Concerning the Lord’s Supper (II): “Drink Ye All of It”

Concerning the Lord’s Supper (II): “Drink Ye All of It”

 

Concerning "wine (blood)", Jesus spoke as follows.

 

Matthew 26:27-28 "27And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

 

Jesus spoke of the wine as a figure of His blood, and through the words of Jesus above, we can understand that the blood Jesus would shed was the blood He would shed so that we might receive forgiveness of sins. In Exodus 12, which is the origin of the Lord’s Supper, the role of blood is also described as follows.

 

Exodus 12:13 "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."

 

In other words, because God said that His judgment would pass over when He saw the blood applied to the doorposts, even the Israelites had to apply the blood of the lamb to their doorposts in order to live. God did this to show that there is authority in the blood to atone for sin. Even though the Israelites were a people chosen by God, they were still sinners, and therefore they needed blood that could atone for their sins. God caused the blood of the lamb to serve as atonement for their sins.

 

Leviticus 17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

Exodus 24:8 "And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words."

Hebrews 9:18-22 "18Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. 19For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. 21Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 22And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

 

As shown above, the words of God’s law that blood atones for our sins, and that without the shedding of blood there is no remission, explain why Jesus had to shed His blood for our sins. In this way, because the blood of Jesus is the blood He shed by obeying the word of God unto death for the forgiveness of our sins, we must now apply this blood to our doorposts and drink it all. It does not matter who I am. Since God said in His word, "when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you," the one who applies the blood to the doorposts will live, and whoever does not apply the blood to the doorposts will receive God’s judgment because of that disobedience.

 

Just as blood atones for sin, the name of Jesus atones for our sins. In other words, "the blood of Jesus is the name of Jesus." It is important for us to know this.

 

1 John 2:12 "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake."

Acts 10:43 "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."

Luke 24:47 "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

 

When we come to know that the blood of Jesus is the name of Jesus, we are able to understand what it means to apply the blood to the doorposts and what it means to drink the blood of Jesus. Now, in order to apply the blood to the doorposts and in order to drink the blood of Jesus, we must live "in the name of Jesus." This is because Jesus obeyed to the point of shedding His blood on the cross for our sins, and now we also must fight against sin for Jesus, even unto the shedding of blood (Heb. 12:4). To fight against sin even unto the shedding of blood is a fight in which we forsake everything of our own (Luke 9:23-24, Luke 14:25-35, Phil. 3:7-8). For this reason, the apostle Paul told us to do all things, whether in word or deed, in the name of the Lord Jesus (Col. 3:17).

 

Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus..."

1 Corinthians 10:31 "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

Romans 14:7-8 "7For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 8For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."

 

Just as the blood was applied to the doorposts, when we put the name of Jesus at the forefront of our lives, God will look upon that name and forgive our sins (1 John 2:12, Rom. 4:6-8), and because of the name of Jesus, He will cause us to escape judgment (Ezek. 20:8-9, 13-14, 21-22, Rev. 14:1, Rev. 20:4-6). Though living in the name of Jesus may at times be a life of suffering that is difficult to endure, Jesus has already shown us the example by shedding His blood for our sins, and many forefathers of faith before us also partook of the sufferings of Jesus.

 

Acts 5:40-41 "40And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name."

Revelation 1:9 "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

 

And the Bible also promises us that there is not only suffering for us, but that God gives grace even in the midst of suffering, and afterward will repay us with great glory that cannot be compared with the sufferings we have endured. Therefore, now when Jesus says to us, "Drink ye all of it," we must boldly receive and drink the blood of Jesus; that is, we must live in the name of Jesus.

 

1 Peter 4:12-14 "12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you."

Romans 8:17-18 "17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

 

◎Conclusion.

 

When we seek to keep the Lord’s Supper, ceremonies and outward forms are not important at all. This is because the purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remember the words of Jesus. At the Lord’s Supper, we must all the more receive understanding through the word as to what the flesh and blood of Jesus mean, and we must commemorate that. For if we do not properly understand the Lord’s Supper through the Bible, we too can easily become inclined toward ceremony and outward form, and commit again the same errors shown below.

 

1 Corinthians 11:17-22(-34) "17Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 19For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 20When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. 21For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22What? 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 not... 34And 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."

 

The words above clearly show how quickly the observance of the Lord’s Supper became corrupted. The picture of the early church shown in these words is a sorrowful one: only the ceremony and outward form of the Lord’s Supper remained, while they were not truly remembering the words of Jesus at all. Such a gathering was defined not as a beneficial gathering, but as a harmful one; and a gathering that is not beneficial in this way must eventually be abolished (Isa. 1:12-13). Therefore, what matters is not outward form or ceremony. What matters is to commemorate the body and blood of Jesus, to long for the words of life of Jesus, and to live for the name of Jesus.

 

Judas Iscariot also attended the Lord’s Supper, but instead Satan entered into him, and he immediately went out and betrayed Jesus (John 13:21-30). The Jews in the time of Jesus also sought to keep the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread throughout their generations according to the law of the Old Testament, but they failed to recognize Jesus, who is the Passover Lamb, and they did not listen to the pure and sincere words of Jesus, which are without leaven.

 

What we need now is not the outward form and ceremony of the Lord’s Supper, but a heart that regards the words of Jesus as better than thousands of gold and silver (Ps. 119:69-70), and the humility that lowers oneself in order to exalt the name of Jesus (James 4:10, Col. 3:17). We must not forget the words of Jesus, who said that the one who eats His flesh and drinks His blood has "eternal life." For this reason, the Lord’s Supper must surely be commemorated among us throughout all generations.

 

John 6:53-55 "53Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed."

 

Amen!