How Often Should the Lord’s Supper Be Taken?
Next Part How Often did the New Testament Church Keep the Passover?
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BY DAVID C. PACK
Millions of people regularly take the Lord’s Supper! The great counterfeiter—who counterfeits all the Bible’s truths—has confused them about when and how often one should observe this “supper.” What does the Bible teach about this misunderstood subject? What is the truth of this matter?
Jesus Christ said, “Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men…Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:7-9).
That is a strong statement! But it describes the way many professing Christians approach their beliefs. Various traditions now exist regarding when and how often the Lord’s Supper should be observed. Some churches take this “supper” once a month on Wednesday night, while others take it every Sunday. Still others take it twelve times a year on Sunday. Some believe it should be taken at night, while others prefer the morning (Sunday).
But, we need to ask, “What does God say?”—not “What do men say?” We must set aside all of the traditions of men and examine the Bible!
Contents
The Original Lord’s Supper
There was a specific time that Christ first introduced the symbols of the bread and the wine and how often they were to be taken. In doing this, He set an important example: “And when the hour was come, He [Christ] sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him…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 22:14, 19-20).
Jesus referenced a specific “hour was come” to partake of the bread and wine. The example He set involved a definite time, or hour, for this supper. The phrase, “in remembrance of Me,” connotes, in this case, a memorial of His death. Also, He commanded the disciples by saying, “this do.” Matthew’s account of this same night states that this ordinance was instituted “as they were eating” (Mt 26:26). Compare Matthew 26:17 and Luke 22:15. These verses plainly show that what they were eating was the Passover Supper!
Christ understood that the time for His sacrifice was come and that He was our Passover—who was to be sacrificed for us (I Cor. 5:7). Matthew 26:2 refers to this event as the “feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.”
The disciples asked Christ, in Matthew 26:17, “Where will You that we prepare for You to eat the passover?” Mark 14:15 shows that it was to be held in a “large upper room furnished and prepared.” The disciples were to get ready for this important event.
It should now be clear that the Lord’s Supper was really the Passover Supper! Now read the rest of Matthew 26:26: “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 you all of it; for this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” To better understand what Christ was introducing, we need to briefly study the Passover of the Old Testament. This will directly connect the Old Testament Passover to the New Testament “Lord’s Supper.”
The Old Covenant Passover
Most children learn in Sunday school the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. The famous movie The Ten Commandments tells the Hollywood version of Pharaoh’s resistance to Moses’ instruction from God and the resultant plagues that God poured out. The twelfth chapter of Exodus explains the key events of this original Passover.
God told the Israelites to take a young lamb, without spot or blemish, to represent a type of Christ—the Lamb of God. This was always to be done on the tenth day of the first month of the Hebrew sacred year. Unlike all humanly-devised calendars that begin the year in mid-winter, the sacred year began in the spring, around the equinox, with the new moon.
Four days later, on the 14th day of Abib (the first Hebrew month), the lamb was to be killed. Exodus 12:6 says that it was to be killed “in the evening,” but the original Hebrew means “between the two evenings.” Some Bible margins plainly state this. The Jewish Encyclopedia explains that this is the period commonly referred to as twilight or dusk. This period is described as the time after sundown but before full darkness has occurred. In other words, it was at the very beginning of the 14th that the lamb was killed—and soon thereafter, the blood of the lamb was sprinkled above the doorposts of the Israelites’ houses. At midnight, the death angel struck dead all the firstborn of Egypt. But God had told the Israelites, “when I see the blood, I will pass over you”—hence, the well-known term Passover.
Israel continued to observe the Passover season for hundreds of years!
From the 15th through the 21st of Abib—a period of seven days—Israel always kept the Days of Unleavened Bread. This meant that only unleavened bread could be eaten with meals for this one-week period following the Passover. The first and last of these days, the 15th and the 21st, were to be annual Sabbaths. Just as God has a weekly Sabbath, kept 52 times a year, He has seven annual Sabbaths. These two are kept in the early spring. Another is kept in the late spring, and four are kept in the fall. Leviticus 23:1-44 describes these seven Holy Days (annual Sabbaths) or feasts of God. These feasts are sometimes referred to as “high days” by the Jewish people. All of these terms are synonymous. This chapter is often called the “Holy Day chapter.”
Deuteronomy 16:6 shows that the lamb was always slain as the sun was going down, yet it was always eaten during the 14th day, not afterward (Lev. 23:5-6). God does things exactly on time! The time is once a year, at night, in the beginning of the 14th of Abib—after the sun has set!
Passover Was to be Observed Forever
There can be no doubt that God ordained the Passover as a permanent ordinance—forever (Ex. 12:17, 24)! Just as Romans 2:29 explains a change in circumcision—in the New Testament it was to be of the heart and not the flesh—Christ altered the way Passover was to be kept. Christ is the Lamb of God. He was slain for us, doing away with the need for a literal young lamb to any longer be sacrificed. As Christ explained, the bread and wine, symbolizing His broken body and shed blood, was to be an annual “look back” to His death—on our behalf!
Jesus kept the Passover once a year at an established—a set—time (Luke 2:42), and true Christians follow His example (I Peter 2:21). In fact, Christ Himself was following the example of Exodus 13:10, which explained that the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread were to be kept annually. It says there, “You shall therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.” Do you see these two phrases? It does not say “week to week” or “month to month”—or “pick any season you wish.” All humanly-devised traditions of time violate this basic instruction!
For the Israelites to have kept this at any other time would have literally jeopardized their firstborn from protection from the death angel. There was no room for miscalculation on their part or they could not have expected to be “passed over”—protected!
A Lesson in Deep Humility
The New Testament Passover, or “Lord’s Supper” ceremony, also involved the practice of footwashing. Many today are unwilling to lower themselves to do such a humbling thing as to wash the feet of their brethren. Few want to kneel down to wash one of the most unseemly parts of the body. However, consider the following account in John 13:1-38. After the supper (Jn 13:2), Christ washed the feet of all twelve of His disciples (Jn 13:4-5). Through His example, Christ gave a very specific instruction—a command—for His disciples to copy (Jn 13:12-15).
Notice: “So after He had washed their feet…He said unto them, Know you what I have done to you? You call Me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”
Those who will not accept the humbling ordinance of the footwashing as part of the Passover service have neglected to read Matthew 28:19-20. This great command is a statement about all of what Christ commanded the apostles: “Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them…Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Christ commanded that the footwashing be included in the Passover service.