The Lord's Supper

The Lord's Supper

By Laura Thomas

In the general society of America and many other parts of the world, The Lord's Supper is a common picture of the mind. Hanging in the vast amounts of Christian Churches today you will find the painting "The Last Supper." This famous piece of artwork by Leonardo Da Vinci, has imaged our minds for centuries of what happened on that last eve to teach the Church of the Ordinance of The Lord's Supper. When we look upon the painting we see with our eyes in order to teach our hearts what the sacred event now represents as we partake in the ordinance ourselves.

When this famous masterpiece was to be created, Leonardo had a strong direction on the meaning of the event and wanted to capture it on canvas. He spent over seven years to complete this memorable painting. An interesting story goes with the painting itself in which will show how Leonardo saw the Last Supper and wanted to reach the heart of the beholder and not just the eye. He wanted to use all living models because of the importance behind the painting, so he studied hundreds of men's faces looking for innocence and beauty to capture our Christ. The picture of Christ took six months in itself to complete while Leonardo worked for six years on the disciples. All was complete except for one remaining disciple, Judas. To find a living model to represent what Leonardo felt resembled Judas, was a problem. After a long, discouraging search, Da Vinci had almost lost sight of the painting to be completed. Just as he was about to give up his search, Leonardo heard of a man in prison at Rome. This man had been sentenced to die for various brutal crimes.

Off to Rome excitedly, Leonardo had hopes of locating his Judas. As the prisoner was brought before him, he knew he had found the only man who could end his search. This man represented everything he had been looking for. When Da Vinci looked into the mans' face, he saw an ugly vicious face, scarred and full of hate. He knew immediately that this was the man who would represent the Savior's betrayer.

By special permission of the King, the prisoner was brought to Milan to pose for Da Vinci. For six months, the man sat at each appointed hour silently as the great artist painted every felt detail of betrayal. Finally, as the painting was completed and as the prisoner was to be taken to die, the man broke away from the guards and rushed towards Leonardo. Grasping at Da Vincis' side he cried, "Look at me. Do you not know who I am?"

Looking intent with his gifted eyes, Da Vinci said, "No, I have never seen you before I came to Rome." Then the prisoner looked towards Heaven and the Almighty God and exclaimed, "Oh God, have I fallen so low?" Then he turned back towards Da Vinci and requested for him to please look at him again. Tearfully he said, "I am. . the same man you painted only seven years ago as the figure of Christ."

When thinking about how a man shown in innocence ends up to be shown as the same man of hatred, only goes to communicate to heart what the human flesh is made of. I'm certain Da Vinci, even with his masterful eyes, would have never chosen the same man to crucified the Savior as Himself without an inspirational lesson from the Holy Spirit. Even as Leonardo's eyes were able to interpret this man in the flesh, so has the church interpreted The Lord's Command regarding the meaning For the ordinance.

Early Church viewed The Lords Supper as a Communion of mutual sharing and participation. Paul stressed the memorial aspect of the Supper, even though its purpose was sometimes abused. As in the Church of Corinth, some were unable to acknowledge the true purpose and meaning behind the sacred rite. Members should be repentive of any quarrelsome before participating in the meal. Christians were supposed to share the Supper as proclamation of the gospel in hope and future. As the Passover was a symbol of the old covenant, The Lord's Supper showed a covenant of the new. Christians were to remember the sacrifice in which Christ provided for their deliverance. All Christians are not worthy to share in such a memorial, but because of God's grace we are all commanded to declare one's continuing dependence in Christ. We therefore share in the communion of the Supper as our proclamation in the gospel of Christ who died, was buried, and rose for our salvation.

As The Last Supper marked the account for the ordinance, we should look at why Christ chose the bread and the wine as the symbolic elements of this Memorial. Both bread and wine are the best two substances of nature to represent unity. The bread is made of multiplicity of grain while the wine is made of multiplicity of grapes. But from the multiplicity comes one, as with ourselves as believers in Christ, we are one. In addition, no other two substances have to suffer more to become what they are then bread and wine. Wheat must survive the hardness of winter, be ground beneath the Calvery of a mill, and survive the fires of flame before it become bread. Grapes in their survival of the hot dry weather, must retain there juices only to be put through a press to have their lives squeezed from them before becoming wine. Thus they represent the passion as well as the sufferings of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ. The condition of Salvation as He said, we must die to ourselves in order to live in Him. If we look at the bread apart from the wine, we still will find they were the only proper choice of elements. But if we look at the two elements together as a dual, they both represent healing strength. Bread being the common food for survival and wine as a medicine for healing, shows an even more important reason behind His choice for these two elements. We are healed and survive death through His life at the cross.

As far back to the beginning of the covenant seeds of Abrahams' blessings, we find the elements of the bread and the wine. In Genesis, chapter 14 verse 19, Melchizedek brought bread and wine to Abram. Abram then offered tithing to the Priest of the Highest God of Heaven, Melchizedek the King of Salem. The High Priest gave Abram an eternal gift, the blessing of the supreme God to be upon him and to deliver him from his enemies. In Hebrews we read Melchizedek had no mother or father nor a birth or death record. This is looked upon as a type of Christ, some even feel Melchizedek was actually Christ appearing to Abram. Scriptures also points to Melchizedek as still alive as Christ is our High Priest. From faith we are delivered from our enemies through Christ, just as Abram's seed blessing. The unity of the Bread and Wine and the blessings of Christ all go together.

The Lord's Supper was new to the Church, though it grew out of the Passover feast. With the breaking of Bread, Christ commanded for us to share the bread in remembrance of his body. Bread was the basic food for most people during biblical times. Bread also represents the food of the gospel in which most people relate to for the history of Christ, For Christ is the Living Bread. In the Old Testament it symbolized the presence of God (Ex. 25:23-30, Lev. 24:5-9) while used in the tabernacle and Temple. As so in the New Testament it symbolizes Jesus Christ Himself (John 6:35), His body, His kingdom, and the unity of his church.

If Bread represents God both in Spirit and in flesh, then it would conclude to be the only element acceptable for this use in truth. For example, if Christ would have picked up a vegetable or a piece of meat from the table and commanded us to take it in His remembrance, then how could we know this dinner had any real meaning, other then to feed the disciples and share at that Passover. The ordinance would not make sense as a new covenant. The symbolism of the bread as to God had always been there since the Passover. As we take the bread representing Christ body we share in the promise of God's Provision. Those who trust in God's provision in Christ remain physically "in" the flesh but do not live "according to" the flesh. Instead they are characterized not in the flesh but by the Spirit.

Next, we look at the wine and why it was the choice chosen for the blood. Blood representing life, shows an even deeper importance. When Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant with his disciples, he declared: "This is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Mat 26:28). Each year during the old Testament days, an offering was made by Priests and the High Priest for individual Israelites during the Passover celebration. This offering consisted of a lamb with no blemishes and it was in the blood of the offering their sins were forgiven. As they ate the sacrificed meat in joy, it reminded them of Israel's sins and the confirmation of reconciliation with God. Relating the Blood pre-announced by Jesus for what His Blood would do for the world as He lifted His cup, was a parallel to replace the old with the new. The symbolism here is significant because Christ now becomes the "Passover lamb". At Calvary, He represented the Lamb and He and His blood became the offering for the remission of sins. As the cup of wine represented the blood, it in turn shared in its unique choice of element.

It has been argued whether or not the Last supper was the Jewish Passover meal based on the variant chronologies of the Gospels. Paul teaches in the book of 1 Corthenians, chapter 11, verse 23 thur 26 as a re-count of the last meal before the cruification. He also shares the commandments of Christ pertaining to the meal. Based on the distinctive elements of the Christian rite as defined by the words and actions of Christ, this feast could only be the Passover meal.

From the old covenant to new covenant, birth of the ordinance arrived. During the first few centuries of its birth, many churches, especially those in Greece, found the bread and wine to literally become the flesh and blood of Christ. The Roman church admired the Hellanist view and adopted its' view as its' own. By the 4th and 5th century, the Sacrament began to take on a more elaborate ceremonial rite. Music, artistry, and prayer became a part of the meal known today as the Roman Mass.

The early church also found itself under much persecution by outsiders of the church. This ordinance became thought of as cultic. The church was looked upon as actually eating flesh and drinking blood. At one point they were even thought of as grave robbers in order to enact their carnivorous rite. This was brought on much by the direction of the Lutheran Church for its interpretation of the bread and wine. The Body and the Blood of Christ are truly present, and are distributed to those who eat in the Lord's supper. In the Lutheran view, as the bread and wine enter into ones mouth, it is thought to actually change into Christ blood and flesh.

Today, both Catholics and Lutherans still believe the wine and blood represent the presence of Christ as actual flesh and blood, but they have been able to explain the symbolism of the rite to the world. Repeat, Renew and prolong through the centuries the sacrifice offered for the sins of the world is the memorial in which they celebrate the Mass each Sunday morning. Protestants reject the dogma that the Mass duplicates in an unboldly manner of sacrifice on Calvary. The Protestants see the physical presence as the substance of the bread and wine. They find the presence of Christ to be with them as they share the meal in hopes for the promised future return. Groups should not be stressed in the actual item used, such as the wine, as much as the item in purpose with the remembrance of Christ. Most churches today have replaced the wine with grape juice in order to avoid the alcohol. Wanting to avoid stumbling blocks and based from the doctrine on drunkenness, some religions such as the Mormons even use water.

Only Believers should take part in the Lord's supper as it is offered, and truly only those who have repented should share in the meal. This is very much as it was in the Jewish Passover feast in which only circumcised were allowed to attend and eat the lamb. Today our hearts should be circumcised as we participate in the meal with a prayerful mine. As Christians today, we should partake in the Memorial Aspect of the Ordinance as Paul stressed through his many writings. We should go forth in remembrance of what Christ did for us in His Life and Death and Resurrection with honest, loving, open hearts. Just as in Leornados' lesson of innocence and hatred in one's flesh, we need to understand the importance of total dependence on our Lord from our heart and souls, not just our minds' and our eyes' points of view. When we take the bread and wine, we become from the group as one with and in Christ. In Christ, we are one and can withstand the viles of the world, something we could not do alone. As we share at the Lord's table, the many believers who partake of the one bread, partake in the unified body. This memorial shall continue until His promised return as we further emphasize the unity we share.

More of interest:

About Laura as an Author

About Laura as a Christian

• What do the Seven Churches in Revelations Stand For?
• The Millennium Defined
• What is the Rapture?
• The Study of the Church in Outlined Form
• The Lord's Supper

About Laura As a Breeder