1 Corinthians 11:23–26
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.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
In the first part of this passage, Paul instructs us that the first way to prepare for the Lord's Supper is to think of others. Now Paul takes us back to the original institution of the Supper so that we can recall how important it is and prepare for it more carefully. He reminds us that he received these words of institution from the Lord through the Apostles and now passes them on to the Corinthians for faithful transmission. “Received” and “delivered” are technical words referring to the faithful transmission of divine truth (cf. 15:3; 1:5; 6-8). In other words, this is not a man-made tradition but one established by the Lord Jesus himself and passed to us as a sacred trust we are charged to keep. Therefore, we must prepare by meditating on the significance of the Supper before we come. There are several key aspects of the Supper that must move us to careful preparation.
I. Timing: The first aspect that immediately confronts us is the timing of Christ’s institution of the Supper. Paul notes that it was on the night Christ was betrayed. Puritan writers make a great deal of this fact.[1] They urged their congregants to approach the Supper with care in view of the fact that Christ instituted it as his dying wish. That Christ would take the time to institute this Supper for our good and comfort when his heart was so heavy with the anticipation of the cross reveals the supreme importance Jesus gave to this feast. Anyone who loves Jesus will be given pause by that meditation.
II. The Elements: The elements themselves should provoke serious meditative preparation. Paul reminds us that Jesus himself took the bread and broke it as a symbol of the breaking of his body for the broken covenant and poured the cup as a symbol of the shedding of his blood for forgiveness. Therefore, as we anticipate and handle the elements, certain thoughts should be provoked in our minds. The Puritans helped their congregations attach certain meditations to the various aspects of the Supper.
We should, for example, recall when we see the Table draped in white that the place where we are has been set apart as a holy place where God graciously meets us as his people. When the minister gives the invitation to come to the Table and eat and drink deeply at the wells of God’s grace, those are the words of Jesus himself. He is the one inviting us to come. At this point we must exercise faith and appeal to Christ to conquer the doubts of our consciences and squelch the accusations of the devil that our sins make us unworthy to come.
When we see the bread broken, we must remember the cruel torment that Christ endured because we broke his covenant. He put his sacred body in our place to receive all of the blows of judgment that we deserved. And when we see the juice poured we must remember he poured out his blood to pay the just penalty and wash all of our sins away. Likewise, when you receive those elements into your hands you must take hold of them with eagerness as an expression of your taking hold of Christ’s free offer of salvation. And as you look around you, you must realize that you are taking the same Christ that everyone around you is because you are in no less need of him than anyone else.
III. The Future: Finally, Paul reminds us to meditate on the future as we participate in the Supper. Although it is possible that the early church celebrated the Lord’s Supper weekly, there is no hard and fast evidence. Paul does not give a definite schedule, just the reminder that it is a proclamation of the Lord’s death until he comes again.
The minister proclaims the benefits of Christ’s death by preaching and the congregants proclaim them by partaking. There is a forward look to the celebration as the participants look forward to the day when Christ comes and they celebrate the Supper with him face to face (cm. Luke 19:18).
If we take the time to meditate carefully, such thoughts should flood our mind and warm our hearts to the overwhelming grace of God in Christ. One Puritan captured this grace when he asked his congregation:
Canst thou take and eate this bread; take and drink this Cup; and in so doing not apprehend Christ stooping from heaven, to feed thy soul with bread of life, his own body; and water of life, his own blood? Christ bowing his head upon the Crosse to kisse thee; Christ opening his side to heal and wash thee; and Christ condescending to thy senses as once to Thomas saying, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing.[2]
[1] All Puritan references come from my unpublished paper, “Puritan Innovation in Preparation for the Lord’s Supper: Good Idea of Pastoral Problem?” (December 5, 2000).
[2] Francis Roberts 20-21.