1 Corinthians 11: From the Passover to the Lord's Supper

Introduction

"For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you." During a service at Gospel Community Church in Adelaide, the preacher stops at 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, the earliest written text in Scripture that sets out the order of the Lord's Supper.

The preacher offers two pictures. The big picture is in the title: from the Passover to the Lord's Supper, from the old covenant to the new. These are the days God announced in Jeremiah 31: "'Behold, the days come,' says Yahweh." The small picture comes from the immediate context of the letter. The previous message in the series showed Paul sharply rebuking the Corinthians for the irreverent "farce" the Lord's Supper had become among them. The next one will show Paul setting out its consequences. In between, Paul calmly reminds them of what they already knew.

To understand what Jesus does that evening, the preacher goes all the way back to Joseph, to Egypt and to the first Passover. One simple conviction comes out of it: something immense happens around a table, and it happens with great simplicity.

Outline of the Message

1. Paul Passes On What He Received from the Lord

Paul recalls where this teaching comes from: the Lord himself. He had already said so to the Galatians: the gospel he preaches did not come to him from any man, nor was he taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12).
What he received, he passed on without changing anything. And he knows what the Corinthians know, since he is the one who taught them.
The church in Corinth was born during Paul's second missionary journey. Arriving from Athens, he reasons in the synagogue every Sabbath and testifies that Jesus is the Christ. When he is rejected, he goes next door, to the house of a man named Justus. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believes in the Lord with his whole household, and many Corinthians are baptized. Paul stays eighteen months in Corinth (Acts 18:1-11).
During that stay, he certainly celebrated the Lord's Supper with them, no doubt regularly. Acts 2:46 shows the early church breaking bread daily in homes. Acts 20:7 suggests the practice became weekly, "on the first day of the week."
So the Corinthians knew how to receive the bread and the cup. In the three years or so after Paul left, they drifted radically from that path. The letter was written from Ephesus around AD 55.
This passage is the first written order of the Lord's Supper in Scripture: it comes at least ten years before the Gospel accounts.

2. The Night He Was Betrayed: We Are at the Passover

"The Lord Jesus": from the start, the text puts Christ at the center. "On the night in which he was betrayed" gives us the setting: the Passover celebration in Jerusalem, begun in the upper room and continued all the way to the garden of Gethsemane.
Passover night gave Jesus' enemies a unique opportunity. Everyone was at home for the meal, the streets were quiet, there were no witnesses. The religious leaders could act in the dark, "as those who work in darkness do."
Where there is betrayal, there is a traitor: Judas Iscariot, that tragic figure who embodies human treachery. He sold Jesus, God made flesh, the pearl of great price, into the hands of wicked men for the price of a slave, thirty pieces of silver.
It is a private meal, a moment set apart. Jesus had eagerly desired to eat this Passover with his apostles before eating it again in the kingdom to come (Luke 22:15-16).

3. How God's People Ended Up in Egypt

Joseph, the eleventh of Jacob's twelve sons and Rachel's firstborn, is hated by his brothers. His dreams, which announce that he will rule over his older brothers, make that hatred worse. They want to kill him, but by God's providence, through Reuben, his life is spared. He is sold to Midianite merchants, then sold again in Egypt.
In the house of Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard, Joseph excels and is put in charge of the whole household. Falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, he is thrown into prison. Even in prison, he excels, and God is with him.
He interprets the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. The cupbearer forgets him for two years, until Pharaoh's dreams: seven years of plenty, then seven years of famine. Joseph does not put himself forward; he recommends appointing a wise administrator. Pharaoh appoints him. "From the dungeon to the office of prime minister."
God made Joseph "a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt" (Genesis 45:8). He saves the nation during the famine.
When Pharaoh hears that Joseph's brothers have come, he invites them: "Take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt" (Genesis 45:17-18). Seventy people settle in Goshen. The covenant people are in Egypt at Pharaoh's invitation.

4. From Oppression to Redemption: The First Passover

Joseph dies, along with his whole generation. The Israelites multiply, and a new king arises who did not know Joseph (Exodus 1:6-8). He oppresses them with hard labor. They go from invitation to oppression, from peaceful dwelling to captivity.
God sees the affliction of his people, hears their cry and delivers them through the ten plagues. He also makes a public spectacle of the gods of Egypt, a deeply religious, idolatrous nation that had gods for almost everything: the river, the sun, the crops, health. None of them could do a thing.
God protects the Israelites from the first nine plagues. For the tenth, a picture of the final judgment, no distinction is made: death of all the firstborn. "The Israelites were no less sinners than the Egyptians." God then gives them the instructions for the Passover (Exodus 12).
A male lamb, without blemish, a year old, set apart on the tenth day of the month and slaughtered on the fourteenth. It is roasted whole and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, without a single bone being broken. Its blood is put on the lintel and the doorposts. Seeing the blood, the destroyer passes over the house.
This event clearly shows substitutionary death. It is the most important event in the history of redemption in the Old Testament, because of what it accomplished, but even more because of what it pointed to: redemption from sin and death through the Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ.
The preacher distinguishes the event from the memorial. The first Passover is eaten in haste, sandals on the feet, staff in hand, in real tension: death is sweeping through the land. The yearly memorials then become a joyful feast, to which Jewish tradition adds further elements.

5. The Bread: His Body Given for You, in Memory of Him

The head of the household presided over the Passover meal: he broke and distributed the bread, shared the wine and told the meaning of the feast. In the upper room, Jesus presides. He is the one who takes the bread and gives thanks.
He is also the one who breaks the bread. "No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself" (John 10:17-18). Neither Judas, nor Pontius Pilate, nor the religious leaders broke that bread. They were only means under God's sovereign control. Jesus gave his life willingly.
The broken bread does not describe the way he died, because none of his bones were broken, in keeping with the requirements for the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:46).
Jesus reinterprets the elements. The unleavened bread recalled the haste of the departure and the leaving behind of the life of sin lived in Egypt, leaven being a symbol of sin. From now on, this bread speaks of his body.
In Jewish thought, the body represents the whole person: his entire earthly life, his teaching, his ministry, his works. "That is the gospel: the person and work of Jesus Christ. Who he is and what he has done. And all of it for you."
The preacher quotes John MacArthur: "'For you' are two of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture." Jesus seems to be saying: this bread will no longer remind you of Egypt; it will remind you of my body given for you.
"Do this in memory of me." "Remembering is more than simply recalling. It is involvement." In Jewish thought, to remember is to take the founding events of the past, here the Passover and redemption, and bring their reality into present life.
A New Testament commentator, quoted in the message, puts it this way: at the Lord's table, you do not walk around a monument to admire it; you are in communion with a living Savior, your heart reaching out to him in faith.
Communion is well named: it is lived together, as an assembly, as in Acts 2 and Acts 20. It is a means of grace that strengthens the faith, obedience and unity of God's people, and that proclaims Christ crucified.

6. The Cup: The New Covenant in His Blood

The Passover meal had four cups of wine mixed with water. After the first, the bitter herbs were eaten and the meaning of the Passover was explained, then the first part of the Hallel was sung (Psalms 113 to 118). The second cup came before the breaking of the unleavened bread, followed by the main meal, the roasted lamb. After a prayer, the third cup was passed around and the end of the Hallel was sung. The fourth, just before leaving, celebrated the kingdom to come.
"In the same way he also took the cup, after supper": this is the third cup, the cup of redemption, which Jesus takes and declares to be the cup of the new covenant. The last official Passover becomes the first Lord's Supper.
The people had been commanded to keep the Passover forever. Only God can change what he himself has commanded, and that is what Jesus does.
The old covenant is the Mosaic covenant, the covenant of the law (Exodus 20 to 23). Moses reads the book of the covenant, and the people answer: "We will do all that Yahweh has said, and be obedient." Moses sprinkles the people with the blood of the covenant (Exodus 24:7-8). That covenant was not flawed in its content, for God's law is perfect, but through the people's lack of obedience.
The consequences are immense: the ceremonial law, the food laws, the Sabbath law, the rites, the sacrifices, the priesthood, the altar, the temple and the most holy place, that whole system comes to an end. We become "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession" (1 Peter 2:9).
This is the covenant announced in Jeremiah 31:31-33: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart." Instead of laws written on stone, laws written on hearts. "Instead of commanded obedience, given obedience." The veil of the temple is torn, and access to the Father is opened through Jesus Christ, the mediator of a better covenant.
The preacher thinks of the words "Let there be light": the same power is at work when Christ changes these things, and all of it happens simply, around a table, reflecting the gentleness of the Lord.

7. You Proclaim the Lord's Death Until He Comes

Jesus sets no frequency: "as often as." The early church did it daily, then probably weekly. Wisdom is ours to exercise: too often, and you risk routine, even contempt, as in Corinth. Too rarely, and you deprive God's people of a vital means of grace. Whatever the frequency, the Lord's Supper must be taken in a worthy manner.
Why proclaim his death? Because that is where the price was paid, once and for all. Animal sacrifices were effective, but never sufficient, which is why they were repeated. "Apart from shedding of blood there is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22).
Sin is a very serious matter. "If you want proof, look at the cross." The price of atonement is death, and God, in his grace, accepts the death of a substitute. Just as the Israelites chose a lamb without blemish, God chose his Lamb, his Son.
Through his death, we are forgiven. Through his perfect life, we are declared righteous. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
The Corinthians distorted the order of the Lord's Supper: "They made it about themselves, instead of it being all about him." The preacher invites you to examine yourself so you can come to the table with humility, reverence and the fear of God.
He closes with Matthew Henry: "Come and see the victories of the cross. Christ's wounds are thy healing, his agonies thy repose, his conflicts thy conquests, his groans thy songs, his pains thy ease, his shame thy glory, his death thy life, his sufferings thy salvation."

Key Takeaways

The Lord's Supper was born at the heart of the Passover: Jesus presides over the meal and reinterprets its elements. The last Passover becomes the first Lord's Supper.
Jesus gave his life willingly. He is the one who breaks the bread, and no one took his life from him.
The bread speaks of his whole person and his whole work, given "for you." That is the gospel.
The cup announces the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31: the law written on the heart and access to the Father opened through Christ.
At every Lord's Supper, the church proclaims the death of the Lord, where the price of sin was paid once for all, until he comes again.

Personal Application

When you take the Lord's Supper, is it a simple reminder of the past or a living communion with Christ?
What difference does it make to you that Jesus gave his life of his own accord, without anyone taking it from him?
In what area do you need to believe that what Jesus did, he did "for you"?
Has familiarity turned the Lord's table into a habit for you? How can you prepare for it this week with humility and reverence?
What does it mean for you to live under a covenant where the law is written on your heart?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the link between the Passover and the Lord's Supper?

Paul places the Lord's Supper "on the night in which he was betrayed," that is, at the Passover meal in the upper room. There Jesus presides over the meal and reinterprets its elements: the unleavened bread becomes his body given for us, and the cup that follows the meal becomes the new covenant in his blood. The last Passover becomes the first Lord's Supper.

What does "Do this in memory of me" mean?

For the preacher, biblical remembrance is more than a simple reminder. In Jewish thought, to remember is to make the reality of a past event present by taking part in it. At the Lord's table, you are not admiring a monument: you are in communion with a living Savior.

Why does the Lord's Supper proclaim the Lord's death?

Because it was at the cross that the price of sin was paid, once for all. Animal sacrifices had to be repeated again and again. Apart from shedding of blood there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22). Like the lamb without blemish in Egypt, Jesus is the substitute God chose for us.