Communion: What Does It Mean?

This week we will be looking at Communion.
Some people refer to communion as the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist.
Jesus observed a Passover meal with His disciples the night He was betrayed, arrested and eventually led to Calvary. During this Passover meal Jesus gives 'new meaning' to the Passover meal and instates the Lord's Supper. You see, the Passover was a celebration of, a remembrance of God's protection of the lives of the Jews and their deliverance from slavery and captivity in Egypt.
The people of God had been enslaved by the Egyptians for some 400 years and God told Moses to go and lead them out of their captivity. Of course Pharaoh wasn't too wild about the idea of letting his entire work force go free. Who would build his buildings and erect his monuments? Pharaoh refused to let God's people go, so God sent 10 plagues against the Egyptians in an effort to convince Pharaoh to let God's people go. The final plague was the killing of all the first born males in Egypt who did not have the blood of the Passover Lamb upon the doorpost of their houses.

Exodus 12:13
The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will PASS OVER you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. (Emphasis mine)

As Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, near the end of the meal Jesus did something surprising...He deviated from the normal script of the meal and established something new...

We will look at 'that something new' tomorrow...if you want to read ahead and can't wait till tomorrow, read Matthew 26:26-29.

Till then...Bro. Alan