Proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes

1 Corinthians 11:17-34 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now in giving this next instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse. ¹⁸ For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. ¹⁹ For there also have to be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. ²⁰ Therefore when you come together it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, ²¹ for when you eat, each one takes his own supper first; and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. ²² What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I do not praise you.

²³ For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁵ In 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 it, in remembrance of Me.” ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

²⁷ Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body. ³⁰ For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep. ³¹ But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. ³² But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

³³ So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. ³⁴ If anyone is hungry, have him eat at home, so that you do not come together for judgment. As to the remaining matters, I will give instructions when I come.

Today’s text says: I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In 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 it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.  It is not just that Jesus died that we are to remember and proclaim. It is why He died, for the forgiveness of and the redemption from our sins. If we truly remember why He died and how He died, with so much suffering for our sins, how could we claim and proclaim His redemption while still holding onto our sin?

The text says: Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.  I’ve known people to refrain from participating in Communion because they were at ought with another person. That may seem like a righteous thing to do, to not eat or drink in an unworthy manner. In truth though it is choosing to remain in the sin of unforgiveness rather than choosing to forgive. It is remembering what Jesus died for, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do,” (Luke 23:34) but refraining from and refusing to extend that forgiveness others.

There are many today who are choosing judgment on themselves rather than judging themselves. They either eat and drink in an unworthy manner, proclaiming that immorality and sin are acceptable to God, or they refrain from remembering what the Lord has, redeeming us from sin, by choosing to continue in it. There is life in remembering and proclaiming what Jesus has done. In John 10:10 He says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.” In Deuteronomy 30:15-20 God says: “See, I have placed before you today life and happiness, and death and adversity, in that I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that… the Lord your God may bless you. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you will certainly perish… I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him.”

Jesus says: “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me. This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”  Jesus taught us to pray saying: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, may my words and my life proclaim the redemption You paid so high of a price for. I choose life. Amen.