1 Corinthians 11:23-26

The Lord's Instructions Concerning the Supper

The Lord himself told Paul about the sacred supper. The night of the supper's institution was the night in which Christ was betrayed and thus was a solemn occasion. The bread he took on that night would have been unleavened since this was the type of bread used during the Passover week (Exodus 12:15). Jesus, as always, thanked God for his blessings, of which the supper would be a part. Since Jesus was present in body at the original supper, the bread could only have represented Christ's body. They were to partake of it remembering the Lord's sacrifice (1 Corinthians 11:23-24).

Jesus took the cup in the same manner he had the bread. Obviously, he gave thanks. The contents of the cup, or fruit of the vine, represented the cleansing blood of Christ. That blood sealed and confirmed the new covenant under which sinners can be set free from the terrible debt of sin (Romans 6:23). First Century Christians gathered together on the first day of the week to partake of this supper (Acts 20:7). Paul reminded the Corinthian brethren that they were to remember the Lord's sacrifice each time they gathered for the purpose of partaking the supper. In this act, they looked back to the cross and forward to Jesus' return to take his people home (1 Corinthians 11:25-26).