Eucharist as Elements
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Introduction:
This morning I want us to take a look at the Eucharist.
If we are going to be a sacramental church (a church that celebrates the Eucharist each week) we need to make sure that we understand what we are doing and why we are doing it.
This morning I want us to look at the elements used in the Eucharist. That is, I want us to look at the bread and wine. And as we do so, I want to ask two basic questions:
So let’s begin with our first question: why does God use outward signs at all? Why are these outward signs necessary and so important to the sacrament?
The first question we need to ask when examining the bread and wine is why does God use outward signs at all? Why are these outward signs necessary and so important to the sacrament?
A] First, the outward signs alert us to the spiritual reality at hand- think about it, Scripture teaches that the spiritual reality portrayed by the Sacrament (i.e. the New Covenant) is already ours in Christ.
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness,
However, we do not yet experience that reality in full. Therefore, Jesus instituted the outward signs to alert us to the operation of that reality and to our participation in it.
Luke 24:35 And they began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. FN#1
B] Second, the outward signs identify the spiritual reality at work. It is not enough that you know something is going on. God wants you to know exactly what it is. Notice then
Romans 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Bread)
James 4:6 But God gives a greater grace (Wine)
C] Third, the outward signs assure you that the spiritual reality signified is truly received (in other words, God is with you and God’s grace at work in the details of your life)
Matthew 26:26 Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” (also 1 Cor 10:16)
Bottom line: why does God use outwards signs? To show you what you might not otherwise see and to assure you of your actual participation in it.
Our second question asks, why did Jesus specifically choose bread and wine as the signs that he would use to alert, identify, and assure us? What do bread and wine tell us about the nature of the spiritual reality we are about to encounter?
A] The Bread:
Central to the idea of breaking bread is the notion of fellowship (e.g. Acts 2:42, 46) FN#2. In other words, Jesus chose bread as one of the elements of His Sacrament because a key aspect of our redemption is the restoration of our fellowship with God. Thus we have fellowship with God through our inclusion in (fellowship with) the onetime sacrifice that Christ made.
2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ
Importance: when Christ hands you the bread of the Sacrament and tells you to “take and eat”, He is assuring you of God’s spiritual presence, fellowship, and favor with you at the Table. In other words, the Lord’s Table is a time of real fellowship at the heart of a real relationship. Not only that, God instituted the Table to assure you that the fellowship and blessings enjoyed at the Table are indicative of the whole of the new life.
Matthew 28:20 I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
B] Why Wine: Simply put, wine looks like blood. As such, the wine explains the bread. That is, the wine tells us how we have fellowship with God and His people. How? We are redeemed by the blood of Christ
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,
Notice then in the Chalice we are handed the receipt of the whole of our salvation paid in full (not by our blood but by His). Notice the result:
1 Peter 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross,
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
Bottom line: every week God brings us to His house in the very midst of life. He sits us at His family table to love, nourish, and cleanse us. In doing so He hands us bread and wine to assure us that His presence (bread) and His grace (wine) are with us and are at work in the very details of our life.
Footnotes
1] Compare the account of the Last Supper with that of the Emmaus event, noticing the deliberate parallels. Jesus intentionally draws their attention back to the Last Supper and then opens their eyes.
(Last Supper) Luke 22:14 And when the hour had come He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. 19 And when He had taken bread and given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
(At Emmaus) Luke 24:30 And it came about that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
Notice the supernatural/spiritual element at work in Luke’s account. The two followers don’t just recognize Jesus when they see Him in a familiar light (the breaking of the bread). Instead, their eyes are opened (Luke 24:31). In other words, Jesus couples the repetition of the Sacrament with a spiritual blessing/recognition. Add to this the fact that Luke tells us that these two followers didn’t just fail to recognize Jesus on the road, they were kept or prevented from recognizing Him (Lk 24:6). In other words, Jesus intentionally uses the very rehearsal of the Sacrament as a spiritual means to open the eyes of His followers to His presence with then, the reality of His Resurrection, and the completion of the salvation He came to accomplish for us. Jesus’ coupling of this alert with the Sacrament is intentional- just as is Luke’s repetition of the event (Lk 24:30, 35). Both are meant to tell us something important about God’s intention for the Sacrament. God intends the Sacrament to open our eyes and assure us of Christ’s presence with us, His victory for us, and the new life that is ours in Him. Notice, we see this same understanding again in Paul (c.f. I Cor 10:16).
Note: when Jesus rehearsed the meal that night in Emmaus, He did not become the bread nor did his followers simply say that they remember when Jesus did something just like that. Instead, God uses the rehearsal of the meal to open their eyes to the fact that Christ is present with them at the Table. From the very day of the resurrection, God was indicating to His people what blessings He intended this meal to provide.
2] It is vital that we remember that the breaking of the bread during the Eucharist is not a symbol of the breaking of Christ’s body. Scripture is emphatic that Christ’s body was not broken
John 19:33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs;…….For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.”
Instead, central to the idea of breaking bread is the notion of fellowship. Notice then at the Last Supper Jesus takes bread and after giving thanks He breaks it. Then the very next thing He does is He gives it to His disciples (fellowship, a sharing in)
Matthew 26:26 Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples
Importance: the phrase “this is my body which is broken for you” never occurs in any of the Gospel accounts of the Supper. Furthermore, it does not occur in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts of any part of Scripture. Instead, it only makes its appearance in a handful of later manuscripts of I Corinthians 11:24. The earliest of these is a notation/ explanation found in the margin of the 4th century אcmg text. The next appearance is in the 6th and 7th century texts (Cc and D06c) where this explanation has made its way into the text and is marked as an editorial addition/correction to the text
1 Corinthians 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is (broken) for you;
In other words, the earliest, most reliable and attested reading of the verse is:
1 Corinthians 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you;