Context No. 3590 of 4322 · 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 11:23-34: in context

23For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread. 24When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.” 25In the same way he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks judgment to himself if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body. 30For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. 31For if we discerned ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest your coming together be for judgment. The rest I will set in order whenever I come.

Paul passes on the words of the Lord's Supper: on the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, this is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. And likewise the cup: this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Every time we share it, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

It is a memorial, a proclamation, and a communion in the body and blood of Christ. And Paul adds a solemn word: let a person examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup, for whoever eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. The warning is not meant to keep us away in fear, but to call us to come rightly, with self-examination, reverence, and a true discerning of what we are sharing in. The Lord's Supper is no casual meal; it is a holy participation in Christ's death for us, to be approached with a heart that examines itself and reveres what it receives.

Do I come to the Lord's table with the self-examination, reverence, and discernment it calls for, treating it not as a casual ritual but as a holy participation in Christ's death for me?

Sources

1 Corinthians 11:24-25: "This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me... This cup is the new covenant in my blood."
1 Corinthians 11:26: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
1 Corinthians 11:28: "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."