Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:18-30.
Memory Verse: “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-24).
INTRODUCTION:
Paul mentioned the Lord’s Supper (antitype of Passover) in reprimanding the Corinthians for their unbecoming behavior, as they came together for its observance. Though the Apostle was converted to Christianity about two years after Christ’s crucifixion, the Lord revealed to him the importance of the ordinance. Paul received revelation from the Lord concerning the Lord’s Supper and delivered it to the Church saying what is recorded in the memory verse (and through 1 Corinthians 11:26). This pinpoints the time of its institution: “the same night in which He was betrayed,” the night of Nisan 14, preceding the high Jewish Passover Sabbath, which followed on Nisan 15.
Paul referred to the giving of this ordinance by Jesus (Luke 22:19-20), as he stressed the fact to the Corinthians, that it be observed in remembrance of Christ’s death: “you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
The Apostle also emphasized that Christ to His disciples is what the Passover was to the Israelites. He said, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us,” and commanded, “let us keep the feast, not with old leaven,…of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).
Early Christian believers (at least until after the third century) commemorated the Lord’s Supper in a way that all believers present could partake. The deacons carried the bread and the wine to those whom sickness or other circumstances prevented (Encyclopedia Americana).
The use of unleavened bread in the Lord’s Supper is of great importance, since the yeast in leavened bread represents sin (1 Corinthians 5:8; Matthew 16:6).
LESSON QUESTIONS:
- Why was Paul rebuking those at Corinth? 1 Corinthians 11:17-22. What did he call the observance so indicated? 1 Corinthians 11:20.
- What connection does Christ have to the Passover Feast? 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. Does this make the Passover important?
- Who gave the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper? Luke 22:19-20. Why is the “unleavened” symbol used in this service? Exodus 12:15, 19; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; 10:16-21.
- On what night, with relation to the Passover, did Christ institute the Lord’s Supper? 1 Corinthians 11:23-25.
- Did Paul recognize the Lord’s Supper as being important, and did he enjoin its observance upon the Church? 1 Corinthians 11:1, 23-24.
- How should one prepare himself for the observance of the Lord’s Supper? John 4:24; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:18-20; 11:27-30; Hebrews 10:19-22.
- What importance of the observance of this ordinance is stressed in John 6:53-56?
- Compare the Lord’s Supper with the ancient Passover. Review Exodus 12.
- When is the Lord’s Supper to be observed? Luke 22:14, 18-19; 1 Corinthians 11:2, 23-26; Matthew 27:45-50; John 19:30-31. Why should it be observed? Luke 22:19-20.
- What ordinance for our example, was set forth by Christ, in connection with the Lord’s Supper? Why? John 13:4-15.