1 Corinthians 11:23-26

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also handed over to you all, that the Lord Jesus in the night that he was being handed over took bread and after giving thanks broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you all.  Do this in order to remember me.”  Likewise he also took the cup after eating supper while saying, “This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood.  Do this as often as you all should drink in order to remember me.”  For as often as you all should eat this bread and you all should drink the cup you all proclaim the death of the Lord until whenever he should come.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought

Paul repeats the same verb twice in our opening verse: to hand over.  In the Greek, this is the same verb in spite of the fact that many translations translate the first instance as “I passed on” and the second instance as “He was betrayed.”  The Greek verb is literally paradidomi (παραδίδωμι).  It is made up of two words: para and didomi.  Para is the Greek prefix that means “over” and “across.”  Didomi is the Greek verb that means “to give.”  So literally this word means “to give over” or “to give across,” which is why I usually translate this verb as “to hand over.”  Please note that Paul intentionally duplicates this verb in the first sentence to make a theological point that we miss when we translate these two identical verbs differently.  Paul is imitating Christ.  Just as Christ was willing and humble and submitted to God as He gave up control and was handed over to be crucified, so was Paul humble and willing and submitted when he went around handing over the teachings of Christ – especially this teaching! When we focus on “Jesus’ betrayal” rather than “Jesus being handed over” we completely miss the imitation that Paul is intentionally trying to model in this verse.  After all, how can a God who is all powerful and who knows everything ever be betrayed?  No.  The point is not that Jesus is betrayed by Judas.  The point in these verses is that Jesus was willingly humble and submitted to God’s will.  So is Paul.  So should we be.

Are you willing to submit to God?  How is Christ and His death an incredible model of submission?  What keeps you from being submitted to God to the level of Jesus’ submission?

Second Thought:

When we hear these words of Jesus, we cannot help but remember His sacrifice.  However, this should not be an academic remembrance.  It is not merely going through the motion of recalling the fact that Jesus died.  His body was literally broken for our sake.  His blood was literally shed.  The spear actually went into His side.  His body was literally taken off of the cross.  His body was literally placed in the tomb.  All of this happened so that rather than living in fear of God’s judgment we can live in the light of His grace.  None of us can uphold the Law completely and fully.  None of us can ever earn God’s love.  Prior to Jesus, the blood of yearly animal sacrifices covered the sin of the people.  But now we have an eternal promise: God’s grace is available to all who will receive it through the blood of His own Son!

What does communion mean to you?  What does God’s grace mean to you?  What does Jesus’ death mean to you?

Third Thought:

Paul also reminds us that communion is not just a look backwards in time.  The Lord’s Supper is also an opportunity to look forward to the eternal life in which we partake through Christ’s death.  In communion we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.  God’s promise is that we will be resurrected and ascend into heaven when he comes again just as Jesus was resurrected and ascended.  God’s promise is that we will dwell eternally with Him forever.  We eagerly anticipate that event.

How often do you think of heaven and eternal life?  How important is eternal life to you?  What does the anticipation of eternal life, resurrection, and ascension to heaven feel like for you?  How can others sense this anticipation within you?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 11:27-34