Appointed Times for 2019 (part four) ELEMENTS OF THE NEW COVENANT

The Lord’s Supper is the NEW Passover of the NEW Covenant

In my previous post, I discussed how Jesus instituted the last supper on the night before the traditional legal Passover, because He would actually become the Passover Lamb of God the following day, on the Day of Preparation. 


In the end, whether you agree with me that Jesus celebrated His Passover the night before (Abib 13) or you believe He celebrated the Passover meal on the same night as the Jews, (Abib 14) both beliefs would confirm that the 'Passover Meal' context of the following statements.  There can be no doubt that this discourse of Jesus, was initiated within the context of the 'Passover Meal' which was loaded with symbols and rituals. 
Including the four cups of Passover. 

 Paul also tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took (unleavened) bread; and when He had given thanks,

He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this (holding up the unleavened bread) is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner, He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup (holding up the traditional Passover cup of redemption) is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 

Using a Scripture text like the one above without comprehending the context in which it was spoken can lead one to a pretext. The clear context here was right in the very midst of the celebration of the Passover meal. The question then is what did Jesus mean when He said "this bread"? and what did Jesus mean when He said, "this cup"? 

His audience was Jewish, there was no confusion at that table that night. 

1. they knew this bread was not common, it was used only seven days a year
2. they knew the third cup signified redemption, there were three other cups.
3. they understood this event happened only once every year, it was the appointed time 

Am I saying that taking communion on the first Sunday of every month is wicked?  
No, it is not wicked, and neither is it what Jesus was instructing his disciples to do. 
Frequent taking of communion may diminish the long term impact on us by diminishing the importance of the very thing we are celebrating. The Innoculation effect - "Familiarity breeds contempt"

Consider Paul's instruction for a moment "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 

While we can certainly do a quick 'once over' check of our hearts in the 60 seconds provided during 'communion'. But are we doing the deep 'search and seizure' required to unveil the hidden issues of the heart? Are we truly doing what it takes to properly discern the Lord's body in a matter of a minute?

"For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body." 

The bottom line.
Of course, we can remember Jesus' death anytime, monthly, weekly, or daily if we wish, even without wine and unleavened bread, but that was not the context of what Jesus said. Neither is it what Paul said in the 1 Corinthians passage above.    If we ignore the context? We would ask why bother to use unleavened bread (many churches substitute leavened bread for communion) Or for that matter why use grape juice or wine? It is just symbolic after all 

Here are three passages from the New Covenant with the phrase 'breaking bread', all three took place after Jesus' instructions, do you see 'communion' in any of these three? 

And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. Luke 24:35

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:42

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart  Acts 2: 46

The phrase 'Breaking bread' (daily) was definitely not referring to the taking of communion, there is no mention of 'the cup after the meal' no mention of wine or any communion ritual in any of the three passages. There was no mention of self-examination in these passages.

The 'love feast' Pauls refers to in Corinthians maybe like our current day 'potlucks' and we could schedule them for the first Sunday every month... once again we would have missed the context and substituted it with a ritual. The early Church conducted those meals daily as recorded in the book of Acts because they shared everything in common. That is another topic for another day.  

So it is a stretch to think that they refer to 'communion' instead of shared meals? 

But if you still believe that frequent communion services were what Jesus instructed us to do, then using these passages as our doctrinal foundation, let's look at frequency.  

As often as we do 'this' what 'gather for food?', (break bread) we should commemorate his death. We can certainly do that, but is that what Jesus was saying? Commemorate my death by eating with each other?

According to these verses then we should be taking communion together daily, and taking it from house to house. 

Please bear with me for another moment as I lay out a close parallel. 
Would a wedding anniversary be just as special if we commemorated it weekly? Once a month, and yet It is also a covenant celebration. 

If this temporal 'special' celebration means more because the observance is more rare, only once a year, on the actual date; wouldn't it follow that we would experience a much deeper reality in commemorating Jesus' death and His resurrection once a year, on the actual date, with a no holds barred celebration?

 
Hopefully, I have provoked you to reconsider how you commemorate the death of Christ. I might agree that it would be very special, very precious, very impactful if it were less often and if our self-examination went much deeper. What would happen if we gave the Holy Spirit a few weeks to convict us of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgement?

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Various writings from the past
The Road Not Taken

At Home In MN