The Scripture readings for tonight’s service are Psalm 23; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; and Matthew 26:26-29.

I. What Is the Sacrament of the Altar?
It is the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
under the bread and wine, given unto us Christians to eat and to drink,
as it was instituted by Christ Himself.

Luther’s Small Catechism

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He gave the disciples bread which He said is His Body, and He gave the disciples the cup which He said is His Blood (Mt. 26:26-29). Next week, we will take more time to consider those words of institution. For tonight, we see that in the Lord’s Supper Jesus gives us His Body and Blood to eat and to drink. A couple of years ago when we considered Baptism during our Lenten services, we saw how Baptism is two elements put together: God’s Word and water. In the Lord’s Supper, there are three elements, factors, or ingredients: God’s Word, the elements of bread and wine, and Jesus’ Body and Blood. Those three things make up the Sacrament.

A helpful way for us to see what the Lord’s Supper is is to consider the different names we have for it: Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, and the Eucharist.

First, we call it ‘the Lord’s Supper’ because that is what Paul calls it in 1 Cor. 11:20. It is the Lord’s Supper because it was instituted by our Lord Jesus Himself. Jesus instituted it, so He defines what it is. Jesus says it is the new covenant in His Blood which isn’t a little meal to fill bellies; instead, it delivers the gifts of His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins (Jer. 31:33-34).

Second, we call it ‘Holy Communion.’ Holy Communion is holy because Jesus, the holy One, gave it to us. It is holy because it delivers Jesus’ holy Body and Blood to us which then makes us holy as we receive it in faith. It is ‘Communion’ because of what you heard in our Epistle text (1 Cor. 10:1-22), “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16). The Greek word there for ‘participation’ is κοινωνία which means ‘fellowship’ or ‘common unity.’ Holy Communion unites us to Jesus, and when Christians are united to Jesus, they are also united to one another.

The third common term comes from the Small Catechism where Luther calls it ‘the Sacrament of the Altar.’ Even though this isn’t a term that Scripture uses, it is helpful because it highlights the fact that Jesus’ sacrificial death on the altar of the cross is given to us from the altars of His churches. What Christ accomplished on the cross, He delivers to you in the Sacrament of the Altar.

Finally, the church has also used the term ‘Eucharist’ after the Greek word for ‘thanksgiving’ which is εὐχαριστέω. Calling it ‘Eucharist’ reminds us how Jesus blessed the bread and wine by giving thanks before giving them to His disciples. It is also a reminder of our response to receiving it. We give thanks to God for giving us the gift of Jesus’ Body and Blood.

Again, because Jesus says it is His Body and Blood, the Lord’s Supper is not just a little snack we have at church before we head out the door. No, the Lord’s Supper is a heavenly meal.

In our Epistle text tonight (1 Cor. 10:1-22), we heard that after God’s people left Egypt, they all “ate the same spiritual food” (1 Cor. 11:3). For forty years, God fed His people with manna that appeared on the ground six days every week as God’s people wandered in the wilderness. Sunday through Thursday, they were to gather up enough to eat for that day. But on Friday, the sixth day, they were to gather enough for that day andfor Saturday, the Sabbath day, so they could rest on the Sabbath (Ex. 16:4-31).

The manna was the actual food that God provided to them to keep their bodies going. But the manna was providing more than just the calories they needed to live physically. The manna was also spiritual food that fed their faith by teaching them to daily trust in God’s provision and mercy. Psalm 78 remembers how God provided for His people during the exodus saying, “[God] commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and He rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven. Man ate of the bread of the angels; He sent them food in abundance” (Ps. 78:23-25).

The nutritional value of the Lord’s Supper wouldn’t keep our bodies going for very long because there isn’t much there, but that isn’t why Jesus gives it to us. Christ says that He gives us this heavenly meal for the forgiveness of our sins. He gives us food that feeds our souls and our faith by giving us a taste of heaven. As we receive Jesus’ Body and Blood in our mouth, we also receive the forgiveness of our sins in our heart by faith.

Now, there are some who say that simply taking Christ at His word about His Body and Blood being given in Communion is cannibalistic. They will say that when Jesus said ‘is’ what He really meant was this ‘represents’ or ‘symbolizes’ His Body and Blood. I’m not going to address that tonight, but I will in a few weeks. But I do want to say that Jesus giving His Blood to drink is pretty radical.

Right after the flood, God told Noah and his family that consuming blood was strictly forbidden because according to God, the life of the creature was in the blood (Gen. 9:4). Throughout Leviticus, God continued to forbid the consuming blood (Lev. 7:25-27; 17:10-12) saying, “The life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life” (Lev. 17:14). There were and still are pagan cultures that dabble in demonic practices (1 Cor. 10:19-22) by drinking the blood of animals to get the power and ability of those animals. So, in the old covenant, God set apart the blood of each sacrifice to be used for atonement. By offering the lifeblood of those animals, God was showing His people that He accepted the death of another in place of the sinner.

This was pointing to Jesus. Now, Christ has come and fulfilled the old covenant and established the new covenant in His blood (Heb. 9:11-14, 10:11-14, 19-22). God accepts Jesus’ death and the shedding of His blood in place of the sinner. All the Old Testament sacrifices pointed forward to Jesus shedding His Blood and offering it to God as the one-time sacrifice for all sin. And in Holy Communion, the forbidding of consuming blood stops. Jesus gives you His blood to drink. Remember that God says, “the life is in the blood.” That means in the Lord’s Supper Jesus, the Son of God, gives you His Blood, God’s Blood, and God’s life – a life that that has conquered death and is eternal.

Dear saints, when you come to the Lord’s Supper, God prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies (Ps. 23:5) and fills you who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Mt. 5:6) with the good things of His Body and Blood (Lk. 1:53) for the forgiveness of your sins and everlasting life. And for all of that, we give thanks. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.