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Lord's Supper
LORD'S SUPPER; (EUCHARIST)
Contents:
GENERAL
I. Definition
II. New Testament Sources
1. Textual Considerations
2. Narratives Compared
3. Other Pauline Data
III. Preparation for the Eucharist
1. Miracles of Loaves and Fishes
2. Discourse at Capernaum
IV. Historical Setting of the Eucharist
1. Other Acts and Words of Christ on Eve of the Passion
2. Sacrificial Language of the Institution
3. Sacrificial System of Jewish Dispensation
4. Paschal Background of the Institution of the Eucharist
V. Sequence of the Institation
Points to Be Noted
VI. The Church's Observance of the Eucharist
1. Heavenly Background
2. Celebrated Each Lord's Day
3. Names of the Eucharist
VII. Post-Apostolic Church
1. Guidance by the Holy Spirit
2. The Early Fathers
VIII. Liturgical Tradition
1. Outline of Eucharistic Prayer
2. Significance of This for Unity
LITERATURE
HISTORICAL
1. Original Institution
2. The Elements
3. The Eucharist in the Apostolic Church
4. The Eucharist in the Post-apostolic Church
5. Rome and the Eucharist
6. Luther and the Eucharist
7. Zwingli and the Eucharist
8. Calvin and the Eucharist
LUTHERAN INTERPRETATION
I. The Term
1. The Derivation and Meaning
2. Synonyms
II. The Ordinance
1. Source and Norm of the Doctrine of the Eucharist
2. Interpretation of the Eucharistic Texts
3. Doctrinal Contents of the Eucharistic Passages
III. Difficulties
1. Question of Possibility
2. The Place of Faith in the Sacrament
3. The Words of the Institution
ACCORDING TO THE BELIEF AND PRACTICE OF THE CHURCH OF THE
BRETHREN (DUNKERS)
I. The Last Supper Was Not the Jewish Passover
1. Date
2. Doctrinal
3. Tradition
II. The Perpetuation of the Last Supper
III. Practice of the Church of the Brethren
IV. The Meaning and Significance of the Love Feast
LITERATURE
LORD'S SUPPER; (EUCHARIST)
GENERAL
I. Definition.
Eucharist.—The distinctive rite of Christian worship, instituted by our
Lord Jesus
Christ upon the eve of His atoning death, being a religious partaking
of bread and wine,
which, having been presented before God the Father in thankful memorial
of Christ's
inexhaustible sacrifice, have become (through the sacramental blessing)
the communion
of the body and blood of Christ (compare John 6:54; Acts 2:42; Acts
20:7, 11; Romans
15:16; 1 Cor. 10:16; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
II. New Testament Sources.
The New Testament sources of our knowledge of the institution of the
Eucharist are
fourfold, a brief account thereof being found in each of the Synoptic
Gospels and in
Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark
14:22-25; Luke 22:14-
20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; compare 10:16-17).
1. Textual Considerations:
The text of these narratives has been found to need little amendment,
save the
dropping of a word or two, from each account, that had crept in through
the tendency of
copyists, consciously or unconsciously, to assimilate the details of
parallel passages.
The genuineness of Luke 22:19b, 20 is absolutely beyond question.
Their omission in
whole or part, and the alterations in the order of two or three verses
in the whole section
(Luke 22:14-20), characteristic of a very small number of manuscripts,
are due to
confusion in the minds of a few scribes and translators, between the
paschal cup (Luke
22:17) and the eucharistic cup (Luke 22:20), and to their well-meant,
but mistaken,
attempt to improve upon the text before them.
2. Narratives Compared:
(1) Mark:
The briefest account of the institution of the Eucharist is found in
Mark 14:22-24. In
it the Eucharist is not sharply distinguished from its setting, the
paschal meal: "And as
they were eating, he took bread, and when he had blessed, he brake it,
and gave to them,
and said, Take ye: this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had
given thanks, he
gave to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is
my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many." This represents a tradition
settled within 20
years of the event described.
(2) Matthew:
Matthew 26:26-28 gives a few touches by way of revision, apparently
from one then
present. He adds the exhortation "eat" at the giving of the bread, and
puts the personal
command, "Drink ye all of it," in place of the mere statement, "and
they all drank of it."
He adds also of the blood that, as "poured out for many," it is "unto
remission of sins."
(3) Pauline:
The Pauline-account, 1 Cor. 11:23-26 (the earliest written down, circa
55 AD), was
called forth in rebuke of the scandalous profanation of the Eucharist
at Corinth. It gives
us another tradition independent of; and supplementary to, that of
Mark-Matthew. It
claims the authority of the Savior as its source, and had been already
made known to the
Corinthians in the apostle's oral teaching. The time of the institution
is mentioned as the
night of the betrayal. We note of the bread, "This is my body, which is
for you," of the
cup, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood," and the redoubled
command, "This do
in remembrance of me."
(4) Luke:
The narrative given in Luke 22:14-20 is the latest (circa 80 AD) of our
New
Testament records. Luke had taken pains to follow up everything to its
source, and had
reedited the oral tradition in the light of his historical researches
(Luke 1:2-3), and thus
his account is of the highest value. Writing for a wider circle of
readers, he carefully
separates and distinguishes the Eucharist from the paschal meal which
preceded it, and
puts the statement of Christ about not drinking "from henceforth of the
fruit of the vine,
until the kingdom of God shall come," in its proper place as referring
to the paschal cup
(compare Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; and Luke 22:15-18). In describing
the actual
institution of the Eucharist, he gives us an almost verbal identity
with the account given
by Paul (1 Cor. 11:23-25).
3. Other Pauline Data:
We should note the statement appended by Paul to his account of the
Institution,
wherein he emphasizes the memorial aspect and evidential value of the
witness the
eucharistic observance would give throughout the ages of the Christian
dispensation (1
Cor. 11:26). We should also note the fact upon which the apostle bases
his rebuke to the
profane (Corinthians, namely, the real, though undefined, identity of
the bread and wine
of the Eucharist with the body and blood of Christ (1 Cor. 11:27-29);
an identity
established through the blessing pronounced upon them, so that the
bread and cup have
come to be the "communion of the body of Christ" and the "communion of
the blood of
Christ," respectively (1 Cor. 10:15-17). To receive the Eucharist, and
also to partake of
sacrifices offered to idols, is utterly incompatible with Christian
loyalty. To receive the
Eucharist after a gluttonous, winebibbing agapeô, not recognizing the
consecrated
elements to be what the Lord Christ called them, is, likewise, a
defiance of God. Both
acts alike provoke the judgment of God's righteous anger (1 Cor.
10:21-22; 1 Cor. 11:21-
22, 27-29).
III. Preparation for the Eucharist.
The institution of the Eucharist had been prepared for by Christ
through the object-
lesson of the feeding of the five thousand (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark
6:35-44; Luke 9:12-
17; John 6:4-13), which was followed up by the discourse about Himself
as the Bread of
Life, and about eating His Flesh and drinking His Blood as the
nourishment of eternal
life.
1. Miracles of Loaves and Fishes:
This again was clinched by the second object-lesson of the feeding of
the four
thousand afterward (Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-9). The Lord Christ's
thanksgiving,
and His blessing of the loaves and fishes—acts not elsewhere recorded
of Him, except at
the institution of the Eucharist, and at the self-revealing meal at
Emmaus (Luke 24:30)—
deeply impressed those present, as indicating the source whence came
His power to
satisfy the hunger of the multitude (compare Matthew 14:19; Matthew
15:36; Mark 6:41;
Mark 8:6-7; Luke 9:16; John 6:11, 23).
2. Discourse at Capernaum:
In the discourse at Capernaum (John 6:26-58) Christ led the thought of
His hearers
from earthly to heavenly food, from food that perished to the true
bread from heaven. He
declared Himself to be the living bread, and, further, that it is
through eating His flesh
and drinking His blood that they shall possess true life in themselves,
and be raised by
Him at the last day. The difficulties raised by this discourse Christ
did not solve at the
time. His ascension would but add to them. He asked of His disciples
acceptance of His
words in faith. Under the administration of the Spirit would these
things be realized
(John 6:60-69). The institution of the Eucharist, later, gave the clue
to these otherwise
"hard" words. Today the Eucharist remains as the explanation of this
discourse. A hardy
mountaineer, e.g. who had read John 6 many times, could form no notion
of its purport.
When first privileged to be present at the eucharistic service of the
Book of Common
Prayer, the meaning of feeding upon Christ's flesh and blood forthwith
became apparent
to him (see The Spirit of Missions, July, 1911, 572-73).
IV. Historical Setting of the Eucharist.
1. Other Acts and Words of Christ on Eve of the Passion:
We should note the setting in which the institution of the Eucharist
was placed.
Though the Fourth Gospel does not record this, it gives us many
otherwise unknown
data of the words of Christ spoken upon the eve of His death, in which
historically the
institution of the Eucharist was set. The symbolic washing of the feet
of the disciples
(John 13:3-10), the "new" commandment (John 13:34), Christ as the means
of access to
the Father (John 14:6), love for Christ to be shown by keeping His
commandments (John
14:15, 21, 23-24), the sending of the Paraclete Spirit (John 14:16-17,
26; John
15:26; John 16:13-14), the intimate fellowship of Christ and His
disciples, shown in the
metaphor of the vine and its branches (John 15:1-9, 13-16)—all these
throw their
illumination upon the commandment, "This do in remembrance of me" (Luke
22:19; 1
Cor. 11:24-25). The efficacy of prayer `in Christ's name' (John
16:23-24, 26-28) after
His final withdrawal from the midst of His disciples, and His great
prayer of self-
oblation and intercession for His church throughout time (John 17,
especially 17:9-26)
must not be forgotten in considering, "This is my body which is given
for you" (Luke
22:19), and, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for
many unto
remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28).
2. Sacrificial Language of the Institution:
The sacrificial connotation of many of the words used in the narratives
of institution
should be noted: e.g. "body," "blood," "covenant," "given," "poured
out," "for you," "for
many" "unto remission of sins," "memorial" (compare Exodus 24:6-8;
Leviticus 2:2, 9-
16; Leviticus 4:5-7, 16-18, 34; Leviticus 17:11, 14; Leviticus 24:7;
Numbers 10:10;
Hebrews 9:11-28; Hebrews 10:4-10, 19-20). The very elements of bread
and wine also
suggested the idea of sacrifice to those accustomed to their use in the
older system of
worship (compare Exodus 29:38-42; Numbers 15:4-10; Numbers 28 and
Numbers 29
passim).
3. Sacrificial System of Jewish Dispensation:
The general background, moreover, out of which the institution of the
Eucharist
stands forth, is the sacrificial system of the older dispensation. The
chosen people of
God, as a priestly race, a holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6; Deut. 7:6),
worshipped God with a
sequence of offerings, Divinely molded and inspired, which set forth
the sovereign
majesty and overloading of God, His holiness, and the awe and penitence
due from those
who would draw nigh unto Him, and their desire for communion with Him.
The more immediate background of the Eucharist is the Passover, and
that without
prejudice as to whether the Lord Christ ate the paschal meal with His
disciples before He
instituted the Eucharist, as seems most probable (compare Luke
22:7-18), or whether He
died upon the day of its observance (see article "Preparation,"
Hastings, Dictionary of
Christ and the Gospels, II, 409).
4. Paschal Background of the Institution of the Eucharist:
The Passover was at once a covenant-recalling and a covenant-renewing
sacrifice,
and the Eucharist, as corresponding to it, was instituted at the time
of its yearly
observance, and of the immolation of the true paschal lamb, of whose
death it interpreted
the value and significance (Exodus 12:3-28; compare 13:3-10; Deut.
16:1-8; 1 Cor. 5:7;
John 6:51; John 10:10-11, 15, 17, 18; John 15:13; John 17:19).
V. Sequence of the Institation.
Let us put before ourselves clearly the sequence of the Lord Christ's
acts and words
at the institution of the Eucharist ere we proceed to examine the
church's mode of
celebrating this ordinance.
Points to Be Noted
At the close of the paschal Supper, (1) the Lord Christ "took" the
bread and cup,
respectively, for use in His new rite; (2) He "gave thanks" over them,
constituting them a
thank offering to God; (3) He "blessed" them to their new and higher
potency; (4) He
"gave" them to the apostles (the breaking being a requisite preliminary
to distribution of
the bread); (5) He bade them "Take, eat," and "Drink ye all of it,"
respectively; (6) He
declared, of the bread, "This is my body given for you," of the cup,
"This is my blood of
the covenant," or, "This is the new covenant in my blood which is
poured out for you,"
"unto remission of sins"; (7) He adds the reiterated command, "This do
for my
memorial."
It is obvious that we are bidden to follow out the same series of acts,
and statements,
as those of Christ Himself. We should take bread and wine, set them
apart by rendering
thanks to God over them, presenting them to Him as symbols of Christ's
body and blood,
once for all "given" and "poured out" for us; bless them by asking
God's blessing upon
them (compare Genesis 14:19; Numbers 6:23-27; Mark 8:7; Luke 2:34; Luke
9:16; Luke
24:50); and receive and give them as the body and blood of Christ; for,
"the cup of
blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ?
The bread which
we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:16).
It is obvious that
we shall not forget, in this connection, the distinction between the
natural body of Christ
which He took of the Blessed Virgin, and the bread which He held in His
hand, and
blessed and made to function as His body for our participation and
inherence in Him
thereby—His sacramental body. The church with her many members united
to the Head,
and thus to each other, is also called His body mystical (1 Cor. 10:17;
1 Cor. 12:27;
Ephes. 1:22-23; Col. 1:24).
VI. The Church's Observance of the Eucharist.
1. Heavenly Background:
(1) Christians a Priestly Race:
We should remember the priestly character of the church of Christ,
whose sacrifices
are made under the dispensation of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 2:5, 9;
Rev. 1:6; compare
Acts 1:2, 8); and also the eternal priesthood in the heavens of our
risen, ascended and
ever-living Lord Christ.
(2) Christ the Eternal High Priest:
He laid down His life in order to take it again (John 10:17), and now
in the
perfection of His glorified human nature, by His very presence in
heaven, He is forever
the propitiation inexhaustible for our sins (Hebrews 2:17-3:3; Hebrews
4:14-5:10;
Hebrews 7:1-8:7; Hebrews 9:11-28; Hebrews 10:1-25; compare 1 John
2:1-2). As the
Lamb slain once for all but alive for evermore, the Lord Christ is the
focus of the
worship of angels and the redeemed (Rev. 1:17-18; Rev. 5:6-14; Rev.
7:9-10), and the
Christian disciple has the privilege of feeding upon that eternal
Priest and Victim
(Hebrews 13:10; 1 Cor. 10:16).
2. Celebrated Each Lord's Day:
The celebration of the Eucharist was characteristic of the pentecostal
church (Acts
2:42), especially upon the Lord's Day (Acts 20:7). Its observance was
preceded by the
agape (1 Cor. 11:20, 34) on the eve (for the circumstances of the
institution were closely
imitated, and the day was reckoned as beginning at sunset after the
Jewish fashion), and
thus the Eucharist proper came late into the night, or toward morning
(Acts 20:11).
3. Names of the Eucharist:
(1) Eucharist:
The name" Eucharist" is derived from the eucharistesas (" gave thanks")
of the
institution and was the most widely used term in primitive times, as
applied to the whole
service, to the consecration of the bread and wine or to the
consecrated elements
themselves (compare 1 Cor. 14:16).
(2) Lord's Supper:
It should be noted that the name, "Lord's Supper," belongs to the agape
rather than to
the Eucharist; its popular use is a misnomer of medieval and
Reformation times.
(3) Breaking of Bread:
The term "breaking of bread" (Acts 2:42; Acts 20:7, 11) had little
vogue after New
Testament times.
(4) Communion:
"Communion" obviously is derived from 1 Cor. 10:16.
(5) Oblation:
In connection with the early and frequent use of the word "oblation"
(prosphora) and
its cognates, we should note Paul's description of his ministry in
terms that suggest the
rationale of the prayer of consecration, or eucharistic prayer, as we
know it in the earliest
liturgical tradition: "that I should be a minister of Christ Jesus unto
the Gentiles,
ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles
might be made
acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:16).
VII. Post-Apostolic Church.
1. Guidance by the Holy Spirit:
The same Spirit who guided the church in the determination of the Canon
of the New
Testament Scriptures, the same Spirit who guided the church in the
working out of her
explicit formulation of the Christian doctrine of the Godhead, and of
the Christ—that
self-same Spirit guided the church in the formation and fashioning of
her great
eucharistic prayer into its norm in the same 4th century. The historic
churches of the
East, by their faithful adherence to this norm, have been almost
undisturbed by the
dissensions and disputes of Western Christendom touching the Eucharist.
2. The Early Fathers:
The glimpses given us in the earlier Fathers of the Eucharist are in
entire accord with
the more articulate expression of the church's corporate eucharistic
worship, which we
find in the liturgical documents and writings of the Nicene era.
(1) Ignatian Epistles:
The Ignatian Epistles show us the Eucharist as the focus of the
church's life and
order, the source of unity and fellowship. The Eucharist consecrated by
the prayer of the
bishop and church is the Bread of God, the Flesh and Blood of Christ,
the
communication of love incorruptible and life eternal (compare
Ephesians, 5, 13, 10;
Trallians, 7, 8; Romans, 7; Philadelphians, 4; Smyrnaeans, 7, 8;
Magnesians, 7).
(2) Justin Martyr:
Justin Martyr tells us that the Eucharist was celebrated on the Lord's
Day, the day
associated with creation and with Christ's resurrection. To the
celebrant were brought
bread and wine mixed with water, who then put up to God, over them,
solemn
thanksgiving for His lovingkindness in the gifts of food and health and
for the
redemption wrought by Christ. The oblations of bread and wine are
presented to God in
memorial of Christ's passion, and become Christ's body and blood
through prayer. The
Eucharist is a spiritual sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
commemorative of Christ's
death; and the consecrated elements the communion of Christ's body and
blood, by
reason of the sacramental character bestowed upon them by the
invocation of the Divine
blessing (compare 1 Apol., 13, 15, 66, 67; Dialog with Trypho, 41, 70,
117).
(3) Irenaeus:
Irenaeus, also, emphasizes the fact that Christ taught His disciples to
offer the new
oblation of the New Covenant, to present in thank offering the
first-fruits of God's
creatures—bread and wine—the pure sacrifice prophesied before by
Malachi. The
Eucharist consecrated by the church, through the invocation of God's
blessing, is the
communion of the body and blood of Christ, just as He pronounced the
elements to be at
the institution (compare Against Heresies, i.13, 1; iv.17, 5; 18, 1-6;
33, 1; v.22, 3).
(4) Cyprian:
Cyprian, too, gives evidence of the same eucharistic belief, and
alludes very plainly
to the "Lift up your hearts," to the great thanksgiving, and to the
prayer of consecration.
This last included the rehearsal of what Christ did and said at the
institution, the
commemoration of His passion, and the invocation of the Holy Spirit
(compare Epistle
to Caecilius, sections 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 14, 17; Epistle to Epictetus,
sections 2, 4; On the
Unity of the Church, I, 17; On the Lord's Prayer, section 31; Firmilian
to Cyprian,
sections 10, 17).
VIII. Liturgical Tradition.
1. Outline of Eucharistic Prayer:
When we proceed to examine the early liturgical remains we find the
articulate
expression of the church's sacrifice following along these lines.
After an introductory
summons to the worshippers to "lift up their hearts," the great
eucharistic prayer goes on
to pour forth sublime praises to God for all the blessings of creation,
and for the fruits of
the earth; aligning the praises of the church with the worship of the
heavenly host around
the throne of God. The love of God in bringing about the redemption of
fallen man
through the incarnation, and through the self-oblation of His only Son
upon the cross is
then recalled in deep thankfulness. The institution of the Eucharist
in the night of the
betrayal is next related, and then, taking up, and fulfilling the
command of Christ (`Do
this for my memorial') therein recited, most solemn memorial is made
before God, with
the antitypical elements, of the death and of the victorious
resurrection and ascension of
the Lord Christ. Then, as still further carrying out this act of
obedience, most humble
prayer is made to the Eternal Father for the hallowing of the
oblations, through the
operation of the Holy Spirit, to be the body and blood of Christ, and
to be to those who
partake of them, for the imparting of remission of sins, and the
bestowal of life eternal.
To this great act of praise and prayer the solemn "Amen" of the
assembled congregation
assents, and thereafter the sacramental gifts are received by the
faithful present, with
another "Amen" from each recipient to whom they are administered.
The great eucharistic prayer, as outlined, was the first part of the
liturgy to crystallize
into written form, and of its component parts the invocation of the
Divine blessing upon
the elements was probably the first to be written down.
2. Significance of This for Unity:
Around the simplicity and the depth of such a truly apostolic norm of
eucharistic
worship, alone, can be gathered into one the now dispersed and divided
followers of the
Christ, for therein subsist in perfect harmony the Godward and the
manward aspects of
the memorial He commanded us to make as complementary, not
contradictory; and the
identity of the consecrated bread and wine with the body and blood of
Christ is
manifested to be in the realm of their spiritual function and potency.
LITERATURE.
E.F. Willis, The Worship of the Old Covenant .... in Relation to That
of the New;
Frederic Rendall, Sacrificial Language of the New Testament; Maurice
Goguel,
L'eucharistie des origines a Justin Martyr, 105ff; W.B. Frankland, The
Early Eucharist
(excellent); H.B. Swete, "Eucharistic Belief in the 2nd and 3rd
Cents.," Journal of
Theological Studies, June, 1902, 161 ff; R.M. Woolley, The Liturgy of
the Primitive
Church; M. Lepin, L'idee du sacrifice dans la religion chretienne; W.
Milligan, The
Ascension and Heavenly Priesthood of our Lord; Thomas Brett, A True
Scripture
Account of the Nature and benefits of the Holy Eucharist, 1736; id, A
Discourse
Concerning the Necessity of Discerning the Lord's Body in the Holy
Communion, 1720;
J.R. Milne, Considerations on Eucharistic Worship; id, The Doctrine and
Practice of the
Eucharist; H.R. Gummey, The Consecration of the Eucharist; A.J.
Maclean, Recent
Discoveries Illustrating Early Christian Life and Worship; id, The
Ancient Church
Orders; L. Duchesne, Origines du culte chretien; J.T. Levens, Aspects
of the Holy
Communion; John Wordsworth, The Holy Communion; F.E. Brightman,
Liturgies,
Eastern and Western.
—HENRY RILEY GUMMEY
HISTORICAL
This name of the Lord's Supper is derived from eucharistΖa, the
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