Healing and the Lord’s Supper
It has been notable how many healings and miracles we’ve had on days when the congregation partook of the Lord’s Supper. Aside from the fact that this act honors and obeys Jesus, who commanded it to be done in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25), it also points to His body that was broken for us so that we could be healed. So it makes sense that when we participate in an act that proclaims the Lord’s death – and His bodily suffering before His death – people are reminded of what He did and they more readily receive the benefit of what He did for them.
Most Christians think only about the cross when they think of Jesus’ sufferings. But when Isaiah and Peter spoke of physical healing being secured for us, they said that it was by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24), NOT by His bloodshed. We too often forget that Jesus’ agony did not start when the Romans nailed Him to the cross – He was scourged by the Romans first. He started to carry His own cross (John 19:17) – it was apparently the custom at the time to force a criminal to do that – but it seems that He was unable to carry it the whole way, as someone else had to be forced to carry it for Him (Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26). We would assume, though it is not explicitly stated, that the reason that He could not carry His cross the whole way was because the Romans had broken His body too much and He was too weak and sick to do it Himself. And something far worse was going on – God had to lay our sicknesses on Him as part of the punishment for our sins.
Here is a fact you might never have considered before. Jesus was TORTURED on the cross, but He was not WOUNDED there or BRUISED there aside from having nails driven through Him. He was already wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities before He got to the cross! The wounds and bruising took place when the Romans whipped Him. Historians say that the Roman whips were barbed with sharp objects to inflict a maximum of pain, suffering and tearing on the victim. This punishment, says Isaiah, brought shalom (peace, healing, prosperity, well-being in every area) to us, and with His stripes (the result of His cruel whipping) we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). He shed His blood to pay for our sins, but His lashing at the hands of the Romans paid for our healing.
And so when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we celebrate BOTH His blood that ratified the New Covenant AND His body that was broken for our healing (per both Isaiah and Peter). This act of “proclaiming” (preaching) His suffering and death is a message that He is glad to confirm with healings and miracles.
The Blood and the Body
Most Christians think that they celebrate the blood of Jesus being shed only for their forgiveness, but that isn’t the main emphasis when Jesus described the Lord’s Supper. While only one account mentions the forgiveness of sins, ALL of them mention the new covenant.
Matthew 26:27-28:
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Mark 14:23-24:
And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
Luke 22:20:
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
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 New Covenant is not just about the forgiveness of sins. It includes becoming a new creation, healing, authority over the devil, and many other things. (See Who You Are and What You Have for a list.) it is sad how many Christians stop at forgiveness of sins and fail to recognize all the other benefits that are theirs under the New Covenant that was ratified by Jesus’ blood.
They also assume that His body being broken for them means only what happened on the cross. But that refers to what happened at the whipping post when Jesus was flogged. Healing was provided by Jesus’ stripes, not by His blood, as is clear from Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24. It was purchased at the whipping post, not at the cross.
Considering these things will make the Lord’s Supper more relevant and meaningful to people.
The Daily Communion “Revelation”
Contrary to what some teach today, Jesus never specified how often people should partake of the Lord’s Supper. If you want to do it once a month or once every hour, I’m sure it’s fine with Him. But as often as you do it (He doesn’t say how often), you are to do it in remembrance of Him.
Sooner or later, you may encounter someone who just got the “new” (it isn’t) “Daily Communion Revelation” from “the Lord” based on Acts 2:46: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” The idea is that the disciples in Acts had daily communion while they were enjoying revival, so if we want revival, we should all have daily communion, too. There are at least 6 problems with this teaching. Keep in mind that if you want to have daily (or more frequent) communion, that’s fine with God, but these 6 problems arise if you try to enforce your preference on everyone else:
Problem #1: Although the church may have practiced it daily, the Lord certainly never commanded that.
Problem #2: We aren’t sure the people in Acts 2 had daily communion anyway. It says that they were in the temple daily, but it doesn’t explicitly say that they broke bread daily.
Problem #3: We aren’t even sure that what they did was the Lord’s Supper. It doesn’t say that they celebrated the Lord’s Supper; it says that they broke bread together. This may simply mean that they ate meals together. After all, it doesn’t say that they broke bread AND drank the fruit of the vine together.
Problem #4: Acts 20:7 says, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” Again, this may or may not have been the Lord’s Supper as opposed to believers just getting together to eat, as the fruit of the vine was not mentioned. Many Christians today go out to eat after church without celebrating the Lord’s Supper. (And many servers HATE taking that shift because many Christians are notoriously bad tippers, which is a horrible witness, by the way. I always make sure I leave a tip of the kind that a blessed, generous Christian would leave.) Even if this WAS the Lord’s Supper, it was only practiced once a week and there is no indication that there was anything wrong with that.
Problem #5: The people who say that we have to copy the Early Church in Acts 2:46 would need to copy the Early Church in Acts 2:44-45 to be consistent! If what they did was for all today, we would have to follow this example, too: “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” I don’t see the Daily Communion Revelation people doing that, nor should they, for the reason below.
Problem #6: We can prove that the actions of the church in Acts 2 are NOT required of the whole church forever because they were never even required in Acts 2. When Ananias and Sapphira lied and died, Peter pointed out to Ananias that the money was his own to do with as he wished (Acts 5:4): “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” It was his own, so he was NOT required to give ANY of it to support the community, even though believers in Acts 2 did so. If we admit, as we should, that Acts 2:44-45 was never a requirement, we should be consistent and admit that the very next verse, Acts 2:46 (the alleged daily communion proof verse) was never a requirement either.
Also, if you want to have daily communion, don’t do it because you think it will give you some special inside track that hardly anyone else has because a certain famous minister did it or a famous preacher today does it, and that it will be your ticket to sudden phenomenal power and international stardom. Do it to remind yourself of what Jesus did for you. Don’t get in bondage to it by thinking that if you miss a day, you won’t be as anointed or spiritual. Leave yourself the option to stop if it becomes just a routine. Sometimes seemingly good things, like having a “prayer list” of 35 people to pray for every day, can become a bore and a chore and be more of a drag than a blessing when they become “works” things that you force yourself to do.
Where you can celebrate the Lord’s Supper? Anywhere you want; the Bible places no restrictions on it. The general idea is to “come together” to proclaim the Lord’s death, but there is no prohibition against taking it yourself, though that shouldn’t be the only way you do it.
It certainly wouldn’t hurt you to take time to serve yourself communion daily and remind yourself of the salvation and healing that Jesus paid for you to have, especially if you’re battling sickness. There is no biblical prohibition against serving yourself communion, although there is no case ever mentioned in Scripture where anyone did that or commanded anyone else to do it – the setting in Scripture was always corporate. If you want to tell others the benefits you’ve experienced doing it, that’s fine too, as long as you don’t cross the line and tell people that the Bible commands daily solo communion, which it doesn’t.
Unworthy vs. Unworthily
Because the Lord’s Supper is so useful to remind you of the healing Jesus purchased, should you partake every time your church does, or should you “examine yourself” and only partake of it if you pass your self-examination? Well, Paul said to examine yourself, but only with the idea that you aren’t partaking of it in a manner that hurts the Body of Christ, for example, by hogging the elements as some Corinthians did so that there was nothing left for others. He did not teach that you have to engage in some kind of drastic soul-searching for sin and then partake only if you prove to be “worthy” after your self-examination! That kind of wrong thinking has kept many away from partaking who should be partaking. They get scared of taking something that should be a blessing, lest they be “unworthy” when they partake and bring judgment down on themselves and possibly die.
Let me tell you two things about that – first, JESUS has made you “worthy” to come to the communion table by His blood! It has nothing to do with your works or how good a Christian you think you’ve been lately. In fact, if you’ve been a poor excuse for a Christian, you’re probably the first one who should partake so that you can be reminded of what the Lord did for you by His grace. Second, being “worthy” or “unworthy” has NOTHING to do with what Paul talked about anyway! You don’t have to worry that an unbeliever will “eat and drink damnation to himself” by partaking while “unworthy” because he is unsaved. You don’t need special Communion Cops to make sure that only truly saved people partake. That’s because the warning is not about partaking while unworthy – it’s about partaking in an unworthy manner (unworthily), which is a completely different matter.
The issue Paul had with the Corinthians was that they were partaking in a selfish way that pretty much made fun of what they were doing – seeing the communion elements solely as food to be wolfed down and guzzled. That kind of blatant disrespect for holy things is downright dangerous. It is one of the few ways in the Bible that a New Testament believer can fall under judgment. Paul warned that the Lord (not Satan, by the way) would judge people who acted like that, and that MANY in Corinth were SICK and PREMATURELY DEAD because of this very thing. It was not a good thing for the Corinthians to make light of something that celebrated their healing and salvation! But it was the unworthy manner that was the issue, NOT a state of unworthiness, which you aren’t in as a Christian anyway! After all, you are celebrating the blood that was shed for you to make you worthy in God’s sight!
Lest you cringe at the notion that a God who is “good all the time” could actually PUT sickness on someone, the Lord’s Supper reminds us of the biggest time in history when God PUT sickness on someone – His own Son when He carried your sins! Isaiah 53:10 (as pointed out elsewhere) literally says that God made Him sick. Why? To punish Him for our sins! The Bible does NOT say that God “allowed Satan” to make Jesus sick! This sickness as punishment came directly from God Himself. (If you’ve taught that God never made anyone sick, there are some other Scriptures in both the Old Testament and the New Testament as well as this one about Christ at Calvary that prove you wrong.) It was God, not Satan, who took vengeance on your sins when Christ bore them. (God says that vengeance is His (Psalm 94:1, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30), not Satan’s. He has not subcontracted vengeance to Satan.) In the curse of the Law, it was God who would bring disease on you as punishment. The good news is that YOU don’t have to worry about being made sick for your sins when Christ was already made sick for them. He paid your bill for sin. Once a bill is paid, it doesn’t have to be paid again.
In case you’re wondering, when Jesus commanded the Lord’s Supper to be celebrated, He said that the bread and wine were His body and blood. Obviously, that was not true in a LITERAL sense, and it isn’t today, either. The elements don’t literally become His body and blood at some point before you partake of them. So you don’t have to get caught up in having a separate disposal area for unused elements (as some churches do) for fear of washing the holy body and blood of Jesus down the public sewer! (Some people actually worship the elements believing that they ARE Jesus. I’m not sure how amused God is when people who don’t know better worship a bunch of food! At least He knows their hearts.)
Why Were the Corinthians Getting Sick and Dying?
Now let’s discuss why Paul said that many were sick and prematurely dead because they weren’t “discerning the Lord’s body.” There are a couple possible applications of this. One is that because of their flippant attitude toward the bread, they were not considering the fact that Jesus’ body was broken for them, and failure to recognize that fact resulted in sickness and death. That may be a minor part of things, but it certainly wasn’t the main issue. The other application, and the one that is Paul’s REAL point, is that they were not discerning the Body of Christ (the church) when they robbed each other of the elements. By mistreating their fellow believers, they opened themselves up for judgment.
It is traditionally taught in “faith circles” that the Corinthians were getting sick and dying simply because they did not realize that the Lord’s body was broken for their healing. But simple ignorance of the meaning of the breaking of Christ’s body doesn’t fit the context at all!
1 Corinthians 11:28-31:
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
This cannot refer to Christians who simply don’t know that Jesus’ body was broken for their healing and get sick and die in their ignorance of that fact! (I hope you don’t get upset that I’ve just contradicted your favorite faith teacher. I’m aware that people love it if you say you’re going to barbeque sacred cows – until you put THEIR sacred cow on the grill!) In the context, you eat and drink damnation (judgment) on yourself when you don’t discern the Lord’s body! Just being unaware that Jesus’ stripes healed you does NOT bring divine judgment down on you! And right after Paul says that for “this cause” many are sick and dead, He warns that if we judge ourselves, we won’t be judged. So their sickness and death were directly related to judgment, not ignorance. You’ll have to agree if you read the passage above carefully. God does not judge ignorance in the way described in this passage! If He did, most Christians today would be sick and prematurely dead!
But as long as you’re not mistreating the Body of Christ around the communion table, you don’t have to worry about this kind of judgment falling on you.
Note that Paul directly stated the cause of the sometimes-fatal illnesses – it had nothing to do with God humbling anyone, teaching people patience, testing people’s faith, developing character in people or any other ridiculous modern religious reason.
Was It Alcoholic?
We have had people actually BREAK bread from loaves when we had the Lord’s Supper at our church so that they could SEE the symbol of the Lord’s body being broken for them. I like the imagery. Perhaps others would be concerned for the sanitary issue of handing bread around and would prefer to have “pre-broken” bread or individual bread-and-juice combo cups served by the ushers. I don’t think that it dishonors the Lord either way; it’s a matter of preference – as long as you’re doing it in remembrance of Jesus.
People can fight long wars over whether we should serve alcoholic wine or non-alcoholic grape juice, but I don’t think the Lord is offended at the use of either kind of “the fruit of the vine.” In some places where they don’t have grapes they might even have to substitute something else, which is still OK when they honor Jesus as being OUR substitute! I personally used non-alcoholic juice because I didn’t want to present a stumbling block either to Christians who would actually think we were making them sin by drinking (though simply drinking without getting drunk is not a sin) or to alcoholics or former alcoholics who might stumble because we were making them “drink.” We want to avoid making people stumble – that’s another theme in First Corinthians! That’s why I don’t drink alcohol at all. It’s not that I couldn’t have wine with dinner or a beer after a golf round (if I liked beer), but I would never want someone to see me drink and then end up with an alcohol problem after they think, “Hey, if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me – I’ll drink all I want!”
Making the Lord’s Supper a Mechanical Ritual
One of my main concerns about the Lord’s Supper is how mechanical we can make it. In the original context in the early church days, people apparently gathered for a meal and partook of the bread and the wine together. We did this one time as a church, though it can be impractical to always do it that way given people’s schedules. People had time to really reflect on the Lord’s death and what it bought them. When we set up a “1-2-3-go” atmosphere where everything is really fast, people don’t have that kind of time to stop and think. This is actually why I favor NOT having communion every week; it’s too easy to rush through it because we “have to” get through it. I’d rather take a larger part of a service less often to do it justice. But if you’re comfortable doing it every week, that’s fine, too – it’s another matter of preference.
In Acts 2:42, we see that the people continued steadfastly in breaking of bread together, which may or may not have referred to the Lord’s Supper. The time element involved with “steadfastly” is not defined.
But regardless of how often we partake, we should be sure to explain to people what the bread and wine (or juice) represent so that they don’t just see it as a ritual. It is very valuable to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice for us. That fosters an environment of receiving healing because people focus on the very act that paid for their healing.