The LORD'S Supper Every Time You Eat Or Drink

I hope to show you in this post how the biblical LORD'S SUPPER is simply followers of Jesus individually and intentionally  "Remembering Jesus" every time we eat or drink. 

In most churches, what is called either "communion" or "the LORD'S Supper," is a sacred ceremony of ritualism. A "sacred wafer" and "cup of wine" are shared by men who typically wear Hawaiian shirts and jeans on Sunday (deacons), but dress in jackets and slacks when they serve communion. 

On communion Sundays, evangelical pastors will give solemn warnings about harboring sin before "being served" the Lord's Supper, appealing for Christians to come to "the altar" to confess their sins before they eat and drink, lest they do so "unworthily" and receive the just punishment for their sins (death).

Many of us have been members of churches where if the youth group ever attempted to have "The Lord's Supper" without ordained men serving the elements (God forbid!), there would be a holy war. And, if anything other than a flat, unleavened wafer and a small cup of something other than Welch's grape juice was to be served ("Hold on Martha, here comes the big one!"), the entire church would be in an uproar.

The formalism and traditionalism surrounding the Lord's Supper come from the mistaken notion that Jesus ate the Seder or "Passover Meal" with his disciples the night before He was crucified. The Hebrew Passover meal of the Old Covenant had specific requirements, including the use of "unleavened bread." For this reason, some evangelicals are offended if anything other than "unleavened wafers" is used in the Lord's Supper. They hold to a mystical, ritualistic view of the Lord's Supper. They ordain "authorized" men with "spiritual authority" to guard the Eucharist against corruption, and they caution commoners to ne'er "eat nor drink unworthily" lest they be damned. 

In the Baptist circles in which I grew up, the altar call before the Lord's Supper was the time people really thought about their sins. Usually, it was once a quarter (every three months). In very circumspect congregations, a weekly review of one's sins occurred, for the Lord's Supper was solemnly served every Sunday.

However, the meal Jesus shared with His disciples the night before He died at Calvary was NOT the Passover Meal (e.g., the "Seder") but was actually a normal meal of everyday bread and wine that the disciples ate and drank daily.

If I'm correct, then the injunction that Jesus gives His followers - "every time you eat or drink, remember Me" - means simply what He says. Remember Jesus every time you eat or drink.

If you argue with your spouse on Monday morning and you happen to go get a drink of water at the office water fountain later that same morning, pause and "remember Jesus." Or if you go to the cafeteria to eat something for lunch, don't take a bite until you pause and "remember Jesus." 

In other words, don't let any drink pass your lips or any food enter your mouth without REMEMBERING JESUS and what He did for you. Eating and drinking become the actions that trigger the remembrance of Christ. 

We are to use the act of consuming our daily food and drink to prod us to "focus on Christ," to remember His authority in our lives, and to recall everything HE teaches us about how we are to live. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

If you think of Jesus and what He teaches you before you eat or drink something, He'll bring to your mind those harsh words you said to your spouse earlier in the morning, and remind you of HIs Royal Law which is "to love one another as I have loved you!". You'll then go and make it right with the person you've not loved like Jesus before you eat or drink. 

If I'm right, the Lord's Supper doesn't mean you examine yourself and "remember Jesus" quarterly - or even weekly - but every time you put food or drink to your lips.

Jesus and His Disciples Ate Real Bread (Leavened Bread) and Drank Regular Wine at the Last Supper

The meal that we call "The Lord's Supper" occurred on WEDNESDAY NIGHT during the week Jesus died. This last supper on Wednesday night with His disciples was not "The Passover (Seder) Meal,", which would have occurred the FOLLOWING NIGHT after "Passover Preparation Day" (Thursday, Nisan 14). Passover could only be eaten AFTER the lambs were killed and roasted and the unleavened bread had been baked during Preparation Day (the day Jesus died). You can't have a Passover meal prior to the Passover lamb being killed.

Jesus died on THURSDAY AFTERNOON (Nisan 14), the day after He ate a normal, regular dinner with His disciples in the room they reserved to "prepare for the Passover."

THURSDAY, Nisan 14 is Preparation Day, the day the Lamb of God died.  Preparation Day, on the Jewish calendar, begins the eight days of the festival called Passover. It is called "Preparation Day" or "Passover Day" because, at 3:00 pm on that day (Nisan 14), the Jews would "slay the lambs" that they would eat THAT NIGHT as their Passover meal. After the lambs were slain, the Jews roasted the lambs and served the roasted lamb with bitter herbs and UNLEAVENED BREAD for the "Passover Meal (Seder)," which - again - ALWAYS occurred AFTER the lambs had been killed earlier in the day (Nisan 14).

It was on this day, Preparation Day, that Jesus died (Nisan 14) at 3:00 pm. The Jewish women would have been in their homes "sweeping out the leaven," as well as cooking some "unleavened bread," PREPARING for the PASSOVER MEAL that they would eat that night (Thursday). The Passover would be eaten after sunset of the day that "the Passover lambs" had been slain. 

IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER that a new day for the JEWS begins at 6:00 pm in the evening. In Western countries, the "new day" begins at midnight, but in Jewish culture, the "new day" begins at sunset (6:00 pm). 

Therefore, the Jewish Passover Meal during the week Jesus died would have been eaten by the Jews on THE SECOND DAY of  Passover Week (NISAN 15), which would have been THURSDAY night in our western mind, but the beginning of a NEW DAY in the Jewish mind (Nisan 15). 

This Passover Day, Nisan 15, was always a high and holy day (e.g., a High Sabbath) on the Jewish calendar. On this day (Nisan 15), the Jews observed "The Feast of UNLEAVENED BREAD." It was at THIS MEAL that unleavened bread was first consumed during Passover Week.

Jesus couldn't have eaten this meal (the Passover) with His disciples. because He had died for our sins on Preparation Day (Nisan 14). By nightfall (the beginning of Nisan 15), Jesus was already in the tomb "sweeping away our sins" as the Jews ate their Jewish Passover meal.

So Jesus ate a regular meal of leavened bread and wine - daily staples for His disciples - on Wednesday night, hours before He died on Thursday afternoon, Nisan 14, at 3:00 pm.

The Days of Passover

According to Exodus 12:1, the Passover lamb was chosen on the 10th day of Aviv (Nisan). The Hebrew month of Aviv was later given the name Babylonian name Nisan (during the Babylonian Jewish captivity (586 B.C. - 516 B.C.) Both the words "Aviv" and "Nisan" mean "Spring," but Aviv is a Hebrew word and Nisan is a Syriac or Assyrian word that the Jews later adopted as their own. 

After the Passover lamb had been chosen on the Nisan 10, the people would inspect the lamb to make sure there were no spots or blemishes. The lamb could not have any broken bones or be defective in any way. Four days after the lamb was chosen, the lamb was slain. Don't forget, Jesus entered Jerusalem on Sunday, Nisan 10, during what we call "Palm Sunday" and for "four days" He was examined, and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate eventually declared to the people, "I find no fault in Him!" (Luke 23:4). Likewise, the Jewish people during crucifixion week would have chosen their "lambs" on Sunday, Nisan 10, examined them to ensure there were "no blemishes" for four days, and then sacrifice their lambs on Thursday afternoon, Nisan 14, the same day Jesus died. Jesus died Thursday afternoon of Nisan 14 at 3:00 pm.

The lambs were then all killed on Thursday, Nisan 14, because Nisan 14 was "Preparation Day" for the Passover meal that would occur after sunset. Thus, the Bible calls Nisan 14 the week when Jesus died "the day of Preparation for Passover" (see John 19:14). As already stated, the Jewish women would use this Day of Preparation (Nisan 14) to sweep away any leaven in their houses in preparation for The Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread would then begin after the sunset of Thursday, Nisan 14, around 6:00 pm, which in the Jewish mind would be "the next day," Nisan 15. The actual Passover Festival (also called "The Days of Unleavened Bread) would last seven days, beginning with the Passover meal, but if you count Preparation Day (Nisan 14), the entire Passover Festival is eight days long.

But again, to repeat for emphasis, only at the Passover Meal (Nisan 15) is unleavened bread begun to be eaten during Passover.  Every other day of the year, including Nisan 14 (Preparation Day), regular, leavened bread was eaten by the Jews.  That's why Jesus would have eaten normal, daily bread and consumed the normal, regular drink with his disciples during Wednesday night's "Lord's Supper" or "Last Supper," just hours before He died on the afternoon of Jewish Preparation Day (Nisan 14).

Leaven in Scripture is a picture of sin or evil. After the Passover lamb died the leaven was gone. All sin and evil disappeared in the Jewish homes (symbolically) as they brought the Paschal lamb into their homes and celebrated Jewish redemption from Egyptian bondage during the days of Moses.

Jesus couldn't have eaten the Passover Meal (Seder) with His disciples because He had already died and was in the tomb (sweeping away our sins).

You must get this fixed in your mind: The Passover meal that the Jews ate during the week of Jesus' crucifixion would have been eaten on Thursday evening as we westerners reckon it, for it was after sunset of Nisan 14, the day that Jesus died. However, the Jews considered that evening of Passover, when the Paschal lamb and bread were eaten (6:00 pm to 10:00 pm) the beginning of the NEXT DAY, Nisan 15, a "high and holy Festival day."

Pay attention: Friday, Nisan 15, during the week Jesus died, was an extremely important holy day on the Jewish Calendar. The Jews observed on that day (Nisan 15) "The Feast of Unleavened Bread" (e.g. "The Passover " or Seder) - and NO CRIMINAL could hang on the cross on this day by Jewish law.

The Feast Day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15) was considered a High Sabbath for the Jews. 

The High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15)  was not the regular Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) for the Jews but a special annual High Sabbath, similar to how Americans celebrate Independence Day.

In America,  Independence Day (July 4) can fall on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc... depending on the year. So too, in the Jewish Calendar, the Festival of Unleavened Bread on Nisan 15 can fall on any day of the week. HOWEVER, in the year Jesus died (A.D. 30), Nisan 15 fell on a FRIDAY. That means that Friday, Nisan 15, was a High Sabbath, and Saturday, Nisan 16, was a regular Sabbath.

This would mean that the resurrection of Christ occurred on Sunday, Nisan 17, AFTER TWO SABBATHS, back to back (Friday - the High Sabbath - and Saturday - the regular Sabbath). 

This is precisely what the New Testament teaches. The gospel writer Matthew describes the time when the disciples came to the empty tomb of Christ on Sunday morning by writing, “After the Sabbath(s), at dawn on the first day of the week...” (Matthew 28:1a). The Greek word translated Sabbath in Mark 28:1 is “Shabbaton” (plural), not “Shabbat” (singular). Any English translation that does not use "Sabbaths" has mistranslated the Greek text. Jesus' crucifixion week had the High Sabbath on Friday plus the weekly, regular Sabbath on Saturday. He rose "after the Sabbaths."

The Romans went to "break Jesus' legs" Thursday afternoon, Nisan 14, while Jesus hung on the cross "to speed up His death" in order to have Him removed from the cross before "The Sabbath began" - NOT the normal, weekly Saturday Jewish Sabbath, but the special HIGH SABBATH of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15) which just so happened to fall on FRIDAY of crucifixion week, the day before the regular Sabbath. Of course, when they came to Jesus with clubs to break His legs to speed up His death, they discovered He was already dead, fulfilling the Law that the Passover lamb must have no broken bones and the Messianic psalms that "Not one of His bones will be broken" (Psalm 34:20).


In Summary:

Jesus entered Jerusalem as "The Chosen Lamb" on Sunday, Nisan 10.

Jesus died on the day of Passover Preparation Day, Thursday, Nisan 14.

The next day, Friday, Nisan 15, was the First Day of Unleavened Bread and a special High Sabbath for the Jews, when no leaven could be in the homes. Jesus was in the tomb this day.

The following day, Saturday, Nisan 16 was the normal, weekly Sabbath for the Jews, and Jesus remained in the tomb.

On Sunday, Nisan 17, Jesus rose from the dead.

This day of Resurrection (Sunday, Nisan 17) was another important holy day to the Jews during Passover. "The day after the regular Sabbath" (during Passover week) was always observed with "The Waving of the Sheaves of First Fruits" (Leviticus 23:15). The Jewish farmers would enter the Temple courtyard "on the morrow after the regular Sabbath" (e.g. Sunday morning) during Passover Week, and wave a handful of grain to the Lord and pray, "as you have blessed the first fruits of this harvest, please bless the rest of the harvest." This is the morning (Sunday, Nisan 17) that Jesus rose from the grave.

Jesus is "the first fruits of the resurrection," and it is a guarantee that you and all others in Christ will be blessed with resurrection (e.g. "the full harvest of resurrection"), as Christ our First Fruits was raised from the grave.  Paul teaches us about the resurrection in I Corinthians 15. He uses the language of "first fruits" when speaking of Christ's resurrection and "full harvest" when writing of the general resurrection. Paul knew the day Jesus rose from the grave was the Jewish festival of "Waving the Sheaves of First Fruits."

So since Jesus died at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nisan 14, at the very time the national Passover lamb was being sacrificed in the temple and individual families were sacrificing their family lambs, Jesus would spend 3 days and 3 nights in the tomb prior to His resurrection, just as He said He would! Jesus was placed in the tomb on Thursday (Nisan 14) before sunset, remained in the tomb all night/day Friday (Nisan 15)  all night/day Saturday (Nisan 16), and through the night (6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. of Sunday, (Nisan 17). Three days and three nights. If He died on Friday, as most wrongly say, you might be able to get "three days" (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - even though He arose before daylight on Sunday), but there is NO WAY you can get "three nights." No way. I believe Jesus when He said He would spend three days AND three nights in the tomb.

Jesus rose from the grave sometime between the sunset following Saturday (Aviv 16) and sunrise of the first day of the week (Mark 16:9), which was Sunday (Nisan 17) for the Scripture says it was still night when Jesus rose. The time Jesus spent in the grave fulfills the prophecy Jesus said about His own death and resurrection: 

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).

Therefore, the Meal Jesus Ate with His Disciples on Wednesday Night Was a Regular Meal, Not Passover.

What are the implications? 

It means that in the New Covenant, the Lord's Supper is nothing more, nothing less than remembering the Lord Jesus Christ every time you eat or drink.

This is consistent with the teaching of the New Testament.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:31).

How can you get drunk if every time you drink, you think of Christ? How can you sleep with your stepmother (as was the sin of a Corinthian Christian in I Corinthians) if every time you eat, you think of Christ? How can you speak poorly to your spouse in the morning and not make it right by lunch if you "think of Christ every time you eat or drink." How can you continue in idolatry if you take every opportunity to eat and drinking to think of Jesus Christ? Your LIFE is in HIM!

Jesus is "your Bread of Life."

Jesus is "your Water of Life." 

Jesus is your LIFE.

As often as you eat or drink, remember Jesus Christ.

This is the practice of New Covenant Christianity. It is living every moment of your life for Jesus Christ. 

Not waiting for a quarterly ritual called the Lord's Supper.