What s the meaning of this Communion? 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 A little girl asked her mother one Sunday morning as she was preparing lunch, Mommy, why

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1 What s the meaning of this Communion? 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 A little girl asked her mother one Sunday morning as she was preparing lunch, Mommy, why do you cut off the ends of the ham before you cook it? The girl s mother turned and looked at her and said, Oh, sweetie, I m not really sure why, but I suppose you cut the ends off of the meat so that the meat can better absorb the juices and spices and make it more tender. Maybe you d better ask Grand-mama since she was the one I learned it from. She always did it that way. The little girl called her grandmother later that day on the phone and asked her the same question, Grandmama, why do you cut the ends off of the ham before you cook it? The little girl s grandmother responded, Oh, sweetie, I m not really sure. I think it is so that the juices will be absorbed better. Call your Nana. She is who I learned it from. The little girl began to get a bit frustrated with the whole idea, but decided to call her great-grandmother anyway. Nana, mom was preparing lunch the other day and she cut the ends off of the ham before she cooked it. I asked her why and she said that she did it because the juices would absorb better, making it more tender. She told me to ask Grandmama to make sure since she learned it from her. Well, I called Grandmama and she said the same thing about the juices and all, but that she learned it from you and I should ask you. Nana, why do you cut the ends off of the ham before you cook it? There was a long pause in the conversation and then the little girl heard what sounded like muffled laughter coming from the other end of the line. What s so funny, Nana? Oh, sweetie, I cut the ends off of the ham before I cooked it because my pan was too small! Many times, we end up doing things for the wrong reasons because no one ever stopped to ask why. We ve developed habits and traditions sometimes based on nothing more than false information. What s the reason for Communion? Every 5 th Sunday, we set aside A SPECIAL time to partake of this supper and some don t even know why. Why do we take itty-bitty pieces of waffers and drink little bitty cups of grape juice? What s the real meaning of Communion? 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. 21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you

2 not. 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come. Today, we will spend a few minutes reflecting upon the reasons behind why we do this. There are four reasons revealed in our text today. Before we look at the reasons, we need to understand why Paul took the time to explain them. Verses reveal that the Corinthians were having a problem with their Communion services. Some were getting drunk on the wine. Some were gorging themselves on the bread and the other fixins. Some were not able to partake at all because the others were being gluttons. Verses reveal that Paul wanted to make sure they would truly understand its meaning and to wait for each other as they partook. The bottom line to the problem: they didn t understand the whole ordeal with Communion. Paul took time to reveal four major reasons behind Communion. He explained that it was more than a meal, it was a memorial. I. major reason behind Communion. TO REMEMBER (VV ) Paul is recalling Jesus Last Supper with His disciples. While Paul was not present at that supper, the Lord himself had revealed to Him what happened there. We know that because he said in v. 23 For I have received from the Lord Jesus was interpreting something OLD: the Passover meal we read about in Exodus 12. This Passover feast included a lamb Jesus is our Lamb who has been sacrificed for us ( 1 Corinthians 5:7)

3 This Passover feast included unleavened bread. This Passover feast included wine though not specifically mentioned as a part of the original Passover meal. Jesus was instituting something NEW: the Communion of believers as described in our text. This quickly became a frequent celebration in the church not just something done once per year. The whole reason God instituted the Passover feast was so that: Exodus 12: And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. [25] And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. [26] And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? [27] That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. The whole reason Jesus instituted the Communion was so that: We would remember Him (vv ) II. major reason behind Communion. TO REJOICE (V. 26) Paul states clearly that we should proclaim something. proclaim means to announce, to declare, to make known; to proclaim publicly. We declare, make known publicly, announce the death of Jesus. We set forth, or exhibit in an impressive manner, the fact that he was put to death; we exhibit the emblems of his broken body and shed blood, and our belief of the fact that he died. This shows that the ordinance was to be public and a proper showing forth of our belief in the death of the Savior. It should be public. It is one mode of professing our attachment to the Redeemer; and its observance has a most impressive effect on those who witness its observance. We can rejoice in this because it is where the perfect blood of atonement was spilt for our sins. But we also proclaim this in anticipation of his Second Coming. This demonstrates: (1) That it was the steady belief of the early church that the Lord Jesus would return to judge the world; and (2) That this ordinance was designed that it should be continued, and observed to the end of time. In every generation, therefore, and in every place where there are Christians, it is to be observed, until the Son of God shall return; and the necessity of its observance shall cease only when the whole body of the redeemed shall be permitted to see their Lord. Then there shall be no need of those emblems to remind them of him, for all shall see him as he is. This observance tells the world that we believe that He has risen and will return for His church. This is where we rejoice He is alive! III. major reason behind Communion. TO REPENT VV When we share in Communion, we are given the opportunity to examine our lives before God and

4 our brethren. At this point in our time together, we should ask God to show us any unclean way in us. We should openly allow the holy spirit to convict us of our sinfulness and seek to be restored on the basis of Christ s death on the cross. The invitation is normally the most noted part of a worship service for calling people to repentance. However, it should always be at the Lord s Supper where we really are convicted of our sin and decide to repent. If we find ourselves unworthy to partake and we repent of our sin, the Holy Spirit can cleanse us of those sins with the blood of Jesus, allowing us to partake in a worthy manner. IV. major reason behind Communion. TO RECONCILE. (V. 29) As we come to the Lord in this memorial, we are given the opportunity to confess our sinfulness and need of reconciliation. Reconcile means: to restore to friendship or harmony: SETTLE, RESOLVE. In the Communion, we are given the opportunity not only to repent, but also to be reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. If we re being reconciled back to God because He has given us reconciliation, we should also use this opportunity to reconcile ourselves back to our brethren with whom we are at odds. Too many times we look at Communion as simply a time between God and us. We must remember one purpose of Communion is to allow us time to reconcile broken relationships. We sometimes do this and don t take the time to really focus on its purpose. 1. It is a time to remember. 2. It is a time to rejoice. 3. It is a time to repent. 4. It is a time to reconcile. What are the consequences of taking in an unworthy manner? Paul said that we would be sinning against the body and blood of our Lord, eating and drinking

5 judgement upon ourselves. This judgement is explained in v. 30. As all sin has consequences, sinning against the body and blood of our Lord also has consequences. Today, as we partake of the Communion together Remember what Jesus went through for you. Rejoice that He died for you and rose from the grave and promised that he will return. Repent of any sin you may have committed. Reconcile back to God and to any brother or sister with whom you have a broken a relationship. Please understand that you do not HAVE to partake this. Jesus said we should remember Him whenever we take it. If today you are out of fellowship with God and do not feel comfortable in taking due to the warning of Scripture, that s okay. Use this time to ask God to search your heart, then repent, pray and be reconciled and partake next time. If you decided not to partake, may no one judge you. This is a time for judging ourselves. Paul said if we judge ourselves, we shall not fall under God s judgment of this sin of taking in an unworthy manner.