Communion: Luke 22

God has given us timeless traditions and elements to practice that bring us into a closer relationship with Him.  The first we’ll study is communion by examining:

1. The historical beginnings of communion
2. The symbolic meaning of communion
3. The significance of communion in our lives

• In Luke 22:14-18, Jesus began the practice of communion with his disciples based on the Jewish Passover meal.  

The Passover meal was a yearly celebration that all the Israelites did in remembrance of their captivity and escape from slavery in Egypt.

God sent Moses to free His people from slavery by unleashing ten plagues.

The last was the plague of the firstborn where the angel of death struck down every firstborn male whether animal or human.

The Israelites escaped this by putting the blood of a lamb on their doorposts so the angel would pass over and spare them.

• In Luke 22:19-20, Jesus gave us the two symbolic elements of communion, the bread and the wine. 

The Bread 

The bread is a symbol representing his body that He sacrificed for us.

As we take the bread, we are to remember Jesus’ suffering when He died for us.

The Wine

God established a covenant with Israel sealed in the blood of sacrificial animals.

Exodus 24:3-8

The people couldn’t live up to the commandments of the covenant so Jesus came to live a sinless life as the ultimate sacrifice. 

The wine signifies how Jesus shed His blood and established a new covenant for us by becoming the perfect sacrifice.

• Communion carries significance in our lives by reminding us of what Jesus did for us and what we have in Him. 

God used the two elements we need to survive, bread and water, as the symbols of His saving grace.

They are given to us just as God’s grace is given, not to be earned by works but by faith.

We have freedom because we have been forgiven from sin, and we don’t have to live a life of shame any longer.

Communion reminds us that Jesus came to give us life, an abundant life, so we take it in remembrance of Him and what He did for us.

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