Feasting at the Lord’s Table

“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread…”

Acts 20:7 (KJV)

Introduction

Picture this: It is the Lord’s Day. You and your family have been called into worship. You’ve confessed your sins before the Lord. You’ve been assured that your sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ. You’ve sung songs of praise in response. You’ve joyfully received the Word spoken, sung, and preached. You’ve prayed prayers of thankfulness to your God. Worship hasn’t been anymore beautiful.

Then the Pastor stands up and speaks of the seriousness of the Lord’s Table. “Examine yourself.” “Do not partake in an unworthy manner.” “Take a moment of silent reflection and prayer to prepare yourself to come to the Lord’s Table.”

What was a joyful and reverent time of worship, has just taken a dark turn. Though you’ve confessed your sins and have communed with God through singing, prayers, and His Word, and have now come to the Lord’s Table, instead of continuing in this reverent and joyful worship as a forgiven son or daughter in Christ Jesus - who has been communing with the Father through Jesus in the Spirit - it feels as though you are a slave again, not worthy to be at this Table. The Table is not a place of joy and worship, but a place of guilt.

Brothers and sisters, it should not be this way.

The Lord’s Table is the end and climax of our worship! Think about the flow of our worship: God calls you into His presence, God has cleansed you of all your sins, you have communed with Him and His Word via song and prayer, and after it is all said and done, our God sits us down at a Table, to feast on Christ by faith in the Spirit in the presence of the Father! God invited us into the house, we sang and danced and chatted in the living room, and now we’re sitting at the dinner table together. This is true worship.

Why then, if God has washed our feet off at the door (confession of sin), do we feel that we need to try and find more dirt on our feet before we sit down to eat? If God has invited us to sit down with Him to feast, why are we afraid that He’s going to slap our hand if we reach out to grab the Bread? Why are we afraid that the Table is going to get knocked over if we drink the Wine?

I believe the reason for this sad, cryptic view of the Lord’s Table has to do with our deficient understanding of feasting before the Lord in covenant worship. Whom God covenants with, is with whom He feasts.

Jim Jordan once said our God is a Food God. Our God loves food and loves to give food to His image-bearers. Our Lord Jesus Himself tells us to not even worry about food, because our God loves to feed the birds, how much more does He love to feed His covenant people (Matthew 6:26-27)?

When we look at the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we will see that our God wants His people to feast before His presence.

Feasting Before the Lord

When Yahweh created Adam and put him in the Garden Temple of Eden, He entered into a covenant with him and gave him the Tree of Life as a Sacramental meal.

“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil…And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat…” (Genesis 2:8-9, 16).

After Yahweh cut a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, and 17) Yahweh feasted with Abraham under the oaks of Mamre.

“And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said…And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts…And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat” (Genesis 18:1-3a, 5, 8).

After Yahweh delivered Israel out of Egypt and brought them to Mount Sinai to renew the covenant He had made with Abraham, He brought up Moses and the elders of Israel, so that they would feast in His presence.

“And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off…And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do…Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink” (Exodus 24:1, 3, 9-11).

Before entering into the land that Yahweh had promised them, the book of Deuteronomy was penned, which was the covenant document of Israel, a renewal of the covenant they had broken with the Golden Calf incident and not trusting Yahweh to go into the land He had promised them. Within Deuteronomy, we see Yahweh command His people to feast in His presence:

“But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee…And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you…But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto” (Deuteronomy 12:5-7, 12, 18).

Skipping ahead in time, after the conquest of Joshua, the time of the Judges and Kings, and after the exile, when Yahweh brings His people back into the land, and the words of the covenant are read to the people (a key component of Covenant Renewal), the appropriate response of the Levites and people are to feast!

“So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them” (Nehemiah 8:8-12).

Take note here that Ezra and the priests specifically command the people to not mourn. Sadness and penitence are inappropriate states of the heart when it comes to eating. Have you ever tried eating when you’re crying? 

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all the promises (including the covenant) are yes and amen in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20), establishes the new covenant in a meal.

“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19-20).

This then becomes the covenant renewal ceremony of the Apostolic Church, to be passed down until the consummation of the Kingdom. This covenant renewal ceremony is part of the faith that was once for all handed down to the saints (Jude 3).

“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

When we have an understanding that all of God’s dealings with His people are covenantal in nature, and that our weekly gathering unto Him is for Covenant Renewal, we can see that all of time is covenantally heading in one direction. “Who would deny that this is the eschatological goal of all of God’s covenantal dealings – the marriage supper of the Lamb…”

“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God” (Revelation 19:6-9).

From this brief survey, we can see, from Genesis to Revelation, that our God wants us to feast in His presence. We have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and the only appropriate response to this amazing grace is to come and eat. 

Conclusion

When you come to the Lord’s Table, you come to feast before our Triune God. You are feasting on the Son in the Spirit in the presence of the Father. This Table is not a table to be sad and penitent at. It is God who has called you into His presence and it is God who has cleansed you of all your sin. You’re in the house! The Lord has washed the mud off your feet, there is no need for Him to do it again. So the next time you come to the Table, come rejoicing. It is not irreverent to rejoice before the Lord at His Table. There is nothing wrong with being excited to sit down and eat. It’s actually quite the opposite. There is something wrong when you’re not excited.

Sinclair Ferguson, preaching on the Lord’s Supper, spoke of a puritan minister who had a lady in his congregation weeping as the cup was being passed around. When the Cup came to her, she passed it on, not feeling worthy to partake of her Savior. The minister walked down, snatched the Cup out of the hand of whoever had it, brought it back to the weeping lady, and said, “Drink woman; this Cup is for sinners.”

The Cup is for you. The Bread is for you. So feast with joy before your God.