Proclaiming the Lord's Death
Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
—1 Corinthians 11:26
The early Christians gathered to break bread. There would also be singing and preaching, but the breaking of bread was at the heart of their gatherings. They were “remembering” Jesus as they broke bread even though he was physically removed from them.
Paul gives us added insight about what happens at the communion table. He says, “You proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” How does that happen? What and how am I proclaiming when I take the Lord’s Supper? To whom am I proclaiming?
A little earlier, in 1 Corinthians 10:21, Paul talks about two tables—the table of the Lord and the table of demons. (The table of demons had to do with eating food sacrificed to idols—a common social practice at that time.) Today, as we live our lives, we may often be tempted to let something besides the Lord feed our hearts. If we yield to that temptation, we wander from God and associate with demons. When we take the Lord’s Supper, we tell the spiritual world that Jesus is the source of our lives. We tell the devil that he has been defeated and the curse of sin has been broken. He no longer has a say in our life because we belong to Jesus Christ. The forces of evil do not want to be reminded of this, but at the Lord’s table we celebrate with heaven the victory of the cross. May we be nourished at his table alone!
Thank you, Jesus, for empowering us to proclaim your victory and ours over all the forces of evil. Lord Jesus, may we fix our eyes on you, in whose name we pray. Amen.
About the author — John Kuperus
Since he was young, John Kuperus has had a passion that everyone would know Jesus. Spreading the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) is very important to him. To be better equipped for missions, John attended Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He applied these skills with marketplace evangelism in a business he started in Sussex, New Jersey. This calling continued to follow him, so John attended seminary and became a minister in the Christian Reformed Church, serving a church in Ontario for eight years. Currently he serves as a missionary for Youth with a Mission (YWAM). He witnesses Jesus changing lives as people walk out of the darkness into the light. John is married to Helen, and they have seven children.
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