THE LORD'S SUPPER - ITS ORIGIN AND TRUE MEANING

The Lord’s Supper – its origin and true meaning

When Adam and Eve chose to listen to the snake rather than their Creator and loving Father, they wounded, crushed and broke the heart of God (Gen. 6:5-6). That is why God said that they will surely die when they eat of that tree. Ever since then every sinner with every sin does the same to the holy and loving Father – mercilessly, heartlessly, inconsiderately, over and over (Ps. 69:20, Ezek. 6:9). That is also why God said that the soul that sins will surely die, why the wages of sin is death and why we will not see God without a pure heart and without holiness.

With perfect love, God repeatedly sent His prophets to call His children back to Him, but they were all treated the same as the One who sent them and whose words they spoke. Which one was not rejected, stoned or killed? Matt. 21 & 23.

Finally, in an ultimate act of love, God Himself came down to earth as Immanuel, in Jesus Christ, from the bosom of the Father – to visibly and personally show the world His life, perfect love, patience, grace and power and to speak His words to them.

Then He handed Himself over into the hands of His children, his people, mankind, the sinners, the Scribes, Chief priests and Pharisees to do to Him what they chose – and they rejected, martyred and killed Him by crucifixion. Matt. 16:21; 17:12, 22-23; 20:18; 21:33-46 in the parable of the farmers. Mark.14:41; Luke 9:22, 44; 17:25; 18:32-33; John 1:11; 7:19; 8:37-40.

After three days Jesus rose to prove that He was indeed God, the Creator, who was murdered. He will now return to judge ever man for every thought, word or deed that went against His holy, righteous will and commands and that wounded His loving heart.

On the cross, God, through Jesus, physically and openly displayed what mankind has been doing to Him through sins from the time of Adam and Eve and what His loving heart feels when we sin. Spiritually He was and is still given into the hands of every man to do to Him what they choose - and with every sin He is martyred, crushed and pierced. Peter said: He bore our sins in His body on the tree 1Pet.2:24. Isaiah said: But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was bruised because of our iniquities Is. 53:5. (“min” in orig. Hebrew is “because of” – see Gesenius’ Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon to the O.T, Strong word no. 4480 (e)). For he shall bear their iniquities and He bare the sin of many Is. 53:11 & 12. David and Paul said: The insults with which we insulted God, has fallen on Jesus Ps. 69 & Rom. 15:3. Paul says: “He was delivered (to be killed) because of our offences /transgressions” (Gr. dia = because of) Rom.4:24. And our sins grieve and quench the Holy Spirit of God and of Jesus (Eph. 4:30, 1Th 5:19). Jesus said what we do to the least, we do to Him. By ill-treating and disregarding the least, we do the same to Jesus and so grieve and wound Him again. If we hate anyone, we are his murderer and therefore also Jesus’ murderer. This is spiritual murder and before God it is the same as physical murder. The Word also became flesh and dwelt amongst us. By breaking the Word of God, we also break and wound Jesus.

Zechariah said, God will, through the Holy Spirit of grace, plead with us to look up to Him whom we have pierced and to grieve and mourn bitterly because of what we have done to Him (with every sin), every nation, tribe, man and women by themselves (Zec.12:10-14).

It is undeniably clear: Every man with every sin breaks God’s loving heart, martyrs Him and Jesus and is the murderer of Jesus Christ. We made and caused His wounds through our sins. We all broke his heart and His body and spilled His blood.

That is what Jesus showed and demonstrated at the Eucharist. “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed because of many for the remission / forgiveness / deliverance / release (Gr. Aphesis) of sins. (Gr. Huper / alt. peri = because of and as a quotation from Is. 53:5 and in line with all the abovementioned scriptures). Every time we break the bread and pour the wine, we remember, admit, confess and demonstrate how our sins wounded and broke Him and how we shed His blood. The covenant in His blood is this: If we admit and confess with deep bitterness and remorse what our sins did to Him and if we repent from our sins, our sins will be forgiven and He will wash, cleanse, free and deliver us from our sins by His blood. Is there greater love than this? But if we continue in sin (or uses the bread and wine unworthily) and we do not confess and repent, we are guilty of His body and blood.

And God keeps His covenant. That is why they praised Him and sang in Rev. 1:5; “Unto Him that loved us, and washed / freed / cleansed / delivered us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” That is how the devil is overcome and how we can live victorious lives – by the blood of the Lamb! Thanks and glory to God.

Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Ever since Adam and Eve He is slain Rev. 13:8. God demonstrated it before the eyes of Adam and Eve when He tore apart and pealed the goats’ skin and dressed their nakedness. And they were reminded of that every time they had to put on new skins again. But He promised that Someone will crush the head of the serpent – obviously in our hearts. All excuses, love and consideration for or lies and deceptions of Satan are crushed and destroyed when we realize the Lamb of God is slain when we sin.

The sacrificial lambs in the O.T. and the scapegoat (Azazel) (Lev. 16) signified to the Jews exactly the same truth. The scapegoat bore the sins of the people into the wilderness and there it died a terrible death. Most Jews knew everything about the sacrifice but did not realize what it truly signified and meant and they kept on sinning – and God hated their sacrifices. Those who realized it pointed to what their sins did to God and the Messiah – was in the same way as us forgiven and washed by the blood of the Lamb.

The brazen serpent of Moses in the wilderness confirmed this message. Look at Jesus on the cross, admit and confess your guilt of His death and you will be cured of the sicknesses caused by the bites of the serpents.

David realized and experienced the same when he was told that the child born from Uriah’s wife will die because of his sins. He stopped eating and was ready to die because of that. Later he said: “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,” Ps. 51.

John the Baptist saw and recognized this Lamb of God that bore the sins of the world. That is why he spoke the way he spoke. No sin is excusable or may be overlooked because the Lamb of God bears it. He attacked even kings and said to the religious people: “Do not even think to call yourself a child if God if you do not bear fruit worthy of repentance. If you do not bear good fruit, you will be cast into everlasting fire. He will thoroughly purge his floor.” Graciously, He can even make a stone a child to bear the acceptable fruit. There is therefore much hope for me and for all of us.

Paul also received this great light when he was told that he was all along persecuting Jesus, the Messiah, through his sins against the believers. He was so overwhelmed with grief and bitterness because of that, that he stopped eating and drinking for three days and he was set to rather die than live with what he has done. He constantly prayed, confessed his great sin and pleaded for mercy and forgiveness – and God heard him and sent Ananias to help him. We must all see this great light.

Therefore Peter clearly wrote that Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we may die to sin (stop with sin) and live for righteousness. By his wounds we are healed from (the leprosy and sickness of) sin 1Pet. 2:24.

Isaiah said: By this knowledge of Him, My righteous Servant shall justify many, because He will bear their sins. Is. 53:11. By knowing and believing that Jesus bears any sin that I might commit as wounds in his blessed loving heart and I am therefore guilty of murder and deserve hell for it, will make me truly repent and confess it with deep remorse. Then God forgives, His blood washes and He makes me just and righteous and my sin stops – and so I love Him very much because I have been forgiven very very many death-deserving sins. So, by this knowledge I am justified i.e. made just and righteous.

Everyone who denies that he, because of his sins, is guilty of the blood of all the prophets, from Abel to Zechariah and of Jesus, proves thereby that he is a child of those who killed them. The blood of all the prophets and of Jesus will therefore be required from his hands.

But if we acknowledge and confess that we, through every sin, have broken the body and spilled the blood of the prophets and of Jesus and if we repent from all sins, we can be forgiven and cleansed - that our sin may stop. So His blood cleanses us from all and every sin. Zechariah said that, when we look up to Him whom we have pierced and mourn and grieve bitterly for Him, then that fountain (of His cleansing blood) will open and flow mightily against sin and unrighteousness.

Then, at the Lord’s Supper, we take the bread and break it and pour the wine and drink it and so remember and signify His death until He comes. This is the true meaning and origin of the Lord’s Supper.

SELA.