Why Communion?
August 21st, 2022 – Communion Meditation
Why do we participate in Communion? Why do we, week in, week out, eat a tiny piece of bread and sip from a tiny cup? Let’s look at a couple of Scriptures.
Luke 22:19-20a (NLT) – “[Jesus] took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ After supper he took another cup of wine and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people’” Mark 14:24 adds that “this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people.” Matthew 26:28 adds that the cup “is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.”
So, why do we eat the bread and drink the cup? We do this for two main reasons.
The first reason is that Jesus said to. Again and again, Jesus says, “Come, follow me.” Eating the bread and drinking the cup is a foundational part of following Christ Jesus in simple trust and obedience.
The second reason is that mysteriously, Jesus tells us that the bread is his body and the cup is his blood. I can’t explain to you exactly how this works. But Jesus said it, and He knows how to give us Himself. Through the bread and the cup, He gives us His very life.
Christ Jesus has chosen to give us His very life, again, quite mysteriously, through very ordinary, everyday things. At the time when Jesus spoke these words, people were accustomed to eating bread and drinking wine every day as part of their regular diet. Simple is good. Simple trust and obedience. Simple belief, simple faith. Today, as we eat a simple morsel of bread, we are taking into ourselves the very life of Christ. As we drink from a simple, modest cup, we are taking into ourselves the very life of Christ.
On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He took the bread and said, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (eat)
Again, Jesus took the cup and said, “This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (drink)
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