The Dangerous Table: Rethinking the Lord's Supper

1. THE SCANDAL: HOW TO TURN THE GOSPEL UPSIDE DOWN (vv. 17-22)

• Paul begins with words that should shock us: 

1. 1 Cor 11:17 Now in giving this instruction I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse.

• Here's why this matters: The gospel announces that in Christ, the old social hierarchies have been abolished. 

1. Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." 

• The cross is the great equalizer. At the foot of the cross, there's no hierarchy of worthiness. We're all beggars who've been invited to a feast we didn't earn and don't deserve.

1. THE MEANING: WHAT WE PROCLAIM WHEN WE DRINK AND EAT (vv. 23-26)

• To correct their practice, Paul takes the Corinthians back to the source. He reminds them of the night Jesus instituted this meal. Verses 23-26:

1. 1 Cor 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
2. JESUS PUT THIS IN PLACE

• REMEMBER:
• Paul reminds them of two things here: The Look Back and the Look Forward.

1. The Look Back: "Remembrance"

• The word here is anamnesis. It’s not just recalling a mental fact, like remembering where you left your keys. It means to make a past event a present reality. 
• When we take the bread, we are saying that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is the defining reality of our lives right now.
• If we truly remembered that Jesus was wounded for us - that He gave up His rights, His status, and His life for us - how could we possibly turn around and mistreat a brother or sister? 
• You can't be haughty and humble at the same time.

1. The Look Forward: "Proclamation"

• Verse 26: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
• This meal is a sermon. When you eat, you are preaching. You are telling the world, "My King died for me, and my King is coming back."
• The meaning is that we are participants in the life of Jesus.
• PROCLAIM: The Lord's Supper is, at its core, a proclamation of the gospel. When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we are announcing several deep, powerful truths:
• First, WE PROCLAIM SUBSTITUTIONARY SACRIFICE 

1. "This is my body, which is for you." Jesus didn't die as a martyr for a cause. He didn't die as an example of courage. 
2. He died for us

• in our place, bearing the penalty we deserved. 
• Humbles us as we remember that Jesus took our place on the cross where we deserved to be.
• Reminds us of the weight of our sin that was placed on Jesus on the cross.

1. Every time we take communion, we're saying: "I should have died. But he died instead."

• Second, WE PROCLAIM A NEW COVENANT

1. The old covenant was based on law-keeping and ethnic identity. You were in the covenant if you were physically descended from Abraham and if you kept the Torah. 
2. The NEW COVENANT is based entirely on what Christ has done. 

• It's inaugurated by his blood and received by faith. 
• This covenant is open to ANYONE and EVERYONE who trusts in Christ
• Regardless of ethnicity, social status, or moral track record.
• Third, WE PROCLAIM OUR UNITY AS ONE BODY. 

1. The bread is broken, and taken from one loaf as we are now one in Christ as the Body of Christ. [as Christ's body was broken. ]
2. We all share equally in it. There's no hierarchy at the Table. 
3. Reminds us that we are a part of the Body of Christ and every piece that is broken is a representation of someone who is a part of the Body of Christ….TOGETHER!
4. We're all utterly dependent on what Christ has done.

• Fourth, WE PROCLAIM CHRIST’S RETURN 

1. "Until he comes." 
2. The Lord's Supper is oriented toward the future. 

• The Lord’s Supper DOES NOT:

1. Put someone in the place of pleasing Christ

• We are made right through and ONLY through the work of Christ.

1. Get people to heaven

• We are given heaven THROUGH JESUS

1. Keep people in right relationship with God
2. Take away their sins
3. Provide salvation for someone

• The Table forces the question: 
• Do we really believe what we say we believe?

1. THE WARNING: THE DANGER AT THE TABLE (vv. 27-32)

• Paul now shifts to some of the most sobering words in the New Testament. Verse 27:

1. 1 Cor 11:27-32 So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world.
2. Paul is not saying you must be sinless to participate. If that were the standard, no one—ever—would qualify. 
3. The entire point of the gospel is that we are unworthy sinners who've been saved by grace!

• Paul is talking about the manner in which we participate, not our inherent worthiness.
• Paul says some of them had become weak and sick, and some had even died. 
• And notice the purpose of this discipline: "so that we may not be condemned with the world." 
• This is corrective discipline, not punitive rejection. 
• God loves his people enough to warn them, to wake them up, to keep them from wandering so far that they destroy themselves.
• The solution Paul offers is self-examination: 

1. 1 Cor 11:28 Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup.

• Examined: tested, proved or approved, tried as metals by fire and thus purified

1. Do I recognize that I'm proclaiming Christ's death when I eat and drink?
2. Do I acknowledge my absolute dependence on what Christ has done?
3. Am I harboring unconfessed sin, especially sin against other believers?
4. Am I treating other members of Christ's body with contempt or indifference?
5. Am I participating in ways that contradict the gospel?

• The warning here is this: The Table reveals where we truly stand. It's hard to take communion while holding a grudge. It's hard to proclaim unity while practicing division. It's hard to celebrate Christ's self-giving love while nursing bitterness or pride.
• The Table has a way of exposing our hypocrisy—and that exposure is actually grace. Because once we see it, we can confess it and be changed.

1. THE PRACTICE: THE RADICAL SIMPLICITY OF WAITING (vv. 33-34)
2. 1 Cor 11:33-34 THEREFORE, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, welcome [WAIT FOR] one another. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you gather together you will not come under judgment. I will give instructions about the other matters whenever I come.

• That's it. Wait for each other. Don't start the meal until everyone has arrived. 
• Wait for each other" means:

1. Slowing down for those who are weaker or slower. 
2. Refusing to flaunt our privileges. 
3. Actively pursuing those who are different from us. 
4. Bearing one another's burdens practically. 

• James 2:15-16 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?
•  The Table calls us to tangible care for one another.

1. THE GOSPEL OF THE TABLE

• The way we treat each other, especially at and around the Table, reveals what we really believe about the gospel.
• If we really believe that we're saved by grace alone, not by works, then there's no room for pride or looking down on others. We're all beggars at the feast.
• If we really believe that Christ died to create one new humanity, breaking down every dividing wall, then we can't be content with superficial diversity or segregated fellowship. We have to pursue real, costly unity.
• If we really believe that Christ gave his body for us, then we should be willing to give ourselves for one another—our time, our resources, our comfort.
• If we really believe that Christ is coming back to make all things new, then we should be living now in light of that future reality, creating communities that are previews of the kingdom to come.
• Paul doesn't write this letter to condemn them. He writes to correct them. He wants them to change. And implicit in this passage is the promise that they can change - that we can change.

1. If you've been taking communion casually, without thought, today is an invitation to come with more intentionality.
2. If you've been harboring bitterness toward another believer, today is a call to pursue reconciliation.
3. If you've been comfortable in your homogeneous community, today is a challenge to cross the lines that divide us.
4. If you've been ignoring the needs of those around you, today is an opportunity to start bearing one another's burdens.

• The Table is meant to unite us. Let's let it do its work.

Reflection & Application Questions

1. Where do you see modern versions of self-focused or consumer-driven worship in today’s church and in your own approach to church?
2. How does remembering the cross during communion reshape the way you view other believers; especially those you differ with or struggle to love?
3. What does “examining yourself” before communion look like in your own life? Is there anything right now the Spirit is calling you to address?
4. Is there anyone you need to forgive, reconcile with, or pursue peace with before receiving communion again? What step could you take this week?
5. In what ways have you taken the Lord’s Supper casually or without reflection? What would it look like for you to slow down and approach it with awe and gratitude?
6. How does communion remind you of your identity in Christ and your place within the family of God?
7. What spiritual habits or attitudes (gratitude, repentance, humility, unity) does communion invite you to strengthen in your weekly life - not just during the service?
8. How could our church practice communion in a way that better reflects the unity, humility, and shared life that Paul describes?

QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE

What does this reveal about God?

What does this reveal about you in relation to God?

What do you need to do about it?