Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: 1 Cor.

11:17-34

Theme: The bible's teaching on the Lord's Supper.

Date: 12/30/2018 File name: LordsSupper.wpd

ID Number:

Today is a fifth Sunday, which means that ordinarily we would be celebrating the Lord's Supper.

However, since we just had the Lord's Service Christmas Eve night, this morning is a normal service.

It gives me the opportunity to actually preach on the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper commemorates a Christian memorial that was instituted 2,000 years ago by our Lord Jesus.

In our observance of the Lord's Supper, we participate in a worship practice that is as old as Christianity itself.

In fact, the Lord's Supper observance was inaugurated by Jesus Himself on the eve of His crucifixion.

“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

(Matthew 26:26–28, ESV)

As a people called Baptist, we believe that Communion is an "Ordinance".

This is a word which means a prescribed practice or religious rite.

Jesus only gave the church two ordinances, or religious rites, which we are to practice.

One is the Lord's Supper and the other is Baptism.

I would like to share some biblical guidelines concerning the Lord's Supper, given to us by the Apostle Paul in this 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians.

Hopefully, these truths will help you understand the Lord's Supper observance a little better.

I. IT IS A SYMBOLIC SERVICE

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when 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.”” (1 Corinthians 11:23–24, ESV)

ILLUS.

Over the last 500 years — since the days of the Reformation — Protestants have been unified on most of the major doctrines of the bible.

All that is, except the Lord's Supper.

There was a significant break between the churches in Germany, largely under the leadership of Martin Luther, and the churches in Switzerland, which were under the leadership of Ulrich Zwingli.

In 1529, in order to bring the Reformed churches of Switzerland together with the Lutheran churches in Germany, church leaders held a conference at Marburg.

Luther and Zwingli quickly agreed on fourteen of fifteen theological points.

But when it came to Communion, they could not agree.

Both of them agreed that the Roman Catholic view of the Eucharist was unbiblical.

But that was all they agreed on.

Luther and Zwingli could not come to terms over the meaning of the Lord's Supper.

Neither could accept the other's viewpoint, and the debate became harsh.

In the end, Luther would not even shake Zwingli's hand in Christian fellowship.

They left Marburg and went their separate ways, and unity never came.

1. the meaning of the Lord's Supper essentially comes down to what the meaning of the word "is" is

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

(Luke 22:19–20, NIV84)

a. Martin Luther believed Jesus was being literal — when Jesus said “This is my body” he meant “The bread really IS my body.”

b.

Ulrich Zwingli believed Jesus was using metaphor — when Jesus said “This is my body” he meant “The bread merely SIGNIFIES my body.”

2. 500 years later Baptists would agree with Zwingli

A. JESUS DEFINES THE MEANING FOR US

1. according to Luke 22:19-20 and, 1 Corinthians 11:25 the Lord's Supper is a time of remembrance

a. this is the key to what Jesus was instituting during that last Passover meal with his disciples

b. after he was gone, the Lord’s Supper would be a way to remember his sacrifice on their behalf, just as the Passover was a way to remember what God had done for Israel in Egypt

1) when God gave Moses instructions concerning the Passover He told Moses

“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.”

(Exodus 12:14, ESV)

“And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service.

26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’

27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’

” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.”

(Exodus 12:25–27, ESV)

c. Zwingli and other Protestant Reformers saw this connection, and it convinced them that Jesus was not being literal, but metaphorical when he said this is my body

2. Jesus used metaphor all the time

a. an example is found in what we call Jesus’ I Am statements ... (all in John’s gospel)

1) I am the bread of life

2) I am the light of the world

3) I am the door of the sheep

4) I am the good shepherd

5) I am the true vine

b.

Jesus was none of those things literally, but he used those expressions to teach important theological truths about himself and his redemptive ministry

3. Jesus knew that people often learn best when they are able to move from what is familiar to what is unfamiliar

a. by using metaphors Jesus showed that He was the master teacher by using comparisons and contrasts of things that were familiar to His audience

b. he made the complex simple and easy to understand

4. while the disciples may not have fully understood what Jesus was teaching at that moment, until after the resurrection, they clearly understood the metaphorical nature of His language

B. FOUR HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

1. Transubstantiation — the belief that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ when they are consecrated even though they still look like bread and wine

a. this is the Roman Catholic and Christian Orthodox view ... at the moment of consecration, when the priest lifts the bread and says “This is my body,” at that moment, bells are rung and all eyes turn to the elevated host, which magically transforms into Christ’s body

b. thus, during Communion the recipient actually eats the Lord's body and drinks His blood, because Jesus is literally present in the bread and wine

ILLUS.

Many superstitions developed because of this.

Laypeople began to worship the bread and wine from afar or superstitiously carry pieces of bread back home to plant in the garden for good crops or to give to an ailing animal for good health.

To avoid an accidental spilling of the wine — which would mean spilling Christ’s blood — the priests began giving only the bread to parishioners, keeping the cup for themselves.

By the 1500’s, even the bread was withheld in most churches.

The mass had turned into a show.

c. the idea that a priest could sacrifice the body and blood of the Lord was especially appalling to Luther, and he and other Reformers considered this belief the most non-biblical of Roman errors

1) ... and we would agree with them

2. Consubstantiation — the belief that the bread and wine actually contain the presence the of Jesus, but do not literally change into his body and blood

a. this is the Lutheran view of Communion though Lutherans use the term sacramental union rather than consubstantiation

b.

Luther believed that Christ is physically present "with, in and under" the elements

ILLUS.

Luther explained his this view by using the analogy of an iron rod placed into a fire: both are united in the red-hot iron, yt both are also distinct.

c. according to this view, the recipient receives the forgiveness of sins and the confirmation of their faith through the elements

d.

Baptists consider Luther’s view as Transubstantiation lite and also consider this view as non-biblical

3. Reformed — Christ is not literally present in the elements, but there is the spiritual presence of Christ

a. this is the view of the Protestant Reformer John Calvin and is what Reformed and Presbyterian congregations believe

b. when a worshiper receives the bread and cup by faith they receive the actual body and blood of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the recipient receives grace

c. while closer to the Baptist view, it is still — we believe — an unbiblical view

4. Memorial — this view teaches that Jesus is present neither physically or spiritually in the elements, but that the Lord's Supper stands as a symbolic reminder of what Jesus did for believers on the cross and at the tomb

a. this is what Ulrich Zwingli taught, and is the Baptist and Mennonite view and it alone represents the truth of what the Bible teaches about the Lord's Supper

C. JESUS’ REDEMPTIVE WORK IS MEMORIALIZED IN THE SERVICE

1. allow me to share with you what the Lord's Supper serves to remind us of

a.

We Are To Remember An Agonizing Lord

“and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you.