I Corinthians 11:23  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:
24  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.
25  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.
26  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
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.
32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
33  Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
34  And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

There is much that can be said exposing the fallacy of Easter for the true child of God. As we have noted we are all sheep. Most of the sheep have just followed the norm and that which is common and popular. Most have never allowed God’s Word to show them the truth. Even many who are saved, who read the Bible, do not let the Word of God show them the truth. Tradition and feelings get in the way so often.
In our text God directed the apostle Paul to give instructions regarding the Lord’s Supper. Jesus first instituted the Lord’s Supper just prior to His crucifixion. He did that as He and His disciples were ending the Passover meal. Jesus Christ is our Passover.

I Corinthians 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Jesus gave instructions on how the disciples and all New Testament saints were to remember His death. He is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. We do not bring a lamb to the Lord’s Supper. We remember that the Lamb laid down His life for the sheep. Jesus took two elements of the Passover and showed the true significance of them. He took the unleavened bread and the cup and showed how they depict His body.
The bread is to be broken as a picture of the submission of Jesus Christ to the will of His Father. Jesus Christ as the good Shepherd shows us how His sheep need to follow Him. His sheep cannot insist on having their own way and doing their own thing. His sheep need to follow Him.
This is not a works salvation. It is talking of how the true child of God lives after salvation. We partake of that broken bread as a reminder that our life is dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ. As we have noted from John 14:6

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

There is no life outside of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. The apostle Paul wrote:

I Corinthians 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

The true child of God is given life in Christ and we are able to serve God faithfully and we are required to serve God faithfully.
Jesus also took the cup which was grape juice, not fermented wine. Matthew 26:29 tells us that Jesus took the fruit of the vine. Fermented wine does not give a right picture of the sinless blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus used grape juice and that is what should be used in the Lord’s Supper. He would have used the red grape juice since that depicts the colour of blood the best.
The Lord’s Supper is also restricted to born again Christians. There are many religions that have their own form of the Lord’s Supper.
The Catholics call theirs the “Mass”. They teach that the priest is able to take the wafer and turn it into the body of Jesus Christ. They claim there is forgiveness of sin in partaking of that wafer. That is why they like to be able to be at the bedside of the dying person and they like to be able to place that wafer in their mouth in the last moment of life. Their religion is all heresy and all those who participate in that false religion are under God’s judgment.
The Lutherans teach that the presence of Jesus Christ is present in their communion service and that through that mystical presence there is an extra measure of grace to bless the participants. That is also heresy.
As we see in our text, those who participate in the Lord’s Supper show His death till He come. It is only true Christians that can show His death till He come. Lost people do not trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. His death is not important to them. They have their own interpretation of what His death is all about but it is not the truth. We know that because lost people have not been given that new nature that comes from God at salvation.
We see as well from our text that the Lord’s Supper should be partaken of in the local church and administered by the Pastor and his assistants. It is not something that a person should do on their own wherever they choose to. Those who participate in the Lord’s Supper need to be saved and should be members of that local church. The Lord’s Supper is not something that a person should participate in if they have no interest in following the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our text also tells us that those who partake unworthily are under God’s judgment. We see that this is in the context of Christians. Verses 31-32 make that clear. Christians can partake unworthily. If a Christian harbours sin in his or her heart and yet wants to partake of the Lord’s Supper, that is partaking unworthily before God. Jesus Christ died for my sins. The true child of God needs to confess their sin to God in order to be forgiven after salvation. To hold on to sin after salvation is to make a mockery of the broken body and the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that His death is very important. It is needed for our salvation. His shed blood is necessary for salvation as well. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. It is important for those who are truly saved to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their sin. That is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper.
Easter does not fit that purpose. It does not matter how many verses or how many hymns people want to use in their celebration of Easter. It is a pagan event that has no place for the true child of God. Let the pagans have their bunnies and eggs. The Bible teaches that the true child of God has been saved and set apart to serve the Lord. There is great blessing in knowing the Lord and serving Him faithfully.
Pastor Bartel