Lords Supper

Introduction

The Lord's Supper is also referred to as the Holy Communion. This in Greek is translated to mean thanksgiving. The Lord's Supper hold a very fundamental significance especially to those who believe and their essence can not be estimated. To believers, they consider the lords supper to imply to more than just a day of commemoration of the death of Jesus and his resurrection. The Lord's Supper is a declaration of an individual's continuance reliance and dependence on the lord Jesus Christ and the life he lived then and the days after (Barclay 65).

The Lord's Supper has received a lot of contradiction; this is especially in trying to understand the unanimity that it brings out in relation to its uniformity of celebration and its general nature. The observation of the Lord's Supper is believed to have been initiated by Jesus Christ himself at the last meal he held with his disciples before he died. According to Apostle Paul, he wrote all the events that took place relating to this day (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). There are two elements that are of greater essence in the Lord's Supper, grape juice (wine) and bread. Before this elements are taken, thy must be preceded by a thanksgiving prayer or a blessing (Smith et al 114).

The Crucial Elements in Holy Communion

There are deeper revelations by the bible in regard to the two essential elements in the Lord's Supper.  The bread in the celebration represents the Christ's body whereas the grape juice or wine is the blood of the lord Jesus Christ. When an individual takes thee bread in the celebration of the Holy Communion, we tend to believe and trust that Jesus Christ is our lord and savior, the bread taken is a symbol that we accept the lord Jesus Christ as the giver of life and from who we all originated from. According to Clark & Lilley (198), Jesus is the bread of life from whom all our spiritual desires can be satisfied. The bread in the scenario is a symbol of life, this therefore implies that during that last supper that Jesus held with his disciples, the breaking of the unleavened bread symbolized that his life (body) would be broken down so as the would have life, they the disciples and all those who believed in him.

In addition to this, the bread symbolizing life, a new covenant was being ushered in by the body of Jesus being broken. This is categorically signified by the veil in the temple that broke into two pieces (Freedman 1102).  The new covenant represented a new way of living, a way through which we would approach the presence of the lord with pure and cleansed hearts, hearts that have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus.  Furthermore, the resurrection of Jesus' body validates this new covenant (Freedman 987). This is because, the body of Jesus was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit, it is believed that it is this same spirit that the children who come to the lord to seek solace and dwell in him are going to be raised from the dead by.

It is evident that the breaking of the body was first done by Jesus. Believers in him have also taken the practice from him and have for a very long time practiced the tradition. This practice by the people ends to signify fellowship they are having with Christ's body brought together and strengthened by the Holy Ghost (Barclay 109). Jesus' body is seen as a source of strength and his body is glorified especially when the body is considered to serve each and every individual in relation to humility and bringing selfless attitudes among the beings.  

The Cup of Wine

According to Smith et al (45), the cup is a representation of the blood of Jesus Christ.  According to Freedman (430), the cup symbolizes a portion or measure. In addition to this, the blood is a signification of the death and sufferings that the lord underwent for the sake of us. Blood is considered the source of life without which the body can not exist. When this blood is poured, death is bound to occur. This is why the suffering cup was given to the son by the father expecting him to become a sacrificial lamb. The father expected that the son would be the atonement lamb for sin and he was to pour out his sinless blood by means of a torturous and suffering death.  

It is believed that it was only after the blood of Jesus was poured that the sins of the people would be cleansed. It is only his blood (Jesus') that a permanent atonement would be made possible for all the sinners (Clark & Lilley 89).  Taking the content of the up symbolizes that we are committed to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ despite the various costs and stumbling blocks that may come our way.  Jesus is the one who drank from the wrath in order to save his followers, however, for the sake of righteousness; we are expected to partake in this same suffering. This is the reason why Paul categorically stated that from the experience he has, believers are highly motivated to participate in the suffering in commemoration of what Jesus went through (Freedman 978).

Schreiner & Craford (226) attest that believers are given an opportunity to relate and identify themselves with Christ who is the mediator of the new covenant and through this, indicate that they are prepared to experience the suffering and power that the lord Jesus Christ underwent.  The old covenant was symbolized by the Passover; the new covenant is symbolized by the Lord's Supper. It is through this that Christians get to recall the death that the sacrificial lamb of the lord had to undergo in order to redeem us. The lords supper ids celebrated with the intention that this should be practiced as they wait for their salvation to enter the kingdom or the land of promise that they are promised of.

Conclusion

The Lord's Supper is partaken in order to recall the things that Jesus carried out in the past, it currently acts as a symbolization of the relationship that we have with Jesus and the promise he left to us in relation to what he had in store for us (Schreiner & Craford 326).  The death of Jesus is an indication to us that God loves us so much. This is the reason as to why he would opt for his son, Jesus Christ to come and die on the cross in order to save us. To the followers of Christ, this is considered very good news especially knowing that our sins were cleansed by the death of Christ and we are promised an everlasting life. However, we should not push aside the heavy and enormous price that he had to pay for our sake.  

In remembrance of the death he underwent on the cross, we remember that this death was short-lived, Jesus only died for three days and he later resurrected (Freedman 678). This is an indication that he was able to conquer death and to his followers, their lives have been set free especially from the sins they were enslaved by the fear of dying.  Christians flashback on the occurrences (the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus) and consider them as the defining moments of their lives and history.