📖 Biblical Definition
On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus gathered His disciples for the Passover meal. He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said: "This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." Likewise the cup: "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:19-20). The Last Supper is the transition point between the old and new covenants. The Passover lamb of Exodus is fulfilled in Christ; the blood on the doorposts is replaced by the blood of the cross. Paul received this tradition and passed it on: "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
SUPPER: The evening meal; the last meal of the day.
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SUPPER, n. The evening meal; the last meal of the day. The Lord's Supper refers to the sacred institution by which Christ commanded His disciples to remember His death — a covenant meal of the deepest significance.
📖 Key Scripture
• Luke 22:19-20 — "This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me."
• 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 — "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come."
• Matthew 26:26-29 — "This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
• John 13:1-17 — Jesus washes the disciples' feet at the Last Supper.
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The Lord's Supper has been trivialized into ritual formality or stripped of its covenantal weight.
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In many churches, Communion has become an empty ritual — a brief, obligatory appendage to the service rather than a solemn, covenant-renewing encounter with the body and blood of Christ. Paul warned that taking the supper unworthily brings judgment on the participant (1 Corinthians 11:27-30). Others have reduced the Last Supper to a mere social meal of fellowship, ignoring its sacrificial, covenantal, and eschatological dimensions. The supper proclaims the Lord's death until He comes — it is simultaneously memorial, proclamation, and anticipation of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Usage
• "At the Last Supper, Jesus transformed the Passover into the Lord's Supper — from the memorial of deliverance from Egypt to the memorial of deliverance from sin."
• "Every time the church gathers at the table, it proclaims the Lord's death and anticipates His return — the Last Supper is both backward-looking and forward-pointing."