Is the Lord’s Supper important? Where you go on Sunday – is the Lord’s Supper a significant, well attended and deeply cherished activity of the local church? Or is it sort of optional, hit-or-miss, once-in-a-while, an occasional or annual or quarterly type of thing? What about you personally – where does the Lord’s Supper rank in your list of priorities and spiritual commitments?

Of all the things that would have been on the Lord’s mind the night before He was crucified, isn’t it significant that He took the time with His little band of devoted followers to establish what we know today as the Lord’s Supper! The very same night Judas went out to ‘activate’ his betrayal plan, Jesus met with his disciples in the upper room and held bread in His hands and said: “This is my body which is given for you; this do (keep on doing is the thought) in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) Then He took a cup of wine and said to his disciples: “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28) “This do in remembrance of me.” Or “DO this in remembrance of me.” Sounds like a commandment from the Saviour’s lips!

The Apostle Paul was not in the Upper Room that night – in fact, at that time, he was an enemy of Christ, known as Saul of Tarsus. Sometime after the resurrection of Christ, as Saul of Tarsus was busy trying to wipe Christianity off the face of the earth, he was stopped in his tracks on the Damascus Road. The rest is history. Saul of Tarsus was saved and he became an Apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of all the things the Lord would want to reveal to His new convert in the coming months and years, isn’t it significant that the Lord directly told the newly saved Apostle Paul about the emblems (symbols) of His body and His blood – the bread and the cup? Paul in turn passed along the Lord’s commandment regarding the ‘memorial service’ to the Christians in Corinth. (1Corinthians 11:23)

Then we read:

It says: “As often as you eat this bread…” It doesn’t say: ‘whenever’ or ‘as seldom’ but the thought seems to be: each and every time you do this, you are announcing to the world the tremendous cost of the forgiveness of sins – nothing less than the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

How often was the Lord’s Supper or the Breaking of Bread practiced by the early churches? Every Sunday. The first day of each week. (Acts 20:7) When will the bread and the cup no longer be needed? When Jesus Himself returns. We will not need symbols or emblems then. We will have Him. We will be with Him and we will see Him as He is.

Have you obeyed His commandment: “This DO in remembrance of Me?” Some churches and some people who are deeply committed to evangelism in the world do not place a priority on this commandment of the Lord and sadly fail to practice it weekly as the early Christians did. Have you honored the Lord’s desire in this regard? Are you a thankful participant in the weekly remembrance of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ? Have you found a local church that makes the Lord’s Supper a significant weekly function?