And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat.
The Lord’s Supper
1.It is remarkable that we are indebted to Paul for the most particular account of this service, because he was not one of those who were present on the night of its institution. Nor did he derive his knowledge from those who were present (Gal_1:11-12). The striking agreement between this report and that of those who were present is one of the evidences of the truth of Scripture.
2. Thoughtful men know the value of particular customs, medals and inscriptions, to certify any historical event. Now, the observance of the Lord’s Supper is a standing historical evidence of the truth of the Christian religion. It is to be traced backwards for hundreds of years to the night in which Christ was betrayed; but no farther. There we lose the clue, because the institution then had its origin.
I. The nature of the ordinance. It is commemorative.
1. Who is it that is to be particularly remembered? Christ claims our grateful recollection on the ground of--
(1) His dignity. Rank and power impress all beings: but there never was such rank on earth as that which attached to the person of Christ. He was in possession of the attributes of Godhead.
(2) His condescension. He passed by the nature of angels, and was “found in fashion as a man.”
(3) His love. A love that “passeth knowledge.” Christ’s love has been compared with the love of Jonathan to David. But that was love for a friend: this is love for enemies. That was love for love: this is love for hatred.
2. What is it that is commemorated?
(1) The death of Christ--a death entitled to this distinction. Many men areremembered who are not entitled to that honour; many have had monuments raised to them, whose name ought to have been blotted out. I find the death of Christ observed by God the Father. “My Father loveth Me because I lay down My life.” And we are told that in heaven the great event which is celebrated is the death upon Calvary. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.” We may well, therefore, celebrate that death.
(2) The second coming of Christ. Just as Israel had manna so long as they were in the wilderness, but when once they came into Canaan, the manna ceased; so when Christ comes we shall not want anything to remind us of Him.
II. The temper in which this service should be observed by us.
1. We are called to remember the person of Christ, and the great eventsconnected with His person, in a manner corresponding with the dignity of His person; and the vastness of the benefits flowing from His sacrifice, as expected by us at His second coming.
2. We are to draw near with fervour and lively gratitude. The ordinance itself is a eucharistical one. Hence we find our Saviour Himself, when He had instituted the supper, sung a hymn. (J. Beaumont, M.D.)
The Lord’s Supper: its end and our duty
I. The author of the institution. In every action it is good to know by what authority we do it. For what can reasonsee in bread and wine to quicken or raise a soul? (1Co_8:8). The outward elements are indifferent in themselves, but authority giveth them efficacy. He that put virtue into the clay and spittle to cure a bodily eye, may do the same to bread and wine to heal our spiritual blindness. The outward elements of themselves have no more power than the water of Jordan had to cure a leper; their virtue is from above.
II. The duty enjoined. To take bread, and to give thanks, and eatit; and so of the cup. And if this be done with a lively faith in Christ, this is all. “To do this” is not barely to take the bread and eat it: this Judas himself might do; this he doeth that doeth it to his own damnation. And that we may do it, besides the authority and love of the Author, we have all those motives which use to incite us unto action.
1. Its fitness to our present condition. As God sent Adam “a help meet for him,” so He affordeth us helps attempered to our infirmity. As Laban said to Jacob, when they made a covenant, “This stone shall be witness between us,” so God doth say to thy soul by these outward elements, “This covenant have I made with thee, and this that thou seest shall witness between thee and Me.”
2. Its profitableness--a will extended, a love exalted, hope increased, faith quickened, more earnest looking on God, more compassion on our brethren, more light in our understanding, more heat in our affections, more constancy in our patience; every vicious inclination weakened, every virtue established. What is but brass it refineth into gold; raiseth the earthy man to the participation of a Divine nature.
3. Its delightfulness. In the action of worthy receiving is the joy of a conqueror; for here we vanquish our enemy: the joy of a prisoner set at liberty; for this is our jubilee. Here is Christ, here is heaven itself.
4. Its necessity. For if this sacrament could have been spared, our Lord, who came to beat down the ceremonies of the law, would not have raised up this. He calleth and commandeth us to His table, to feed on the body and blood of Christ, and in the strength thereof to “walk before Him and be perfect.”
III. When are we to do it? “As oft as ye do it” implies that you do it often. It is not necessary to say how often. Every man’s want in this should be a law unto him. If we come like unmannerly guests, once is too often; but if we come prepared we cannot come too often. The truth is, the sacrament is fit for every day, but we are not every day fit for it. A great shame it is that any man should be dragged to a feast. And if we loved “the cup of blessing,” we should not fear how oft it came into our hands.
IV. Its end. “In remembrance of Me.” We must open the register of our soul, and enrol Christ there in deep and living characters. For the memory is a preserver of that which she receiveth. But we must inquire whether we remember Christ as we should: whether Christ be hung up in this gallery of our soul only as a picture, or whether He be a living Christ, and dwelleth in us of a truth. For can he remember a meek Christ, who will be angry without a cause? Can he remember a poor Christ that maketh mammon his God? Can he remember Christ, who is as ready to betray Him as Judas, and nail Him to the cross as Pilate? Better never to have known Him, than to know and put Him to shame! (A. Farindon, B.D.)
Sacramental grace
The outward part of the sacrament is not only a sign of the inward part or thing signified, but a sign that the inward grace is given to us, the means whereby it is given, and the pledge or seal to assure us of its being given. The elements are not the sign of a hostelry, like a painted board that reminds the weary pilgrim of the comforts he may enjoy within, if he can obtain them; but they are the signed and stamped conveyance of that which makes him rich and purchases repose, the note of one who will never fail, in receiving which we receive that which it is appointed to represent by him who offers it. In taking a note of the bank, he who receives it is assured that he receives the value it represents; and that bit of paper, worthless in itself, may be worth to him a large estate. (G. D. Hill.)
The Lord’s Supper, a symbol
“Do you then,” men ask, “reduce this sacrament to make it only a symbol? “I confess my inability to appreciate the force of thedepreciatory innuendo. Does not a symbol mean all that it symbolises? Has it not the same honour and sanctity attaching to it as that which it represents? Are not symbols the most sacred things on earth? Why is it that men will take a tattered piece of silk and nail it to the mast, and blow themselves and the ship to atoms rather than any enemy’s hand should touch that flag? It is only a symbol. Why is it that in one corner of the battle-field “the swords’ flash is brightest, and thepistols’ ring is loudest” round a blood-stained banner? It is only a symbol--but a symbol of England, and of all the freedom, the honour, the truth, the heroism, that that word “England” means! Thus, for the eye of faith and the heart of love these symbols mean all that they recall and represent. We are to eat that bread and drink that wine in remembrance that His body was given, and that His blood was shed for us. (T. T. Shore, M.A.)
The Lord’s Supper the sample of the Christian life
(Text, and Col_3:17):--One of the saddest things about the Christian life is that it seems to be split into two parts. Is the distinction between sacred and secular a valid one? is there any reason why a man’s prayers should be more devout than his business? Look at these two passages. The same consecration is claimed for the most trivial acts of daily life, as is claimed for the sacred communion.
I. All the objects around us are to be regarded as symbols and memorials of our Lord. Bread and wine are common things: the act of eating and drinking is not an elevated one; a supper-table is not a very holy place. And when Christ selected them He showed us that all material things were fitted and intended to impart the same teaching. The unity of the Maker, the all-pervading influence of one Divine Spirit, make everything sacred, and put every object to witness to some Divine truth. Every day we walk amidst the “outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace,” and this wonderful world is one great sacrament.
1. All the elements stand as types of spiritual things--the sunshine of the “light of the world,” the wind of the Spirit, the water of the stream of life and drink for thirsty souls, and the fire of His purity and of His wrath.
2. All objects are consecrated to Him. The trees of the field speak of the “root of David,” andthe vine of which we are all branches. The everlasting mountains are His “righteousness,” the mighty deep His “judgments.”
3. All the processes of nature have been laid hold of by Him. The gentle dew falls a promise, and the lashing rain forebodes a storm, when many a sand-built house shall be swept away. Every spring is a prophecy of the resurrection, every harvest a promise of the coming of His kingdom.
4. All living things testify of Him. He is Lord over the fish, the fowls, the beasts.
5. All occupations of men are consecrated to reveal Him. He laid His hand upon the sower, the vine-dresser, the shepherd, etc., as being emblems of Himself.
6. All relations between men testify of Him--father, mother, brother, friend, etc. In a word, every act of our life sets forth some aspect of our Lord and of our relation to Him, from the moment when we open our eyes in the morning, up to the hour when night falls, and sleep, the image of death, speaks to us of the last solemn moment, when we shall close the eyes of our body on earth, to open those of our soul on the realities of eternity. If you would know the meaning of the world, read Christ in it.
II. Every act of our life is to be done from the same motive as that holy communion. “This do in remembrance of Me … discerning the Lord’s body.” “Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,” i.e., for the sake of the character, as revealed to you, of Him whom you love.
1. Is that sacred motive one which we keep for select occasions and special acts of worship? I am afraid that the most do with that Divine reason, “the love of Christ constraineth me,” as the old Franks with their long-haired kings--they keep them in the palace at all ordinary times, only now and then bring them out to grace a procession. There is no action of life which is too great to bow to the influence of “This do in remembrance of Me”; and there is no action of life which is too small to be turned into a solemn sacrament by the operation of the same motive. Do you and I keep our religion as princes do their crown jewels--only wearing them on festive occasions, and have we another dress for working days?
2. Is it not something to have a principle which prevents anything from degenerating into triviality, or from pressing upon us with an overwhelming weight? Would it not be grand if we could so go through life, as that all should be not one dead level, but one high plateau, because all rested upon “Whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus”? Ah! it is possible--not toour weak faith, perhaps; but the weakness of the faith is not inevitable. It is possible, and therefore it is duty; and therefore the opposite is sin. To have my life with one high, diffusive influence through it all, is like one of those applications of power where a huge hammer is lifted up, and comes down with a crash that breaks the granite in pieces, or may be allowed to fall so gently and so true that it touches without cracking a tiny nut beneath it; or it is like that mighty power that holds a planet in its orbit, and yet binds down the sand-grain and dust-mote to its place.
III. All life, like the communion of the Lord’s Supper, may be, and ought to he, a showing-forth of Christ’s death. The death of Christ, which is shown forth in the holy communion, as a death for us, and the ground of our hope, is to be shown forth in our daily walk, as a death working in us, and the ground of our conduct (2Co_4:10-11). There is not only the atoning aspect in Christ’s death, but the example of the way by which we are to “mortify our members which are upon earth,” because “we are dead with Him, and our life is hid with Christ in God.” No man manifests the death of Christ by any outward act of worship, whois not feeling it daily in his own soul. It is in vain for us to say that we are relying on Christ, unless Christ be in us, slaying the old man and quickening the new. You do “show forth the Lord’s death till He come” when you “crucify the old man with his affections and lusts,” and “rise again into newness of life.” The fact is better than the symbol--the inward communion more true than the outward participation.
IV. This communion is in itself one of the mightiest means for making the whole of life like itself.In this ordinance, as it were, is the reservoir:outof it there come the streams that freshen and gladden the piety of daily life. Only remember, not the outward act, but the emotions which it kindles, are the reservoir. Not the taking that cup in your hand, but the deeper glow of feeling which is legitimately kindled then, and the intenser faith which springs therefrom; these are the fountains which will nourish verdure and life through our dusty days. And so, if you want to live in this world, doing the duty of life, knowing the blessings of it, doing your work heartily, and yet not absorbed by it; remember that the one power whereby you can so act is, that all shall be consecrated to Christ, and done for His salve! (A. Maclaren, D.D.)
Take, eat
I.Take--
1. Knowingly (1Co_11:29).
(1) What it is in itself: bread (1Co_10:16).
(2) What it represents unto us: the body of Christ.
2. Humbly. Considering--
(1) God’s greatness that gives.
(2) Our vileness that do receive (Isa_6:5).
3. Believingly.
(1) That Christ is really present with us (Mat_18:20.
(2) Doth really offer His body to us.
(3) That if we worthily receive, we are really partakers of all the merits of His death and passion (1Co_10:16).
So that--
(a) Our sins shall be pardoned (Mat_26:28).
(b) Our natures cleansed (Act_3:26).
4. Thankfully.
(1) That He was pleased to offer Himself for us.
(2) That He is now pleased to offer Himself to us.
II. Eat, not take and lay up; not take and carry about; not take and worship; but take and eat. Take and eat bread, but yet My body--
1. With repentance (Exo_12:8).
2. Faith.
3. Thanksgiving (1Ti_4:4-5).
III. Uses.
1. Prepare yourselves for this spiritual banquet.
2. Receive it with faith.
3. Feed with thankfulness.
4. Endeavour to get that nourishment from it, as to serve God better hereafter. (Bp. Beveridge.)
This is My body.--
The body of Christ in the sacrament
What are we to understand by this?
I. Negatively. Not that it is transubstantiated. This error was broached by Damascene and Amalarius; opposed by a synod at Constantinople of 338 bishops, in the East; Paschasius Radbertus, Bertramnus, Johannes Scotus Erigena, and Berengarius, in the West. The word transubstantiation was coined in the Lateran Council. This--
1. Is not grounded on Scripture.
(1) Not on Joh_6:55. For this--
(a) Was said before the sacrament was instituted (verse 4).
(b) Does not prove bread to be turned into Christ’s body, but Christ’s body into flesh.
(c) Is to be understood spiritually (verses 50, 51, 56).
(2) Not on the text (see Gen_41:26; Dan_2:38; 1Co_10:4).
2. Is contrary to the Scriptures. When Christ said this there could be nothing but bread; for His body was not yet offered (see 1Co_10:16; 1Co_11:25; Mat_26:20).
3. It takes away the nature of the sacrament, there being no sign.
II. Positively.
1. “This is My body”; that is, the sign and sacrament of My body (see Gen_17:10-11; Exo_12:11).
2. “Which was broken for you.”
(1) How broken? Bruised, pierced (Joh_19:33-34). He suffered torment.
(2) For what?
(a) God our Governor has given us laws to observe (Gen_26:5), and annexed promises and threatenings (Lev_18:5; Gal_3:10-12).
(b) Man has broken these laws (Psa_14:1-3), and so is obliged to the punishments.
(c) These punishments he cannot bear, without being entirely miserable (Mat_25:46). Hence Christ, the Son of God, undertakes to bear them for him (Isa_53:4; Isa_53:6). This He could not do, unless He became man. Neither must He be man only, but He must suffer (Heb_9:22). These His sufferings are the things represented by the bread and wine.
(3) For whom? Believers (Joh_3:16).
(4) What benefits bare we by these sufferings? It is only by them--
3. Frequent the sacraments, especially appointed to put us in mind of it, but come preparedly.
(1) Penitently.
(2) Believingly.
(3) Charitably. (Bp. Beveridge.)
Which is broken for you.--
The broken Christ
I.A manifestation of the power of sin. When once threatened with being broken by the stones that malice would have hurled at Him, He asks, “For which of these good works do ye stone Me?” It was because of His good works that an evil world hated Him, and hates Him still. There is an innate antagonism between selfishness and love. Moses in hot anger broke the two tables of stone on which the law of God had just been inscribed; but the Jews, with fixed and relentless purpose, broke Him who was the living embodiment of the law. And that achievement reveals how sin stand’s at nothing, though it is most Divine. Our conflict with sin is conflict with the powers by which Christ was broken.
II. A model for our self-sacrifice. He was broken thus, not in pursuit of any dream of ambition, or struggle for any personal satisfaction.It was in the one peerless work of redeeming the world.
1. Selfishness is ever seeking to keep what it has whole. Health must never be broken for neighbourliness, patriotism, or religion. Home must never be broken by giving up of sons or daughters to missions. Property must on no account be broken for distribution in charity or maintenance of worship. The Church must not be broken to help to form the nucleus of some other church much needed.
2. And yet what is broken is often the most beautiful. When is light more rich and varied than when it is broken in the prism? And is the ocean more beautiful when it ripples tamely upon the sandy shore, or when the crested billows break in wild majesty upon some rockbound coast? So with the self-denials that mean brokenness--brokenness of tastes, desires, comforts, possessions, and even affections.
3. What is broken is often the most useful. When the bark is bruised the balm is poured forth for healing; when the wheat is ground it becomes an element of nourishment; when the spices are pounded their odours fill the air. So self-denial has given to science, patriotism, and religion their apostles and martyrs.
4. For beauty and usefulness in man’s individual character, there must be brokenness. What is there for imperious temper, hard indifference, stubborn resistance to God’s will, but brokenness?
III. An emblem of the universality of His mission,
1. He was broken that He might be distributed, that His teachings, influence, grace, might eventually pervade the whole human race. By giving broken bread, as an emblem of His broken Self, to all His disciples, He taught them that His love, life, grace, are designed for the nourishment of all.
2. And in our dealings with Him and His system, we must ever remember this. The true Church can never be a mere treasure-house for hoarding up privileges and graces. Like its Lord and Master, it must suffer much brokenness.
IV. The highest expression of the love of God. Our language has no words to describe Giver or Gift. But its influence testifies to the worth of the Gift. The woman who broke the alabaster box on her Lord gave unreservedly the best she had, and the whole house was filled with fragrance. So, when God’s gift was broken, His influence, like the odours of a very precious ointment, began to fill the whole world. (U. R. Thomas.)
This do in remembrance of Me.--
In remembrance
I. Other memories will come, but must not crowd out the one memory. The following remembrances may be natural, and profitable, but they must be kept in a secondary place:--
1. Of ourselves when we were strangers and foreigners.
2. Of our former onlooking and wishing to be at the table.
3. Of our first time of coming, and the grace received since then.
4. Of the dear departed who once were with us at the table.
5. Of beloved ones who cannot be with us at this time because they are kept at home by sickness.
6. Of many present with us, and what grace has done in their cases. We may think of their needs and of their holy lives, etc.
7. Of the apostates who have proved their falseness, like Judas. However these memories may press upon us, we must mainly remember Him for whose honour the feast is ordained.
II. The ordinance is helpful to that one sacred memory.
1. Set forth, the signs display the person of our Lord as really man, substantial flesh and blood.
2. Placed on the table, their presence betokens our Lord’s clear familiarity with us, and our nearness to Him.
3. Broken and poured forth, they show His sufferings.
4. Separated, bread apart from wine, the flesh divided from the blood, they declare His death for us.
5. Eating, we symbolise the life-sustaining power of Jesus and our reception of Him into our innermost selves.
6. Remaining when the Supper is ended, the fragments suggest that there is yet more bread and wine for other feasts; anti, even so, our Lord is all-sufficient for all time. Every particle of the ordinance points at Jesus, and we must therein behold the Lamb of God.
III. That sacred memory is is itself most needful for us. It is--
1. The continual sustenance of faith.
2. The stimulus of love.
3. The fountain of hope.
4. A recall, from the world, from self, from controversy, from labour, from our fellows--to our Lord.
5. The reveille, the up-and-away.
It is the prelude of the marriage supper, and makes us long for “the bridal feast above.” Above all things, it behoves us to keep the name of our Lord engraven on our hearts.
IV. This symbolic festival is highly beneficial in refreshing our memories, and in others ways.
1. We are yet in the body, and materialism is a most real and potent force; we need that there be a set sign and form to incarnate the spiritual and make it vivid to the mind. Moreover, as the Lord actually took upon Him our flesh and blood, and as He means to save even the material part of us, He gives us this link with materialism, lest we spirit things away as well as spiritualise them.
2. Jesus, who knew our forgetfulness, appointed this festival of love; and we may be sure He will bless it to the end designed.
3. Experience has ofttimes proved its eminent value.
4. While reviving the memories of the saints, it has also been sealed by the Holy Spirit; for He has very frequently used it to arouse and convince the spectators of our solemn feast. Conclusion:
1. To observe the Supper is binding on all believers, to the extent of “oft.”
2. Only as it assists remembrance can it be useful. Seek grace lovingly to remember your Lord. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The nature and importance of the Lord’s Supper
I. The different names descriptive of this ordinance.
1. “Breaking of bread.” Bread is considered the chief support of life, and, among the Jews, breaking of bread was a sign of mutual friendship. Thus Christ’s body was broken for the sins of men.
2. “Communion”--which may signify either a participation or communion between the receivers themselves, or between the receivers and the thing received. In both senses it is applicable to the Lord’s Supper (1Co_10:16).
3. “Eucharist”--which signifies thankfulness or thanksgiving, and frequently occurs in the New Testament as a general expression of gratitude. Taking this view of the ordinance, how should our hearts overflow with adoring gratitude, love, and praise, whenever We approach the Lord’s Table!
4. “Sacrament”--which originally signified a religious oath which the Roman soldiers took to their commanders. So does every Christian solemnly engage to maintain irreconcilable warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
5. There are two other terms often applied to this ordinance, both of Levitical origin. They are “oblation” and “sacrifice.”
II. In celebrating the Lord’s Supper, according to His last solemn command, “This do in remembrance of Me,” we view Christ as the great atonement, and the only sacrifice for sin. In this sacred ordinance the Church invites the attention of men “to behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.”
III. Our obligation duty, and interest all combine to enforce obedience to this last, solemn, and dying command of christ. (N. Meeres, B.D.)
The Supper of the Lord
I.It affords a visible and permanent testimony to the truth of the gospel.
II. It calls in the senses to the aid of other powers and faculties for the promotion of piety.
III. It provides a public test of our religious sincerity.
IV. It tends to increase our love of that Saviour to whose memory it is especially dedicated.
V. How well calculated is it to humble the impenitent sinner!
VI. It cheers the heart of the true believer. (J. W. Cunningham, M.A.)
In remembrance of Me
1. Were a stranger, who had never heard of Christ, to come into church while we are seated at the Lord’s table, he would naturally ask, “What does this observance mean?” And the answer, no doubt, would rise to the lips readily enough, “We commemorate the dying of Him whom we call Lord and Saviour.” And yet, would not much remain still unexplained? Would it not still seem strange that our highest act of worship should centre in a memory of one whose death was a dishonoured death? There is no other religion whose believers can look back to a founder who was content to say, “Be true to My memory. That is all I command. Let your most solemn worship embody the expression of this remembrance.”
2. You may have heard of the power of a pure and noble memory of, e.g., a well-loved home, to keep back the foot from falling and the soul from death; or of a generous and trustful love which has been a breastplate to the heart tempted to unworthy ways. But in that remembrance of Christ of which the sacrament is the visible expression, there is something morethan we find in the best human memory.
I. Let us see what Christ’s memory is, what is implied in remembrance of Him. The sacrament is a memorial of--
1. One who lived a human life, and yet a life such as none else has ever lived.
2. Who, at a time when the world was full of darkness and unrest, came into it with a message from God for all whose hearts were weary, whose minds were dark. His life was one that gladdened other lives, and bore about with it one living message of peace and goodwill. And is it not well, amid all the worldliness, and selfishness, and untruth of man’s society, to be able to look back to a life in which these evil principles had no place, in which all was truth, honesty, earnestness and Love?
3. Who revealed God the Father. Think of what the world would be to us without this truth, and of what it will be to us, when we come to lie at “the last low verge of life”; and as you think of this, and remember that all our knowledge of this blessed truth comes from Christ, do you not feel that there is an unequalled urgency and solemnity in that last charge to us, “This do in remembrance of Me”?
4. One who closed His perfect life by the sacrifice of Himself. It is indeed this, more than aught else, that the sacramental symbols bring home to us. Think, then, how but for that we had been without hope and without God in the world.
II. If such then be His memory, shall we not remember Him as He has given us commandment? But is that commandment altogether fulfilled when we have eaten the bread and drunk the wine?
1. If we would be really true to the memory of the Master, it must be by showing forth, in our whole life, the power of His Divine example. There are stately tombs, on which in the lapse of ages the graven record of love and sorrow has waxed dim, and the very name recorded has been lost, and the tomb stands there a dumb witness to an unknown memory; and just such, no better, would be our remembrance of our Lord, if it were professed only while we celebrate the sacrament of His body and blood. But if it expresses a real union with our Lord, a real devotion to Him, a real sharing of His spirit, then in this sacrament we indeed eat of the Bread of Heaven and drink of the Water of Life.
2. Now suppose the stranger mentioned at the beginning had got his answer, and gone away, and were to return after a time and see us going about our daily works, might he not be inclined to say to us, “What has become of that sacred memory of which you spoke to me? I see no trace of it among you. I understood He was one who was pure and true and unselfish; and I see you serving your own ends. You told me that He died for you; and I look about for the memorials of such a love as that, and cannot find it.” Let us be careful not to bring reproach upon our Master’s name.
3. If there be one here who is burdened with the consciousness of sin, who hears the voice which is saying to us now, “This do in remembrance of Me,” speaking to him in sorrow because of his faithlessness, let him be warned and recalled to a better spirit, and truer life; and he will find that that voice will change its tone of sorrow and reproach for one ofencouragement and consolation, that will say, “Abide in Me, and I in you; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (R. H. Story, D.D.)
In remembrance of Me
1. This Epistle is prior in date to any of the Gospels, consequently we have the earliest account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. More than that, the account is entirely independent of any oral tradition, for the apostle distinctly affirms that he received this narrative from none of the guests in that upper chamber, but from the Host Himself. We can therefore trace the celebration to a period very near to the death of Christ, and thus we have a strong presumption of the historical accuracy of the story, and a view of the aspect in which it was regarded by the primitive belief of Christendom.
2. The occasion for the utterance is characteristic of Paul, and instructive to us. Had it not been for some abuses in Corinth we should never have had one word about this ordinance; and in that event there would have been scarcely any reference to it outside the Gospels. Let us regard the Lord’s Supper as--
I. A memorial.
1. The words are used in the institution of that Passover which our Lord, with sovereign authority, brushed aside in order to make room for His own rite. “This day shall be unto you for a memorial.” The text therefore has reference to the Exodus, and is meant to substitute for the memories sostirring to Jewish national pride and devout feeling the remembrance of Christ as the one thing needful.
2. This is Christ’s distinct statement of the purpose of the Lord’s Supper, and you will find nothing additional to it in the New Testament.
3. Notice of what the Lord’s Supper is a memorial--“of Me.” “You have remembered Moses and his deliverance; forget him! The shadow passes, and here I stand, the substance! Do this; never mind about your old Passover--that is done with. Do this in remembrance--no longer of dead Pharaohs and exhausted deliverances, but of an everloving friend and helper; and of a redemption that shall never pass away.”
(1) What a marvellous, majestic prevision that was, that looked all down the ages and expected that to the end of time men would turn to Him with passionate thankfulness! And more wonderful still, the forecast has been true.
(2) And as majestic as is the authority, so tender and gracious is the condescension. He does not rely upon His mighty love and sacrifice far the remembrance, but He consents to trust some portion of our remembrance of Him to mere outward things. Surely we need all the help we can get to keep His memory vivid and fresh in spite of the pressure of the visible and temporal.
II. As a means of grace.
1. I know only one way by which grace can get into men’s souls, and that is through the occupation of a man’s understanding, heart, and will, with Christ and the gospel that tells of Him. And the good that any outward thing does us is that it brings before us the truth on which our hopes depend, and knits to our heart the Christ and His love.
2. This Communion is obedience to a definite command, and so hasthe blessing which always follows upon obedience. And this blessing, and the one that comes from having our thoughts turned to Him, and faith and hope kindled towards Him, exhaust the whole of the good that the service does to any man.
3. All that is confirmed by the remarks in the context about the mischief that it sometimes does to people. We read about an unworthy partaking, which is defined: “Whoso eateth and drinketh (not “unworthily,” for that is an unauthorised supplement)
, “eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body,” i.e., unworthy participation is one which does not use the external symbols as a means of turning thought and feeling to Christ and His death; and unworthy participation does a man harm, as unworthy handling of any outward rite does. I try with words to lead men to look to Christ. If my words come between you and Him rather as an obscuring medium, then my sermon does you harm. You read a hymn. The hymn is meant to lead you up to Christ; if it does not do that, then it does you harm. If through the outward ritual we see Christ, we get all the good that the outward ritual can do us. If through the outward rite we do not see Him, if the coloured glass stay the eye instead of leading it on, then the rite does us harm.
III. A witness for Christian truth.
1. Christ Himself has appointed this institution and selected for us the part of His mission which He considers the vital and all-important centre--“This is My body, broken for you. This is the new covenant in My blood, shed for the remission of sins.” Not His words, not His loving deeds, not His tenderness, does He point us to; but to His violent death, as if He said, “There is the thing that is to touch hearts and change lives, and bind men to Me.”
2. Forms of Christianity which have let go the Incarnation and the Atonement do not know what to make of the Lord’s Supper. They who do not feel that Christ’s death is their peace, do not feel that this rite is the centre of Christian worship. I may be speaking to some who regard it as unnecessary. My brother, Christ knew what He meant by His work quite as well as you do, and He thought, that that the part of it which most concerns us to remember was this: “that He died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.”
3. And as plain as the teaching is of this ordinance in reference to what is the living heart of Christ’s work for us, so plain is it in reference to what is our way of making that work ours. We eat that we may live. We take Christ, the fact of His death, love, personal life for us to-day, and by faith we partake of Him, and the body is assimilated to the food, and so in that higher region we live. (A. Maclaren, D.D.)
The remembrance of Christ
1. Christians may forget Christ. It seems at first sight too gross a crime to lay at the door of converted men; but if startling to the ear, it is, alas! too apparent to the eye. Forget Him who never forgot us! Who loved us even to the death! The incessant round of world, world, world; the constant din of earth, earth, earth, takes away the soul from Christ. While memory will preserve a poisoned weed, it suffereth the Rose of Sharon to wither.
2. The cause is apparent. We forget Christ, because regenerate as we are, still corruption remains. Consider--
I. The glorious and precious object of memory.
1. Christians have many treasures to lock up in the cabinet of memory. They ought to remember their election, their extraction, their effectual calling, their special deliverances. But there is one whom they should embalm in their souls with the most costly spices. One I said, for I mean not an act, but a Person.
2. But how can we remember Christ’s person, when we never saw it? Well, it is true we cannot remember the visible appearance, but even the apostle said, though he had known Christ after the flesh, yet, thenceforth after the flesh he would know Christ no more. You may know Him after the spirit; in this manner you can remember Jesus as much now as any of those favoured ones who once walked side by side with Him.
3. Let us remember Him in His baptism, in the wilderness, in all His daily temptations and hourly trials, in Gethsemane, in Pilate’s hall, at Calvary. You can very well carry all this away, because you have read it often; but you cannot spiritually remember anything about Christ, if you never had Him manifested to you. What we have never known, we cannot remember.
II. The benefits to be derived from a loving remembrance of Christ. It will tend to give you--
1. Hope when you are under the burden of your sins.
2. Patience under persecution.
3. Strength in temptation.
4. Victory in death.
III. A sweet aid to memory. Behold the whole mystery of the sacred Eucharist.
1. The power to excite remembrance consists in the appeal made to the senses. Here the eye, the hand, the mouth, find joyful work, and thus the senses, which are usually clogs to the soul, become wings to lift the mind in contemplation.
2. Much of the influence in this ordinance is found in its simplicity. Here is nothing to burden the memory. He must have no memory at all who cannot remember that he haseaten bread, and that he has been drinking wine.
3. Note--The mighty pregnancy of these signs. Bread broken--so was your Saviour broken. Bread to be eaten--so His flesh is meat indeed. Wine poured out, the pressed juice of the grape--so was your Saviour crushed. Wine to cheer your heart--so does the blood of Christ. Wine to strengthen and invigorate you--so does the blood of the mighty sacrifice.
4. But before you can remember Christ, you must ask the assistance of the Holy Spirit. There ought to be a preparation before the Lord’s Supper. Take heed to yourselves (verse 27); mind what you arc doing! Do not do it carelessly; for of all the sacred things on earth, it is the most solemn.
IV. A sweet command. It is important to answer this question--“This do ye.” Who are intended? Ye who put your trust in Me. “This do ye in remembrance of Me.” Christ watches you at the door. Some of you go home, and Christ says, “I thought I said, ‘This do ye in remembrance of Me.’ “Some of you keep your seats as spectators. Christ sits with you, and He says, “I thought I said, ‘This do ye in remembrance of Me.’”( C. H. Spurgeon.)
The commemoration of Christ’s death
We are to remember--
I. What He was from eternity: God (Rom_9:5).
II. What He became: Man (Joh_1:4).
III. What He did, and how He lived.
1. Humbly (Mat_11:29).
2. Charitably.
3. Righteously (1Pe_2:22; Mat_3:15).
4. Inoffensively (Mat_17:27).
5. Obediently.
IV. What He suffered.
1. Contempt (Isa_53:3).
2. Pain in His body (Isa_53:3).
3. Grief of heart (Mat_26:37; Luk_22:44).
4. Death.
(1) A shameful,
(2) A painful,
(3) A cursed, death (Gal_3:13).
V. Whom He suffered so much for: for us (Isa_53:5-6).
VI. What benefit we have by it.
1. Pardon (Rom_5:1).
2. Reconciliation to God (2Co_5:11).
3. Mortification of sin (Rom_8:1-2; Mat_1:21).
4. Grace here.
5. Glory hereafter (Joh_3:16).
VII. What He did after His death.
1. He rose again (Rom_4:25).
2. Ascended (Act_1:11).
3. Sits at the right hand of God (Rom_8:34).
4. Maketh intercession for us (1Jn_2:1-2).
5. Will, ere long, come and judge us (2Co_5:10).
Conclusion: For preparation--
1. Review your lives.
2. Examine your hearts (1Co_11:28).
(1) The strength of your sins.
(2) The growth of your graces.
3. Pray God for His assistance. (Bp.Beveridge.)
Christ remembered at His table
Remember--
1. Your guilt and wretchedness, which rendered His interference for your deliverance so absolutely necessary.
2. The amazing magnitude of that love and compassion which induced Him to undertake our cause.
3. The holiness of the doctrines which He taught, and the purifying tendency of the precepts which He inculcated.
4. The sufferings He underwent, and the death He endured for you.
5. The position which He now occupies, and the glorious rewards which He has provided for all His faithful followers. (R. Cameron.)
The sacrament a feast of alliance
This idea must be--
I. Explained. This feast is one of--
1. Reconciliation.
2. Friendship.
3. Union.
II. Limited. It is a feast, but a solemn feast.
III. Justified. It is a feast of sacrifice.
IV. Improved:
1. Come with a contrite heart to this feast.
2. Let it be a source of consolation to you. (I. S. Spencer, D.D.)
