by Jeff Smelser<\/p>\n
I do not look down on congregations in which saints share one cup in partaking of the Lord\u2019s Supper. When I have occasion to assemble with brethren whose practice is such, I happily share in the one cup. However, there are points to be made from Luke 22, Matthew 26, I Corinthians 10, and I Corinthians 11 showing that God did not intend to put special emphasis on the number of containers, that being \u201cone.\u201d In addition to these points usually brought to bear on the subject, I\u2019d like to offer a practical consideration that tells me the earliest disciples did not use one container when partaking of the Lord\u2019s Supper.<\/p>\n
In Acts 2:46, we read that the disciples were meeting \u201cwith one accord in the temple<\/em>.\u201d In Acts 5:12 we find them \u201call with one accord in Solomon\u2019s porch.<\/em>\u201d I take it that when they ate the Lord\u2019s Supper, they would have done so all together in the environs of the Temple. Acts 4:4 tells us their number had come to be about 5,000, just counting the men. So let\u2019s assume there were about 10,000 disciples at the time. There were at least 2 or 3 areas that could have accommodated 10,000 people gathered in the courts facing the length of Solomon\u2019s portico.<\/p>\n But imagine the logistics of 10,000 people partaking of the Lord\u2019s Supper together (note the emphasis on \u201ctogether\u201d in Acts 20:7 and I Corinthians 11:33 \u2015 that\u2019s the manner in which the supper is to be eaten), using only one cup. If we allow 5 seconds per person, it would take almost 14 hours for 10,000 people to drink from one cup. And that doesn\u2019t include time for the bread!<\/p>\n Now maybe you think 5 seconds per person is more than generous. I think you\u2019ll change your mind once you consider the size of that cup. If each person sipped only one-quarter of an ounce, for 10,000 people the cup would have to contain 19 \u00bd gallons, and would weigh more than 150 lbs). Imagine wielding a cup containing nearly twenty gallons (more like a trash can), and doing so deftly enough so as to avoid dumping a gallon or two on yourself, doing so deftly enough to sip no more than a quarter ounce, and then lowering it and passing it on to the next person, all within 5 seconds. Well, someone may suppose that, surely, rather than passing it around, they would have had four men tipping it as each disciple came to the place where the cup was stationed. But try doing that in less than 5 seconds per person. I think our 5 seconds per person assumption is on the speedy side.<\/p>\n If we are willing to believe they had a 20 gallon cup and that they were content to spend 18 hours to accomplish the drinking of the cup, and some time more for the bread (and all remain there for the duration so as to be doing this \u201ctogether\u201d), then, yes, we can believe they used one cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Jeff Smelser I do not look down on congregations in which saints share one cup in partaking of the Lord\u2019s Supper. When I have occasion to assemble with brethren whose practice is such, I happily share in the one cup. However, there are points to be made from Luke 22, Matthew 26, I Corinthians…<\/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,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[146,570],"class_list":["post-6759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-lords-supper","tag-one-cup"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32869,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-passages-proving-the-authority-of-the-lords-supper-have-to-be-read-before-partaking-of-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":6759,"position":0},"title":"Do passages proving the authority of the Lord’s Supper have to be read before partaking of it?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Concerning the Lord's Supper, what if during worship there is neglect in having someone read out loud, to the congregation, any passages that explain what they are doing, why they are doing it, and the manner in which it is to be done in the first place? Maybe I'm\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":65447,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-lords-supper-taken-only-once-a-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":6759,"position":1},"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":6759,"position":2},"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":48413,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-everyone-partake-of-one-bread\/","url_meta":{"origin":6759,"position":3},"title":"How can everyone partake of one bread?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the one bread in I Corinthians 10:17? Not everyone takes of one bread. One person told me that it was one kind of bread; that is, if I understand correctly, unleavened bread. Answer: \"Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood\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":727,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-acts-207-refer-to-a-common-meal\/","url_meta":{"origin":6759,"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":91774,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-we-use-one-loaf-and-one-cup\/","url_meta":{"origin":6759,"position":5},"title":"Must We Use One Loaf and One Cup?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton A few brethren contend that the Lord's Supper must be served using one loaf and one cup that everyone shares. \"Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6759","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=6759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}