On this night, the time honored Passover
would be transformed into what would become known today as “The Lord’s Supper”
or “Communion”. Only twelve men would be chosen to witness the inception of
this great ordinance. One of the twelve carried malicious intent in his heart,
which would soon bring about the suffering and death necessary for the
salvation of God’s people.
That which was being consummated on
this night would be imperative in the establishment of the New Testament Church.
Jesus was moving these men’s focus from
the traditional Passover lamb, to the true sacrifice by using the breaking of
this bread (his body) and of the wine he poured (his blood).
As they were eating the
roasted kid, little did these men know that not only were they consuming the
paschal lamb, but it was the true Lamb, the Lamb who John had introduced at the
river of Jordon, who was serving them. It was the night of the feast of unleavened
bread. As stated in the instructions given to Moses, this was to be honored by
all generations, and so here they were. Yet Jesus said that He would not take
of the cup of this Passover, neither would He eat thereof any more of the lamb,
“Until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God”. Thus signifying this would be the
last of the required animal sacrifice. Little did these men know, that before
the next day’s end, the one and only ultimate and eternal Sacrifice would be
made for all those included in the everlasting covenant; past, present and
future.
In order that all
prophecies, types and shadows of the true sacrifice might be fulfilled, the
Lord introduced this “new” ordinance, which was purposely transposed from the
“old” or original. From here forward there would be no more “types”, for the
Antitype had arrived and within a few hours He would be slain once for all…
there would be no more bitter herbs; for the suffering these represented would
be accomplished in the suffering of Jesus Christ. There would be no more
slaughter of the kids of the goats or lambs of the sheep; for this also would
be accomplished in the death of Jesus Christ…Perfect Man would suffer and die
for imperfect humanity.
Virtually every
Christian denomination or church today observes, in some manner, this New Testament
directive. From this one event there has arisen many conjectures; some believe
that this should be offered at every worship service (However, we must take
care for if this ordinance is observed too often, it is very possible that its
true meaning or substance may become lost in habitual tradition); some observe
it monthly, and some quarterly. Biblically, all of these can be correct. Even
though there is no set time pattern that the Lord gives us (He directs us only
that; “As oft as you do this do it in remembrance of me”), it is the opinion of
this writer that this rite should, as with the traditional Passover of old, be
performed at least once per year.
There are those others who
are of the opinion that almost any type of “bread” may be used (including
saltines and other types of crackers) along with many different drinks
(including grape juice, apple juice or even water). Since these cannot be
biblically confirmed, I feel that it is the church’s responsibility to remain
as close to the original as possible, which I find by scripture to be unleavened
bread and wine. One of the strangest observations we may find in any Communion
service is the belief of transubstantiation, which is prevalent among the
Orthodox Catholic Church. Those who allege this to be factual believe that the
bread and wine, for this moment in time, actually become the body and blood of
Jesus. However, if we look closely, we find that there is no grand mysticism in
the communion service. The bread and wine are no more transformed to the body
and blood of Christ than the Baptistery, when used for a baptismal service, is
transformed into an actual grave or tomb. The bread and wine are “only”
representative of the body and blood. However, let us be careful with the use
of the word “only” for it does not give any leeway for any to take this rite lightly
or to be observed without utmost reverence. Apostle Paul would go into great
detail on how we are to conduct ourselves during this service, as we can
plainly see in his letter to the church at Corinth.
So we find that the
death of Jesus Christ did not abolish the sacrifice, but rather made the
greater sacrifice, after which they could be no other sacrificial death. The
shed blood of animals was used until the fullness of time should come. Let us
recall that which was mentioned earlier; “until it be fulfilled in the kingdom
of God”.
Today, the only sacrifice that we are
commanded to make is the “living” sacrifice or the giving of ourselves; not to
die, but to live for Jesus Christ, Who was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
So we conclude that the
Passover was the “type” of our Lord’s suffering and sacrifice which carried
with it a continual looking forward to His coming, which would bring with it
the deliverance of His people. The Communion service is a remembrance of His
suffering and sacrifice which we observe in retrospect, keeping our hearts and
minds on what He has accomplished in order to deliver His people and to secure
their salvation.
Sam Everett
