief that the two most significant facts recorded in the Bible are the atoning death of Christ and his bodily resurrection. These two truths should be emphasized at all services of the church. Can there be a more vivid reminder of these truths than the Lord’s Supper? It is the Christian’s privilege and responsibility to remember Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection by taking part in the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, on a weekly basis with the fellowship of believers.
For the early church of the New Testament, the Lord’s Supper became a regular part of congregational worship. This was true from the very beginning, for Acts 2:42 indicates that “the breaking of bread,” or Communion, was as essential to the church’s worship as teaching, fellowship, and prayer. It was still true some 30 years later when the church at Troas “came together to break bread” (Acts 20:7). It is still true today.
The association of the Lord’s Supper with the Passover feast invests it with the significance of worship. The design of the Passover was to instill the qualities of thankfulness and devotion in the hearts of the Israelites, as they recalled their miraculous deliverance from Egypt. In like manner, when Christians call to mind that “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7), the same benefits will happen.