Lay it to Heart

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. 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. My church celebrated the Lord's Supper today (May 6, 2007). The piece they had was about a third the size of the pieces shown below on the left. I have never been served a portion of anything in a meal that small before that I can remember. It was the size of a small piece of candy. 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.

Unleavened bread cut before cooking but not actually broken

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 March or April. How did the Jews keep the grape juice from naturally fermenting? Did they keep it in the refrigerator or the wine cellar? The English word "wine" means something that is fermented. 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. Convenience is more important? Hmmm!

Token glass of juice used when deacons don't have time to really serve

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. 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.

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.