The Lord's Supper
Do This in Remembrance of Me
There are some things that, by themselves, don’t seem particularly valuable.
A piece of microfiber cloth is just cloth. Three pieces of fabric—red, white, and blue—are simply pieces of material. But arrange those colors into an American flag, and suddenly they represent something much greater. That flag can symbolize a nation, sacrifice, freedom, victory, loss, and the people who have served under it.
Fold that same flag at the funeral of a service member and place it into the hands of a grieving family with the words, “Please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service,” and those ordinary pieces of fabric become incredibly precious.
The material didn’t change.
The meaning assigned to it did.
Something similar happens when we come to the Lord’s Supper. Bread is still bread. The cup is still the cup. There is nothing magical about either one. But Jesus gave them meaning. They point beyond themselves to something infinitely greater—the sacrifice He made for us.
The Lord’s Supper Has Deep Roots
To fully understand Communion, we have to go back before the upper room.
The Lord’s Supper has its roots in the Old Testament celebrations of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover.
When Jesus gathered with His disciples in Matthew 26:17, they were preparing to celebrate a meal that Jewish families had celebrated for generations—a meal designed to help God’s people remember.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted seven days and reminded Israel of how quickly they had to leave Egypt after God delivered them from slavery. There was no time for their bread to rise, so they ate bread without yeast.
But the absence of leaven also became a picture of something deeper.
God had separated His people from their former life. They were leaving slavery behind and being set apart for Him.
That is the idea behind sanctification—being separated, made holy, and belonging to God.
But before Israel could walk out of Egypt as a free people, something had to happen.
Remember the Passover
Pharaoh repeatedly refused God's command to let Israel go. After nine plagues, God announced one final judgment: the death of every firstborn.
Yet God provided a way of deliverance.
Each Israelite household was instructed to sacrifice an innocent lamb and place its blood on the doorposts of the home.
Exodus 12:13 records God's promise: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
Judgment was coming, but those covered by the blood of the lamb would be spared.
The Passover meal was established so that generation after generation would remember what God had done. The different elements of the meal pointed back to slavery, suffering, tears, and ultimately freedom.
But Passover was also pointing forward.
The innocent lamb was pointing toward another Lamb.
When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he declared:
“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” — John 1:29
The Old Covenant sacrifices had to be offered again and again. Jesus came as the perfect sacrifice—God Himself giving His life once for all.
And less than 24 hours after Jesus sat around the Passover table with His disciples, He would be hanging on a cross.
The Bread: His Body
During that final meal, Jesus took something familiar and gave it even greater meaning.
“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”1 Corinthians 11:24
The unleavened bread used during Passover was ordinary bread, but now Jesus told His followers what it would represent.
His body, given for us.
Even the appearance of matzah can remind us of the suffering Jesus endured. Its stripes bring to mind Isaiah 53:5, while its perforations can remind us of the One who would be pierced, as described in Zechariah 12:10.
The bread itself does not forgive our sins or earn our salvation. It is a symbol that points us to the reality of Christ's sacrifice.
A map is not the land.
A menu is not the meal.
A symbol is not the reality—but it points us toward the reality we must never forget.
The Cup: His Blood
Jesus then took the cup.
“This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”1 Corinthians 11:25
The cup represents the blood Jesus willingly shed for us.
At Bridgepoint, we use grape juice. Other churches may use wine. But the power is not in the substance inside the cup.
The power is in what it represents.
Communion is not simply choosing any food and drink we happen to have available. The elements matter because of what Jesus established them to symbolize, and we approach them with reverence because of the sacrifice they represent.
The Lord’s Supper is a visible reminder of our deliverance—not from physical slavery in Egypt, but from the slavery of sin and the judgment we deserved.
Before We Take Communion
Because Communion represents something so significant, Scripture tells us not to approach it casually.
It is a time for self-examination.
Paul describes Communion as participation and fellowship with Christ in 1 Corinthians 10:14–16. Before taking the bread and cup, there is an important first question:
Am I a Christian?
Communion symbolizes a salvation that has been personally received. If you have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, the Lord’s Supper is an opportunity to remember what He has done for you.
If you have not, the invitation is not simply to take Communion.
The invitation is to come to Christ.
Paul also warned the Corinthian church about treating the Lord’s Supper disrespectfully. What should have been a sacred remembrance had become almost like a party. Some ate while others went without. Some even became drunk.
They had lost sight of what the meal represented.
That is why Paul wrote:
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”1 Corinthians 11:28
The question isn't whether we have achieved perfection.
The question is whether we are coming before God honestly.
Am I approaching the Lord’s table with clean hands and a clean heart?
Am I taking Communion with a clear conscience toward God and toward others?
Is there sin I am refusing to surrender? Is there a relationship I know I need to make right? Is there an area where I am deliberately living in rebellion against God?
If something is wrong, don't simply overlook it.
Bring it before Him.
The warnings in 1 Corinthians 11 are serious, but they are not given to frighten Christians away from the Lord’s table forever. They remind us that Christ's sacrifice is serious, and therefore our remembrance of it should be serious too.
Remember Grace
Ultimately, Communion brings us back to the gospel.
Romans 5 tells us that Christ did not wait until we were worthy of saving.
He came when we were helpless.
He died for us while we were still sinners.
God demonstrated His love toward us not after we cleaned ourselves up, became good enough, or somehow earned His favor—but while we were still separated from Him.
Through the blood of Jesus, we have been made right with God. Through His death, we have been reconciled to Him. And through His resurrection, we have the promise of life.
So when we hold the bread, we remember:
His body was given for me.
When we hold the cup, we remember:
His blood was shed for me.
Communion takes ordinary things and fills them with extraordinary meaning because of the One they represent.
It calls us to look backward at the cross, inward at our own hearts, and upward in gratitude to the Savior who gave everything to rescue us.
Jesus said:
“Do this in remembrance of Me.”
May we never allow something so familiar to become ordinary.
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