1 corinthians 11, the Lord's supper

Read 1 Corinthians 11 at Bible Gateway.

“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” 1 Cor 11:23-26

This section on the Lord's Supper forms a chiastic structure:

1A 1 Cor 11:17 - Corinthians not praise worthy;
  1B 1 Cor 11:18-22a - eating and drinking out of order in the assembly;
    1 C 1 Cor 11:22b - Corinthians not praise worthy;
      --> X 1 Cor 11:23-26 - the Lord's supper;
    2C 1 Cor 11:27-32 - eating and drinking in an unworthy manner brings judgment;
  2B 1 Cor 11:33-34a - eating and drinking in order in the assembly;
2A 1 Cor 11:34b - judgment.

The remembrance of and proclaiming (witnessing to) the Lord's death by communion until He comes is the central axis and message surrounded by neon flashing lights of this structure. Communion, like every other new testament sacrament, is not new, but is based in Torah:

“These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day—” Lev 23:37

The grain offering was a loaf or cake of bread. The drink offering was wine. The sacrifice was the sacrifice made for sin, to atone for sin, on its day. When we proclaim the Lord's death, we are proclaiming that He sacrificed Himself, and that His blood was shed for the atonement of our sins. We are proclaiming that He is our sin sacrifice, and that our sin sacrifice has been sacrificed. We remember His death when we partake of the bread and the wine, which were to accompany the sin sacrifice on all feast days and Sabbaths!

The burnt offering, in its application for us today, is to become a living olah - a living sacrifice offered to God entire, consumed by the fire of the Holy Spirit (Rom 12:1).

How do we become sick, and eat and drink judgment upon ourselves, by eating and drinking the Lord's supper in an unworthy manner? Simply because, the broken body and shed blood of Adonai Messiah Yeshua was meant to provide for our healing:

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Isa 53:5

If we do not discern that the body and blood of our Lord, which the bread and the wine represents, has been broken and shed so that our transgressions are covered, our iniquities taken away, peace restored between us and YHVH our Father, and healing of the spirit, soul, and body provided for, then we will be sick, or weak, even to death, and instead of deeming ourselves as FREE from sin, we will deem ourselves judged as sinners - a lie from the enemy, which nevertheless, allows him to steal from us, kill and destroy us (Joh 10:10)! And there is simply no need for it!