“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4)
The Law given in the Old Testament was holy, righteous and good, according to Paul (Romans 7:12). In fact, it only had one weak point: man. It was our humanness, our “flesh” as the Bible states it. The Law is holy, but I am flesh, unable to do what the Law asks of me. Only through the power of the Spirit of God can I overcome that flesh, yet I still find myself falling short of perfection.
Our God knows this. As the Psalmist says “he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). Because of that, he sent his Son, who, by power of a perfect life, was able to condemn sin through his death. Those of us that choose to accept his sacrifice are freed from the necessity of paying for our sins through our own sacrifice.
His body was given, and we remember it in the bread. His blood was shed, a covenant established, and we remember that through the cup. Freedom from condemnation was brought to us, to condemnable man, and we remember that in this memorial meal.

Throughout church history, men have debated the hows, whys, whens, whos and whats of the Lord’s Supper. Is it every Sunday? Is it Sunday only? Unleavened bread? Fermented or unfermented wine/grape juice? One cup or many? Closed communion or open? Can we sing or must there be silence? Can women pass out the trays? Can unbaptized boys pass out the trays? Can there also be a meal? Should there be a time of confession first?
Isn’t it interesting that what we spend so much time fighting about, the Bible says nothing about? More than twenty New Testament letters and only one has any correctives about the Lord’s Supper. And we rarely if ever talk about what Paul was actually addressing in 1 Corinthians 11.
When Paul did address the problems in Corinth, the main thing he did was to remind them of the original purpose of the Supper: remembering Jesus’ death and proclaiming its meaning until he come again. Let’s not lose sight of that as we bicker and quarrel over that which falls within the realm of the unspoken in the Bible:
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

“Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:9-11)
It’s one of those incredible moments, a mountaintop experience, if you’ll pardon the pun. Humans, mere mortals, are allowed to climb Mount Sinai and eat and drink in the presence of God. They “beheld God,” in whatever sense that phrase is meant. I don’t think they saw God’s face as it were. Not long after this Moses asks to see God’s glory and is only allowed to see God’s back, which suggests that these men did not directly look upon God. Still, it was a special moment.
Not long before, Moses had presented the book of the covenant to the people, and they had pledged to obey the covenant (a promise which didn’t even last six weeks). As a sign of the covenant going into effect, Moses sprinkled the people with blood from a sacrifice, saying “This is the blood of the covenant,” the very words which Jesus used when he established the Lord’s Supper. There is a direct and intentional connection between this passage in Exodus 24 and the memorial meal which Jesus established.
The book of Deuteronomy speaks of God’s people eating “in the presence of the Lord” (12:7, 18; 14:23, 26; 15:20). That was a key aspect of the fellowship offerings which were offered on a regular basis.
As we join together at the table of the Lord, we experience a moment of “extreme fellowship,” if you will. Eating together joins us together, but it also joins us to the Lord. He is here with us. It is his table, and we are guests at it. We eat and drink in the presence of the Lord. There is horizontal fellowship and there is vertical fellowship. We eat this covenant meal, celebrating the pact that binds us to God and him to us. We commit ourselves to fulfill our part of the covenant, knowing that God is a faithful God who will always live up to his part of the agreement. In celebration of that covenant, we now eat and drink in the presence of our God.

“Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.” (Mark 15:6-15)
A man went free the day He died. Thief. Terrorist. Killer.
A man went free the day He died. Barabbas’ name is interesting. “Bar” means “son of” and “abbas” comes from the word for father. “Son of his father” would be one translation. The name itself shows us the universality of his role. He stood there and represented every son of every father.
A man went free the day He died. A guilty man. One who, under Roman law, deserved the punishment that Christ received. His was an unexpected and undeserved reprieve.
A man went free the day He died. The guilty went free. The innocent was killed. The Holy One died, while the sinner lived. One man paid the price He never owed, one had his debt erased. The day Christ died another man received freedom and life, mercy and grace, liberty and forgiveness.
A man went free the day He died. And I AM THAT MAN.
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6)