What is the Lord's Supper (communion)?

In many churches the Lord’s Supper is simple: a piece of bread, a sip from a cup and a few quiet words. Christians call it by several names: the Lord’s Supper, communion, the Eucharist or the breaking of bread. Behind this simple act is the last evening of Jesus’ life before the cross.

Jesus began it at the Passover

On the night before He died, Jesus ate the Passover meal with His disciples. At the end of it He did something new:

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Matt 26:26–28 · King James Version (1769)

John Gill points out that the Passover meal was already finished when Jesus took the bread. William MacDonald adds that the bread and wine were already on the table, and Jesus gave them a new meaning. The Passover remembered the rescue from Egypt. The New Geneva Study Bible says that by turning this meal into the Lord’s Supper, Jesus showed that God’s salvation is one story: the true meaning of Passover is the redemption He won by His death.

Luke records that Jesus asked His followers to keep doing this:

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
Luke 22:19–20 · King James Version (1769)

The new covenant echoes the promise God made through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31–34). MacDonald explains that this covenant was sealed by Christ’s blood and that its foundation was laid on the cross. The phrase for many does not mean the offer is narrow. In MacDonald’s reading, His blood was sufficient for all, and it actually removes the sins of those who believe.

What the Supper means

Paul passes on the same words to the church in Corinth:

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: And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 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. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.
1 Cor 11:23–26 · King James Version (1769)

Three things stand out. First, remembrance. Matthew Henry says it keeps “fresh in our minds his dying for us” and also reminds us that He pleads for us before God. Second, proclamation: each time we eat and drink we announce His death. The New Geneva Study Bible notes that this makes the Supper a kind of visible preaching of the gospel. Third, hope: we do it until He comes. MacArthur observes that Paul wrote this directly from the Lord’s own teaching, and that this letter is probably the earliest written account of how the Supper began.

The Supper also joins believers to each other. Paul says that sharing one loaf shows we are one body (1 Corinthians 10:16–17).

How Christians understand Christ’s presence

When Jesus said that the bread is His body, what did He mean? Christians answer in several ways. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. Lutherans teach that the body and blood are present together with the bread and wine. MacDonald argues that Jesus had not yet given His body or shed His blood when He spoke, so He must have meant that the bread is a symbol and picture of them. The New Geneva Study Bible, following Calvin and the other Reformers, says that the bread represents Christ’s body, yet not as a bare symbol: through the Holy Spirit it truly points to Him whom we receive by faith. Matthew Henry likens it to the sun: we share in it not by holding it in our hands, but by receiving its rays.

Despite these differences, most Christians agree on what the Supper does: it points us to the cross and unites us with Christ and with one another.

Taking part with a clear heart

Paul warns the Corinthians about eating and drinking in an unworthy way (1 Corinthians 11:27–29). This does not mean that only perfect people may take part. MacDonald stresses that none of us is worthy, and that Paul is speaking about the careless and disrespectful way the Corinthians behaved at the table. The New Geneva Study Bible adds that in Corinth some members broke the unity the Supper stands for, and that we should not read the passage as saying God usually sends sickness to Christians who come with weaknesses.

So Paul’s call to examine ourselves means to confess our sins, put right what we can, and come with thankfulness. Matthew Henry notes that this passage was never meant to scare serious believers away from the Lord’s table.

The Lord’s Supper is a gift. We come not because we deserve it, but because Christ gave His body and blood for us and invites us to remember Him until He returns.