III. Qualities of the holy feast

Bread and cup (grape juice) are served in the holy feast. This holy feast is offered every week or once in a month. Word of God says that feast is done for happiness. In Ecclesiastes 10:19 it is written “A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry,”If that be the case Lord’s Supper has to be accepted as sacrament with great joy. Believers who participate in this Lord’s Supper should know the qualities of the Lord’s Supper. We can understand the qualities of the Lord’s Supper through the verses given below.

1. Holy bread

David who was chased by Saul to be murdered came to the priest Ahimelek. When David asked for bread, priest Ahimelek answered thus I Samuel 21:4, 5, 6 “But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women. David replied, ‘Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!’ So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.”This bread was referred to as shew bread or consecrated bread that was taken from before the Lord. The bread and the grape juice that are being served in Lord’s supper are brought to the presence of the Lord. Therefore the bread served in the holy feast isnot common bread. Since it actually purifies the people who take part in the holy feast by faith, we understand that this is holy bread.

2. Unleavened Bread

Israelites celebrated the festival of unleavened bread remembering the deliverance that they had from Egypt. Israelites dwelt in Egypt for 430 years. They were tortured and tormented for 400 years. When 430 years were completed on that very day night they were chased out of Egyptand in the same day Israelites ate unleavened bread. But in their haste to leave Egypt, the Israelites could not let their bread rise and so they brought unleavened bread. This specific dietary requirement is spelled out in Exodus 12:14, “You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.” This was celebrated as the festival of Passover by the Israelites.

We can say Lord Jesus Christ had unleavened bread along with his disciples. “Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.“(Mark 14:1). “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’”(Mark 14:22). “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (I Cor. 5:7, 8).

Unleavened bread refers to the things of sincerity and truth. Lord Jesus Christ himself is the unleavened bread (Passover). Holy feast is the festival for remembering our Lord Jesus Christ. It is good not to use leavened bread in this holy feast. We should not make use of old leavened bread for Lord’s supper instead it will be good if we actually make a new lump and prepare unleavened bread.

3. Bread of life

Lord Jesus Christ says that he is the bread of life. (John 6:35). He also says that he is the living bread that came down from heaven. He also said that whoever eateth in this bread will never perish but will have everlasting life (John 6:51). He said that the bread he gives is his flesh which he gives for the life of the world. In John 6:54 he says “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

In John 10:10 Jesus says “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “ People who had received the Life of God through the Holy Spiritwould be helped to receive life in abundance with the help of Lord’s Supper. What we call in Life in abundance here is referred to as eternal life in heaven.

4. Children’s bread

Lord told the Canaanite women who came out and cried to him to help her daughter to be delivered of the demon, Lord told her that it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs (Matthew 15:26). Lord Jesus Christ refers to the fact that one is been delivered fromdemon as children’s bread. Jesus Christ has not kept the deliverance for people who do not accept him as Lord and Saviour. Deliverance is actually kept for people who have attained the spiritual status of children of God.

The Lord’s Supper which we give in the church of God is not for the gentiles. Lord’s Supper is for only people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Jesus Christ was with God in the beginning (John 1:2). “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. “ (I John 3:10). Children’s bread of salvation has been given to the people who are participating in Lord’s Supper. We should claim the blessings of the salvation by faith.

5. Love Feast (Jude 11-12)

The holy feast given in the church isalso referred as Love feast. This is called as Love feast because it has been prepared for the believers who had received the love of God through the Holy Spirit. “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5). People who take part in the Lord’s Supper should not live in the following manner:

1. The way of Cain: Adam’s elder son Cain killed his brother Abel. What is the reason behind that? It is because he found that Lord had approved of Abel’s offerings. “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous.” (I John 3:12). We can see now many people who do not have any fellowship or talk with their brethren, who are sisters or brothers by birth or sisters or brothers by faith, they take part daringly in Lord’s supper. People who hate the believers of the church should not take part in the Lord’s supper.
2. Balaam’s wickedness or cunningness: Balaam blessed the Israelites when he was in hill place. After climbing down from the hill, Balaam counselled with the Moabite king and suggested to him the ways to make the Israelites fall into sin and he also received payment for that. Because of this, we find that Israelites ate what was offered to the idols. They also worshipped the idols. They also committed adultery. Because of this 23,000 people dies. We should separate ourselves from the vengeance of the devil.
3. The leader of a rebellion (Korah): Dathan, Abiram, Korah and their group rose against the servant of God ‘Moses’. They were against the ministry of Moses. Therefore they were destroyed along with their families. Therefore don’t talk or do anything against the servants of God who have been called by the Lord for his ministry. If any person is like that, then he will be stains in the table of Lord’s Supper. So we need to part take in Love feast by separating ourselves from these types of evil things.

6. One bread

Lord’s Supper has been established for us to remember sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ, a bread of life. It will be good if we prepare one bread which is big enough to be shared by all the members of the church, who participate in the Lord’s Supper. “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.” (I Corinthians 10:17). The body of Lord Jesus Christ is the church. Therefore we are asked to have no prejudices because of caste, creed, color or gender as we are members of the body of Christ. One bread teaches us that all members of the body of the church of God should not have any differences because of caste, creed, genderor economical disparity. That is the meaning of one bread. The one bread signifies that each and every believer whotakes part in Lord’s Supper should not have any feelings of prejudice. One bread teaches us that believers, who are participating in the Lord’s Supper should avoid all the differences. May the Lord bless everyone with the eyes of understanding being enlightenedto realizethe true meaning. Amen.

7. Divine nature/ character

Holy feast is nothing but the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we continuously take part in Lord’s Supper we overcome the human nature and we adapt to the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must continuously take part in the Lord’s Supper to partake the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we have seen above we should not take it light that Lord’s Supper is one of the ordinary activities that are conducted in the church. Not only that, the Lord’s Supper we conduct here in the church of God symbolizes shadow to the things to come. The Lord’s Supper which we are going to have in the kingdom of God is the true one. In order to qualify us to that, here we are given that Lord’s Supper. We should qualify ourselves to take part in the holy feast in the kingdom of God by following the Lord’s Supper in this world with the fear of God and reverence. Amen.