I Corinthians 11:27-33
“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.”
I would say more than any other verses, these few verses of scripture have brought a tremendous amount of fear to Christians over the years. So much so, that they have actually help form the procedures and practices we currently use. Think about it. We use little tiny cups with grape juice instead of wine. There will not be any drunks in our service. We provide a tidbit of a cracker to ensure nobody is about to get full from that. I’m not suggesting what we are doing doesn’t have merit, but as the Bible says, “And with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7).
Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is an act of worship meant to memorialize Christ’s sacrifice and reflect the love and unity among members of the Body. But, in the case of the Corinthians, it was instead magnifying the divisions among them. As a result, some in the Corinthian church were participating in communion “in an unworthy manner” (verse 27). Their public worship meetings were doing more harm than good (verse 17).
Communion should honor Christ, but Paul gave this blistering indictment of the Corinthians’ practice: “So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!”
(1 Corinthians 11:20–22). The Corinthians’ communion services had become corrupted with selfishness and discrimination against the poor. Participants were neither honoring God nor edifying one another in their celebrations.
But the sad irony is that in some ways we do the same thing today. If we think this rebuke is about wine and overeating, we’ve totally missed the point. If we think it’s about personal preparation, self righteousness and religious conformity, once again, we’ve missed the point. This scathing message wasn’t written to the lowly, poor, unsaved, weak or spiritually challenged. It was written to the leadership! It was written to those that were in charge. They were the ones that ate all the food and drank all the wine. They were the ones upholding the practice of segregation and separation.
I’m flabbergasted how we continuously ‘flip the script’ on the oppressed and made them the object of God ire and wrath instead of those responsible for the bad behavior. Paul’s letter was written to leadership, to straighten out leadership. Now let’s discuss this again!
The night Jesus was betrayed, he not only broke the bread, served the wine and prayed, but he also washed the disciples feet. He demonstrated that he was the ultimate servant; and called all us servant-leaders to do the same. Not necessarily washing feet, but humbly serving the needs of those that desperately need the Lord. We shouldn’t be looking to condemn folk, but instead to uplift them. You needn’t come to the Lord already free, delivered, empowered and victorious. That’s what you receive after you come to Him. Come just the way you are. He will accept you. And so must we!!!
When the Bible says, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, that means me and you also. Unworthiness is not a moral, cultural or societal determination. It’s spiritual. We are to serve and share in the Spirit of Christ.
My brothers and sisters, let me close by saying this. The Passover Lamb holds great importance in Jewish culture. Preparing for Passover in Jesus' day required Jewish people to attend to a number of critical details. All of these assorted details blended together well to retell the story of God’s redemptive plan for His people. Jesus became that Lamb. The details of His life, burial, resurrection, ascension and return are vital toward understanding God’s ultimate plan of salvation. We can’t afford not to get it right. So as they say, let’s check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.
God bless
