The Lord's Supper

Dear Brethren,

What is the difference between the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Passover, and the Passover of the Jews?  The Lord's Supper was the actual meal that was eaten by Christ in fulfillment of the Old Testament command to kill and eat the Passover lamb with unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs. "They shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: [Notice that the lamb was not killed at a temple, but at each household] And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls... Your lamb shall be without blemish... And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening... And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it."  (Exodus 12:3-8)  That commanded slaying of the lamb and the meal remained in force until it was changed by Christ, with heavenly authority, on the night He was betrayed.

The Lord's Passover is the memorial of Jesus Christ's death pictured by the New Testament symbols of bread and wine.  It is called the Feast of the Passover, "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come..." (John 13:1)  Paul explained that in keeping Passover, New Testament Christians do not continue to eat the Old Testament meal as our Lord was doing, that one last time, when He changed the New Testament Passover symbols to bread and wine.  The Corinthians were incorrectly keeping the Old Testament Passover meal and the New Testament symbols as well.  Paul had to explain to them that the Old Testament Passover meal was no longer to be observed when Passover was kept.  "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper... But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. (1Corinthians 11:20,28)

The Passover of the Jews is a tradition of the Pharisees.  "And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh."  (John 6:4)  To this day, the Jews incorrectly refer to the 15th of Abib as "Passover".  There was only a remnant of the faithful, at the time of Jesus, who killed their lambs at the correct time of the beginning of the 14th of Abib, as did the disciples of Jesus.  The majority of the Jews did not, and do not, keep Passover at the correct time, but a day later than Jesus and the disciples. "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover."  (John 18:28)  The Jews were not keeping Passover correctly.  Their lambs were not being killed at small households at the beginning or the 14th, as God commanded, but much later at the Temple by the Priests.  The killing of the passover lambs of the Jews had been changed from individual homes, to being killed at the Temple after the national captivity of the Jews.

Jesus incorporated the New Testament Passover into the original Passover He gave to Israel. Jesus became the Passover Lamb, fulfilling the meaning of Passover, and He changed the symbols to represent His body and blood.  "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."  (John 1:29)  Jesus did not keep Passover twice at His last Passover - the evening before He died.  The King James translators could have done a better job of showing the time sequence. "And supper being ended," the Greek indicates that the dinner or the chief meal was being fulfilled - not over with.  That is correct - the Old Testament Passover pointed to Jesus Christ - the fulfillment of Passover.  The unique Passover meal was on-going, containing elements of both the Old and New ways of keeping the Feast of Passover. "He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself."  (John 13:2,4)

Notice, that after the Foot-washing, they were still eating of the Passover supper on the table.  "Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, [a morsel of the supper they were eating] when I have dipped it. And when He had dipped the sop, [a morsel] He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon... He then having received the sop [a morsel] went immediately out: and it was night."  (John 13:26, 30)

Today, we do not keep the Lord's Supper, and we certainly do not keep the incorrect passover of the Jews.  Just as in Jesus' day there were a comparative few people who kept Passover at the correct time of the beginning of the 14th of Abib, we keep the Passover that Jesus kept.  In so doing, we do show the Lord's death until He comes. "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ Our Passover is sacrificed for us."  (1Corinthians 5:7)