Back to the Basics: The Lord's Supper (2)

Jonathan Ledbetter

Back to the Basics • Sermon • Submitted 7 months ago • Presented 7 months ago

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Last Week, the Sermon Text was Centered on the Night of Passover…

When Jesus Instituted the Lord’s Supper

So, for Bible Class, We Went Back to the Basics of the Passover

There was One Primary, Overall Purpose…

For the Annual Celebration of the Passover:

To Remember How God Redeemed Israel from Egyptian Slavery

The Lord’s Supper, Because it was Established at Passover…

Takes on that Same Purpose

We Celebrate the Lord’s Supper…

To Remember How God Redeemed Humanity from Sin & Death

Today, Our Sermon Text will Be about Jesus Instituting the Passover

So, for Bible Class, We’re Going to…

Go Back to the Basics of the Lord’s Supper

But the Way We’re Going to Do this is:

We’re Going to Study a Passage that is Often Misunderstood & Misused

We’re Going to Study 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

I Believe Studying this Passage…

Will Help Us Better Appreciate the Lord’s Supper…

As Well as Helping Us Know How We Ought to Celebrate it

The Corinthian Church had a Lot of Issues

One of the Major Ones was Division

We’re Going to See that Taking Place in this Passage

One Important Note to Make Before We Look at the Text

It’s Been Taught Many Times Before…

That the Reason Paul is Getting on to the Corinthians…

Was Because They were Treating the Lord’s Supper Like a Regular Meal

That’s Not What this Text is Teaching

It’s Not Wrong to Celebrate the LS During a Full Meal

The LS was Established During a Full Meal

And for Quite Some Time the LS was Celebrated During Full Meals

Just as Jesus Did When He Established the LS…

They would Take a Moment to Celebrate/Remember Jesus’ Sacrificial Death

I’m Fully Convinced There would Be Nothing Wrong…

With Us Celebrating the LS During a Weekly Fellowship Meal

Celebrating it During a Regular Fellowship Meal wasn’t the Problem

The Problem was that Their Meals…

And Therefore Their Celebration of the LS…

Had Become Like Many of the Greco-Roman Dinner Parties/Banquets of the Day

It was Common in Those Days…

For Certain Honored Guests to Be Served More/Better Food/Drink…

And Less Honored Guests to Be Served Less/Worse Food/Drink

In the Gatherings of the Corinthian Church…

(Likely in the Homes of Wealthy Christians)…

There were Divisions Between:

The Rich & the Poor

The Honorable & the Dishonorable

The Popular & the Outcasts

That’s the Issue that Paul is Dealing with in this Passage

1 Corinthians 11:17 (NASB95)

17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.

Paul Refuses to Praise the Corinthians…

Because More Harm than Good is Coming from Their Gatherings

Why is that?

1 Corinthians 11:18 (NASB95)

18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.

Paul Doesn’t Praise Them…

Because When They Gather Together…

It isn’t an Occasion for Unity & Common Love

It’s an Occasion for Division/Discrimination/Sectarianism

From the Beginning of this Letter…

We’ve Seen that this is the Case

1 Corinthians 11:19 (NASB95)

19 For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.

Paul Says that Factions/Parties/Sects…

Must Exist in the Church…

So that Those Who God Approves will Be Set Apart & Recognized

I Believe Paul is Speaking Sarcastically…

Or Possibly Echoing the Common Corinthian Excuse…

For Why They were Divided in Their Gatherings:

“We’ve Got to Distinguish Between the Ones God is Proud of…”

“And the Ones God isn’t”

“And Obviously, He’s Proud of the Wealthy & Honorable!”

1 Corinthians 11:20 (NASB95)

20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper,

Paul Says that They weren’t Actually Eating the Lord’s Supper

Lord’s Supper = The Meal that has to Do with the Lord

Why Did He Say that?

Because When They Celebrated the LS…

It Wasn’t about the Lord at All!

1 Corinthians 11:21 (NASB95)

21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.

The LS was No Longer a Time to Remember the Lord:

It was a Time of Selfishness

It was a Time to Disregard Your Brothers & Sisters

When They would Share Their Meals Together…

And Take Time to Celebrate & Remember Jesus…

They weren’t Actually Doing Much Sharing or Remembering

Some were Chowing Down & Indulging Themselves…

But Others were Going Hungry

The Wealthy & Social Elite of the Church…

Were Neglecting to Share with the Those of Less Wealth & Lower Social Class

Only Cool Kids were Welcomed at the Cool Kids’ Table

There was No Concern for Anyone Else

1 Corinthians 11:22 (NASB95)

22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.

Paul Says to the Wealthy & Social Elites:

“The Gathering is Not the Place for this Kind of Behavior”

“If You Want to Party it Up with Your Rich Friends…”

“Do that on Your Own Time in the Privacy of Your Own Homes”

“The Church Gathering is a Time for Unity & Sharing”

“Not Looking Down on Those Who ‘aren’t on Your Level’”

They were Despising the Church of God

They were Looking Down on Their Brothers & Sisters

This is Not the LS at All

When You Despise/Look Down on Jesus’ Church…

You are Despising/Looking Down on Jesus

The LS is about Remembering Jesus’ Sacrifice

When Celebrating the LS…

The Proper Mindset should Be One of Self-Sacrifice…

And Love for the Poor, Weak, & Outcast

But They were Despising Those Very People

Just One Chapter Back, Paul Wrote These Words about the LS:

1 Corinthians 10:16–17 (NASB95)

16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.

The LS is about Sharing in the Body & Blood of Jesus

We’re to Be One Body, Community, Family

The LS is Something We Share Together Equally…

Because We All have an Equal Share in Jesus as Our Savior, Redeemer, and King

1 Corinthians 11:23–25 (NASB95)

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.”

1 Corinthians was Written Before Any of the 4 Gospel Accounts

That Means, this is the Earliest Writing We have…

Of the Establishment of the LS

Paul is Reminding the Corinthians of the Establishment of the LS…

In Order to Bring Their Minds Back to What it’s All About:

Jesus Himself Established this Meal

He Established it on the Night He would Be Betrayed

When They Ate the Bread…

They were to Eat it as a Memorial to Him

When They Drank the Wine…

They were to Drink it as a Memorial to Him

The LS is All about Jesus

The Corinthians Needed to Be Reminded of that

They Needed to Get Their Hearts & Minds Back to Jesus

1 Corinthians 11:26 (NASB95)

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

The LS is Supposed to Be about Proclaiming Jesus’ Death

What Does that Mean?

It Doesn’t Simply Mean that We are Announcing that Jesus Died

Just as the Passover was a Celebration…

That Announced God’s Redemption/Deliverance of Israel from Egypt…

The LS is a Celebration that Announces…

God’s Redemption/Deliverance of the World from Sin & Death…

Through the Sacrificial Death of Jesus

We aren’t Just Proclaiming His Death

We’re Proclaiming All that His Death Means/has Accomplished

Whenever We Celebrate the LS…

That’s Where Our Minds Need to Be:

On the Sacrificial Death of Jesus…

That has Redeemed Us from Sin & Death

We are to Celebrate & Remember Jesus’ Redemptive Death…

“Until He Comes”

Jesus is Going to Return to Finalize/Complete Our Redemption/Deliverance

We Proclaim His Death Until Our Redemption is Complete

1 Corinthians 11:27 (NASB95)

27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

To Eat the LS in an Unworthy Manner…

Makes Us Guilty of the Death of Jesus

That’s an Extremely Serious Crime

So, We Want to Know:

“Have I or Am I Taking the LS in an Unworthy Manner?”

Well, Let’s Keep this Statement in its Context

In this Context, to Eat the LS in an Unworthy Manner is to:

Eat it in Such a Way that Demeans, Humiliates, Disrespects…

Those Who are Participants in Christ’s Body & Blood

Not Only are You Sinning Against Them By Treating Them this Way…

But You’re Also Sinning Against Jesus…

And the Covenant He Gave His Life to Establish

Paul has Already Established the Principle in this Letter:

To Sin Against You’re Siblings in Christ…

Is to Sin Against Jesus Himself:

1 Corinthians 8:12 (NASB95)

12 And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

So, How Do We Keep from Eating the LS in an Unworthy Manner?

We Do as Paul has Already Been Reminding Us:

We Keep the Focus of the Meal on Jesus…

And We Love, Share, & have Unity with Our Siblings

1 Corinthians 11:28 (NASB95)

28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

The Corinthians Needed to Take a Hard Look at Themselves…

And Determine if They were Celebrating the LS…

In a Way that Honored Christ & Their Siblings

We Need to Do the Same When We Celebrate the LS

1 Corinthians 11:29–30 (NASB95)

29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.

Paul Believed that God was Disciplining the Corinthians…

Because of the Way They were Celebrating the LS

They were Experiencing Sickness & Some had Even Died

God Often Disciplined His Disobedient People in the OT

Paul Seems to Be Indicating that He was Doing that with the Corinthians

What were They Doing Wrong?

They were Not Judging the Body Rightly

What Does that Mean?

I Believe the Most Likely Interpretation that Fits the Context is:

That “Body” isn’t Referring to the Bread of the Supper

It’s Referring to the Body of Christ, His Church

They were Eating & Drinking God’s Judgment/Discipline on Themselves…

Because They were Mistreating Christ’s Body (His People)…

When Celebrating the LS

1 Corinthians 11:31–32 (NASB95)

31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

This Discipline from God was to Turn Them to Repentance…

So They wouldn’t Be Ultimately Condemned

The Divisive Way They were Celebrating the LS Needed to End

Paul is Making it Clear that Their Eternal Salvation is on the Line

1 Corinthians 11:33–34 (NASB95)

33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.

There are Different Ways to Interpret “Wait for One Another”

It could Mean that They Need…

To Literally Wait for One Another…

So that Everyone will Share the Meal Equally

Or it could Mean that They are to Welcome/Receive/Accept One Another

The Root to the Word “Wait for” = Welcome/Receive/Accept

When it Comes to the Full Context, Both Ideas are True

When They Came Together to Share a Meal & Celebrate the LS…

They Needed to Love/Treat Each Other as Equals

Not the Wealthy/Social Elite Eating/Drinking Everything…

And Leaving the Scraps to the “Lesser Thans”

As Paul Said in Verse 22:

If You’re Hungry & Want to Pig Out, Do it at Home

The Gathering was a Time to Think of Jesus & Your Siblings…

And to Generously Share with One Another

Final Application

Passover & the LS was Supposed to Be about Unity…

Not Division

The LS was Symbolic of Jesus’ Sacrifice for His People

We Need to Take on that Same Mindset When We Celebrate the LS

It’s Not about Us

It’s About Jesus & His Body (the Church Community Who Share in Him)

The Corinthians had Turned the LS into a Time of Selfishness

They were Despising & Humiliating the Poor & Lower Class of the Church

So, When We Celebrate the LS:

We Need to Remember Jesus & His Sacrifice for Our Redemption

We Need to Think of Our Siblings in Christ

The Way We Celebrate the LS Now isn’t Super Helpful for that 2nd Part

Our Individual Packets Give the Feeling that We are Doing an Individual Thing

It’s Supposed to Feel the Way the First LS Felt:

Like a Shared Meal Where We are All a United Community/Family in Christ