The purpose of the Lord's Supper is to remember Christ's death by showing the Lord's death until He comes.
The bread and the cup are a memorial of Christ's body broken and His blood poured out. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 11:26 that whenever a believer eats the bread and drinks the cup, he shows the Lord's death until He comes.
1 Corinthians 11:26 — Paul's clearest statement that the bread and the cup show the Lord's death until He comes.
1 Corinthians 11:24-25 — Jesus' institution command to remember His broken body and shed blood in the bread and the cup.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 that he received from the Lord what he delivered to the church: "the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." Paul likewise records that after supper Jesus took the cup and said, "This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." Then Paul gives the purpose: "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." The Gospel of Matthew records the same institution, where Jesus calls the cup "my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." The Bible therefore presents the Lord's Supper as a repeated memorial of the death of Christ and a proclamation of that death until He returns.
Les Feldick teaches that the Lord's Supper is 'nothing more and nothing less than a remembering of what Christ accomplished on the cross' (Clip 1). He explains that the bread remembers His body broken in ignominy and shame, and the cup remembers His blood poured out (Clip 1). He also connects the bread and wine to Melchizedek's offering in Genesis, calling it a 'subtle prophecy' of the resurrection and part of the whole idea of the Lord's Supper (Clip 0).
Les explains that bread and wine were not the normal elements used in the sacrifices of Abraham's day and that bread and wine were never combined in the Old Testament economy. Melchizedek's bread and wine were therefore a subtle prophecy, pointing to the Lord's Supper and to the resurrection. In the age of grace, he says, bread and wine speak of the communion table (Clips 0, 5, 7).
Les says the eleven at the Passover did not understand it at all. Jesus did not explain it, and neither did the Gospel writer indicate that they knew what the bread and cup represented. According to Les, the explanation had to wait until Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 11, where he plainly identifies the bread and cup as a memorial of Christ's death (Clips 2, 4, 7).
Les points out that a piece of unleavened bread and a little cup of juice or wine are not enough to satisfy physical hunger or to make someone drunk. The Corinthians, however, were treating the gathering as a common supper, with one person hungry and another drunk. Les teaches that this is not the purpose of the Lord's Supper—it is a solemn occasion, not an ordinary meal (Clip 3).
The broken bread represents the Lord's body broken in ignominy and shame, and the cup represents His blood poured out (Clip 1). In 1 Corinthians 10:16, Paul speaks of the cup of blessing as the communion of the blood of Christ and the bread as the communion of the body of Christ (Clip 6). Jesus Himself said the cup is His blood of the new testament shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28).
The Lord’s Supper is meant to be a memorial of Christ’s death. The bread and cup are not presented as something the disciples understood fully at the Passover meal, because His death had not yet taken place and no explanation was given at that time. The fuller meaning is later explained through Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. The bread calls believers to remember Christ’s body, broken in suffering, shame, and humiliation. The cup points to His blood being poured out. Together, these elements direct attention to what He accomplished on the cross. As stated in verse 26, whenever believers eat the bread and drink the cup, they proclaim or show the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore, the purpose is neither more nor less than remembering Christ’s finished work in His death. It is a continuing reminder of His broken body and shed blood, observed in anticipation of His return.
Melchizedek's Bread and Wine as Resurrection Prophecy
Les shows that Melchizedek's offering of bread and wine to Abraham was a subtle prophecy pointing to the resurrection, which is part of what the Lord's Supper recalls.
The Purpose of the Lord's Supper
Les explains from 1 Corinthians 11:26 that the Lord's Supper is simply a remembering of Christ's death—His body broken and His blood poured out—until He comes.
Paul's Explanation of the Memorial
Les shows that the eleven did not understand the Lord's Supper at the Last Passover; Paul later received and delivered the explanation that the bread and cup are a memorial of Christ's death.
The Corinthian Misuse of the Table
Les points out that the Lord's Supper is not a potluck for satisfying hunger or drunkenness; the Corinthians' misuse of it shows the wrong way to approach it.
Disciples' Lack of Understanding
Les emphasizes that even at the Matthew account the disciples had no idea what the bread and cup meant, so we must go to Paul's explanation in 1 Corinthians 11.
Bread and Wine Not Combined in the Old Testament
Les notes that bread and wine were never combined in Old Testament offerings except for Melchizedek's bread and wine, which points forward to the Lord's Supper.
Communion of the Blood and Body of Christ
Les applies 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 to the Lord's table: the cup is the communion of Christ's blood and the bread is the communion of His body, with the first practice in the upper room.
The Upper Room Without Explanation
Les underscores that Jesus gave no explanation or institution command in the upper room, and he traces the very first picture of the Lord's table back to Melchizedek.
1 Corinthians 11:24: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
The command to remember Christ's broken body whenever the bread is taken.
1 Corinthians 11:25: After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
The cup likewise is to be drunk in remembrance of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:26: For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
The clearest statement of the purpose of the Lord's Supper.
1 Corinthians 11:20: When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
Paul's warning that the Corinthian gathering had become something other than the Lord's Supper.
1 Corinthians 10:16: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
Paul identifies the cup and bread with communion in Christ's blood and body.
Matthew 26:28: For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Jesus identifies the cup with His blood shed for the remission of sins.
Genesis 14:18: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
The earlier Old Testament picture of bread and wine that Les connects to the Lord's Supper.
The main purpose is to remember Christ's death by eating the bread and drinking the cup. Paul says that as often as believers do this, they show the Lord's death until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26).
No. Les teaches that the eleven did not understand it and that Jesus gave no explanation at the time. The explanation came later through Paul in 1 Corinthians 11.
No. Les points out that the Corinthians were eating their own suppers, some hungry and some drunk, but the bread and cup are not enough for physical hunger or drunkenness. It is a solemn remembrance of the Lord's death.
Watch the Teaching: Jesus as High Priest: The Order of Melchizedek Explained