THE LORD’S SUPPER: “BLESSED”, “GAVE THANKS”

I have for many years been concerned about what is said in the prayers just before we partake of the bread and the fruit of the vine during the Lord’s Supper when Chistians assemble together on the first day of the week. So, I set out to study more diligently on this very important subject and the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when He instituted the Lord’s Supper. In Matthew 26:26, we read, “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” (NKJV). The New American Standard renders this verse as follows: “Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” So, what does it mean to say a “blessing”, or, having “blessed” the bread? The greek word for “blessed” is εὐλογήσας (eulogesas). Let us now read Matthew 26:27, “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.” Please observe the similarity of the greek word for “thanks'', εὐχαριστήσας (eucharistesas), in verse 27 with the greek word εὐλογήσας (eulogeas)for “blessed” in verse 26. In Luke 22:19, we read, “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.” The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:23,24: “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;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.” We must consider the fact that as Jesus gave thanks for the fruit of the vine, He also gave thanks for the bread. Of course, this would not exclude blessings of praise to God for His grace and love; and blessings on those who partake of the Lord’s Supper. We must remember that we do not know what all Jesus said when He spoke a blessing, however, it did include the giving of thanks for the bread. . Though the following statement is from an uninspired person, please observe the comments from Albert Barnes in his commentary on Matthew 26:26: “And blessed it” - Or sought a blessing on it; or "gave thanks" to God for it. The word rendered "blessed" not unfrequently means "to give thanks." Compare Luke 9:16 and John 6:11. It is also to be remarked that some manuscripts have the word rendered "gave thanks," instead of the one translated "blessed." It appears from the writings of Philo and the Rabbis that the Jews were never accustomed to eat without giving thanks to God and seeking his blessing. This was especially the case in both the bread and the wine used at the Passover.” If we could go back in time and enter the room where Jesus and the disciples were gathered and listen to the words of Jesus as He gave thanks for the “bread”, and said, “this is my body.”; and “gave thanks for the cup” and said, “This is my blood of the new covenant which was shed for many” (Mark 14:2, it would not be possible for us to know the thoughts and deep emotions in the heart of our precious savior as He spoke a blessing and gave thanks for these elements of the Supper, knowing that His suffering and death on the cross were imminent when His body would be nailed to the cross and His body would be pierced and His blood would be shed. As a good friend and brother said, “To me this is one of the most awesome statements in all of history. That Jesus, the night before the crucifixion, would thank the Father for the bread and cup, the emblems of His own tormented death and ultimate sacrifice, is beyond comprehension.” On the first day of the week when we assemble to “break bread”,our hearts should burst forth with praise, adoration and love for our blessed Lord Jesus Christ who gave His life for us on Calvary; and to God the Father who gave His precious Son to die for the sins of mankind that by His grace we could be saved.

“HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A BROTHER OFFERING ONE PRAYER FOR BOTH THE BREAD AND FRUIT OF THE VINE DURING THE LORD’S SUPPER?”

This was the basic question asked to me sometime ago by a brother in Christ. I told him yes and that I was greatly disturbed and surprised that a brother in Christ would offer only one prayer for both the bread and the fruit of the vine that are symbolic of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. My wife and I, along with family members, attended a small church of Christ while on vacation. When it came time for the brother presiding at the ‘Lord’s Table’, our brother offered only one prayer for both the bread and fruit of the vine. This was the first time in all of my years to hear a brother do this. When it came time for the ‘offering’ the brother thanked God for His blessings and the opportunity for all to give their monetary gifts to the Lord. I thought to myself, here is a brother who chose to offer one prayer for the bread and fruit of the vine, yet he offered a prayer for the offering when there is no specific example of this being done in the New Testament during the assembly of the church to worship God. We understand that we can pray anytime we choose because we are taught in the word of God to be “steadfastly in prayer” (Romans 12:12), and we are taught to give thanks to God. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16,17, we read, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Thus, it is acceptable for a brother to give thanks for our blessings and for brothers and sisters in Christ to give cheerfully and according to one’s ability to the Lord. But, let us consider the occasion when Jesus Christ gave thanks for the bread and fruit of the vine. In Matthew’s account (Mt. 26:26-29, NKJV), we read the following, “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.” In Luke 22:19, we read, “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.” So, when Jesus said a blessing he also gave thanks for the bread. In Matthew 26:27, Jesus “took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.” The best commentary on the actions of Jesus when He instituted the Lord’s Supper is found in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26: “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” The question should be raised, was the action of Jesus giving thanks separately for the bread and fruit done unintentionally or deliberately? Can we not understand the action of Jesus was intended and on purpose? After all, the Lord’s Supper is the center of our corporate worship! Why then, would a brother change the pattern that Jesus set when He gave thanks for each the bread and fruit of the vine? Man’s wisdom is not God’s wisdom! Why can’t we just follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ when he gave thanks for both the bread and fruit of the vine separately; knowing He was going to suffer shortly on the cross and shed His blood for our redemption and forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 1:7).

"WHEN YOU COME TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE"

“When you come together in one place”, it is imperative “ all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 11:18;14:40). It is the opportunity when we come together to worship God and the Lamb “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23,24; Revelation 4 & 5). It is wonderful that brothers and sisters in Christ enjoy the company of one another; but, when the set time has come, our hearts should be centered on worshiping God. This is a deliberate action on our part. Worship begins with the first song. God is spirit and our spirits should be attuned with God’s spirit (John 4:24) The ‘acts of worship’ can sound too legalistic and formal for some; but if we use the term ‘avenues’, it can be understood that singing, praying, teaching, the Lord’s Supper and giving are avenues through which we express our our love, praise and homage to our God. The order in our assemblies when we are worshiping together can be and oft is a tradition. This can contribute to our worship being done “decently and in order”. However, when the same ‘order of things’ is done for decades it can easily become law and that is when tradition becomes wrong. Several years ago an elder told me that when he went off to a Christian College located in a different state, he knew that the church where he began worshiping was unscriptural. The reason being, the church was having the Lord’s Supper before preaching and not afterwards! If a change should be made in the order of worship it would be best for it to be announced before it was time to begin. ‘The Order of Worship’ could be printed and would be available to those in attendance. By doing this, there would be less confusion for everyone. Several years ago while working with a congregation in a small town, I mentioned to the song leader that I would like to make a change in the order of our worship. He was to lead the first song and then I would read from the Bible and make some remarks and we would do this more than once. My failure was that I did not inform the congregation of the changes that I had made! And this is the way things went in our worship that Sunday morning; the song leader led the first song and then I got up and read from the Scriptures and made some remarks that were appropriate and I sat down.. The song leader announced the number of the song that we were to sing and when he began singing, the congregation stood, thinking that this was the ‘invitation song’! Lesson learned! It would be good for a congregation to make changes occasionally so that the younger generations could know that a set ‘order’ was not a pattern as found in the New Testament. It is good that the song leader prepares his selections for the worship. Since we are to praise God, songs of praise would be excellent to lead to begin our worship. It is always appropriate for the congregation to stand when singing such songs. It would be good for the men who have been asked to lead prayers in the assembly to think beforehand what would be said in the prayer. Remember also it is to be a public prayer, that is, the prayer leader should lift his voice so all could hear. When there is a microphone, the prayer leader should speak directly into it. Remarks made when we are observing the Lord’s Supper should be brief and a source of encouragement for all to meditate on the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; and the love of God and His son manifested at Calvary. Remember also that prayers are offered up to God the Father (Matthew 6:9). It was the body of Jesus that hung on the cross and it was His blood that “was shed for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). God is spirit and “a spirit does not have flesh and bones…” (John 24:39). Preaching/teaching the word of God is a fearful responsibility (James 3:1)! Timothy received a charge from the apostle Paul to “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2-4). “The word” would consist of “All Scripture” because they were “given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the duty of the preacher to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ for “it is the power of God to Salvation”! (Romans 1:16;Matthew 28:19,20;Mark 16:15,16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4)! We have the example of the early church giving “On the first day of the week” (16:1,2). This contribution was for the “saints” in Judea who were in need of financial help. This is an example as to when we can give our monetary gifts to the Lord when we assemble on the first day of the week to worship God. Every Christian should read 2 Corinthians chapters eight and nine to learn more about the giving made by the churches in Macedonia. First of all, the Christians “gave of themselves to the Lord” (chapter 8:5). Paul also wrote that their giving was a matter of “grace” (chapter 8:7). My brothers and sisters, When we come together in one place, let us “worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” “Come, let us bow down in worship, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.” “Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness” (Psalm 100:1,2; 95:6,7;145:3).

MANNA AND MIRACLES HAVE CEASED

The Lord God provided abundantly for His children while they were wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In Exodus chapter 16 we learn that God informed Moses of the manna that He intended to give the people. And for six days of every week while Israel journeyed in the wilderness God rained manna from heaven until they came into the promised land (Exodus 16:4, 35). After Israel crossed Jordan they encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month. The Holy Scriptures clearly state that “the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the produce of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year” (Joshua 5:10-12). Therefore we know definitely and beyond a shadow of a doubt that manna ceased. No need to speculate about the matter. That should be evident enough for all to understand. And yet, I can’t help but to wonder if years later while Israel dwelt in the land of Canaan that a group of young folk didn’t approach the elders of the people and make some inquiries about this miraculous matter of manna being supplied to the previous generation. You can just about hear them saying something like ‘Why, brother, the Lord is the same today as He was yesterday’. Or, ‘brother elder you are just too steeped in church traditions’. Some might have said, ‘You don’t believe in the Spirit of God strong enough.’ Or, ‘If you elders ‘felt’ the Spirit like we do you would know that manna will still come down out of heaven today.’ We read in the New Testament of the miracles of our Lord, the miraculous powers of the apostles and of the imparting of the spiritual gifts upon members of the first century church (I Corinthians 12:28-31). All Bible believing people accept the miracles, wonders and signs recorded in the New Testament. Basically speaking these miracles confirmed the divinity of Christ, the spoken word of God and guided the infant church in the absence of the complete written testament of Jesus Christ (John 10:30, 31; Hebrews 2:1-4; Ephesians 4:11-16). But in I Corinthians 13:8-10 we read that a time was coming when the miraculous would end. Paul declared that “love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish.” These three miraculous gifts stood for the whole of the nine mentioned in chapter twelve. Paul is simply saying that there was coming a time when miracles would “be done away” and would “cease”. Furthermore Paul tells us in no uncertain terms when the miracles would cease. He continued, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” The revelation of the New Testament was fragmentary. In the beginning of the church age the Word of God was in the inspired man (II Corinthians 4:7). Later as these inspired men began to write epistles to various congregations and individuals the word of God was partly in man and partly in written form. It was during this time that miracles continued, at least to some degree. However Paul said, “But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” There is no doubt but Paul speaks of the cessation of the miraculous when he wrote “when that which is perfect has come.” The “perfect” is in contrast with “that which is in part”. That which was “in part” was the incomplete written word of the Lord. Therefore we must conclude that which is “perfect” has to be the complete written Word of God, that is, the New Testament of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:15-17; II timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:3; Jude 3). Also, the word “perfect” from the Greek word teleion means “to bring an end by completing or perfecting…of accomplishing…of bringing to completion.” Perfect “signifies having reached its end (telos) finished, complete, perfect” (Vine). The word “perfect” is an adjective that is here used as a noun. It is in the neuter gender and nothing in the context suggests that it refers to a person. And it does not in any way refer to the second coming of the Lord. Miracles ceased just as sure as manna ceased. And yet there are religionists who ‘feel’ that the miraculous still lingers today. There are brethren who have left us who have written books advocating the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit for us today. The most dangerous are those who have chosen not to leave the church but who influence the young, the unlearned and the ‘tired of the book only in religious matters’ folk that miracles still occur today and thus they are sowing seeds of unrest and discord among brethren. May God continue to bless elders, Bible teachers and preachers who labor diligently in the fight against such error and who teach sound doctrine for a healthy, spiritual growth in the church of Jesus Christ.