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The Lord's Supper
| 1 Corinthians 11: | |
| 23 | 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: |
| 24 | 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. |
| 25 | After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. |
| 26 | For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. |
| 27 | Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. |
Jesus' Body Was Broken
Jesus' body was broken. Shouldn't the bread be, too? When Jesus took the bread, he broke it. The Bible says Jesus brake the bread and said, "this is my body" in Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19. Luke 22:19 also adds, "this do in remembrance of me." If you are not breaking it are you really accurately remembering his sacrifice? If the church will not remember correctly how does it expect the world to do so? Which bread are you using? The bread on the left is not broken. The bread on the right is. It is a very small piece that would that would not actually be served anyone in real life. In the past, the churches I have been a member of have celebrated the Lord's Supper with pieces that were small to very small as shown on the left. I have never been served a portion of anything in a meal that small. Even samples I have been given are ten times larger. These pieces of bread are unrealistic. Also, if it is wrong to use leavened or risen bread, it is wrong to show the Lord's Supper with leavened bread as well. This might be unleavened but it is not broken. It was cut before it was baked. |
 This is unleavened and broken. Jesus was without sin and his body was broken for us. |
What Did They Drink?
Was the wine really wine or was it grape juice? While yeast may be added to wine to accelerate fermentation, grapes will naturally ferment by themselves. Grapes in the northern hemisphere are harvested in late September and early October. Sometimes the harvest comes earlier. Passover comes in April or May. How did the Jews keep the grape juice from naturally fermenting? Did they keep it in the refrigerator or the wine cellar for six months? The English word "wine" means something that is fermented. Do you believe that it would not ferment at all? Now when we come together to eat the Lords supper today we are celebrating the passover through Jesus Christ who gave himself on the cross. We remember or show his death until he returns to earth. This does not happen only in April or May now but is celebrated from time to time throughout the year. The grape juice would be from one day to one year old. Would Jesus work a miracle to unferment his wine and then demand that everybody else also work a miracle to unferment theirs? If it was wrong to drink fermented wine or grape juice, the only people who would be able to participate in the passover or Lord's supper in Jesus' day would be those who could work miracles or who had a good refrigerator. Of course, in 32 AD, that would be a bigger miracle. 1 Corinthians 10:13 helps us understand that, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.". Jesus would not expect people to do a miracle.What kind of portions did they have at the Lord's supper anyway? Did Jesus serve one of those tokens shown in the left picture? Did he serve something more appropriate for the passover? The apostles were not having a taste test but they weren't trying to get drunk, either. The hidden message I see today is that it is too much time and trouble to remember the last supper as it was or with the same elements. Is convenience is more important?
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What is the Result of What You are Saying?
To teach that wine in the New Testament was always necessarily unfermented grape juice is absurd. Think about what you are saying. The northern hemisphere harvest comes in around September and the first two weeks of October based on various factors. I found that the Jewish people adjust the actual calendar so that it does not agree with what God gave us through his major prophet Moses. The real passover occurs on the 14th day of the first month. The sun and the moon were given for signs (although some suggest the barley harvest). While it is not all that clear, the new year starts on the first day of the first month. The first month starts on the visible new moon following the spring equinox. That puts passover in the April to May. So let's figure how new the newest wine could be while celebrating passover. Take an early April passover and subtract an October harvest. Here are the months:1 October to November
2 November to December
3 December to January
4 January to February
5 February to March
6 March to April
The grape juice would sit for at least six months before passover. Do you believe that it would not ferment at all? Would Jesus work a miracle to unferment his wine and then demand that everybody else also work a miracle to unferment theirs? If it was wrong to drink fermented wine or grape juice, the only people who would be able to participate in the passover were those who could work miracles or who had a good refrigerator (of course, in 32 AD, that would be a bigger miracle). Jesus would not expect people to do a miracle. One deacon from the past thought the Jews kept it in their wine cellars. Does that sound reasonable to you? Now if you're so inclined to believe the wine is grape juice, we can just go ahead and change the word "wine" into"grape juice", after all, that's what you think it is. We'll make the new Grapejuice International Version (GIV) Bible. Here's a couple for the road:
Luke 5:39
No man also having drunk old grape juice straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
Luke 7:34
The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a grape juice bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
Acts 2:13-15
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new grape juice.
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
Romans 14:21
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink grape juice, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
Ephesians 5:18
And be not drunk with grape juice, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
1 Timothy 3:2-3
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to grape juice, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1 Timothy 3:8
Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much grape juice, not greedy of filthy lucre;
Titus 1:7
For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to grape juice, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
Titus 2:3
The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much grape juice, teachers of good things;
1 Peter 4:3
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of grape juice, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
What Should You Do?
- Use unleavened bread that is actually broken.
- Serve real size portions.
- Stop using clip art that shows the wrong thing.
- Teach the truth about wine in the Bible.
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