The Intimate Meal
The Lord's Supper is an intimate meal that represents our relationship with Jesus as our Father and breadwinner, and it reminds us of our sonship and brotherhood in Christ.
G.W. North emphasizes the significance of the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted the Breaking of Bread as a deeply intimate and meaningful ordinance. He highlights the simplicity of the act, where Jesus took bread and wine, transforming an ordinary meal into a profound expression of love, unity, and fellowship among His disciples. This moment, filled with both drama and simplicity, conveys the essence of family and community, inviting believers to partake in a shared experience of grace and intimacy with Christ. The Breaking of Bread symbolizes not just nourishment but also the deep relational ties between Jesus and His followers, as well as among the believers themselves.
Text
The Lord Jesus originally instituted the ordinance. It all began so simply -- though not without an element of drama -- one night in an upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus and the apostles were at that time gathered together in a guest-chamber selected by the Holy Spirit; the Lord borrowed it specially for the occasion. He did this, Luke discovered, so that He might act as host to His chosen guests at the last supper they should eat before He suffered. During this intimate time together, and as the Passover supper drew to an end, the Lord 'took bread and gave thanks and brake it and gave unto them'; it was such a simple, ordinary everyday act.
Undoubtedly Jesus had done something similar to it many times before; but what made it so different this time was the things He said; they were of such an extreme and complicated nature. To their amazement He spoke in similar vein also when He handed them the cup of wine, but the implicit simplicity of it all vested the occasion with extraordinary and unique meaning. Having described in his Gospel with what naturalness the Lord took and broke the bread, in full knowledge of what it all meant, Luke takes the fact in all its simplicity and uses it as a name for the ordinance which since has become the most dearly-loved practice of the Church: the Breaking of Bread.
No name is more appealing to the heart of simple folk than this; in a natural way it implies sweet ideas of a father with his children, or of a husband with his wife and children. It suggests an entire family being fed by the breadwinner; a meal where each one present is an intimate blood-relative of him who sits at the head of the board, or else a specially invited guest. And that is just the feeling that both Luke and the Lord wish to convey. The ordinance must speak of mealtime, fatherhood, son-ship, brotherhood, love, intimacy, abundance, exclusiveness, sharing by breaking, which is the common manner of eating among people who do not ordinarily use table-cutlery. The bread was universal, central, one. They each broke their piece(s) from the whole. The unit(y) was shown by each individual breaking it for himself; the act was vital, but more of this later.
Sermon Outline
- The Institution of the Lord's Supper
- The Setting: An Upper Room in Jerusalem
- The Host: Jesus Christ
- The Guests: The Apostles
Key Quotes
“The Lord borrowed it specially for the occasion.” — G.W. North
“The ordinance must speak of mealtime, fatherhood, son-ship, brotherhood, love, intimacy, abundance, exclusiveness, sharing by breaking, which is the common manner of eating among people who do not ordinarily use table-cutlery.” — G.W. North
Application Points
- We should approach the Lord's Supper with a sense of intimacy and family, recognizing our relationship with Jesus as our Father and breadwinner.
- The Breaking of Bread reminds us of our sonship and brotherhood in Christ, and it symbolizes our sharing and exclusiveness with one another.
- We should reflect on the significance of the Lord's Supper and its implications for our lives, recognizing its importance in our relationship with Jesus.