The ChurchSample

What is the Lord’s Supper?

The Lord’s Supper is the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross using bread and juice or wine as symbols of his body and blood. When we partake of the Lord’s Supper together, as Jesus commanded, we remember his death on the cross and look forward to his coming again.

For many Christians, it can be hard to appreciate the significance of the Lord’s Supper. Maybe the church you go to rarely celebrates the Lord’s Supper and you have never had the chance to really understand it. Or, maybe you have never looked into how crackers and grape juice can be a symbol of something so profound and life-changing. 

But what is the Lord’s Supper, and why do we celebrate it by receiving bread and juice or wine? The first Lord’s Supper was the meal that Jesus established the night before his arrest. It was Passover, when all the Jews were celebrating and commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, when God rescued them from Pharaoh and his army through the Red Sea.

Jews would take bread and wine—symbolizing the flesh and blood of the lamb slaughtered at Passover—and partake (eat and drink) of it. It symbolized the way in which they were eating and drinking as a reminder of  the benefits of God’s salvation.

So, when Jesus held this celebration just before his death, and when he offered his disciples the bread and wine as symbols of his own body and blood, the point was clear even if it was very, very shocking. Jesus was holding out the hope of a new Exodus, the great rescue the prophets had promised. Except this time the rescue would not come about because of the blood of a lamb but because of the blood of God’s own Son. The blood of Jesus.

That’s what the Lord’s Supper we celebrate today is all about. 

Spend some time today reflecting upon the fact that Jesus gave his life so that you could have joy, peace, and eternal life.