Communion is Sacred: It Isn't Like Lunch

When Jesus ministered to more than 5,000 people on a hillside one day, the people had walked long distances, because they wanted to hear what He would say to them.

Jesus did speak to the people that day, and the Bible says that, when He had finished speaking, He felt pity toward them, because they had walked so far and had not eaten. So, He asked for a little food that could be multiplied and given to the people in small groups that day.

But that Christian fellowship over a meal, was not communion.

Communion is something else. Communion is a different form of fellowship; it's about being filled "in the Spirit," instead of filled by the food that we need each day to live.

In fact, the apostle Paul once told a church that, if they wanted food, then to eat at home. That was kind of mean, but something had apparently gotten out of hand with that church congregation.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good," David wrote in Old Testament times. David was always thankful to Heaven for the food that God gave, and so was Paul in the New Testament.

As happy a thing as good food can be, there's such a thing as just being filled "in the Spirit," and that's what Jesus wanted us to hunger for most: life "in the Spirit."

When Jesus spoke of drinking of the living water that was of Him, and when He spoke of eating of Him, He always meant to drink and eat of His Bible word.

"Blessed [joyful, nourished by God's goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied." (Matthew 5:6, Amplified Bible)

When we take communion, we're each expressing that we're breaking away from sin, that we've repented and are in right standing with Heaven, that we're worthy, in Spirit, of communing together (agreeing) over the fact that Jesus is good.

The first communion service was the night before Jesus gave His earthly life for us. What Jesus served that night was not a meal. It was a small amount of bread and a pure juice, not meant to nourish but to symbolize that His body would be broken and that His blood would be spilled for this world's sins.

Jesus gave the first disciples this ritual so that they would remember that He had said or prophesied exactly what would take place. Isn't it easier to remember things when we go through some ritual with hands and heart? Yes.

So, that's why Jesus gave us communion, to help us always remember what He said He would do and that He did do so, that He did give His body on a cross at Calvary, to discourage men from continuing in sin.

And, when we take communion, we acknowledge that Jesus does dwell in us, that He works through us, that we're filled by His Spirit, more of less, which helps us repent and to be in right standing or agreement with Him.

We partake of Jesus each time we partake of His Bible word, and communion is part of His word. And that fills us with every assurance that Jesus is real in our lives.

Keep in mind, communion is not like witchcraft; it's never drinking blood or tasting death.

And it's not exactly our acknowledgement that Jesus has made the way for the church to live this life with thanksgiving for food.

But communion acknowledges that Jesus is the spiritual sustenance or substance we each need. Without believing on what Jesus did for us at Calvary, and without receiving that memory with repentance in heart, none of us could live very well at all. ... Amen?