Dr Paul Allen

The Lord’s Supper has never been a meal that goes down easy. From the beginning, Jesus’s own words about eating his body and drinking his blood were widely misunderstood. “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’” (John 6:60). Not only were they confused, but this proved to be the turning (away) point for many. “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66). So too in the history of the church, the Supper has not gone down easy. Such simple language as “This is my body” and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” can be anything but simple to understand and apply in the practical life of the church. For example, during the Reformation, the nature and meaning of the Lord’s Supper became a major flashpoint for debate between Catholics and Protestants. The Supper even became a point of divide among Protestants — and in some instances, the only major point of the divide. What, then, is the Lo...

“May these precious seasons make me fruitful.” These words, found in the diary of a certain Isaac Staveley, who worked as a clerk for coal merchants in London during the 1770s, were written after he had celebrated the Lord’s Supper with his church, Eagle Street Baptist Church, in 1771. In the rest of this diary, Staveley makes it evident that the celebration of the death of the Christ at the Table was a highlight of his Christian life. On the evening of March 3, he recorded that he and fellow members “came around the table of our dear dying Lord to feast on the sacrifice of his offered body, show his death afresh, to claim and recognize our interest therein, to feast on the sacrifice of his offered body as happy members of the same family of faith and love.” How many today view the Table this way? Packed into these few words, Staveley reveals his conviction that the Lord’s Supper was a place of communion — communion with Christ and with his people. It was a place of spiritual nurture a...

The Lord’s Supper was instituted by the command of Christ and by His example as well. On the night before His death, Christ gathered with His disciples to eat the Passover meal (see Matt 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:17–20).  Since the Supper was celebrated in connection with the Passover, we may assume the bread was unleavened. Jesus gave thanks (eucharisteo, from which the idea of Eucharist comes) for the meal. That the institution of the Lord’s Supper was connected with the Passover meal is clear in the phrase “after the Supper” (1 Cor 11:25), meaning after the Passover meal. It is practically certain that 1 Corinthians was written before the completion of the Gospels, which means that Paul’s account is the earliest record we have of the institution of the Lord’s Supper.  The Names of the Supper. The Supper is identified six different ways in the NT: (1) Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:20); (2) Lord’s Table (1 Cor 10:21); (3) Breaking of Bread (Acts 2:42; 20:7); (4) ...

Have you ever noticed the strangeness of the Lord’s Supper? Many of us have been attending church for so many years that this thing we do every week or every month has become somewhat routine. Its strangeness no longer strikes us. But step back and imagine what it looks like to someone attending a church for the first time. Imagine what it looks like to a child. With some differences among churches in the details of the liturgy, the members of the church receive bread, which they eat in a ceremonial way after the pastor repeats the words of Jesus: “This is my body.” Then they receive wine (or grape juice), which they ceremonially drink after the pastor repeats the words of Jesus: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” What in the world is going on here? What is the Lord’s Supper? Scripture anticipates that the sacraments instituted by God will raise questions among believers. When the Passover was instituted, for instance, Moses said, “And when your children say to you,...

On the night before our Savior died, He instituted this meal. He expects us to regularly take this supper. He believes that it will make a difference in our lives. The Lord’s Supper has many effects for the believer, and I’d like to highlight three of them in this post. The Lord’s Supper challenges your desires “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God .” Luke 22 :15 Jesus gave up His life. No one took it from Him (John 10:18). Not only did He know He was born to die (Mark 8:34), but He knew the way He would die (John 3:14). But He also knew about a last supper He would eat with His disciples. And Luke 22 tells us that He earnestly desired to eat this meal with His disciples. He had looked forward to this very meal for a long time, perhaps since He could even remember. Why? Why was He so eager? Partly because this meal was a transition meal. This meal would be th...

One of our Scottish preachers used to say that the believer has three looks at the Lord's Table. There is, first, a retrospective look. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a commemoration, a celebration of an event in the past. It is an aid to us in remembering the pivotal, redemptive point of history, the point at which the Son of God died for his people. It is not a re-enactment of the sacrifice, but it is a dramatic visual aid to faith as it looks back over history to the point at which the sacrificial lamb died for us. Second, there is a prospective look in the sacrament. It looks forward as surely as it looks back. It anticipates the return of the Lord. It belongs to the design of the Lord's Supper that it is a temporary arrangement "till he comes." The bride of Christ does not remember the death of her bridegroom as a widow but as one who longs for the day when the bridegroom will return to take her home. But, third, there must be an introspective loo...

3rd quarter of 16th century (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 26:26–29 “When he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” ( vv. 27–28 ). After predicting Judas’ betrayal ( Matt. 26:20–25 ), Jesus and His disciples proceed with the Passover meal. It is a special moment indeed, for only close friends eat together in first-century Jewish culture . The forces conspiring against the Lord ( vv. 1–5 , 14–16 ) no doubt cast a pall over an otherwise delightful occasion, but the light of the resurrection will reveal even the bitter events to come as integral to the joy of final redemption they will help produce. Commemorating these events in the church involves celebrating the Lord’s Supper , which our Savior institutes at this Passover. The meaning of the Lord’s Supper, also known as Holy Communion or the Eucharist (from the Greek eucharistein, “to give thanks”)...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When Christ purchased His bride , He bought a bride who was "damaged merchandise." His bride was sullied by manifest impurities. She was covered by spots and marred by wrinkles . Yet what He purchased He also sanctifies : Husbands , love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ( Eph. 5:25-27 , NIV ) Christ prepares His bride for His wedding feast envisioned in Revelation: Then the angel said to me, "Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God." (19:9, NIV) Every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper , we celebrate not only the redeeming purchase price paid by the Bridegroo...

Image via Wikipedia When Christ purchased His bride , He bought a bride who was "damaged merchandise." His bride was sullied by manifest impurities.  She was covered by spots and marred by wrinkles . Yet what He purchased He also sanctifies: Husbands , love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ( Eph. 5:25-27 , NIV ) Christ prepares His bride for His wedding feast envisioned in Revelation: Then the angel said to me, "Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God." (19:9, NIV) Every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper , we celebrate not only the redeeming purchase price paid by the Bridegroom but symbolically the marriage feast of ...