Why is the Lord’s Supper taken early in the day on Sunday and not in the evening? After all, supper is something that is taken in the evening.<\/p>\n\t
In English, “supper” refers to the last mean of the day. The memorial in which we remember Christ’s death is referred to as the Lord’s Supper because it was his last meal — both of the day he instituted it and the last before his death.<\/p>\n
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup\u00a0after supper<\/strong>, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me”<\/em>” (I Corinthians 11:23-25).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The phrase “after supper” refers to the Lord’s memorial being instituted after the Passover meal, so in a sense, this was a supper after supper. The memorial is called by several names:<\/p>\n
\n
- The Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:20) – indicates that it both belongs to the Lord and that it reminds us of Christ’s last meal.<\/li>\n
- Communion (I Corinthians 10:16-17) – placing emphasis that this is something shared<\/li>\n
- Feast (I Corinthians 5:8) – a celebratory meal, so while remembering a death is a solomen occasion, we also remember that Jesus arose, which is a cause for gladness. That is why Jesus gave\u00a0thanks<\/em>\u00a0while instituting the Lord’s Supper. (This is why some denominations call the Lord’s Supper the eucharist, which means “thanksgiving.”)<\/li>\n
- The breaking of bread (Acts 2:42) – a phrase that meant to have a meal, though in the Lord’s Supper we break the bread to symbolize Jesus’ broken body.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The timing of the Lord’s Supper is based on the example given in Troas. “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight<\/em>” (Acts 20:7). It was on the first day of the week that the disciples came to partake of the Lord’s Supper (to break bread). We know it was not a common meal being referred to because they gathered once a week to partake of this meal. Since the time frame was the first day of the week and no time of day was given, then it doesn’t matter when the Lord’s Supper is taken, so long as it is on the first day of the week. When during the day then becomes a choice for the local church to make regarding when it is best for all members to gather for this memorial.<\/p>\n
Even though it may be taken early in the day, it still remains a memorial of the Lord’s Supper. It is not our supper.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Why is the Lord’s Supper taken early in the day on Sunday and not in the evening? After all, supper is something that is taken in the evening. Answer: In English, “supper” refers to the last mean of the day. The memorial in which we remember Christ’s death is referred to as the Lord’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[146],"class_list":["post-51913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-lords-supper"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":65447,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-lords-supper-taken-only-once-a-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":51913,"position":0},"title":"Was the Lord’s Supper taken only once a year?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day. A friend of mine told me that the breaking of bread in Acts 20:7 is not the Lord's Supper or Passover because it is only a breaking of bread without the grape juice as stated in the context. The breaking of bread is a celebration of Jesus'\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2664,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-the-lords-supper-be-served-with-one-cup\/","url_meta":{"origin":51913,"position":1},"title":"Should the Lord’s Supper be served with one cup?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The texts in the gospels concerning the Lord's Supper all say \"and when he took the\u00a0cup ... \" denoting one cup. Does this bind one cup? Why or why not? Thank you for your help. I met a one cup brother and sister at a gospel meeting and we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52121,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-explain-some-of-these-terms-related-to-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":51913,"position":2},"title":"Can you explain some of these terms related to the Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please explain the following biblical terms to me. I sometimes get confused by these. Feast of Passover Last supper Lord's supper Communion Unleavened bread Answer: Feast of the Passover This was to be observed on the fourteenth day of the first month (Leviticus 23:5). Preparation began on the tenth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67286,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/misconceptions-about-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":51913,"position":3},"title":"Misconceptions About the Lord’s Supper","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Osamagbe Lesley Egharevba via Unmasking Sophistry, Vol. 4, No. 2, April-June 2024 One of the acts of worship the New Testament church engaged in was the Lord's Supper. It is also called \"the breaking of bread\" (Acts 2:42; Acts 20:7), \"the Communion\" (I Corinthians 10:16), or \"the Lord's table\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/communion-300x200.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":727,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-acts-207-refer-to-a-common-meal\/","url_meta":{"origin":51913,"position":4},"title":"Does Acts 20:7 refer to a common meal?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you think that\u00a0Acts 20:7\u00a0was talking of a common meal? Why or why not? Answer: The text in question states, \"Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24066,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-we-confess-our-sins-before-eating-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":51913,"position":5},"title":"Must we confess our sins before eating the Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Must we confess sin before eating the body and blood of Christ? What does \"examine yourself\" mean in I Corinthians 11:28? Answer: The Lord's Supper is a memorial of Jesus' death. \"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51913\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}