The Lords Supper The Obvious Symbols

1 Corinthians 11
One of my boys became a Christian and was baptized. Not long after that, one of the younger guys was in a huff. I want to get babatized too. You are too young. You dont understand it yet. But I need to get babatized. He was adamant. Finally, Amy asked, Why do you want to get babatized? He said, Because I get hungry in church too. He wanted to take the Lords Supper. In our church we try to reserve this for those who have experienced the forgiveness that comes through grace. We believe that children are innocent until they reach an age of accountability where they understand sin and its implications. When that happens and they receive the lord, then the sacrifice that the Lords Supper symbolizes makes sense. Hes watching his brother get that little cracker and way cool juice cup and hes frustrated. Made me think, I wonder how many people dont get all of this. What does all this mean? Cracker, juice. Bread blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23-25 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 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." 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
We take the supper in remembrance. What do we remember? We remember his death. So lets look at the obvious symbolism.

II.

The obvious symbolism

Theres really not time to tell. The richness of these elements is so woven into the story of salvation and redemption and purpose and significance that the time wont allow it. You would be surprise to see so much of Gods purpose wrapped up in this. Bread being manna, being the bread that fed them. Then Jesus said, I am the bread of life. Eat me and you will never go hungry. The bread is unleavened. Symbolizing the purity of Christ. Jesus was born in Bethlehem which is Hebrew for house of bread. I mean it just keeps coming. So rather than deal with all of that, lets focus on the obvious.

I.

The Lords Supper is a symbol

We view this symbolically. In other words, taking the Lords Supper wont make you a Christian anymore than wearing my wedding ring will make you married to Amy. The ring I wear is a symbol of a commitment that Amy and I made to one another. If I take it off and you wear it, that wont make you married to her. Symbols describe and define commitments but they dont produce them. Jesus clearly wanted this to be a symbolic ceremony commemorating his death on the Cross.

The bread represents the body which represents the sacrifice

Why do I need a broken body? Thats the question. And in this generation its making less sense because we no longer talk of sin. Sin has been replaced by a variety of less offensive words and ideas. Its dysfunctional behavior or alternative lifestyle choice. Think of the way we have carefully changed the terms. Its no longer adultery, now its a fling or an affair. Hey, flings and affairs sound . . . well . . . fun. Its not drunkenness, its partying. Who doesnt want to party. A person isnt homosexual, hes gay. I remember when gay stood for happy. I dont want to fight this battle of terms, but we have obviously done this to sooth the offense. In time we take it away altogether. If sin becomes a lifestyle choice then a) there are no moral implications, b) there is no spiritual significance, c) it validates the behavior as a personal preference and thereby destroys any notion of right or wrong.

religion. Now we live in a world where people dont talk about Sin, they wont accept the idea of being sinful, and they think the only person that might be a sinner is the one that implies others are. I know, its like the Poseidon adventure. The world has been turned on end. Upside down. But if we arent sinners then why do we need a savior. Years ago a book came out, Im OK, Youre OK. I never read it but the idea sent ripples through the church. It was the idea that people are basically fine and we need to accept one another as we accept ourselves. I go with that 100% as long as you dont include sin. I understand that we are all flawed in some way and we need to accept each others flaws. Take us AS IS. But, not the sin. If I accept my sin and I tolerate your sin, then how can I find redemption? Atonement doesnt make sense. There was a cartoon. Jesus was on the cross looking down at people, If Im OK and Youre OK, then what am I doing up here? That is the atonement. God gave his son as a sacrifice. Hebrews 9: 1-7. Reference to Lev. 16:12 Day of Atonement. Once a year general atonement would be made for all people. The High Priest would take a bull and offer it for his sins. He would take the blood of that bull and with his finger, sprinkle it on the East end of the Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat was the lid to the Ark of the Covenant. Two angels, kneeling, wing tips touching. Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark. That is the ark. The High Priest would take a pair of goats and bring them before the tent of meeting. Lots were cast. The goat which drew the lot was set apart. One goat would then be slaughtered and its blood, like the blood of the bull would be sprinkled on the Mercy Seat. Think about that. Only one person was allowed into the Holy Place where the Ark of God sat. The High Priest. And he could only enter once a year. No one was ever allowed to touch the ark. That means that no cleaning person ever went in there to tidy up. And yet year after year after year the High Priest sprinkled blood on the ark. After several thousand years it wasnt a shiny gold chest. It was covered in dried black blood. The priest would then ceremonially lay hands on the other goat and confess the sins of the people on that goat. That goat was released into the wilderness. It became known as the scapegoat. Where we get the idea of someone else suffering unjustly for our crime. The image was that God was removing the sins of the people. The Day of Atonement was a bloody day. The second feast occurred in the spring. Passover. We celebrated it last Sunday. A lamb was slaughtered and the blood drained from its throat. That blood was then taken to the altar and the father would wipe it on the four corners. The significance is sacrifice for sin. Very bloody. Very ugly. Very brutal. Why all that blood? Atonement for sin. We see in this the hatred of God for sin. The wrath of heaven was poured out upon Jesus on the cross to atone for sin. Not your lifestyle choice, or you dysfunctional behavior. Your sin. His body was destroyed for sin.

Luke 22:19 And when He had taken some 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."
Notice that he broke the bread before he gave it. The breaking is a powerful symbol of sacrifice. Broken beyond repair. It points us to Isaiah

Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

The wine represents the blood which represents atonement

Billy Graham once noted that Christianity and Judaism is a very bloody

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.
The wages of sin is death. Life must be lost. Life is in the blood. So the life of one covers the sin of another.

Hebrews 9:22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
So in a somewhat macabre but beautiful way, the blood of Christ covers our sins.

Matthew 26:28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
One last thing. Not only is the lord supper symbolic of the death of Christ, but it also reminds us of his coming.

It points to the coming of Christ

1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lords death until He comes.
So its an act of remembrance but its also an act of faith. Those of us who take this do so looking forward to the day when Jesus comes for us, or if he delays, the day we will see him. Dr. Leary died last Sunday. We did his funeral Wednesday. Heres a man that spent his life as an oncologist, fighting death, helping people to face it. He told Georgia that those without hope died badly. Alone. Bitter. When it came Marshalls time, all he had left to do was die. He couldnt wait. Talking to warren. He went so fast. Warren, we thought that retirement was to slow it down. I guess he didnt have anything to live for. Georgia confirmed that. Once he retired he was finished. Ive never seen anyone so eager to get to heaven. Why? He knew.