What Are We Eating And Drinking At The Lord's Supper?
Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-32
In the name of Jesus: Amen.
What are we eating and drinking at the Lord’s Supper?
Or, maybe a better question is this, what is the Lord’s Supper – this supper that Jesus instituted some two-thousand years ago, before He was crucified on the cross.
Do the bread and wine turn into the body and blood of Jesus or do the bread and wine merely represent the body and blood of Jesus?
Indeed, what are we eating and drinking; what is the Lord’s Supper?
To answer these questions, let us go to a most peculiar story in the Old Testament. Yes, let us hear Exodus chapter 3. In Exodus chapter 3, we read:
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Now, as we just heard, this is the story of Moses encountering the Lord in the burning bush. But what does this have to do with the Lord’s Supper?
Bear with me for a moment and let us ask the following questions, as we reflect upon this story’s connection to the Lord’s Supper.
In the story of the burning bush, was the Lord a bush? Once again, was the Lord a bush? The obvious answer is, no, the Lord was not a bush.
Next question.
In the story of the burning bush, did the bush represent the Lord? Once again, did the bush represent the Lord? The obvious answer is, no again, the bush does not symbolize the Lord.
Next question.
In the story of the burning bush, did the bush turn into the Lord? Once again, did the bush turn into the Lord? The obvious answer is, no, the bush did not transform into the Lord.
So, how would we explain what happened in Exodus chapter 3? We would say that in a profound way that the Lord was ‘in, with, and under’ the bush. That is to say; the Lord was not a bush. And the bush did not transform into the Lord. And the bush did not symbolize the Lord. No, none of these are correct, but instead, the bush was fully present, "burning, yet not consumed."[1] And the Lord was also fully present, "the Lord appeared to [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush."[2] The bush and the Lord were both present together, before Moses.
Now, the point being made is this, the story of the burning bush and the Lord, is no different than what is happening in the Lord’s Supper. You see, in the Lord’s Supper there is natural bread and wine, and at the same exact time, there is Jesus’ true body and blood. That is to say; in the Lord’s Supper there is natural bread and the true body of Jesus, present together at the same time for you. In the cup, there is natural wine and the true blood of Jesus, present together at the same time for you.[3] Yes, the bread and wine with the body and blood are present – together at the same time.
To communicate this, the old Lutheran Reformers said that Jesus’ real body and His real blood are ‘in, with, and under’ the bread and wine. Now, they did not say this to play word games or to confuse the church. But rather, they said this to communicate that the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper do not turn into the body and blood, as is taught by the Catholics. Furthermore, they said this to communicate that the bread and wine do not merely symbolize Jesus’ body and blood, like many Baptists teach today. Dear friends, make no mistake, the Lord’s Supper is not merely symbolic, and the bread and wine do not go through a molecular transformation, but ‘in, with, and under’ the bread and wine you receive Jesus’ true body and blood.
Understanding the Lord’s Supper as bread and wine being fully present at the same time as the body and blood, is the most straightforward way that we can read Jesus’ words. Listen to what Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew,
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.[4]
Take note that Jesus did not say,
Drink of it, all of you, for this represents my blood.
Nor did Jesus say,
Drink of it, all of you, for this transforms into my blood.
But rather, Jesus said,
Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood
Dear friends, just as the Lord was ‘in, with and under’ the bush, so it is with Jesus’ body and blood in the bread and wine. Truly and simply stated, the bread ‘is’ Jesus’ body and the wine ‘is’ Jesus’ blood. Jesus is really present in the Lord’s Supper for you and me.
But does this all really matter? Yes, it does and here is why.
First, these are Jesus’ words, and we must take His words serious. He said them for a reason, and we dare not change His words.
Second, these words of Jesus were spoken on the eve of His death, and no one should change the words of a person’s last will and testament.
Third, we are given a warning in our Epistle reading from tonight that those who misuse the Lord’s Supper, sin. They sin not against bread and wine but sin against the body and blood of Christ. Being footloose with Jesus’ Words may result in a person eating and drinking judgment upon themselves, which is no laughing matter.
And fourth, by understanding that Jesus’ real body and blood are present in the Lord’s Supper, we know that we are not receiving a meager morsel of bread and taking an insignificant sip of wine, but instead, we know that we are eating and drinking of a gracious feast.
Think about it for a moment; if the Lord’s Supper is only a symbolic and figurative meal, then it is nothing more than powerless scraps of bread and irrelevant sips of wine that do nothing – nothing to nourish and strengthen you and me. And if the Lord’s Supper is only a symbolic and figurative meal, then it is nothing more than an empty ceremony. And if it is an empty ceremony, it is just propped up by the spiritual zeal of the participants, which more often than not, these participants eventually fizzle out in the midst of trials and struggles of life.
Dear Baptized Saints, Jesus is really present in the Lord’s Supper for you. The Lord’s Supper is His meal for you. It is a meal where Jesus comes to you. It is a meal that is not founded upon human holiness but upon Jesus and His Word. Therefore, when you eat and drink in the Lord’s Supper with faith, you receive a great treasure. You receive Jesus. You receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of all of your sins. If the Lord’s Supper were a mere symbolic meal, you could not be nourished, strengthened, or forgiven. An empty ceremony cannot nourish, strengthen, or forgive you; however, Jesus can and He does in His Supper.
Baptized Saints, because Jesus is really present in the Supper, the Lord’s Supper is as daily food and nourishment to you, so that your faith may be refreshed and strengthened and that you may not give way to the struggles of the world, the devil, and the old sinful nature.[5]
What are we eating and drinking at the Lord’s Supper? We are eating and drinking: bread, body, wine, and blood.
What is the Lord’s Supper? It is Jesus being really present for you and me, to give us His own true body and blood for the forgiveness of all of our sins. It is about you and me having no doubt in our minds that the bread and wine are Jesus’ body and blood for our forgiveness because Jesus’ words do what they say.
Baptized Saints, Jesus wants to be with you and in you. In His holy Supper, He gives Himself to you and pledges never to leave you nor forsake you.[6]
Take, eat; this is the true body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, given into death for your sins.
Take, drink; this is the true blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, shed for the forgiveness of your sins.
Amen.
[1] See Exodus 3:2.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, VII:37.
[4] See Matthew 26:28.
[6] Luther’s Small Catechism: with Explanation (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2017), 323.
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