By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  07//17/20

Read 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as a means of helping us remember together how, with His own blood, He secured our salvation. The Lord’s Supper is supposed to be a time of true spiritual enrichment. But the Corinthians had turned it into a time of shame for the poorer members of their congregation. In Corinth, the Lord’s Supper was more than a piece of bread and a sip of wine; it was a full meal. The wealthy were getting together first, eating and drinking and having their fill, and when the poor arrived, they were left hungry and thirsty.

The Corinthians were missing the wonder of this sacrament. The joy of the Lord’s table is for all who believe in Jesus Christ—absolutely anyone, regardless of socio-economic background or ethnicity. Anyone can come to the table because it is by grace we have been saved. It’s not the church’s table; it’s Jesus’ table. All whom Jesus has called belong at His table as heirs of the promise—there is no difference between them (see Galatians 3:28-29). When He told His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of Me,” He wanted them to celebrate together what He had so richly bestowed (see Romans 10:12-13).

Today is no different. As God’s chosen people, let’s remember that, at the cross, Christ reconciled us to God. Though undeserving sinners all, we belong to God by the blood of Christ. So let’s look to our Lord, eat together, and give thanks.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the Lord’s Supper, for this sacrament to share with my brothers and sisters in the faith. Help us rejoice together in our salvation and proclaim Your Gospel to ourselves and one another as we take the bread and the cup. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28).