The Real "Lord's Supper" PRIVATE
by Larry J. Walker
Many churches conduct a service they call "The Lord's Supper." Variations of this ceremony are also dubbed "Communion" and "Eucharist" in other churches.
What does "Lord's supper" refer to? The expression occurs only in 1 Corinthians 11:20. Could this be the official name for the new ceremony that Jesus instituted for the Church? If so, why is this term found only in this one passage of scripture? What about "Communion" and "Eucharist?" What does the Bible say about this most important subject?
"Supper" was the main meal of the day, usually consisting of stew, with bread and wine. Jesus ate supper with His disciples on the night of His betrayal, capture and subsequent crucifixion. It was a typical supper meal with a pot of meat or stew, as clearly demonstrated by the fact that Jesus offered the "sop" (a piece of bread dipped into the dish) to Judas (John 13:26).
Jesus conducted the foot washing service during the meal, not before (John 13:4). He instituted the symbol of bread during the meal (Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22) and the symbol of the wine after supper (Luke 22:20). So the Bible clearly distinguishes the "supper" from these ceremonial observances, which took place during and after supper. The meal itself was not part of the ceremony, nor was the ceremony presented as a meal. This is clearly evident in the gospel accounts and Paul's description in 1 Corinthians 11.
Many refer to that meal as "the Last Supper" and to the partaking of bread and wine as "the Lord's Supper," ostensibly because of the one passage in 1 Corinthians 11, which we will now examine.
To understand the meaning of this verse, we must consider the cultural setting. From the earliest days of the New Testament Church, members customarily got together for food and fellowship (Acts 2:42, 46; Jude 12). Sacred meals were a prominent feature of pagan religions at the time, as well.
“It was a common practice amongst the Greeks at this time to hold a feast called eranos, to which all contributed, and of which all partook. A similar arrangement soon sprang up in the Christian communities, and were called agape, or "charity feasts"” (A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament by Fritz Reinecker, vol. 2, p. 76).
Since most of the members of the Corinthian church came from a pagan background, it is not difficult to imagine them reverting to their familiar pagan behavior on this occasion.
The abuses described in 1 Corinthians 11:21 occurred during "supper" (the evening meal), not during the taking of the bread and wine. Some had too much to eat and drink, whereas others were left hungry. Verse 22 clearly implies that this "supper" was not in their individual homes. The Corinthians apparently had what we might call today a "potluck" meal prior to the service, perhaps claiming to be following the example of Jesus Christ, who initiated the symbols of bread and wine during an evening meal with His disciples. Hence the term "Lord's supper."
According to Robertson, “It is possible that here the term applies both to the agape or Love-feast (a sort of church supper or club supper held in connection with, before or after, the Lord's Supper) and the Eucharist or Lord's Supper” (Word Pictures in the New Testament by A.T. Robertson, vol. 4, p. 159).
“The Christian common meal or agape feast apparently followed the pattern of public sacred feasting among the Jews and Greeks. Following the Greek custom, the food was brought together for all to share (cf. the modern church's "potluck" or "bring-and-share" supper), with the rich bringing more and the poor less” (The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 10, p. 259.
“At these gatherings was celebrated . . . the Lord's Supper. It consisted of two parts--a loaf broken and distributed during the meal, and a cup partaken of by all present after it. This bread and this cup were distinguished from the meal itself by the solemn declaration over them of the fact of the institution. The entire feast, however, had a solemnity and sanctity imparted to it by the eucharistic acts which accompanied it; and while this bread and this wine constituted the "Supper of the Lord," the entire "charity feast" became consecrated by it as a "Lord's Supper"” (Bible Commentary for English Readers, vol. VII, p. 334).”
"Lord's supper" is a misleading translation. In English a noun with an ending of "s" preceded by an apostrophe means the noun is in the genitive case, denoting a direct relationship of origin or possession. The genitive case in New Testament Greek expresses the same concept and is indicated by "case ending." So deipnon tou Kuriou would be translated "supper of the Lord" or "Lord's supper."
This grammatical construction would suggest that the "supper" originated with the Lord, and would build a strong case for "Lord's Supper" as an official ceremony instituted by Jesus Christ. However, 1 Corinthians 11:20 does not say "deipnon tou Kuriou" but Kuriakon deipnon. Kuriakon is the adjective form of Kurios (in the accusative case, since it is the direct object of the verb phago ("to eat"). Kittel explains the difference: “If it is asked, then, why . . . deipnon [is] combined with the adj. instead of the genitive tou kuriou, the answer is that this is an indirect relation to the Lord [emphasis mine], eg., as compared with logos tou kuriou ["word of" (origin) the Lord"]” (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. III, page 1096, emphasis supplied).
There is no meaningful way to translate the adjective form of Kurios ("Lord") into English. The contemporary meaning of Kuriakon deipnon would be best expressed by "Christian supper." Paul did not use the term christianos because at the time it had a negative connotation.
Furthermore, the definite article ("the" in English) is not in the text. So the expression is simply "a Christian meal" (a supper indirectly related to, or connected with, the Lord). As we have seen, that supper was the meal the Corinthians ate before the service. They may have identified their meal with the last supper Jesus ate with His disciples, during and after which He initiated the symbols of the new Christian ceremony.
Or, the indirect reference to Christ may have originated with Paul as part of his rebuke for their unchristian conduct preceding the sacred ceremony, especially since Greek syntax places the emphasis on Kuriakon, not on deipnon ("supper").
Either way, Paul is elaborating on the point made in verse 17, "You come together not for the better, but for the worse" (NKJV). Carnality, not Christ was the basis of their conduct. First of all, the Lord would not have any part of a meal in which factions exist (Compare 1 Corinthians 1:13 with 1 Corinthians 11:17-20). Secondly, their "Lord's supper" is a contradiction of terms because their selfish, inconsiderate, gluttonous conduct was clearly the opposite of the Lord's teachings, which are rooted in love and consideration for others-- especially needy members.
“It was not even a common meal together (koinon deipnon), not to say a Lord's deipnon. It was a mere grab game . . . . Hungry poor meeting intoxicated rich, at what was supposed to be a supper of the Lord” (Robertson, p. 163-164).
In the modern vernacular Paul is saying, "When you get together for church activities, you are doing more harm than good. First of all, because of your factions, secondly because of your selfish, inconsiderate conduct and even drunkenness at your potluck meal on the very night of the solemn occasion portraying Christ's death! Do you call this a Christian meal? No way! Your conduct is the very opposite of the teachings and example of Jesus Christ! Shame on you for bringing shame to God's Church and his people! I cannot and do not praise you for such shameful, unchristian conduct! You'd better get your act together and consider the fundamental meaning of the occasion and what it means to be a Christian!"
There is no scriptural instruction to use the term "Lord's supper" to refer to the service Jesus instituted. In fact, as we have seen, the expression is a misleading translation. Also, since the term "supper" refers to a full meal--not just bread and wine, to refer to one small piece of bread and one swallow of wine as a "supper" is inappropriate in light of the cultural usage of the term.
Paul does not express any objection to the practice of members sharing an evening meal prior to the service, or even connecting it with Jesus' last supper. But neither does he command it. On the contrary, he emphasizes that the tradition he received from the Lord involved partaking only of bread and wine (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). No mention is made of a command to eat a meal as part of the service. In fact he concludes the section by recommending that hungry members eat at home prior to the service (verse 34).
Traditional Christianity erroneously refers to Christ's final meal with his disciples as "the Last Supper" and the bread and wine as "the Lord's Supper." However, the Corinthian abuses Paul refers to occurred during their meal, not during the partaking of bread and wine. Hence the term "Lord's supper" in 1 Corinthians 11:20 refers to their meal which preceded the service, not the service itself.
Furthermore, there is no scriptural indication for the term "Lord's supper" ever being used on any other occasion.
So what is the name for the ceremony Jesus instituted? The answer is found in Luke's account of the occasion. Jesus said, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" (Luke 22:15 NIV). So "Passover" is the official name for this ceremony, from the mouth of Jesus Himself. Notice it says this Passover, not the Passover. The Passover was originally given to Old Testament Israel as a remembrance of God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 12-13). The observance of this day is rich with meaning and spiritual significance in God's plan. The Passover lamb was a type of Jesus Christ, the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
Jesus emphatically singled out this particular "Passover" as a reference to the New Testament ceremony that He instituted that night during and after the "supper" meal. This was a special "Passover," because the disciples, after their meal with Jesus, symbolically ate of His flesh and drank of His blood (John 6:53-58) to portray the profound significance of His impending death for our sins. The verses following the expression "this Passover," say nothing about the meal, only the institution of the symbols of bread and wine. So only the ceremony of eating the bread and drinking the wine can be called "Passover," not the supper meal during and after which the symbols were instituted. The name "Passover" is a reminder that "Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Why, then, did traditional Christianity adopt "Lord's Supper," "Communion" and "Eucharist" as official terms for this occasion? To make a long story short, the main catalyst was anti-Semitism. Several factors led to a concerted effort to divorce Christianity from Judaism. Many blamed all Jews for the death of Jesus Christ, a tragic fulfillment of the emotionally charged, mindless epithet, "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matthew 27:25). The first wave of persecution upon the Church came from Judaism. The Jews had also provoked the ire of Rome which ultimately resulted in the "Holocaust" of 70 AD and at least indirectly set the tone for Roman persecution of Christians. Last but not least, Satan obviously hated the Jews and fanned the flames of anti-Semitism in those who were otherwise vulnerable to that unchristian attitude.
“There was a disposition to disparage the Jewish law in the zeal to prove the independent originality of Christian institutions. The same polemic interest against Judaism ruled in the paschal [Passover] controversies” (History of the Christian Church by Philip Schaff, vol. II, p. 202-203).
The Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. was a milestone of accomplishment for the removal of "Judaizing" from Christianity. One of the main items "settled" at this conference was the "Quartodeciman controversy," which resulted in substituting Easter for Passover. This was the final step in severing the New Testament Passover from its Old Testament moorings, thus resulting in a free floating ceremony that has been observed in different ways at varying intervals by most mainstream Christian churches.
The term "Passover" was considered Jewish, so an exclusively "Christian" expression was sought. "Lord's Supper" filled the need temporarily but was ultimately dropped because so many pagan religions had similar sacred meals called "suppers." "Eucharist" and "Communion were chosen, since they appear in the scriptural accounts describing the new service Jesus instituted.
"Eucharist" is a transliteration of eucharisteo ("give thanks") used in connection with the symbols of bread and wine (Matthew 26:27; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:17, 19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). However, "giving thanks" for food and drink prior to eating or drinking was a Jewish custom Jesus followed prior to eating any food, including the miracles of feeding the 5,000 (Mark 6:41; John 6:11, 23) and the 4,000 (Matthew 15:36, Mark 8:6). The Catholic Church elevates the status of the term "Eucharist" by claiming that this prayer of thanksgiving results in the "transubstantiation," a belief that the symbols of bread and wine are miraculously changed into the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ.
"Communion" (Greek koinonia) is a very meaningful word when properly understood as "fellowship, common participation and sharing." Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 10:16 that "the cup of blessing" is "the communion" (koinonia) of the blood of Christ, and the bread is the communion (koinonia) of the body of Christ. Verse 17 emphasizes the unity represented by partaking these symbols.
"Communion" was also elevated from a descriptive term to an official title for the service. The claim has been made that the precedent for frequent "Eucharist" or "Communion" services was established by scripture, in that the Christian "love feasts" (Jude 12) were "Communion services." The expression "breaking bread" (Acts 2:42, 46) supposedly refers to "Communion" services. Some Bible scholars candidly admit the difficulty in determining which were "Communion" services and which were simply common meals. Yet to this day Acts 2:42 is considered by many as a "Communion" service, since it speaks of fellowship (koinonia) and breaking bread.
“Later, the common meal was "detached . . . and a clear separation [was] made between the sacramental Eucharist and the fellowship meal of the Agape"”(Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 3, p. 160). Eventually, the meal was discontinued, and only the bread and wine was taken.
“At first there may have been a full fellowship meal at which the action of Jesus with the bread at the Last Supper was repeated at the beginning, and that with the cup at the end. When abuses crept into the meal (sometimes called a "love feast"), or when the church came to a better understanding of the mind of Christ, the separated actions [symbols of bread and wine] were brought together, and the meal as a replenishment was gradually stopped” (The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church by J. D. Douglas, art. "Communion, Holy").
The term "Lord's Supper" was reintroduced at some point in history, despite the earlier abandonment of the term because of its similarity to the pagan "suppers" honoring their gods. The supper meal had long since been discontinued. So the names "Lord's Supper," "Communion" and "Eucharist" were then applied to the service of partaking bread and wine, in the absence of a regular meal. Thus we are left with the term "Lord's Supper" to describe what is actually not a meal, and "Communion" and "Eucharist" as official names, even though they were never presented as such in the Scriptures.
One could build a case for other "biblical words" that could be used for the Passover service.
A benediction was similarly given in the form of a "toast" (Greek eulogia) at the end of a Jewish dinner. Hence the expression "cup of blessing" (Greek eulogia) Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 10:16. So the partaking of the wine in the Passover service could, by similar reasoning, be referred to as a "eulogy." In fact, eulogeo and eucharisteo are used synonymously in the gospel accounts of the distribution of the bread (Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19). Logically, that should give "Eulogy" equal billing with "Eucharist" as a potential name for the service.
The word "took" (Greek lambano) is used in reference to the bread and wine in the synoptic gospels and 1 Corinthians 11. So why not call the Passover service "Lambano?" This would mean the ceremony of partaking.
These and many other words we could put forth are descriptive terms for part of the Passover service, not alternate official names for the ceremony. The only official name for the service Jesus initiated is clearly "Passover." The tie in to the Old Testament Passover should be apparent from the context of the scriptural accounts, especially in Jesus' words "this Passover" (Luke 22:15) as a reference to the new ceremony he was about to institute. The only other alternative is that Jesus' "last supper" was the Old Testament Passover meal (which some scholars believe), in which case the correct name "Passover" is even more obvious.
Putting it all together, here are some conclusions we should draw regarding the use of "Lord's supper," "Eucharist," "Communion," and "Passover."
Summary:
1) "Passover" is the official name of the Old Testament occasion and the New Testament ceremony. Both portray Christ our Passover sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).
2) When Christians partake of the symbols of bread and wine, we "commune" (participate or share together) with Christ and each other. The descriptive term "communion" expresses that act of sharing, but it is not the official name for the service. It would be appropriate, therefore, to refer to the taking of the bread and wine as a "communion" service, but not "Communion".
3) "Eucharist" comes from a biblical word meaning thanksgiving. Christ and the Church gave thanks over wine symbolizing Christ's blood, as well as over the bread symbolizing Christ's body. This giving of thanks is the same in principle as the prayer of thanks given prior to eating or drinking at common meals. Hence there is no logical reason for considering "Eucharist" as the official name of the Passover service. Nor is it a proper descriptive term, as it refers only to the prayer of thanksgiving that precedes taking the Passover symbols.
4) The term "Lord's supper" is better translated "a Christian meal". Paul and possibly the Corinthians used this term to refer to a common meal they ate prior to the Passover service, perhaps claiming to follow the example of Jesus' final supper with His disciples.
5) Paul does not condemn the term or the custom it refers to (having a meal prior to the Passover service), nor does he enjoin either upon Christians.
6) The term "Lord's supper" cannot and does not refer to the Passover symbols of bread and wine, which, by definition and by custom, do not constitute a "supper." Therefore, "Lord's Supper" is not even an appropriate descriptive term, much less the official name for the service.
7) The real "Lord's supper" is the final dinner meal Jesus ate with His disciples prior to His sacrificial death for our sins as our Passover sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). He commands His true disciples to keep the Passover as a memorial of His death (1 Corinthians 11:26).
Therefore when we assemble together to partake of the symbols of bread and wine, it is not to eat the "Lord's Supper." It is to take the Passover. The apostle Paul admonished the Corinthians to make good on their claim to keep the "traditions" he delivered to them. We ought to keep those "traditions" today, as well.
This study paper may be freely duplicated and distributed in the interest of truth and understanding. Any commercial use of this paper without the written permission of the author is strictly prohibited. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome. Address to author at P.O. Box 36, La Pine, OR 97739.
Copyright© 1995 by Larry J. Walker, minister, United Church of God. All rights reserved. (Internet address: Larry_Walker@ucg.org or lwalker@ucgbend.org