Remembering Christ's Sacrifice: Communion and Call to Repentance

Paul calls the Corinthian church to remember the Lord Jesus Christ in the way they receive the Lord’s Supper. The bread points to the body of Jesus, the body beaten, mocked, flogged, nailed to the cross, and hung before the world though He had done absolutely nothing wrong. Isaiah 53 shows that this was not an accident or merely a terrible injustice; Jesus was pierced because of rebellion, crushed because of iniquity, and punished so sinners could have peace with God.

The body of Christ carries the weight of a sacrifice that no sinner deserves. Matthew 27 puts the horror plainly: the soldiers stripped Him, put a crown of thorns on Him, spat on Him, hit Him, mocked Him, and led the Creator of the moon and the world away to be crucified. The little wafer cannot come close to portraying that agony, but it calls believers to stop, reflect, pray, and say, “Jesus, thank You.”

The cup points to the blood of Jesus, and the blood is not a side issue. Ephesians 1 declares redemption through His blood, meaning sinners have been purchased back and forgiven according to the riches of His grace. Hebrews 9 shows that the blood of goats and calves could never accomplish what Christ’s own blood accomplished once for all: eternal redemption, a cleansed conscience, and freedom from dead works to serve the living God. The blood of Jesus is the reason there is hope, the reason there is a church, and the reason baptism declares that a person has identified with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

Paul also says that eating the bread and drinking the cup proclaims the Lord’s death until He comes. The Lord’s Supper therefore looks backward to Calvary and forward to Christ’s return. The urgency of Christ’s return exposes the emptiness of keeping faith private while people pass by without hearing about the precious blood of Christ. Jesus calls His followers not to be ashamed of Him in an adulterous and sinful generation, because gaining the whole world cannot save a soul.

The table belongs to followers of Jesus who have been bought by the blood of the Lamb. Sinful believers are not called to pretend; they are called to confess, repent, receive a clean heart, and walk by the Holy Spirit. Christ crucified believers with Himself, and Christ now lives in them. The table calls for serious faith, humble repentance, grateful remembrance, and a life unashamed to proclaim Jesus.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The bread remembers Christ’s broken body The body of Jesus was given for sinners who could never pay their own debt. His suffering was not vague or distant, but physical, public, humiliating, and intentional. The bread calls the believer to look again at the cost of grace rather than treating communion like a familiar routine. [35:41]
• 2. The blood alone brings redemption The blood of Christ purchases sinners back from an empty way of life and grants forgiveness that money, morality, and religious effort cannot secure. Christ’s sacrifice cleanses more than outward behavior; it cleanses the conscience for service to the living God. The cup therefore declares that salvation rests wholly on Jesus, not on human worthiness. [38:22]
• 3. Communion proclaims Christ will return The Lord’s Supper is a declaration that Jesus died, rose again, ascended, and will come back. Christ’s promised return makes the lostness of the world an urgent matter rather than a distant concern. The table presses believers to consider whether they are living and speaking as people who truly expect the King to return. [43:28]
• 4. Repentance prepares hearts for the table The table must not become a place of empty religious motion for those who refuse to deal with sin. God welcomes a broken and humbled heart, and He faithfully forgives those who confess their sin. Repentance is not merely feeling bad; it is leaving sin behind through the power of the Holy Spirit. [47:50]
• 5. Christ calls believers to unashamed obedience Jesus does not permit a faith confined to a Sunday morning gathering while the rest of life belongs to self. Christ calls His followers to deny themselves, take up their cross, and live openly for Him at home, work, school, and in the neighborhood. The blood-bought life belongs to Jesus in every place.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [26:47] - Paul’s Call to Remember
• [30:02] - The Bread and Christ’s Body
• [31:23] - Isaiah’s Prophecy of the Suffering Servant
• [32:54] - Jesus Mocked and Crucified
• [37:23] - The Cup and Christ’s Blood
• [38:22] - Eternal Redemption Through His Blood
• [41:20] - Proclaiming Christ Until He Returns
• [43:52] - Sharing the Precious Blood of Christ
• [44:46] - Taking Up the Cross
• [46:26] - Who Should Receive the Elements
• [47:34] - Confession, Repentance, and a Clean Heart
• [49:54] - The Call to Salvation and Commitment
• [51:15] - Prayer for Salvation and Witness
• [53:14] - Invitation to Respond

Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. [26:47]

Isaiah 53:4-7
Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. [31:29]

Matthew 27:24-31
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that a riot was starting instead, he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. See to it yourselves!” All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas to them and, after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company around him. They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe. They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. They knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him. [32:54]

Ephesians 1:7-8
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. [37:43]

Hebrews 9:11-14
But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God? [38:14]

Mark 8:34-38
Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? What can anyone give in exchange for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” [44:58]

Observation questions

1. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, what does Jesus say the bread represents, what does the cup represent, and what are believers proclaiming when they receive them? [27:19]
2. According to Isaiah 53:4-7, what words explain why Jesus was pierced and crushed, and whose iniquity was placed on Him?
3. What actions of the soldiers in Matthew 27 show both the physical suffering and the public humiliation Jesus endured? [33:38]
4. In Hebrews 9:11-14, what does Christ’s own blood accomplish that the blood of goats and calves could not accomplish? [38:22]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Why is remembering Christ’s body and blood more than simply recalling a historical event? What should such remembrance stir in a believer’s heart? [36:46]
2. Isaiah says that punishment for our peace was on Jesus. What does this show about the seriousness of sin and the cost of being made right with God?
3. Ephesians says redemption comes “through his blood,” and Hebrews says Christ’s blood cleanses the conscience from dead works. How does this keep a believer from trusting in morality, money, religious activity, or personal effort for salvation? [37:43]
4. Paul says the Lord’s Supper proclaims Christ’s death “until he comes.” How should the certainty of Christ’s return shape the way a believer thinks about people who do not yet know Jesus? [41:35]

Application questions

1. When receiving the bread and cup, is it easy to treat communion as a familiar routine? What could help you slow down, reflect on Christ’s suffering, and genuinely thank Him? [36:46]
2. Jesus was innocent, yet He willingly suffered for sinners who did not deserve it. Where do you need to move from casual gratitude to deeper humility before the grace of God? [37:05]
3. Christ’s blood cleanses the conscience so believers can serve the living God. Are there “dead works”—old habits, sinful patterns, or attempts to prove yourself—that need to be brought honestly before the Lord? [39:13]
4. Confession is not hiding sin or pretending everything is fine; it is bringing sin into the light before God and turning from it. Is there a specific area where you need a clean heart and a renewed commitment to walk by the Holy Spirit? [47:38]
5. Jesus calls His followers not to be ashamed of Him. In what setting are you most tempted to keep your faith quiet—at home, work, school, with friends, or in the neighborhood? What might faithful and gracious witness look like there this week? [49:33]
6. Is there someone by name who needs to hear about the hope found in Christ’s precious blood? What is one simple next step you could take to pray for that person or begin a gospel conversation? [52:06]