LS-07-The Cross Proclaimed

The Cross Proclaimed For as often as ye eat this bread and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till He come.--1 Corinthians 11:26. The word the apostle here used is one that means a public oral proclamation. It would seem that it was the practice, when the Lord’s Supper was observed, to make a public statement of its relation to the death of Christ. The apostle had told the Corinthian Christians what he had received in revelation from the Lord Jesus, that on the betrayal night the Saviour had taken the bread and said: This is My body, which is for you; and the cup, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood. Therefore it was that in Christian assemblies, which met in the supper of remembrance, statements were made which set forth the redemptive power of the death of Christ. Some interpreters indeed, understand the words of the apostle as an injunction: As often as ye eat*this bread, and drink the cup, proclaim ye the Lord’s death-a duty to be observed regularly until the Lord comes again. But does not this passage also mean that when we silently partake of the emblems of the body and blood of the Lord, by that very deed, though no words are uttered, we proclaim the Lord’s death? So, at any rate, a host of believers have loved to think. They have felt that the Supper itself, taken in love and in deep reverence, is a testimony to the world of the great facts of the gospel. Here is a sermon without words, wonderfully appealing and effective, accomplishing a great mission, even though the spoken word of a preacher may fail. Every Lord’s day a great chorus of praise ascends from myriad voices the world over, every week uncounted hosts of preachers proclaim the word of life in Christ. But what proclamation could equal in power and effectiveness the quiet observance of the communion feast, when with bowed heads and grateful and contrite hearts, His people the world over receive the tokens that speak of love expressed and life received through death?

Only let us eat and drink in a worthy manner. It was because the Corinthian Christians had observed this feast in some unworthy way, that this exhortation of the apostle had become necessary. Just as a preacher of the gospel, by unworthy conduct or unseemly behaviour, may destroy the value of his message and do despite unto his Lord, so may we all dishonour Him by our thoughtless approach to the Table, and our careless indifference to the great facts of redemption which it represents. Let us therefore prove ourselves, and so let us eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.

Here we show forth His love,
Which spake in every breath,
Prompted each action of His life,
And triumphed in His death.