Be Ye Doers. . . Of The Word!

Not too long ago, a friend asked me these questions, "Does the bread represent the body of Christ, or IS IT the body of Christ? Does the juice represent the blood of Christ, or IS IT the blood of Christ?" Intriguing questions from a minister of a New Testament church. It has been the teaching of restoration churches that the Emblems are just that, emblems of the body and blood of Christ. What, then, is an emblem? According to the American Heritage Dictionary an emblem is, in part, an object or a representation that functions as a symbol. Therefore, the teaching of restoration churches is that the bread and juice are emblems which represent the body and blood of Christ.

However, there are groups which claim to be a part of Christ's church that teach that the bread and juice (or wine, as some groups use fermented juice) actually become the body and blood of Christ. This transformation is to have taken place after the bread and wine have been consecrated by the priest. There is also a multitude of other teachings which attempt to bring these two divergent points of view together.

But what does the Bible say? Remember, man-made teachings are subject to error as this one subject so clearly shows. By studying the different doctrines associated with The Lord's Supper we see that MAN has many different OPINIONS as to the Communion Emblems. But let's examine the only reliable source of truth –the Bible– and try to sort this out.

We see Jesus instituting The Lord's Supper in Luke, "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.' Luke 22:19-20 (NKJV)

The account is also given in Matthew, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.'" Matthew 26:26-29 (NKJV)

And also in Mark's gospel, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, 'This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.'" Mark 14:22- 25 (NKJV)

In addition to the above accounts of Jesus instituting The Lord's Supper we also have a record of Paul explaining The Lord's Supper to the church at Corinth: "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on 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; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NKJV) There are other Scriptures which refer to The Lord's Supper or admonish Christians concerning it, but these are the ones in which we see it being described and explained.

Now, exactly what did Jesus say in describing the bread and the cup? By reading each account given above we can conclude that Jesus was saying that the bread is "My Body" and the cup is "My Blood." Now we note that there is a slight difference with each writer (Matthew, Mark, Luke and Paul) in the phraseology used, but the meaning is still clear and concise. Jesus was saying that the bread was His dody and the cup was His blood. The question then becomes, what did Jesus mean in referring to the bread and cup in this manner? Was He saying that in some way the bread and juice actually becomes His body and blood? Or was He speaking allegorically?

In as much as Jesus did not expound on this subject in greater detail, we must use common sense and reason to make these determinations.

In the first place, if the bread and cup actually become the body and blood of our Lord and Savior, why is this not clearly indicated in Scripture. If this were to take place, it would be of monumental significance. It would be no small matter if, on every Lord's Day, the body and blood of Christ were to be in existence in thousands of locations all over the world. An event of this magnitude would have justified much more description in the Scriptures than it is given.

Or was Jesus speaking allegorically? An allegory, according to the American Heritage Dictionary is, "A literary, dramatic, or pictorial device in which characters and events stand for abstract ideas, principles, or forces so that the literal sense has or suggests a parallel, deeper symbolic sense." Was Jesus using the bread and juice to represent a deeper meaning than just eating a meal? Was He instituting a memorial service in which we could take common elements – bread and grape juice – and by eating and drinking remember the awesome sacrifice He made for us? I believe that this was exactly what Jesus was doing. When He said, "this is My body," and "this is My blood" He was saying that, by partaking of the emblems during our communion service, the bread and juice take on a deeper symbolic meaning than just bread and juice. They take on the meaning to us that we remember His sacrifice as we partake of these common elements.

If this is true, then there should be other occasions when Jesus spoke allegorically to teach deeper meanings. The most well known of these are the parables which Jesus used on several occasions. These, however, were clearly indicated by Jesus as a parable and the event of the institution of The Lord's Supper is not so indicated. So, are there other examples of Jesus using allegory to teach His deeper meanings?

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' "John 3:3 (NKJV) Here, Jesus uses the concept of being born to explain that a definite change must take place in the believer's life if he is to receive salvation. Was Jesus saying that the person had to literally be born again? Of course not! As a matter of fact Nicodemus questioned Jesus on this very matter. Jesus went on to explain further and then said, "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" John 3:12 (NKJV) Jesus was saying, "I made this simple for you to understand and you still do not believe." A clear indication that Jesus was using allegory in the phrase "born again."

"Jesus answered and said to her, 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.'" John 4:13-14 (NKJV) Jesus was referring to "living water" which He mentions earlier in this passage. Was He referring to actual water – H2O? Or was He using water in an allegorical sense to convey the message that He can bring complete spiritual satisfaction to the believer?

In both of these examples we see that Jesus used commonly known events and elements to express deeper spiritual meanings. He used others as well: John 6:48 "I am the bread of life."
Matthew 10:38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." Matthew 20:22 "But Jesus answered and said, 'You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?'

As we have seen, Jesus used allegory on several occasions. But if we were to still contend that He was not speaking thus, it poses other problems which we cannot find an answer. For example, if the communion emblems are actually transformed into the body and blood of Christ, when does this transformation take place? There is no priesthood established in the New Testament. In fact, Jesus is identified as our High Priest, "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession." Hebrews 4:14 (NKJV) Who then has this responsibility to consecrate the emblems into a transformed state?

Where is the admonition to keep the transformed emblems sacred? We are admonished by Paul to not partake in an unworthy manner. But I can find nowhere that the emblems themselves should be treated (protected from misuse) in a specific manner because "they are the actual body and blood of Christ."

Jesus instituted a memorial service whereby we, as Christians, can remember that His body was broken for us, and that His blood was shed for us. Is it important that we remember this sacrifice? You better believe it! That is why He instituted The Lord's Supper. If there were more to this memorial service, I know that Jesus would have told us so! He would not have left His precious body and blood to speculation. Let's partake of the communion emblems in the manner He would want us to, "...do this in remembrance of Me." Luke 22:19 (NKJV)

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