Luke 22:14-20 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.… 1. It is appointed to be a memorial of Christ. 2. It is a standing evidence of the truth of Christianity. 3. It furnishes an opportunity of the open profession of the Christian religion in general, and, especially, of our trusting in the sacrifice of Christ for forgiveness and acceptance with God. 4. Another end of the Lord's Supper is to be an act of Church fellowship, or communion. 5. The Lord's Supper gives an opportunity of covenanting with God, and engaging to be the Lord's. He who partakes of the Communion is, by that very act, as completely and voluntarily bound to serve the Lord, as if he had engaged aloud to do so in the plainest terms of speech, or subscribed, with his own hand, a written deed to that effect. It follows, too, by necessary consequence, that, though he is not bound to anything to which he was not in duty bound before, yet, if he abandon himself to sin, he is justly chargeable with breach of engagement. This argument does not rest on anything peculiar to the Supper; but it applies to it with particular force. 6. Another very comprehensive end of this ordinance is to be a means of cherishing all the graces of the Divine life. We say of cherishing them, not of implanting them; for, though the grace of God is not to be limited, and may reach the heart, for the first time, in any circumstances, those who partake of the Lord's Supper ought already to be possessed of the Christian character in some degree. 7. Once more, this ordinance is intended to lead our thoughts forward to our Lord's second coming. It is not only retrospective, but prospective. It is not only a remembrance of something past, but an anticipation of something future. (James Foote, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.WEB: When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles. |
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