By Gary Ray Branscome
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was
betrayed, took bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to
His disciples saying, “Take eat this is
My body which is given for you. This
do in remembrance of Me.” (Matt. 26:26, Mark
After the same manner, He took the cup when He had
supped, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them saying, “All of you drink of it; this cup is the New
Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins. This do, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of Me.” (Matt. 26:27-28, Mark
With those words, Christ instituted “The Lord's Supper”
as a perpetual observance of the Christian Church, something we can expect to
see observed wherever Christians gather for worship. And, because it was
instituted by Christ Himself, it should not be regarded as some rite that the church has come up with, but as
a divine institution with the authority of God behind it.
As we look carefully at what Christ said when He instituted
His Supper, the words, “this do” are significant, because they tell us
to do exactly what He did every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Just as He
said, “Take eat this is My body which is given for you,” we should say, “Christ said, ‘Take eat
this is My body which is given for you’.” And, just as He said, “This cup is
the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins etc.” we should say
exactly that. The first two paragraphs of this section frame those quotes in a
way that provides context. However, the actual words spoken by Christ are of
primary importance because Christ’s words are the GOSPEL. If you do not
see that, think about what Christ said. When He said, “This is My
body which is given for you,”
you need to realize that Christ’s body was given for you on the cross.
Likewise, when He said, “This cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is
shed for you for the remission of sins,”
you need to realize that Christ’s blood was shed for you on the cross.
Therefore, when He said, “This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of
Me,” He was telling us to do it as a ceremonial way of reminding
all of us that He died for our sins, while assuring us of “the
remission of sins” through His
sacrifice. In short, the Lord’s
Supper was instituted as a ceremonial proclamation of the gospel.
Some Christians have a tender
conscience, and need assurance that their sins are forgiven. And, whenever the
Lord’s Supper is administered as Christ intended, they should go to the Lord’s
Supper believing that there is forgiveness in Christ, and come away believing
that they have forgiveness through the blood of Christ – and that is the
very essence of faith. In that way, God uses the Lord’s Supper to give faith to
those who do not understand what faith is. And, everyone who
believes that Christ’s body was given for them (on the cross), and that His
blood was shed for them (on the cross) so that they could have forgiveness,
truly receives Christ’s body and blood, not as something physical but as the
atonement for their sin.
Ways Satan Attacks the
Lord’s Supper
Christ instituted His Supper during Passover so that it
would point to Him as the true Passover sacrifice. Therefore, the bread and
wine that He used would have been the same unleavened bread and Passover wine
that all Jews used at that time. So one way that Satan attacks the Lord’s
Supper is by eliminating the bread and wine, or replacing it with something
else.
One perversion of the Lord’s Supper eliminates the wine
entirely. Another replaces the wine with water. In one cult almost no one
partakes because they are told that it is not for everyone. Some sects have
eliminated it entirely. I have even heard of milk and cookies being used. And,
in every case where this happens, it happens because some men are exalting
their will over God’s will, and replacing His Word with their word. When Christ
instituted His Supper He was dead serious. And, even if we do not fully
understand how Christ uses His Supper to further His kingdom, no one has the
right to disregard what He said, or to treat what He instituted in a flippant
and irresponsible way.