BREAD AND WINE
This month, April 22nd, Passover will be celebrated. Because Jewish lunar calendar overlaps our solar calendar about two and a half months, so the date of Passover fell on that date.
Some churches celebrate Passover every month, some every third month, some ones a year and some do not celebrate at all.
I noticed in some churches that they substitute wine for juice, and I found such practice absolutely unacceptable. Because of it I stop completely participating in church’s Passover, but I celebrate it at home, with wine and with unleavened bread as it was done in the Old Testament and in the New Testament as well.
I also heard on the radio some preacher preached that it was not wine served during Passover meal but it was juice, and such comment I found absolutely ridiculous.
As far as I know, all languages of the world have two distinct words for wine and for juice, and there is no way that these words can be exchanged or substitute for one another. This means that in whichever passage Bible said wine, it certainly means wine and nothing else.
Jews, and almost all the nations of the world in ancient time drank wine at every meal they have. Not water, not juice, or anything else for that matter, but only wine. And such practice still exists today in many countries of the world.
Jesus Christ Himself drank wine as any other Jew in His time, and He even symbolized wine with His Own Blood, and even more than that, He also said to His disciples that He will drink a new wine in the Kingdom of His Father. (Matthew 26.29) (Mark 14.25) (Luke 22.18)
And beside these statements He often mentioned wine in many of His parables, and even compared Israel to a vineyard number of times, just like His Father did.
Jesus Christ portrayed wine as a drink worthy of kings, as substance that gives pleasure, as a drink worthy of hard labor and money spent.
Certain negative aspects of wine also have been described in the Bible, when the abuse and improper consumption of it leads to drunkenness, violence, addiction, and poverty, which is can be the case and absolute truth almost for everything else what we consume, eat, and drink.
So wine, like anything else in this world, can be harmful or beneficial, it all depends of how we using it.
I am sure and have no doubt, what those who using juice and not wine during their Passover ritual defiled the LORD’S Passover and His solemn and holy ritual.
Apostle Paul explored this issue to its bottom, and explained how Passover shall be conducted and celebrated.
1Corinthians 11.23-30
23.I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread,
24.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." (Matthew 26.26) (Mark 14.22) (Luke 22.19)
25.In the same way He took the cup also after supper saying, "This cup is the New Covenant in My Blood, do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (Matthew 26.27-28) (Mark 14.23-24) (Luke 22.20)
26.As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death, until He comes.
27.Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the Body and the Blood of the Lord.
28.But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29.He who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge (examines himself to be worthy in participation of Passover) the Body (of Christ, His Flesh and His Blood) rightly.
30.For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. ("sleep" - KSB, Gideons, "and a number died" - NRSV, GNB, Russian)
Let examine what the Paul said in the verses 27, 29, and 30.
Verse 27. Unworthy manner, what it supposed to mean? It means, whoever did not repent for his/her sins before Passover, who own to someone and do not yet repaid back, who in feud with someone and did not make peace, who offend someone and did not apologize, and so on, such person participating unworthy in Passover and incurs gilt on himself against Christ and His Blood.
Also, those who changed the ritual as they pleased and altered its order, or change anything in it, also conducting it in unworthy manner and become guilty against Christ and His Blood. This means all those who substitute wine of Passover for juice.
Verse 29. This verse means that those who do not examine and check themselves carefully before participating in Passover, and as mentioned above did not make themselves “clean” before the Lord by settling all the debts, feuds, differences, disputes, and quarrels, and did not repented before the Lord and ask for forgiveness of sins before “eating” His Body and “drinking” His Blood, surely they are all unworthy of the Passover of Christ.
Included of course and those who participating in the alternative and improper Passover drinking juice and not wine, they are also heavily guilty against Christ and His Blood, and certainly will bear the consequences of it.
Verse 30. This verse does not need any explanation, because it is straight forward statement, and revealed the consequences of unworthy participation and conduct of Passover, which means that the people may get sick, get themselves in all sorts of troubles, and even die because of it.
I remember one church I used to go long time ago in San Francisco. When the church conducted Passover, every time before the beginning of the ritual, pastor red this statement of Paul, 1Corithians 11.23-30.
This is the most powerful statement ever recorded in the Bible concerning Passover ritual. And every time it was red, it always has a certain impact on all who was present in the church at that time, and on me as well.
And some of us, included me, sometimes did not participated in it, if our own conscience told us that we are not completely “clean” before the Lord, or have something that would make our participation unworthy of the ritual, and some of us, withhold our participation in it for that particular time.
Because Christ said to celebrate Passover in memory of Him, so Passover can be performed at any time. But because Christ always observed Passover in its appropriate time according to the Law of Moses, it is essential to conduct Passover on this particular date as a special Passover Day.
Christ replaced Passover lamb of exodus with Himself, because now He became the Lamb of a new salvation. And just like Passover lamb of exodus saved souls of the Jews who marked their door posts by its blood, and so Jesus Christ saves those people who marked the door posts of their hearts by the Blood of Christ.
And just like Passover lamb of exodus symbolized the beginning of the exodus to a promised land, and so the Blood of Christ symbolizes a new exodus to a Kingdom of GOD.
IT IS NOT A SIN NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN PASSOVER, THE SIN IS WHEN PARTICIPATION IS UNWORTHY OF THE RITUAL.
The Bread and the Blood of Christ.
John 6.33-35.48.51-54
33.”The bread of GOD is that which comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.”
34.They said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35.Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life.Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.
48.I am the bread of life.
51.I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. Whoever eat of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
52.The Jews then disputed among themselves saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
53.So Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
54.Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day,
58.This is the bread that came down from Heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
59.He said these things while He was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
Why Christ compared His Body to bread?
He compared His physical body to bread because while He was in the body He conducted life’s saving teachings, healings, and even resurrections from the dead. And even in the physical mortal body He managed to reveal the glory of GOD, preached Gospel, and saved numerous souls.
Despite the all odds, He had also suffered in it, because He experienced it imperfections, weakness, and mortality of it, and finally the agony of violent death.
This means what anyone who conducts himself as Jesus Christ in His Body, such person embodies himself in Christ Body doing the same things as Christ did.
Eat His Body-Bread means to do the same things as He had done, imitate Him, and mirroring Him, reflecting Him, and copied Him in all His works that He had done on Earth.
Why Christ compared His Blood to wine?
Because the soul of every living creature in its blood. Our soul which is a part of GOD’S Spirit has intelligence, conscience, and mind, all are essential for our meaningful life and creativity. We are created in the intellectual image of GOD, not in His physical image that could be anything.
Drinking the Blood of Christ means drinking His Soul which is in His Blood, and by doing this we become just like Christ Himself in His personality, character, nature, and quality. Another word, we replacing our personality of our soul with His personality of His Soul, and become just like Him, new spiritual creatures, pleasing and acceptable by GOD.
And no wonder that alcohol in general often called as spirits, because it contain something that change our mood and has effect on our personality and behavior, but in case with Passover wine, the spirit of wine represents positive thing, symbolically compared to the Blood of Christ, which has same positive effect on those who imitate Christ (drinking Blood of Christ) and become just like Him in His character and personality.
This month, April 22nd, Passover will be celebrated. Because Jewish lunar calendar overlaps our solar calendar about two and a half months, so the date of Passover fell on that date.
Some churches celebrate Passover every month, some every third month, some ones a year and some do not celebrate at all.
I noticed in some churches that they substitute wine for juice, and I found such practice absolutely unacceptable. Because of it I stop completely participating in church’s Passover, but I celebrate it at home, with wine and with unleavened bread as it was done in the Old Testament and in the New Testament as well.
I also heard on the radio some preacher preached that it was not wine served during Passover meal but it was juice, and such comment I found absolutely ridiculous.
As far as I know, all languages of the world have two distinct words for wine and for juice, and there is no way that these words can be exchanged or substitute for one another. This means that in whichever passage Bible said wine, it certainly means wine and nothing else.
Jews, and almost all the nations of the world in ancient time drank wine at every meal they have. Not water, not juice, or anything else for that matter, but only wine. And such practice still exists today in many countries of the world.
Jesus Christ Himself drank wine as any other Jew in His time, and He even symbolized wine with His Own Blood, and even more than that, He also said to His disciples that He will drink a new wine in the Kingdom of His Father. (Matthew 26.29) (Mark 14.25) (Luke 22.18)
And beside these statements He often mentioned wine in many of His parables, and even compared Israel to a vineyard number of times, just like His Father did.
Jesus Christ portrayed wine as a drink worthy of kings, as substance that gives pleasure, as a drink worthy of hard labor and money spent.
Certain negative aspects of wine also have been described in the Bible, when the abuse and improper consumption of it leads to drunkenness, violence, addiction, and poverty, which is can be the case and absolute truth almost for everything else what we consume, eat, and drink.
So wine, like anything else in this world, can be harmful or beneficial, it all depends of how we using it.
I am sure and have no doubt, what those who using juice and not wine during their Passover ritual defiled the LORD’S Passover and His solemn and holy ritual.
Apostle Paul explored this issue to its bottom, and explained how Passover shall be conducted and celebrated.
1Corinthians 11.23-30
23.I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread,
24.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." (Matthew 26.26) (Mark 14.22) (Luke 22.19)
25.In the same way He took the cup also after supper saying, "This cup is the New Covenant in My Blood, do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (Matthew 26.27-28) (Mark 14.23-24) (Luke 22.20)
26.As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death, until He comes.
27.Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the Body and the Blood of the Lord.
28.But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29.He who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge (examines himself to be worthy in participation of Passover) the Body (of Christ, His Flesh and His Blood) rightly.
30.For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. ("sleep" - KSB, Gideons, "and a number died" - NRSV, GNB, Russian)
Let examine what the Paul said in the verses 27, 29, and 30.
Verse 27. Unworthy manner, what it supposed to mean? It means, whoever did not repent for his/her sins before Passover, who own to someone and do not yet repaid back, who in feud with someone and did not make peace, who offend someone and did not apologize, and so on, such person participating unworthy in Passover and incurs gilt on himself against Christ and His Blood.
Also, those who changed the ritual as they pleased and altered its order, or change anything in it, also conducting it in unworthy manner and become guilty against Christ and His Blood. This means all those who substitute wine of Passover for juice.
Verse 29. This verse means that those who do not examine and check themselves carefully before participating in Passover, and as mentioned above did not make themselves “clean” before the Lord by settling all the debts, feuds, differences, disputes, and quarrels, and did not repented before the Lord and ask for forgiveness of sins before “eating” His Body and “drinking” His Blood, surely they are all unworthy of the Passover of Christ.
Included of course and those who participating in the alternative and improper Passover drinking juice and not wine, they are also heavily guilty against Christ and His Blood, and certainly will bear the consequences of it.
Verse 30. This verse does not need any explanation, because it is straight forward statement, and revealed the consequences of unworthy participation and conduct of Passover, which means that the people may get sick, get themselves in all sorts of troubles, and even die because of it.
I remember one church I used to go long time ago in San Francisco. When the church conducted Passover, every time before the beginning of the ritual, pastor red this statement of Paul, 1Corithians 11.23-30.
This is the most powerful statement ever recorded in the Bible concerning Passover ritual. And every time it was red, it always has a certain impact on all who was present in the church at that time, and on me as well.
And some of us, included me, sometimes did not participated in it, if our own conscience told us that we are not completely “clean” before the Lord, or have something that would make our participation unworthy of the ritual, and some of us, withhold our participation in it for that particular time.
Because Christ said to celebrate Passover in memory of Him, so Passover can be performed at any time. But because Christ always observed Passover in its appropriate time according to the Law of Moses, it is essential to conduct Passover on this particular date as a special Passover Day.
Christ replaced Passover lamb of exodus with Himself, because now He became the Lamb of a new salvation. And just like Passover lamb of exodus saved souls of the Jews who marked their door posts by its blood, and so Jesus Christ saves those people who marked the door posts of their hearts by the Blood of Christ.
And just like Passover lamb of exodus symbolized the beginning of the exodus to a promised land, and so the Blood of Christ symbolizes a new exodus to a Kingdom of GOD.
IT IS NOT A SIN NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN PASSOVER, THE SIN IS WHEN PARTICIPATION IS UNWORTHY OF THE RITUAL.
The Bread and the Blood of Christ.
John 6.33-35.48.51-54
33.”The bread of GOD is that which comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.”
34.They said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35.Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life.Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.
48.I am the bread of life.
51.I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. Whoever eat of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
52.The Jews then disputed among themselves saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
53.So Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
54.Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day,
58.This is the bread that came down from Heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
59.He said these things while He was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
Why Christ compared His Body to bread?
He compared His physical body to bread because while He was in the body He conducted life’s saving teachings, healings, and even resurrections from the dead. And even in the physical mortal body He managed to reveal the glory of GOD, preached Gospel, and saved numerous souls.
Despite the all odds, He had also suffered in it, because He experienced it imperfections, weakness, and mortality of it, and finally the agony of violent death.
This means what anyone who conducts himself as Jesus Christ in His Body, such person embodies himself in Christ Body doing the same things as Christ did.
Eat His Body-Bread means to do the same things as He had done, imitate Him, and mirroring Him, reflecting Him, and copied Him in all His works that He had done on Earth.
Why Christ compared His Blood to wine?
Because the soul of every living creature in its blood. Our soul which is a part of GOD’S Spirit has intelligence, conscience, and mind, all are essential for our meaningful life and creativity. We are created in the intellectual image of GOD, not in His physical image that could be anything.
Drinking the Blood of Christ means drinking His Soul which is in His Blood, and by doing this we become just like Christ Himself in His personality, character, nature, and quality. Another word, we replacing our personality of our soul with His personality of His Soul, and become just like Him, new spiritual creatures, pleasing and acceptable by GOD.
And no wonder that alcohol in general often called as spirits, because it contain something that change our mood and has effect on our personality and behavior, but in case with Passover wine, the spirit of wine represents positive thing, symbolically compared to the Blood of Christ, which has same positive effect on those who imitate Christ (drinking Blood of Christ) and become just like Him in His character and personality.
