Washed and Fed · Stop 4

What is the Lord's Supper, and what does Jesus give in it?

On the night before he died, Jesus ate a meal with his friends. He took bread and a cup and said words churches still say when they share this meal. Today you'll hear what he said, and why Lutherans believe he meant it.

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The Table

The Lord's Supper has many names. Holy Communion means sharing together. Eucharist is a Greek word for giving thanks. The Sacrament of the Altar is the name Luther used.

Jesus was eating a Passover meal, which remembers how God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt. He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, given for you.” Then he took the cup and called it the new covenant in his blood.

Lutherans believe Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine. We don't try to explain how. We trust his words. It's more than a reminder of Jesus. It's Jesus, giving himself to you.

This is a gift you receive, not a test you pass. Luther said the words “given and shed for you” are the chief thing in the meal.

Read it in your Bible

Luke 22:14–20. Jesus eats the Passover with his friends. He takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and says it is his body given for them. After supper he takes the cup and says it is the new covenant in his blood, poured out for them.
1 Corinthians 11:23–26. Paul passes on what he received: the words Jesus spoke over the bread and the cup. Every time we eat and drink, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again.

The Sacrament of the Altar, from Luther's Small Catechism

What is the Sacrament of the Altar? It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.

What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? That is shown us in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

Words to know

Eucharist. A name for the Lord's Supper from the Greek word for giving thanks. Jesus gave thanks before he broke the bread. So do we.
Passover. The Jewish meal that remembers God freeing Israel from Egypt, which Jesus was eating that night. The Lord's Supper grew out of a meal about God setting people free.
Altar. The table at the front of church where the bread and wine are set out. Luther called this meal the Sacrament of the Altar.