Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: February 3, 2008
NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING CONCERNING THE
LORD’S SUPPER
Ben Justice
In Matt. 26:26-29, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper in the upper room, after having eaten
the Passover meal. The Lord’s Supper was not some offshoot of the Passover Supper, but
an entirely separate and distinct Supper.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the
disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave
it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for
many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the
vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
There are several important truths worthy of our observation:
1.) There were only two elements used – the bread and the fruit of the vine. The bread
used was unleavened bread (see v. 17).
2.) Concerning the bread, Jesus told his disciples “Take, eat; this is my body.” The bread
wasn’t the literal body of Jesus. How could it be? Jesus was still in his body. Jesus
used a figure of speech that we use everyday and that is a metaphor.
3.) Concerning the cup, Jesus said to his disciples, “Drink ye all of it.” Then he said,
“This is my blood of the new testament.” Note what Jesus said very carefully. He told his
disciples to drink the cup. Did Jesus command them to drink the literal cup? Of course
not. Jesus used another figure of speech that we use everyday also, which is known as
metonymy. This is where the use of the name of one thing is put in the place of the name
of something that it symbolizes. In this case, the container is put for the contained. In
other words, when Jesus said to drink the cup, he did not mean drink the literal cup, but
the contents in the cup. Verse 29 makes this crystal clear. Here, Jesus plainly said “fruit
of the vine.” Thus, “the cup” becomes the “fruit of the vine.” Jesus said the cup (fruit of
the vine) was his blood. This is not the literal blood of Jesus, but rather, it represents the
blood of Jesus. How could the fruit of the vine literally be the blood of Jesus when Jesus
was still in his blood right there before their eyes? In John 15:5, Jesus said, “I am the
door.” Is Jesus a literal door? Of course not.
4.) Verse 29 is very important. In this passage, Jesus talked about the coming day. He
said, “that day,” which points to a specific day. The drinking of the fruit of the vine would
be “new.” New, where? Jesus said, “In my Father’s kingdom.” The kingdom is one and the
same as the church. Jesus used the terms church and kingdom interchangeably in Matt.
16:18-19. Luke 22:16, 18 is the parallel to Matthew’s account. Luke states it a little bit
differently – “For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the
kingdom of God. . . . For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom
of God shall come.” Jesus would eat the Lord’s Supper (bread and fruit of the vine) new
when the kingdom came. The question is, “When did the kingdom (church) come into
existence?” The kingdom (church) came into existence in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost.
Acts 2:47 tells us that the Lord “added to the church daily such as should be saved.” In
Acts 2:42, what do we find the disciples doing? Notice the verse: “And they continued
stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
The disciples were breaking bread (along with engaging in other acts of worship). “Breaking
bread” is a reference to partaking of the Lord’s Supper. “Bread” functions as a figure of
speech wherein a part is put for the whole. The same thing is seen in Acts 20:7 and I Cor.
10:21.
Now, let’s consider some other vitally important scriptures in this regard. In I Cor. 11:23-
27, Paul repeated what the Lord said during his earthly ministry to the Corinthians.
Acts 20:7 states, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break
bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until
midnight.” This verse deserves very careful attention.
1.) Paul was in Troas on this occasion. Paul had just sailed from Philippi. This was “after
the days of unleavened bread” (see verse 6). It took five days to get to Troas. In Troas
Paul “abode seven days” (v. 6). The immediate context reveals that Paul was in a hurry to
get back to Jerusalem (see Acts 19:21). The reason for Paul’s hurry back to Jerusalem is
because he needed to take a contribution to the poor saints in Jerusalem. He had earlier
collected these contributions while visiting the various congregations on his missionary
journey (see Rom. 15:23-28; I Cor. 16:1-3). It is interesting that Paul postponed his trip
for seven days to stay in Troas. Why the delay? Verse 7 tells us why.
2.) The word “and” that begins verse 7 shows that it is connected to that which preceded.
“They abode seven days AND upon the first day of the week.” The first day of the week
corresponds to our Sunday.
3.) What happened in verse 7? It tells us that the disciples came together “to break
bread.” Thus, their purpose in coming together was to break bread. These disciples
assembled together for the purpose of breaking bread. Again, breaking bread refers to
partaking of the Lord’s Supper. What day was this? It was the first day of the week. This
is the NT pattern. We only have authority to partake of the Lord’s Supper upon the first
day of the week (Sunday). Some have used I Cor. 11:26 and have taken the phrase “for as
often as” to teach that we can partake of the Lord’s Supper as often as we get ready. But,
the question is, “How often?” “Upon the first day of the week” is the answer and pattern
given in the NT (Acts 20:7). There is simply no NT authority to partake of the Lord’s
Supper on any other day. If any day of the week is acceptable, then why did Paul wait
seven days to assemble with the disciples on the first day of the week?
In summary, the following points are offered:
1.) Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. He said the Lord’s Supper would not be eaten
again until his Father’s kingdom came.
2.) In Acts 2:42 and 20:7 and I Cor. 11:25-27, we find the early Christians partaking of the
Lord’s Supper. Therefore, the Father’s kingdom has in fact come.
3.) The early Christians came together upon the first day of the week to partake of the
Lord’s Supper. There is no statement, implication, or example that they partook of the Lord’
s Supper on any other day.
4.) The early church came together into one place, that is, in the assembly to partake of
the Lord’s Supper. This pattern is clearly established in I Cor. 11:20 – “When ye therefore
come together into one place, . . .” I Cor. 14:23 also shows this. When the whole church
comes together into place to partake of the Lord’s Supper it pictures exactly what Paul
penned in I Cor. 10:16-17 – “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For
we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” “Many”
in verse 17 refer to the many members of the church. “All” the members of the church
partake “of that one bread.” The implication is that the whole church (all) comes together
into one place (the assembly) to partake of the Lord’s Supper. The verse doesn’t say
“some” partake of it. There is no NT authority to put the Lord’s Supper in another place or
location other than in the assembly upon the first day of the week.
What about those who are sick and shut-in who are unable to assemble with the church to
partake of the Lord’s Supper? Do they sin if they do not partake of the Lord’s Supper? If
so, then the Lord requires of them something that is beyond their control and ability to
do. They cannot assemble, and their failure to eat the Lord’s Supper is not an act of
deliberate sin.
Our goal is to respect the authority of the NT in all things (see Col. 3:17). We don’t want
to be guilty of adding to or taking from God’s word (Rev. 22:18-19).