Les Feldick Bible Study

Where does the Lord's table first appear in the Bible?

The Lord's table first appears in Scripture when Abraham met Melchizedek, who brought forth bread and wine. This early event served as a picture of the Lord's table, predating the upper room and the Gospels. It foreshadowed the communion Paul later explains for the local church.

Les explains that the very first instance of the Lord's table was when Abraham met Melchizedek, and bread and wine were brought to Melchizedek. That was already a picture of the Lord's table. In the upper room Jesus took the cup and said, "This is my blood which will be shed for you," and "This is my body which is broken," but He gave no explanation and did not institute it as a practice; it was dropped like a hot potato. There was no criteria for how to practice it until Paul, who tells us what it is all about and how it is to be practiced in the local church. Paul writes that the bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ, and we being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. Les also notes that in Jesus' earthly ministry He said unless you eat His flesh and drink His blood, you cannot partake with Him, and many followers left because they could not comprehend it, but that is not what Jesus was talking about.