Why does the church take communion together, and what does it really mean? In this message, Pastor Chris Reed, associate pastor and director of biblical education at The Tree Church, teaches on the heart of communion. He traces it from Israel's Passover to Luke 22, where Jesus places Himself at the center of the meal. Along the way, he explains why God chose a simple meal to make His salvation real in our lives.
A Funny Story and the Heart of Communion
Pastor Chris opens with a story from breakfast with his daughter Hannah, a freshman at Mount Vernon. She was learning about the belief that the bread and wine physically become the body and blood of Christ, which is called transubstantiation. She tried to say the word six or seven times and kept getting it wrong. Pastor Chris, a self-described nerd, then invites the whole church to try saying it together.
But the message is not about those technical aspects, which he says might come up on The Branch podcast. The focus is the heart of communion and why the church takes it together on a regular basis.
A Meal That Makes Salvation Real
Pastor Chris gives the church a simple saying to remember, and he even made it rhyme.
"Communion is a meal that makes salvation real." - Pastor Chris Reed
Communion is not a magic trick that takes our sins away. It is not a transaction, like taking medicine to feel better. It is also more than a symbol or a mental exercise. When we turn our hearts and minds to God, His Spirit is with us, moving and transforming us. So we take the bread and the juice believing the Spirit is making the realities of salvation real in our lives.
Why God Gives Us a Meal
Many parts of salvation are things we can only think about. A meal lets us taste, touch, and experience them, so we know deep in our being that God loves us, came for us, and rescued us. Pastor Chris compares it to Thanksgiving dinner. The special foods, the smell of turkey and pies, and the family gathered around make the whole day an experience.
He also remembers a meal from a 2013 mission trip to China. In a small mountain village, believers slaughtered a pig worth a month of food so their guests could eat. Thirty or forty believers filled the table with the Himalayas behind them. They shared about the missionaries who first brought the message of Jesus to them and were buried on a hill across the valley. Pastor Chris once memorized the periodic table, and today he might recall ten or fifteen elements.
"I memorized those facts, but I remember that meal." - Pastor Chris Reed
This is why God does not just ask us to think about His salvation. He invites us to a table.
Rooted in the Passover
Communion is not the first meal God gave His people. It is rooted in the Passover, which celebrates how God rescued Israel from Egypt. After Joseph's time, later Pharaohs enslaved and oppressed the Israelites for 430 years. But God heard their cries. Through Moses, He sent ten plagues against the gods and powers of Egypt.
Before the tenth plague, God told the Israelites to spread the blood of a spotless lamb on their doorposts so death would pass over their homes. They ate the lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread, because God would rescue them too swiftly for bread to rise. In Exodus 12:14, God told them to keep this day as a feast throughout their generations. Every year they would relive it, so each generation would know He is the God who rescued and redeemed them.
The Lamb, the Bread, and the Four Cups
Over the years, the core of the Passover meal stayed the same. Spotless lambs were sacrificed and eaten so families could taste and know that the blood of the lamb saved them from judgment.
The unleavened bread became known as the bread of affliction. Pastor Chris jokes that some people feel the same way when they open the communion wafer, and they are right. Some meals carry a little blandness to remind us that salvation is often mixed with suffering and that rescue has a cost. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, families removed all leaven from their homes, because leaven represented sin working its way through their lives.
Four ceremonial cups of wine represented the four promises God made in Exodus 6:6–7. I will bring you out. I will deliver you. I will redeem you. I will take you to be My people. Passover was never only about one night in Egypt. It was about how God was still saving His people, and it set the stage for communion.
Jesus Our Passover Lamb
In Luke 22, Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare the Passover. Pastor Chris explains that Jesus was not starting something brand new. He was renewing the Passover and revealing its fuller meaning. Reclining at table for this significant meal, Jesus told His apostles He had earnestly desired to eat this Passover with them before He suffered. He was excited for them to see what Passover meant in light of Him.
Luke places Jesus' death at the time the Passover lambs were being sacrificed. Jesus is the Passover lamb, and putting our faith and trust in Him is how His blood is applied to our lives. When He broke the bread and said, "This is my body, which is given for you," He was taking up the bread of affliction. We are afflicted by sin and its consequences, and Jesus bears that affliction and the judgment we deserve.
The Cups and the New Covenant
In verse 17, Jesus passes a cup and says He will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. Pastor Chris explains that the kingdom is God's reign and rule in our lives, and it is about restoring our relationship with Him. We were enemies against God, and it is hard to obey when we do not trust that He is for us. Jesus shed His blood so we would stop resisting and learn to love and trust Him.
In verse 20, Jesus says, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." Pastor Chris puts it simply. "Covenant language is relationship language." - Pastor Chris Reed
Matthew's account says Jesus' blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins. But forgiveness is not the end of the story. It happens so we can walk in relationship with God and have His presence with us all the time.
When We Eat
Pastor Chris names three things that happen when we take communion. First, we remember. Communion brings to mind our sin, His sacrifice, and the dear price He paid to accept us and give us life.
Second, we participate in His ongoing work of salvation. We take communion alongside brothers and sisters who believe Jesus is Messiah, and we see that God is still saving and still rescuing.
Third, we anticipate His return. In Corinthians 11:26, Paul says that when we eat this, we proclaim His death until He comes. We still struggle with sin and brokenness, but Jesus has promised to return and make all things right. Communion is the meal that makes salvation real.
Coming to the Table
Before taking communion, Pastor Chris invites the church to reflect. Paul says to approach the table with sobriety, which can include reflecting on how sin still impacts our lives. Pastor Chris also encourages coming with thankfulness for all Christ did to make us right with Him.
For anyone who feels too broken to believe God still loves them, he offers a reminder. Christ promises to come and fulfill what He started, and He will not abandon us. He closes by asking the church to turn their hearts and minds to Jesus and prepare to take communion together.
Gather Around the Table With Us
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