In 1 Corinthians 11.23-25 the apostle Paul recounts the
words of Jesus at the last supper before his death. These are familiar words that are often used in the
celebration of Communion:
This
is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me…This cup is the new
covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
Paul then adds these important words which state one of the
purposes of this special sacrament:
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
In this sacrament we are proclaiming the central glory of
salvation—the death of Christ.
Earlier in 1 Corinthians Paul had stressed that importance and
centrality of “the word of the cross” (1 Corinthians 1.18). Paul preached the message of “Christ
crucified” (1 Corinthians 1.23).
In fact, he argues that, “I determined to know nothing among you except
Jesus Christ, and him crucified”
(1 Corinthians 2.2).
So when we participate in the Lord’s Supper we are also
proclaiming the gospel message—Jesus has died for sins. We are not proclaiming the funeral of
Jesus as if he is still dead.
No. We are proclaiming the
glory of the cross as that place where Jesus takes away sin. Consider these words from Ephesians
1.7-8:
In
him [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished on us.
Think of it—we have redemption; the release from our
sins. We have forgiveness from
God. All this is due to the riches
of God’s grace which has been lavishly poured out on us. These blessings are bought for us by
the blood of Christ that he shed on the cross. Let us proclaim with joy the Lord Jesus’ death today. He is the risen One and his blood is
strong to save!
