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HOW OFTEN IS OFTEN?
THE INSTITUTION OF THE "LORD'S SUPPER"

1 Cornithians 11:23-26 (NKJV)

(23)For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Yeshua on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; (24)and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." (25) In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying; "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (26) For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes.

Over the course of these past 7-8 years as a believer in Yeshua and more recently a proclaimed gentile believer in a Jewish Messiah (Yeshua of Nazararet), I have been curious about the institution of the "Lord's Supper" or also known as "Communion" or the "Eucharist". There have been lengthy discussions about the transubstantiation of the "body" and "blood" as well as the varying opinions of "how often" IS often?

The latter is the subject I want to address and suggest the answer is right there before us.

Most of the churches I have attended and reports of those I have not, seem to suggest that "often" is once a week at the church services. Others conduct some form of the institution once a month. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary [1] suggests that "the celebration of the Lord's Supper by the first disciples occurred daily in private houses (Acts 2:46)"

However, according to the Jewish New Testament Commentary [2], the term "Breaking Bread" as used in Acts is not that of receiving Communion, but simply sharing a meal together, a very Jewish idiom.

In order to reach a better understanding of what is meant in our original verses, we need to go back to the time it was originally instituted.

Ø Matthew 26:17-30
Ø Mark 14:12-26
Ø Luke 22:7-20

These are the parallel passages which provide an account of Yeshua and his disciples gathering for Passover or Pesach. It is during the Passover Seder (or set-order) that Yeshua institutes the "Lord's Supper." For those of you who have not experienced a Passover Seder, simply it is the recounting of the exodus from Egypt and the experiences they had by the symbolism of different foods, unleavened bread and wine or grape juice. The symbolism is amazing and has a rich Messianic theme to it.[3]

Of importance in this discussion are two items. The first is the Matzah-Tash (or unity); a three pocket sack which holds three pieces of matzah or unleavened bread in it. Messianic Believers state the three pieces of matzah represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The middle one being the Son or Yeshua which is broken and one half (afikoman) is hidden to be found later by children and broken into pieces to be eaten by everyone as the last food of the meal.[4]

The second is during the course of the seder, four cups of wine or grape juice are poured, two before the meal and two after the meal.

In reading the parallel passages of the Passover seder, which Yeshua and his disciples partook, we find the verses which address our subject. I will use Luke's account to walk us through it.

(14) When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. (15)Then He said to them; "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; (16)for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." (17)Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; (18)for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." (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." (20)Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."

We see here the context at the time in which Yeshua instituted the "Lord's Supper" is at Passover, during the seder. In verse 15 Yeshua states; "I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." What is he referring to? The Passover seder. The Passover seder is a foreshadow of the wedding celebration of Yeshua to the Bride.

In verse 19 he takes bread (unleavened bread), breaks it, and pronounces it represents his body. At this time in the seder (set-order) the bread would be the afikomen which we know is the representation of the Son or the Messiah. Furthermore, the ONLY time unleavened bread is eaten is during Pesach and the Feast of Unleavened Bread which immediately follows Pesach.

In verse 20 he lifts the cup "after supper". In the seder, the cup that is lifted, after supper, is the Cup of Redemption. What better word picture is the Messiah offering the Cup of Redemption to his people since he died to redeem us from our sins.

In our original verses (1Cor. 11:25) Yeshua states; "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." So then, when do we drink the Cup of Redemption? The Passover Seder. Likewise, in verse 24 we are instructed to eat the bread in remembrance of Him.

In conclusion, it appears that the time in which we are supposed to eat the bread [which represents His body] and drink the cup [which represents His blood] which seals the new covenant, is at Passover.

Passover occurs once a year, not daily, weekly or monthly. I also have decided that for my family, what this passage is really instructing us to do is to keep the annual Passover. The "Lord's Supper" is a Roman Catholic substitute to once again separate us from the Hebraic Roots of our faith.

Notes:

[1] The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, Merrill F. Unger, Moody Press (1988)pg. 783
[2] Jewish New Testament Commentary, David H. Stern, Jewish NT Publications (1996) pg. 227
[3] ibid pg. 80
[4] Excerpts and guidelines used from: A Traditional Passover Haggadah for Messianic Believers, Hadassah Goldstein, Goldstein Publishing (1992)

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Another great article:

The Lord's Table, by Tim Hegg

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This page created March 17th, 2004
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