The Lord’s Supper, in the way it fulfills the Passover and inaugurates the New Covenant, is a miracle. A second word with which to think of Communion is Memorial. A memorial is the act of remembering someone who has died. The Communion story repeatedly emphasizes that it’s Christ’s death that is in view.
- It’s symbolized in Christ’s breaking the bread, saying, “This is my body given for you”. His body was indeed broken by the trauma and torture he endured. (Although not one of his bones was broken, the gospels point out, fulfilling one of the Messianic prophecies, Psalm 34:20, John 19:36).
- The fact that the body and blood are spoken of separately points to Jesus’s death. The life is in the blood, says Leviticus 17:11. Lose your blood, lose your life.
- That Jesus says, “The New Covenant is in my blood,” is a third pointer to his death. Covenants between two parties were always ratified by the giving of a sacrifice, to show the seriousness of the agreements being entered into. The New Covenant would be inaugurated with the shedding of Jesus’s blood.
- “Do this in remembrance of me,” Jesus said (1 Cor.11:24). Remembering the deceased is the point of a memorial.
- Then Paul says at the end of his retelling of the Communion story (1 Cor.11:26), “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” Drop the mic.
So what is it about Christ’s death that is so important to remember? Countless people miss the point entirely when it comes to his death. “The cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,” the Bible says (1 Cor.1:18).
The argument heard the most outside of the biblical one is that Jesus’s death was a martyr’s death. He died standing up for righteousness and justice, speaking truth to power, and so his death should inspire us to also be courageous and endure suffering also. There are certainly verses which describe Christ’s sufferings this way. Peter said as much “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you; leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21).
But Peter immediately goes on and describes Christ’s death as far more than our example. “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth…He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:22-24).
What’s the biblical answer for why Jesus died? Peter says it all.
- Christ is our substitute (which required him to be sinless).
- Christ is our sin-bearer (he bore our sins in his body).
- Christ is our satisfaction (he paid in full the wages of death and judgment that our sins had earned, so that we might now die to sin and live to righteousness).
- Christ was our sacrifice (by his wounds we are healed).
- Christ is our Savior (he is now the Shepherd and Overseer/Lord of our souls.
If Jesus is just a martyr to inspire me, then maybe I have a moment of silence in his honor. But if Jesus is everything the gospel declares, then I’ll fall down before him and surrender to him my life. Seeing Communion as a Memorial prompts me to not only worship him for his death, but to proclaim his death until he comes. For it is only through his death that I find life.