The Covenant of Holy Communion, what does it mean?
Holy Communion, the most sacred ordinance of the Christian Church. More sacred than Christmas, or Easter, or even Thanksgiving, in that it is the only right which Yeshua HaMashiach Himself ordained, and commanded His followers to observe. The word Communion simply means to be in fellowship with, thus Holy Communion denotes the blessing of being in fellowship with G-d.
Luke 22:15 “And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:” This single verse that Yeshua spoke tells us a great deal about the time He ordained the covenant of Holy Communion, first it tells us that it was during the time of the Jewish celebration Christians call Passover, ( IE, the Hebrew word pesach meaning, “the exodus redemption.”) Which Yeshua was now about to make Himself, in becoming our exodus redemption as we pass from this life of sinful mortality, into His Eternal Kingdom of sinless immortality. We can see the foreshadow of what Yeshua was doing in the original exodus redemption found in.
Exodus 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. (We see that each man here also had to faithfully accept G-d’s offering of redeeming grace for himself, and his household, just as we have to do through Yeshua HaMashiach today.) 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: (Yeshua was perfect, spotless, and without blemish, and was likewise the first born male child of Mary.) “ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: (now one could say that Yeshua was likewise taken out from amongst the sheep and the goats) 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”
(John 19:30 When Yeshua therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. 31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.) (IE, Yeshua likewise died in the Jewish evening hour.) Exodus 12:13 "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." (Thus as the blood sprinkled upon the doorpost and mantel of the houses three points hid their sins, wherein they became spared from the curse of death, so to are we likewise redeemed by the three point crucifixion blood of Yeshua, and redeemed from the curse of the second death.)
Psalm 78:2 “I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: 3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.”
The Hebrew people learned early in time to observe the meanings of signs, and the understanding of prophetic symbols. For it was the intent of G-d that they should diligently search for Him with all their heart, and come to know Him through a genuine desire to love and serve Him just as we are commanded to do, rather than just a fleeting whim of momentary self serving curiosity. Thus If we are to fully understand the significance of Holy Communion, we must also understand the meanings of the relevant symbols at the time Yeshua ordained it. The old saying “you are what you eat” has a great amount of significance in the Hebrew symbolic understanding, and lifestyle, wherein Yeshua often used it Himself. IE, John 18:11 "Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" This was no cup of tee!
John 4:32 “But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.” Here Yeshua is using “meat” as the metaphor for describing the urgency in His keeping and fulfilling G-d’s work. While the ordinances of clean and unclean foods given by Moses began the concept of becoming what you eat, and/or what you eat having an effect on what a person becomes, wether they be clean or kosher, or unclean and defiled. Ezekiel 4:14 “Then said I, Ah Lord Elohim! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.”
Acts 10:14 “But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” To ask a Jewish person to eat something that was by law considered to be unclean, would be just like asking one of us to feast on a plate full of maggots, to them it would be just as repulsive. However the opposite was just as true; to invite a Jewish person to share with you in eating unleavened bread, or a sacrificial offering, would be viewed as being highly honored, for such things as these were considered to be pure and Holy, thus the invitation would be taken as a statement acknowledging ones worthiness in the sight of G-d. Exodus 12:43 “And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: 44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. 45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof." Circumcision represented the outward symbol of cutting off the fleshly man, and becoming a spiritual man, similar to the tradition if baptism.
John 6:50 “This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 Then Yeshua said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” Here we have but a few of the symbolic examples given in the scriptures for our learning. However this last is referring to our subject concerning the Covenant of Holy Communion, and clearly displays the importance of our understanding its significance. Of all people, the Jewish people of Yeshua’s day living under the Mosaic laws should have understood what Yeshua was saying, but they were bilinded by their lack of faith, and the hardness of their hearts. Leviticus 22:24 “Ye shall not offer unto the Lord that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. 25 Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your Elohim of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you." Here we come to the understanding of why it was so important that the sacrifice be perfect in every way. Remember in the Hebrew culture you are what you eat or drink, as what you eat or drink becomes an inseparable part of “YOU.” Now the Hebrew people understood well that an animal was unable to commit sin, since it could only do that which G-d had
programed its instincts to accomplish. So to sacrifice a perfect animal, and eat the flesh thereof, was to take on its sinless perfection and make that sinless perfection, a part of ones self. Deut. 12:27 “And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the Lord thy Elohim: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy Elohim, and thou shalt eat the flesh.” So why a burnt offering? The burnt offering signified the burning off of the dross in their repentance, or cleansing by fire, wherein all that was unclean was tried by fire and returned to the dust and/or ashes from which it originated. All that was unclean, such as the forbidden innards and its blood.
Genesis 8:20 “And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.” No the Lord was not into smoking, the sweet savour spoken of here, were the prayers of repentance that accompanied the offering. Wherein there could be no acceptance of the offering without a genuine repentance, a mans redemption from sin has always hinged upon his repentance, and still does in our day.
2 Cor. 2:15 “For we are unto Elohim a sweet savour of Yeshua, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of Elohim: but as of sincerity, but as of Elohim, in the sight of Elohim speak we in Yeshua.” Here we see that the same requirement of repentance continues to be true in Yeshua today, and without it we have no part in Yeshua’s sacrificial offering of communion, or part with Him in fellowship with G-d. It is in the same context that the Apostle Paul gave to us the following; 1 Cor. 11:27 “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” Deut. 12:23 “Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.”
Leviticus 17:14 “For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.”
What is G-d saying here, “the blood is the life?” He is saying that the creatures instincts, and/or character, is in its blood. Thus since man was created in G-d’s image a higher form than that of animals, it was not meant for a man to become as an animal, so a person would not want to make this a part of oneself. Now with this understanding, let us look at the Last Supper with Jesus, through the opened eyes of His disciples.
Matthew 26:26 “And as they were eating, Yeshua took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” IE, Take liberally, and make My unblemished life a part of you as well, since by willfully accepting My sinless perfection to become a part of you; you represent a part of Me. Thus Yeshua became our new Passover “Edodes Redemption,” delivering us from the clutches of sin and death. Each time we partake of the symbolic body of Yeshua HaMashiach with a humble repentant heart during Communion, we are receiving by faith through our act of obedience to His command, His renewed purity and righteousness. This we should do with our greatest and most humble appreciation, for that which He give His all, us! 27 “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Remember the commandment forbidding the partaking of blood? So what was the message to the Apostles given here? This is My life, My character, and the very essence of all that I am, make it a part of you also, that in becoming a part of you, I may grow within you, and strengthen you, as you become an extension of Me. Do you believe that this is possible? Believe it, because it is! Though it is but wine or grape juice symbolizing the shed blood of Yeshua,, when taken with a faithful repentant heartfelt reverance, while acknowledging its intended meaning, it produces a wonderful blessing by and through the Spiritual powers of transformation. Thus it is written; John 6:56 “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” 2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Yeshua, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
1 Cor. 10:15 “I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (Strong’s #2842-4) of the blood of Yeshua HaMashiach? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Yeshua HaMashiach? 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” Amen!!!
Y’shua friend. דידי
Holy Communion, the most sacred ordinance of the Christian Church. More sacred than Christmas, or Easter, or even Thanksgiving, in that it is the only right which Yeshua HaMashiach Himself ordained, and commanded His followers to observe. The word Communion simply means to be in fellowship with, thus Holy Communion denotes the blessing of being in fellowship with G-d.
Luke 22:15 “And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:” This single verse that Yeshua spoke tells us a great deal about the time He ordained the covenant of Holy Communion, first it tells us that it was during the time of the Jewish celebration Christians call Passover, ( IE, the Hebrew word pesach meaning, “the exodus redemption.”) Which Yeshua was now about to make Himself, in becoming our exodus redemption as we pass from this life of sinful mortality, into His Eternal Kingdom of sinless immortality. We can see the foreshadow of what Yeshua was doing in the original exodus redemption found in.
Exodus 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. (We see that each man here also had to faithfully accept G-d’s offering of redeeming grace for himself, and his household, just as we have to do through Yeshua HaMashiach today.) 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: (Yeshua was perfect, spotless, and without blemish, and was likewise the first born male child of Mary.) “ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: (now one could say that Yeshua was likewise taken out from amongst the sheep and the goats) 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”
(John 19:30 When Yeshua therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. 31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.) (IE, Yeshua likewise died in the Jewish evening hour.) Exodus 12:13 "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." (Thus as the blood sprinkled upon the doorpost and mantel of the houses three points hid their sins, wherein they became spared from the curse of death, so to are we likewise redeemed by the three point crucifixion blood of Yeshua, and redeemed from the curse of the second death.)
Psalm 78:2 “I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: 3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.”
The Hebrew people learned early in time to observe the meanings of signs, and the understanding of prophetic symbols. For it was the intent of G-d that they should diligently search for Him with all their heart, and come to know Him through a genuine desire to love and serve Him just as we are commanded to do, rather than just a fleeting whim of momentary self serving curiosity. Thus If we are to fully understand the significance of Holy Communion, we must also understand the meanings of the relevant symbols at the time Yeshua ordained it. The old saying “you are what you eat” has a great amount of significance in the Hebrew symbolic understanding, and lifestyle, wherein Yeshua often used it Himself. IE, John 18:11 "Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" This was no cup of tee!
John 4:32 “But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.” Here Yeshua is using “meat” as the metaphor for describing the urgency in His keeping and fulfilling G-d’s work. While the ordinances of clean and unclean foods given by Moses began the concept of becoming what you eat, and/or what you eat having an effect on what a person becomes, wether they be clean or kosher, or unclean and defiled. Ezekiel 4:14 “Then said I, Ah Lord Elohim! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.”
Acts 10:14 “But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” To ask a Jewish person to eat something that was by law considered to be unclean, would be just like asking one of us to feast on a plate full of maggots, to them it would be just as repulsive. However the opposite was just as true; to invite a Jewish person to share with you in eating unleavened bread, or a sacrificial offering, would be viewed as being highly honored, for such things as these were considered to be pure and Holy, thus the invitation would be taken as a statement acknowledging ones worthiness in the sight of G-d. Exodus 12:43 “And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: 44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. 45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof." Circumcision represented the outward symbol of cutting off the fleshly man, and becoming a spiritual man, similar to the tradition if baptism.
John 6:50 “This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 Then Yeshua said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” Here we have but a few of the symbolic examples given in the scriptures for our learning. However this last is referring to our subject concerning the Covenant of Holy Communion, and clearly displays the importance of our understanding its significance. Of all people, the Jewish people of Yeshua’s day living under the Mosaic laws should have understood what Yeshua was saying, but they were bilinded by their lack of faith, and the hardness of their hearts. Leviticus 22:24 “Ye shall not offer unto the Lord that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. 25 Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your Elohim of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you." Here we come to the understanding of why it was so important that the sacrifice be perfect in every way. Remember in the Hebrew culture you are what you eat or drink, as what you eat or drink becomes an inseparable part of “YOU.” Now the Hebrew people understood well that an animal was unable to commit sin, since it could only do that which G-d had
programed its instincts to accomplish. So to sacrifice a perfect animal, and eat the flesh thereof, was to take on its sinless perfection and make that sinless perfection, a part of ones self. Deut. 12:27 “And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the Lord thy Elohim: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy Elohim, and thou shalt eat the flesh.” So why a burnt offering? The burnt offering signified the burning off of the dross in their repentance, or cleansing by fire, wherein all that was unclean was tried by fire and returned to the dust and/or ashes from which it originated. All that was unclean, such as the forbidden innards and its blood.
Genesis 8:20 “And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.” No the Lord was not into smoking, the sweet savour spoken of here, were the prayers of repentance that accompanied the offering. Wherein there could be no acceptance of the offering without a genuine repentance, a mans redemption from sin has always hinged upon his repentance, and still does in our day.
2 Cor. 2:15 “For we are unto Elohim a sweet savour of Yeshua, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of Elohim: but as of sincerity, but as of Elohim, in the sight of Elohim speak we in Yeshua.” Here we see that the same requirement of repentance continues to be true in Yeshua today, and without it we have no part in Yeshua’s sacrificial offering of communion, or part with Him in fellowship with G-d. It is in the same context that the Apostle Paul gave to us the following; 1 Cor. 11:27 “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” Deut. 12:23 “Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.”
Leviticus 17:14 “For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.”
What is G-d saying here, “the blood is the life?” He is saying that the creatures instincts, and/or character, is in its blood. Thus since man was created in G-d’s image a higher form than that of animals, it was not meant for a man to become as an animal, so a person would not want to make this a part of oneself. Now with this understanding, let us look at the Last Supper with Jesus, through the opened eyes of His disciples.
Matthew 26:26 “And as they were eating, Yeshua took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” IE, Take liberally, and make My unblemished life a part of you as well, since by willfully accepting My sinless perfection to become a part of you; you represent a part of Me. Thus Yeshua became our new Passover “Edodes Redemption,” delivering us from the clutches of sin and death. Each time we partake of the symbolic body of Yeshua HaMashiach with a humble repentant heart during Communion, we are receiving by faith through our act of obedience to His command, His renewed purity and righteousness. This we should do with our greatest and most humble appreciation, for that which He give His all, us! 27 “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Remember the commandment forbidding the partaking of blood? So what was the message to the Apostles given here? This is My life, My character, and the very essence of all that I am, make it a part of you also, that in becoming a part of you, I may grow within you, and strengthen you, as you become an extension of Me. Do you believe that this is possible? Believe it, because it is! Though it is but wine or grape juice symbolizing the shed blood of Yeshua,, when taken with a faithful repentant heartfelt reverance, while acknowledging its intended meaning, it produces a wonderful blessing by and through the Spiritual powers of transformation. Thus it is written; John 6:56 “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” 2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Yeshua, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
1 Cor. 10:15 “I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (Strong’s #2842-4) of the blood of Yeshua HaMashiach? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Yeshua HaMashiach? 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” Amen!!!
Y’shua friend. דידי
