This weekend we observe Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified. We also observe Easter Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is the greatest event in the history of the world. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He affirmed Jesus has borne our sins and satisfied His wrath against us. With the resurrection, sin and death have been defeated forever by the risen Christ. Justice has been served. God’s love for sinners is victorious over our sin.
The evening before He was crucified, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples. Matthew 26:26-28 says:
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Ever since that time, believers in Jesus have been regularly partaking of Communion, just as the Lord commanded. We at Curtiss Street partake of Communion every two weeks. We also partake Communion on Good Friday. Since this is Easter Weekend, I thought it would be good to talk about Communion.
Communion is one of the most precious practices we can partake. With Communion we partake together, as a church family, of the Bread and Cup. The Bread represents the body of Jesus. The Cup represents the blood of Jesus. We eat the Bread. We drink the Cup. Communion is a tangible way of remembering what Jesus has done for us. We remember we are accepted by God because of what Jesus did for us. Communion is not a mindless ritual. It is precious to the believer in Jesus.
Since Communion is so precious, we must partake gratefully, prayerfully, and expectedly. We will examine 1 Corinthians 11:23-29.
We Approach Communion Gratefully
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25
We are filled with gratitude because we remember what Christ has done for us on the cross. His body was broken on the cross. His blood was shed on the cross. Jesus paid the price for our sins. He is the propitiation for our sins. He is the substitute for our sins. God has done the unthinkable: He has saved sinners at the expense of His beloved Son. We have been forgiven of all our sins. God has adopted us as His children. We are Sons and daughters of God. We are right with God. Jesus has made us holy and blameless in the sight of God. We have every reason to be thankful. Our hearts are full of joy. Let us have this mindset as we observe Communion.
We Approach Communion Prayerfully
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
1 Corinthians 11:27-29
We approach Communion with a sense of seriousness. We do not want to eat and drink in an unworthy manner. Since Jesus died for our sins, we are not to live in sin. Therefore, we examine ourselves before we eat and drink. We confess our sins. We repent of our sins. If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9). Only after we have examined our hearts are we ready to eat and drink. We examine ourselves at Communion because we want to obey more and more.
However, along with a new nature that longs to please our Father we still have a sinful nature that loves to follow the ungodly ways of this world. We are in a battle. We obey and disobey. Partaking in Communion offers us the opportunity to repent of our sins. We come to Jesus anew for the forgiveness of sins.
We Approach Communion Expectedly
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 11:26
At Communion, we rejoice that Jesus has come once in dying for our sins. He does not need to die again for us. We also rejoice and anticipate His return.
We approach Communion expectedly. Not only do we look back to the past at the cross, as we eat and drink, but we anticipate the return of Jesus. We are looking back, and we are looking forward. We anticipate that next great event on God’s prophetic calendar, the Rapture. Jesus will return to take His church away. We eat and drink as an act of preparation, getting ready to anticipate His return. We also anticipate the Second Return of Jesus, the Millennium, the New Heaven, and New Earth.
We long for God to make all things right. The New Heaven and Earth will contain no more hate, suffering, poverty, or unmet needs. There will be no more physical or spiritual blindness or deafness. Sorrow will be no more. There will be no more fear, no more anxiety, depression, or loneliness. There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. We will know perfect peace, untainted joy, a loving relationship with God and with others. We will enjoy eternal pleasures at His right hand.
Observing Communion helps to strengthen our faith if we approach it gratefully, carefully, and expectedly.
Mark Cymbalak
holds an BA from Bob Jones University with additional class work from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He served as a part time paid elder at Black Earth Congregational Church/Curtiss Street Bible Fellowship. In 2006, Mark became a full time paid elder and pastor at Curtiss Street Bible Fellowship until his retirement in 2020.