The Lord's Table is a commemoration of the sacrifice of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus on the cross, where He saved His people from their sin.
Jesus often spoke in spiritual metaphors, which the people misunderstood. He taught them that He is the Bread of Life, sent down from heaven, and if a man will eat of that bread, he will have everlasting life.
Christ is the spiritual bread and living water that brings eternal life to all who partake of it.
And He made it clear: we partake of His body and blood spiritually, by believing upon His promises, and trusting in His offering for our crimes.
The people demanded Christ give them physical bread as a sign by which they might believe, but Christ insisted, over and over again, that they must trust in His body and blood unto salvation.
But they wanted literal bread to eat, and when in their greed and unbelief they wrongly perceived Christ to be offering His physical flesh and blood for them to eat, they rejected His offer as too repulsive.
But we believers joyfully feast upon the Lord Jesus' body and blood spiritually, and partake of the bread and wine at the Lord's Table to remind us of what Jesus did for us on the cross, and to acknowledge publicly, that His literal, physical body slain and blood shed, is all our hope and life and joy forever!
The Apostle Paul rebuked the Corinthians for corrupting the celebration of the Lord's Table. All they were doing was bringing their food to eat at the church, and leaving out those poor believers who had nothing to bring. They wouldn't even wait for each other!
Paul rebuked them for confusing physical feasting with spiritual feeding upon Christ. |