The Last Supper
(Matthew 26:26)

What is Communion?

Communion is a sacrament established by Jesus Himself, for us to remember Him and His sacrifice for our sins on the cross. It is the new covenant with believers. The wine represents His blood that was shed, and the bread represents His body. This is a holy moment, but also a celebration of redemption.

I broke Communion down into four “R’s”: (Remembrance, Repentance, Renewal, Redirection)

Remembrance — Jesus said to take this in remembrance of Him. Jesus was showing us that we would forget. Communion is a holy sacrament and the new covenant established between Jesus and His believers.

The Blood — The wine represents His blood shed on the cross for us at Calvary. This is such a holy moment when we think about the sacrifice Jesus became just for us. He loved us enough to want eternity with us, partnership with us, and to give us His authority while we are still on the earth. He became the Passover Lamb, with eternal blood to cover our sins and every generation’s sins until the new beginning. Now when we repent, our sins are forgiven and forgotten (Jeremiah 31:31–34). Thank you, Jesus, for being the final sacrifice.

The Body — The bread symbolizes Jesus’ body that was nailed to a cross. He was bruised, slashed, whipped, broken, beaten, and unrecognizable. Not only was He falsely accused, but He was tortured to horrific lengths. Jesus could have taken vengeance, but instead of anger, instead of rage, love poured out through His pain — eternal and unconditional love. When we eat the bread, we remember the body of our Lord nailed on that cross for us.

“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.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
— 1 Corinthians 11:24, 26

We not only remember, but we rejoice in the fact that His blood washes away all things that oppose us or hurt us. We remember that every slash on His body represents all sickness, disease, trouble, and pain. Jesus bore all things that were against us on the cross, which means we have victory over all things by Him and through Him.

Repentance — Communion is a call to repentance. We know we should repent every day, but while taking Communion and remembering the sacrifice of Jesus, we are reminded of His perfection, which reminds us of our imperfections. It’s a call to look at His life on earth and use His example for how we should live. Remember, unrepentant hearts lead us further from Jesus, but repentance always brings us back.

Renewal — Jesus died and rose again. He became new and gave us His Holy Spirit so that we can become new. The Holy Spirit’s leading is power, authority, love, patience, and all the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We should constantly renew our minds to have the mind of Christ — to reset ourselves, step out of the flesh and into the Spirit, which is what we are called to do. This is a daily renewal (1 Corinthians 15:31).

Redirection — The only way is Jesus — the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). The only path is the narrow one. It is straight and directed by Him only (Matthew 7:13).

Communion resets and redirects us to the only thing that truly matters — Jesus. In this holy sacrament and this holy time of honoring and remembering Him, we look inward at ourselves and should feel convicted to live a life that honors Him. To redirect our thoughts to the cross. To redirect our decisions to the cross. The cross should always be an image in our minds — a “What would Jesus do?” reminder.

With every decision we make, we should ask ourselves, “What does the cross say about this? What does Jesus say about this?” And we can know there is already victory.

Lastly, Fellowship — The Last Supper was between Jesus and His disciples — His friends.

Fellowship is so important in the faith. Communion is in remembrance of Jesus, yes, but it’s also for us.

When Jesus multiplied the loaves, He did it not just for the disciples, but so everyone could have a piece. The bread was, and still is, meant to be shared (Matthew 14:17).

When we look around at others taking Communion, be reminded He died for them too. He speaks to them too. He loves them too. The Lord’s selfless act was for all of His children. God has now written His law on our hearts instead of on tablets, so that we can fulfill it (Jeremiah 31:33). But walking righteously is almost impossible without the help of others. Jesus places people in our lives for this very reason — to help each other, to guide and teach, to love and celebrate, to grieve together and to worship together. Thank you, Jesus, for showing us what a loving example of friendship looks like.

So today, or any day that you take Communion, remember Jesus. We serve a loving God who sent His only Son to die for our sins so that if we believe in Him, we will have eternal life, dwelling in His glory. What a gift.

Thank you, Lord, for Your sacrifice. We honor You today and every day, and we remember You. Our lives will never be the same because of the cross. And on that day, as You broke bread knowing what was to come, You saw every one of us. We will never be able to repay You, but what we can do is what You asked — keep Your commandments and remember You.