Communion Elements – a Reminder of the Past

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So when it comes to Holy Communion, what are we preparing for exactly?

Let's read familiar words from Luke's gospel: "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.' 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 22:19-21)

There are three focuses that the body and blood may have during Holy Communion, and they relate to time. Firstly, the bread and the cup remind us of the past.

They remind us of the death of Christ.

Remembering Christ's Sacrifice

During Communion, what we do is we re-enact the Last Supper, we "do this in remembrance of Him". We remember that Jesus gave His life all those years ago, and we marvel at His sacrifice.

Now remember, the disciples were gathered with Jesus to celebrate the Passover. The Passover was the Jewish festival which looked back to the time of the Exodus. The Israelites had been living in captivity under Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and God promised to free them, but Pharaoh would not listen to God's threats, so eventually God started pouring out the plagues onto Egypt to try and change Pharaoh's mind.

By the end God did something extreme. He was going to send an angel of death to kill all the firstborn creatures in Egypt. But the Israelites were told by God, through Moses, to save themselves from this by doing the following:

• Each household should take an unblemished lamb and kill it

• They should take some of the lamb's blood and paint it on the doorposts of their homes

• They should eat the lamb's flesh after roasting it, and burn the remains

• They should be ready to go in the morning

• The angel of death would come and kill all the firstborn people and animals, but the houses with the blood of the lamb on the doorposts would be "passed over"

Every Israelite generation remembered that day once a year by celebrating the Passover dinner.

Jesus: The True Passover Lamb

Then Jesus came. On this night just before He died He celebrated the Passover and said some amazing things:

• He said that He was the new unblemished Lamb of God

• That He was going to die to stop the angel of death from putting God's people to death, spiritually

• So when we eat His flesh, it's like eating the flesh of the true Lamb of God

• When we drink His blood, it's like receiving that saving blood painted on the doorpost to mark us as safe!

Why do we celebrate communion? Because we are looking back at what Jesus did, with thankfulness.

Paul later wrote this: "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival." (1 Corinthians 5:7-8) Do you realise today, what the cross means? Do you realise that it means that instead of the "death" that our sins rightfully bring us, God passes over those whose faith is in Jesus who gave His body and died? That God passes over those whose souls are sprinkled in the blood of Christ?

So, come to the table, whenever your church celebrates this sacrament. As you receive the elements, look back, and thank Jesus for what He did there on that cross.

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