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V. The Lord's Supper
A. ANALOGIES OF THE LORD’S SUPPER AMONG ISRAEL.
Just as there were analogies to Christian baptism among Israel, there were also analogies of the
Lord’s Supper. Not only among the Gentiles, but also among Israel, the sacrifices that were
brought were often accompanied with sacrificial meals. This was particularly a characteristic
feature of the peace-offerings. Of these sacrifices only the fat adhering to the inwards was
consumed on the altar; the wave-breast was given to the priesthood, and the heave-shoulder
to the officiating priest, Lev. 7:28-34, while the rest constituted a sacrificial meal for the offerer
and his friends, provided they were levitically clean, Lev. 7:19-21; Deut. 12:7,12. These meals
taught in a symbolic way that “being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ.” They were expressive of the fact that, on the basis of the offered and
accepted sacrifice, God receives His people as guests in His house and unites with them in joyful
communion, the communal life of the covenant. Israel was forbidden to take part in the
sacrificial meals of the Gentiles exactly because it would express their allegiance to other gods,
Ex. 34:15; Num. 25:3,5; Ps. 106:28. The sacrificial meals, which testified to the union of Jehovah
with His people, were seasons of joy and gladness, and as such were sometimes abused and
gave occasion for revelry and drunkenness, I Sam. 1:13; Prov. 7:14; Isa. 28:8. The sacrifice of the
Passover was also accompanied with such a sacrificial meal. Over against the Roman Catholics,
Protestants sometimes sought to defend the position that this meal constituted the whole of
the Passover, but this is an untenable position. The Passover was first of all a sacrifice of
atonement, Ex. 12:27; 34:25. Not only is it called a sacrifice, but in the Mosaic period it was also
connected with the sanctuary, Deut. 16:2. The lamb was slain by the Levites, and the blood was
manipulated by the priests, II Chron. 30:16; 35:11; Ezra 6:19. But though it is first of all a
sacrifice, that is not all; it is also a meal, in which the roasted lamb is eaten with unleavened
bread and bitter herbs, Ex. 12:8-10. The sacrifice passed right into a meal, which in later times
became far more elaborate than it originally was. The New Testament ascribes to the Passover
a typical significance, I Cor. 5:7, and thus saw in it not only a reminder of the deliverance from
Egypt, but also a sign and seal of the deliverance from the bondage of sin and of communion
with God in the promised Messiah. It was in connection with the paschal meal that Jesus
instituted the Lord’s Supper. By using the elements present in the former He effected a very
natural transition to the latter. Of late some critics sought to cast doubt on the institution of the
Lord’s Supper by Jesus, but there is no good reason to doubt the testimony of the Gospels, nor
the independent testimony of the apostle Paul in I Cor. 11:23-26.