Communion has become a ritual in many churches — solemn, regulated, sometimes even anxiety-inducing. But when Jesus instituted it, he was sitting with friends at dinner. No altar, no liturgy. A table, bread, wine, fellowship.
What Jesus actually said
“This is my body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
— Luke 22:19-20
“In remembrance of me” — but it's about MORE than remembrance. More on that shortly. First: it's not about magical transformation (transubstantiation), not about repeating the sacrifice. Jesus died once, rose once — communion doesn't repeat that. But it ACTIVATES something.
? The biblical line
Exodus 12 — The Passover: lamb, blood, deliverance. Communion has its roots here.
Luke 22:19–20 — Jesus takes bread and wine: “This is my body… this is the new covenant in my blood.”
John 6:54 — “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood HAS eternal life.” — HAS. Not “might get.”
1 Corinthians 11:25–26 — “As often as you do this, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”
The line: From Melchizedek's bread and wine through the Passover Lamb to the New Covenant — communion is not a ritual. It is receiving and proclamation: The old covenant is fulfilled.
John 6:54 — the most radical statement
Before we talk about rituals and church rules, let's hear what Jesus HIMSELF said — and not casually:
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood HAS eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”
— John 6:54-55
HAS. Not “will get someday.” Not “hopes for.” HAS. Present tense. The eating and drinking IS the receiving of life. Not symbolic — not merely remembrance — but as a real spiritual act.
The disciples didn't understand. Many turned away (John 6:66). Because it was too real. Too direct. Too little “spiritual” in the religious sense. But Jesus didn't take any of it back.
More than remembrance — healing at the table
Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 11:29-30:
“For whoever eats and drinks without discerning the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.”
— 1 Corinthians 11:29-30
Did you read that? Weak. Sick. Died. Because they did not discern the BODY. The bread is not just a symbol — it is the proclamation that his body was broken for YOUR body. Isaiah 53:5: “By his wounds we are healed.”
The 3 paths of healing
Communion is one of three paths through which healing enters your body:
1. Communion with faith — EATING
When you take the bread and eat with FAITH — not as a sad ritual but as conscious receiving — something happens. The bread is NOT a mere symbol. It is NOT empty remembrance. It is the moment you speak: “I eat because you are real. What I chew works like fire. Every cell is nourished.”
2. Praying in tongues — the Spirit prays healing
Romans 8:26 — the Spirit intercedes for you with groanings too deep for words. When you pray in tongues, the Spirit of God prays through you — bypassing your mind, going straight to the target.
3. Authority — speaking in the name of Jesus
Mark 16:18 — “They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” No request. A DECLARATION. A commanding in the authority given to you.
Three paths — and communion is the most direct. Because it is EATING. Physical. Tangible. You take his body into yourself. Not metaphorically — spiritually real.
The exchange at the cross
Communion makes the greatest exchange in history tangible:
“What is mine is now yours. What is yours is now mine.”
Jesus took YOUR broken, sick, mortal body to the cross. And he gives you HIS perfect, healed, resurrected body. That is the exchange. That is what Isaiah 53 describes: He bore YOUR sickness. He took YOUR pain. And he gives you HIS health.
When you eat the bread, you say YES to this exchange. Not theoretically — practically. With your mouth, your body, your faith.
Ever thought about this?
Most people “celebrate” communion as a somber act of remembrance. Muted music, bowed heads, somber mood. But if HEALING is in the bread — if LIFE is in the wine — then communion is the opposite of sad. It's the moment heaven touches your body. That should be a CELEBRATION — not a funeral.
Who may participate?
In many churches, communion is guarded like a VIP area: Only the confirmed, only the baptized, only church members. But who was at the table when Jesus held the first communion? Twelve disciples — one of them a traitor. Jesus didn't even exclude Judas.
Ever thought about this?
Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19) — not “Do this as a ritual every Sunday.” Remembrance, not religion. And he said it at DINNER, not in a church service.
Think about it
If Jesus allowed the one who would betray him at the table — who are we to exclude others? Communion is not for the worthy. It's for those who know they need it.
“Eating unworthily” — what Paul means
“Whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment on himself.”
— 1 Corinthians 11:29
This verse has produced more fear than almost any other. But read the context: Paul is speaking to a community where the rich gorge themselves while the poor go hungry — at the shared meal. “Unworthily” refers to the manner of eating (loveless, divisive), not the moral state of the one eating.
You are never “too unworthy” for communion. It was made precisely for the unworthy — because “worthy” is only one: Christ. And his blood makes you able to sit at the table.
NOT ritual — NOT just Sunday
The first followers of Jesus celebrated communion at home, during shared meals. No special building, no special person needed to lead it. Bread and wine (or juice), remembrance of Christ, fellowship with each other.
You don't need a pastor. You don't need a church. You don't need special dishware. You need bread, wine, and a grateful heart. That's enough. That's all Jesus used.
And you can do it EVERY DAY. In the morning at breakfast. In the evening at dinner. Consciously take a piece of bread, give thanks, and speak: “This is your body, broken for me. What is mine is now yours. What is yours is now mine.” That's not sacrilege — that's exactly what Jesus meant.
Ever thought about this?
When did the “church” decide that communion only happens on Sunday, only a priest may lead it, and only a wafer and a sip of wine are allowed? Jesus never said that. He was at DINNER. With friends. Bread and wine — not a wafer and a thimble. Maybe communion should look like that again: a real table, real people, real food. And the remembrance of the one who gave everything.
The depth of simplicity
Bread — broken, like his body. Wine — poured out, like his blood. Every time you eat and drink, you remember: He did it. It is finished. Not your work — his.
And this remembrance changes everything. Not magic, not mystical in an esoteric sense — but real. Because the one you remember is real. And what he accomplished has changed the world.
The truth about communion
Communion is not a sad remembrance. It is not a ritual for the worthy. It is not a Sunday event for church members. It is a MEAL — at the Father's table, where healing, forgiveness, and life are distributed. His body for your body. His blood for your guilt. The exchange of the ages — and you can receive it every day.
The table is set. No priest stands in the way. No ritual holds you back. Take, eat, and receive — what has long been paid for.