Why do Christians drink wine and break bread to remember Jesus?
The verses that spring to mind when I read the sentence above are taken from the gospel of John, chapter 6 and verses 53 to 56. The New International Version tells us:
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.”
We read of the first century Christians breaking bread on a Sunday, the first day of the week as recorded in Acts chapter 20 verse 7:
On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.
Therefore Christadelphians usually break bread on a Sunday and as instructed by the Bible.
During the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, broke it, and said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” This can be found in Luke chapter 22 verse 19. This act symbolized Jesus’ sacrifice for humanity and the establishment of the new covenant between God and people through His death and resurrection. Communion, therefore, involves partaking the bread and wine to remember Jesus’ love, grace, and forgiveness.
It is the equivalent of the Passover feast under the law of Moses as we read in Luke chapter 22 verse 15:
And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
This was a means of remembering the great deliverance from Egypt which God wrought through Moses at the Red Sea. The breaking of bread service takes us back to our salvation from sin through Christ, which was made possible on the cross and to which we became related by baptism. Keeping this commandment should therefore be something which we naturally desire to do.
In John chapter 17 verse 11 He prayed that his followers :
…will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
When we are baptized we become sons and daughters of God. He wants a close relationship with us in this life. Baptized believers can have fellowship with God and His Son now, because they are trying to do God’s will. It encourages us to remember the promise we made at our baptism – to serve God and not to please ourselves. This becomes a wonderful time of fellowship as we come closer to God and His Son by asking for forgiveness and meditating on the sacrifice of our Lord.
Generally before we partake of the emblems (bread and wine) we are further advised, “Let a man examine himself, and so (in that humble spirit of self-examination) let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup” as we read in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 27 to 29:
So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves”
The breaking of bread to remember the Lord Jesus and his great salvation is the centre of true Christian fellowship. By eating a small piece of bread and drinking a sip of wine we remind ourselves of the huge cost for our salvation when Jesus died on the cross as we read in 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18 and 19:
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Physically taking the bread and wine makes the love of Christ for us, and indeed all the things concerning our salvation top of our mind. Breaking bread also serves as a powerful reminder of Christ’s victory over the power of death, and reassures believers of their righteousness and the opportunity to meet Jesus at his second coming as it was his wish that his followers should regularly do this until his second coming, when Jesus will share the bread and wine with them again as recorded in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 25 to 27:
In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
It is a fundamental act that we carry out each week when we meet together. A very simple token with a huge consequential outcome. A very uncomplicated instruction given by our Lord for us to follow as part of our discipleship.
There are various blog posts on this website that cover the necessity of belief, baptism, the coming of our Lord Jesus and His future plans He has for us. These offer so much hope for us all. All of these posts would link into the topic of why we meet to break bread and drink wine to remember Him as part of our discipleship.
Article by SEC. Photo by Eric Lemon (pexels.com).