“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took a cup and gave thanks, and He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, For this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” – Matt. 26:26-28
“…do this in remembrance of Me.” – Luke 22:19
For nearly fifteen hundred years, from the time of the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt to the time of the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion, God desired that his people would keep the feast of the Passover in remembrance of their salvation (Exo. 12:14). In accordance with this, the Lord Jesus also had the desire to gather together with His disciples and eat the Passover feast on the night of His arrest (Luke 22:14). However, upon finishing this time-honored feast, the Lord initiated a new feast, a feast for the believer’s remembrance of Him as the fulfillment of the Passover. This feast is called the Lord’s table (1 Cor. 10:21b).
The Lord’s table consists of two elements: the bread and the wine. The bread on the table signifies the Lord’s physical body (Matt. 26:26), which was broken for us on the cross. This breaking on the cross released His divine life so that human beings could be born of God and become members of Christ’s Body (1 Cor 12:27), which is also portrayed by the bread of the Lord’s table (1 Cor 10:17). Hence, by partaking of the bread at the Lord’s table we have the fellowship of the Body of Christ (1 Cor 10:16).
The product of the vine within the cup of the Lord’s table is also a symbol, signifying the Lord’s blood shed on the cross for our sins. His blood was required by God’s righteousness for the forgiveness of our sins (Heb. 9:22). As sinners, we should have partaken of the cup of God’s wrath (Rev 14:10). Instead the Lord Jesus drank that cup for us (John 18:11), and His salvation has become our portion as the cup of salvation (Psa. 116:13) and the cup of blessing (1 Cor. 10:16) which runs over (Psa 23:5).
The bread and the cup constitute the Lord’s supper, which is a table set up by Him so that all His believers may remember Him as such a feast. God’s people are no longer required to keep the Passover of the Old Testament, but rather the feast of the Lord’s Table. The church in Jackson follows the Lord’s command that we “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19) and the apostle Paul’s encouragement that we “display His death until He come” (1 Cor. 11:26). This is the new covenant God has made with man (Luke 22:20), this is the feast that all the New Testament believers should enjoy (1 Cor 5:7-8), and this feast should be our future blessing (Rev 19:9).
the church in Jackson 