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The Lord’s Supper is Not Culturally Neutral
Interesting observation from D. A. Carson, “Jesus didn’t choose a supper that was culturally neutral”. That forced me to ask, “What are the implications?”
Either that means we can choose culturally significant to emblems (or insignificant since it doesn’t matter). One church offered hamburgers and milkshakes because the only “meaning” was getting people in. Paul warned against such “the end justifies the means” thinking – Romans 3:8 – “And why not say, just as some people slanderously claim we say, “Let us do what is evil so that good may come”? Their condemnation is deserved!” This is not what Carson was advocating.
Or, and this is what I believe, we are to keep the emblems Jesus used, then discover their significance and emphasize the meanings of the cultural elements. This involves a lifetime of thinking!
Notice what happens when we change what Jesus did (1 Corinthians 11: 23-26), which Paul sought to restore. We discover our deception is deeper than no longer “just” following Jesus’ example:
[ ] We’d no longer have the connection to us being spiritual Israel (Romans 11:11-31). This is further explained in the next point.
[ ] We’d lose the Lord’s supper being a Passover (Luke 22:15-16). While not all of the Passover is carried over, Paul restored what is (1 Corinthians 11: 23-26).
[ ] We’d no longer have the connection to Jesus being the bread of life (John 6:25-59). While this doesn’t expand (pun intended) to include unleaven bread, it does once again connect us to Israel. Manna, during Israel’s wilderness wandering, was life. The bread in Jesus’ memory is life.
[ ] We’d miss out on the bread being unleavened which symbolizes, as it did with Israel, the transient nature of our earthly home (Exodus 12:39).
[ ] We’d miss the symbolism of how the juice is extracted – by pressing until the outer skin breaks (Revelation 14:20).
[ ] We’d lose the Biblical picture that often leaven is associated with sin (1 Corinthians 5)
[ ] We’d miss out on a significance I’ve never considered before (remember, a lifetime of thinking). Originally, fruit of the vine was not mentioned as part of the Passover (although it has been argued a drink is implied in it being a meal). The Exodus, with unleaven bread, was Israel leaving bondage. What symbol was there when Israel was supposed to enter the Promised Land? “When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs” (Numbers 13:23). The grapes symbolize God’s promises resulting in God’s blessings.
If we do away with the culturally significant emblems and symbols, we rip the historical narratives of Israel and Jesus out of their realities. These stories are not fictional myths wherein the symbols have no real meaning. They are history. They are true. They are culturally significant.
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