I Corinthians 11:26, "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come."
This morning, different seasons of our life are marked by certain calendar occurrences. This past weekend commemorated an occasion when we, in this country, typically call to remembrance the sacrifices made by our faithful soldiers who have given their lives in the defense of our freedom and liberty. Their sacrifice preserved the liberty that we experience every week in assembling to public worship without fear of local or civil authorities.
Yet these sacrifices deserve more remembrance than one day a year. Transitioning to a higher and nobler plane, no man, woman, or child could possibly sacrifice to the level that Christ did. While our lives may be taken in His service, we cannot save ourselves from our own sins, much less our families or the whole family of God. The work of Christ goes beyond anything we can fully comprehend. But Paul brings to light an occasion that commemorates this great sacrifice: the communion supper.
Paul reminds us that the unleavened bread signifies the perfect, sinless flesh that our Lord assumed while walking this earth. Even though our sins were laid upon Him and borne by Him in His body on the tree, His flesh had no sin of its own. When we eat the bread, we remember that sinless body that was broken for us. The sinless One bore the guilt of sinners, of whom I am chief.
Then Paul describes the wine, which typifies the precious blood that washed us from all our iniquity. The wine shows forth purity in the blood, just as the unleavened bread shows purity in the flesh. The wine is complete when the leaven is fully purged out. When all the sins of the Lord's elect were paid for, the blood of Christ stamped out every trace of guilt imputed to Him.
Thus, when we partake of these elements, we show forth His death for us. The picture does not make the thing so, but it gives hope and consolation, reminding us that these things were done for us. A picture of a loved one does not create their existence, but it testifies to the receiver that they are still alive. Likewise, communion does not make Christ's sacrifice real, but it testifies to us that we believe it to be real.
We remember the Lord and His work during communion, but is this the only time we remember His sacrifice? As with our service personnel, one day is not enough. How much more thought does our Lord deserve for His sacrifice? It does us good to have these things called back to our remembrance. It does us good to pause from all we are doing to remember that He stooped down to lift us up.
Paul ends the verse by saying that when we partake of communion, we "shew forth the Lord's death till he come." May our steps in life show forth His death until He comes. May they also show forth His life until He comes.
In the first communion, the bread and wine were used in a new way from the old Passover. The old Passover called to mind being spared from death. The Lord's Passover calls to mind being spared from death by the Lamb of God. Then the Lord washed His disciples' feet, showing forth His life. He served in love. May our service today be borne out of love, showing forth both His death and His life until He comes.