Purpose: The ordinance of the Lord's supper was to be a memorial of the great deliverance that Jesus Christ has wrought when He died on the cross. According to Apostle Paul, this is one of the ways that we can remember what Christ did for us on the cross. It is a good time to commemorate the events at crucifixion. We need to celebrate this until the second coming of our Saviour and King.
3 phases of the Lord’s Supper:
As we can see from the lessons of the earthly sanctuary, the first two furnitures that we can find in the courtyard are the altar of the sacrfice and comes the laver for washing. When Jesus came to earth, He also showed us the process in which the communion was to be done. If you look at John chapter 13, supper was done then the washing of feet.
1. Breaking the Bread
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 - For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the [same] night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
The broken bread and pure juice of the grape are to represent the broken body and spilled blood of the Son of God. Jesus is the Bread of Life.
John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."
But this bread was broken in our behalf. Look how much He had to endure for us in order to fulfill the purpose why He came to earth which is to save us from our sins.
Matthew 1:21. He was hung in that tree and endure the shame. He suffered tremendously just for us to have salvation. This is the bread that we partake during the Lord's supper, a symbol of His broken body.
2. Drinking of the Unfermented Wine
Matthew 26:27-28 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
The unfermented wine is a symbol of the blood of Christ which was shed for us to be cleansed from all the sins that we have done. It is only through the blood of Christ that we can find pardon and be reconciled back to the Father. Our Saviour's blood shed for us was our only hope. Because of His love for us, He was willing to die and so we should always remember this and not trample upon His law and put Him to an open shame again. Everyday we should remember that we have been saved by grace through our faith to the One who died in our behalf and now that we are saved, we have to work out our salvation and produce fruits corresponding to our faith.
3. Foot Washing
Purpose:
1. Humility – brethren should not seek the highest place, to think he is better than his brother, to work for himself, to serve himself, self-exaltation
2. Reconciliation – every bitterness, ill feelings between brethren can be washed and be reconciled
3. Service – brethren learn to serve one another, nobody seeking for higher position
The washing of the feet means more than physical cleansing. It works deeper than washing off the dust of our feet. It is cleansing us from all sins and washing away impurities from our lives.
John 13:1-17 - the chapter that talks about the washing of feet which Jesus did to His disciples.
It was a Jewish custom to wash the feet of their guests. In the upper room, the basin, towel and water were already prepared yet no one was willing to wash someone else's feet. Their wounded pride became the reason why none of them would want to act the part of a servant that would wash another brother’s feet. Their silence to do anything to a brother was a proof that none of them wanted to humble himself. Since no one was willing to do anything for his brother, then Jesus made the first move to do it. What Jesus did was an open rebuke to them and it opened their eyes that were blinded by their own pride. They then were full of shame and humiliation as they witnessed the example shown by their Master and Lord. They then realized that they had to wake up and start humbling themselves.
When Jesus was there in the upper room with His disciples, He already knew of their feelings against each other. Others want to sit closer to Christ. They were looking and seeking for some higher position. Judas wanted the highest place and was determined to have it. He failed to humble himself and he ended being the traitor and he was replaced.