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Questions Pertaining to the Lord' Supper (The Cup and the Breaking of Bread) Introduction:
We want to look at some questions pertaining to the Lord’s Supper.
In order to do this we must understand how the Bible teaches us.
It communicates to us the same way we communicate to each other.
I)
The Bible Communicates Through A)
Words and how they are used.
1.
We speak of direct command, necessary implication, and approved apostolic
examples.
a. But what do these phrases
mean?
b. We read a passage and interpret what they meant, what they taught, and
what we are to do. It means we are
to rightly divide the word of God, 2
Timothy 2.15.
c. It means we must understand the definition of words and phrases. 2.
In doing this we must keep everything in its context.
Who, what, where, when, why, and how are some things we must consider. 3.
We must let the literal be taken literally and the figurative is to be taken
figuratively. B)
Figures of speech 1.
“I have to answer the door” means I need to open the door and see who is on
the other side. 2.
“I paid, cold, hard, cash for this” means we purchased this item by check or
paper or coins but we have paid for it. C)
Bible uses figures of speech 1.
a. “They have Moses and the Prophets” –which means they have the
Books or writings of Moses and the Prophets, Luke
16.19
b. “The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence” – means the people living in the earth were corrupt, Genesis
6.11
c. “God so loved the world” means He loved the people in the world, John
3.16 2.
In these cases we must understand the figure of speech being used and not take
it literally. Herod is called a fox in Luke
13.32 D)
What is germane to the example and what is not? 1.
What is important in the example? What is being stressed? 2.
Example pertaining to the Lord’s Supper.
a. They were sitting while eating the Lord’s Supper, Mark
14.18
b. They were probably on the floor, propped up on pillows at the Lord’s
Supper, John 13.23
c. They were in an upper room in Mark
14.14-16
d. They were in an upper room in Acts
20.7
e. They were together late in the evening,
Acts 20.7 II))
The Cup A)
To what does “the cup” refer? 1.
Some maintain that it refers to the container.
a. They say we must have one cup on the Lord’s Supper.
b. Others say we must have one cup and pour out the juice in the
individual servings as part of the Lord’s Supper. 2.
Others say the “cup” does not refer to the container but the contents in the
cup. Therefore we can have
individual containers and still have one cup. 3.
By separating the cup from the juice they make the Lords’ Supper having three
elements; unleavened bread, fruit of the vine, and the cup. B)
Look at the passages 1.
Matthew 26.27 “the cup” there was
one cup 2.
Mark 14.23 “took the cup” and
gave it to them and they all drank from it 3.
Luke 22.17 divide it among yourselves
(if as a command for us to do we must have one person taking one cup and pour
out the individual servings as part of the Lord’s Supper). C)
Is the cup a figure of speech or a literal expression, 1 Corinthians 10.16a 1.
The cup is a figure of speech referring to the fruit of the vine or its
contents, Jeremiah 49.12 2.
They did not literally divide the cup and drink the cup itself but they divided
the contents of the cup and drank. 1
Corinthians 11.25 3.
The cup, the fruit of the vine, is the blood of the New Covenant, Matthew 26.28 D)
Importance of one cup 1.
Cup = the blood of the New Covenant, Matthew
26.26-29; Mark 14.22-25; Luke 22.17-20 2.
Cup – the blood of Christ, 1
Corinthians 11.25 3.
Cup – we are in communion with Christ and all other Christians, 1
Corinthians 10.16 III)
The Breaking of Bread A)
What does “bread” refer? 1.
In some passages it refers to bread specifically, Genesis
25.34 Jacob gave Esau bread, and stew 2.
Sometimes it referred to food in general, Genesis
3.19; Matthew 6.11 B)
“What does “breaking bread” refer? 1.
“Breaking bread” used as a figure of speech.
a. To “break bread”, is the literal rendering of the Hebrew idiom (paras
lechem), and it means to partake of good, and is used of eating as in a meal.
Figures of Speech Used in the Bible,
page 839
b. Often used for a common meal as in Acts
2.46; Luke 24.30, 35
c. In Acts 20.7 it is used in reference to the Lord’s Supper.
1 Corinthians 10.20-21 points out that it was not to be a common meal. 2.
came about because the bread was placed in a fire and in cooking developed a
hard crust that was always broken. Consider
Matthew 4.3 in which satan told Jesus to turn the stones into bread.
C)
Look at the passages 1.
Matt 26:26 And as they were eating,
Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said,
"Take, eat; this is My body." 2.
Mark 14:22 And as they were eating, Jesus
took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take,
eat; this is My body." 3.
Luke 22:19 And He took bread, gave
thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is
given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 4.
Why did Jesus “break the bread?” It was to divide it among the disciples. Consider
Jesus washing the disciples feet in John
11. 5.
What were they to do with the bread? They were to eat it. D)
Acts 20.7; 1 Corinthians 10.17; 11.23-24 1.
Acts
20.7 did they just break the bread? No they were to eat of it. So there the
phrase break bread refers to observing the Lord’s Supper by eating of the
unleavened bread. 2.
1 Corinthians 10.17 there is
just one bread, why?
a. Because the bread is the body of Christ and Christ has one body
b. Because we are all part of that one body
c. We are all in communion with Christ and other Christians.
One fellowship
d. Not because there was only one loaf; it is a figure of speech; also
the breaking of bread is a figure of speech. 3.
The point in 1 Corinthians 11.23-24
is to do this in remembrance of Christ. 3.
Questions for those that take the “breaking of bread literally”
a. How many loaves did they have? How
many trays can we have?
b. Did everyone break the bread of did Jesus divide it? Should the one
passing out the bread break it for everyone?
c. What if bread has been broken, can you eat it?
d. Can it be cut or does it have to be broken?
e. Does bread that has been scored qualify as breaking bread? Conclusion:
The cup refers to the fruit of the vine and its meaning.
To emphasis the container is to place the emphasis on the wrong thing.
To “break bread” in observing the Lord’s Supper refers to the
eating of the bread and not how it is divided. |