Responding to the bread and the cup

“The Lord Jesus on the night when 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 also he took the cup, 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).

“Blessed are You, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth” (Traditional Hebrew blessing of the bread).

I’m sure the disciples were surprised by the words that Jesus said after he gave the traditional word of blessing over the bread. They had heard the blessing of the bread at every Passover celebration since their birth, but these new words that Jesus taught them gave new and deeper meaning to their tradition. For the Lord’s Supper represented the fulfillment of the Passover and the beginning of the New Covenant.

How do you respond to the remembrance of the Lord’s Supper?

When my daughter was about 5 or 6 years old, she would get so upset after we had a Lord’s Supper service. Returning home after church, she would say, “Daddy, when am I going to get to eat that bread and drink from that little cup?”

I would reply, “Honey, when you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and get baptized, then we’ll let you start receiving the Lord’s Supper. You should be a baptized believer before receiving the Lord’s Supper. Understand?”

“OK Daddy.” She’d say. Then, after a while. “Daddy, when can I get bapatized?”

You see, there’s something powerful about the symbols of our salvation. Even little children are moved to ask questions when they encounter the two symbols of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Both help us remember and proclaim what Christ has done for us!

The unleavened bread represents the Lord’s body. Throughout the Bible leaven or yeast is seen as a symbol of unrighteousness or corruption. It only takes a little yeast to affect the whole loaf. Yeast is actually a living organism that feeds on the sugars and starches in bread dough. As a byproduct of this process, the yeast begins to release gas bubbles of carbon dioxide, and small amounts of ethanol alcohol. These bubbles, trapped in the bread dough, cause the rising action with which we’re familiar. The yeast organism dies in the heat of the oven, but it leaves a fluffy, airy texture to the bread. Unleavened bread is flat because it does not go through this rising process.

The unleavened bread reminds us that Christ’s body was sinless and that it did not experience corruption in the grave because of Christ’s resurrection on the third day. It also reminds us that Christ gave His body as a sacrifice for our sin.

The cup represents Christ’s blood which was shed for us. It also points to the Passover Lamb which was to be slain without any bones being broken.

These symbols engage our senses more than words alone could. As we eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine, we remember how Christ has died for us. But we also proclaim that His spiritual life has now been imparted to us by faith in Him.

We should never stop being surprised and awed by what this remembrance means to us.