Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

God killed the two brothers. In fact, he burned them to death. Just like that. Alive one minute, barbecued the next. And God made no apologies for it, either.

The story is in Leviticus 10. “Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire on them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

Moses then said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: “Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.”’ Aaron remained silent.” (Leviticus 10:1-3, NIV)

Why did God kill Nadab and Abihu? What was wrong with what they did? What was the big deal? The Bible does not specifically say exactly what they did wrong, other than saying they used unauthorized fire that God had not commanded.

Theologians have developed several theories as to what exactly happened. Some believe that Nadab and Abihu offered common incense to God. God demands the best we can give and is not satisfied with ordinary or run-of-the-mill.

Others feel that Nadab and Abihu offered the incense at the wrong time. God had decided when everything would take place and the people were not to depart from that.

Some people believe that Nadab and Abihu actually were performing a pagan ritual. They decided that since they had offered incense to Yahweh, then they would offer it to other gods as well. God is a jealous God and he will not tolerate anything else taking his place.

It’s interesting to speculate as to what really happened, but it is only necessary to say that Nadab and Abihu were irreverent in their approach to God. And this irreverence cost them their lives.

Obviously we don’t use incense and fire in our worship today, but how we approach God in worship is still a big deal. Specifically today, we’re thinking about how we approach him when we take the Lord’s Supper.

This is the final message in our short series called “What’s the Big Deal?” In our two sessions last week we asked, “What’s the Big Deal About the Bible?” and “What’s the Big Deal About Baptism?”

Today we finish up with, “What’s the Big Deal About the Lord’s Supper?” We’re going to go to 1 Corinthians 11 to answer our question. And in this chapter, Paul lists at least five reasons why the Lord’s Supper is a big deal.

Reason #1 – The Lord’s Supper is a big deal because it was started by Jesus.

Walt Disney grew up on a humble farm. He was blessed with an incredible imagination and unbelievable creativity. These led him to revolutionize the animation industry. He introduced Mickey Mouse in the 1928 animated picture Steamboat Willie. He invented the multiplane camera which gave a much richer animated picture. And then he released Snow White as the first full length movie to use his new camera. He also pioneered the entertainment complex idea with Disneyland and Walt Disney World. He earned more than 30 Academy Awards, an honorary degree from Harvard and the Medal of Freedom, presented to him by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Walt Disney was born at the turn of the 20th century and he died in 1966. However, his memory lives on in Disney movies. Disneyland and Walt Disney World are still wildly popular today. Most of all, the creativity and imagination of Disney are always traced back to the founder. The biggest names in the Disney corporation today will tell you that they owe everything to the man who started it all: Walt Disney himself.

Walt Disney is remembered through a corporation that bears his name. We often remember a person who starts something significant.

We remember Jesus each week because of something significant that he started that bears his name: We remember the Lord Jesus who started the Lord’s Supper.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:23: “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.”

In the same way after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23b-26)

This whole communion thing, the whole idea of the Lord’s Supper was Jesus’ creation. He thought of it, he started it. If we’re wondering, “What’s the Big Deal About the Lord’s Supper?” we could actually stop right there. Jesus started it and he told us to continue it until he comes again. Game, set, match. We could end the sermon right there. We won’t, but we could. The Lord’s Supper is a big deal because it was started by Jesus.

Reason #2 – The Lord’s Supper is a big deal because it puts us all on the same level. We’ve all been in situations where we’re around somebody who is an expert in something. Being around that person makes us feel absolutely inferior.

In our church family, we have people who are experts with technology, experts in construction and craftsmanship, experts in music. We have people with culinary, mechanical, athletic, and artistic expertise. And I don’t fall into any of those categories! Now, these people are an incredible encouragement to me, but there’s also that little part of me that feels inferior.

It’s not always easy to be around someone who is infinitely better at something than you are. And isn’t it even worse when it seems like a person is better at Christianity than you? We have people in our church family who know more Scripture than me, who are more effective in prayer than me, who have a bigger heart for the lost than me, and who are more in tune with God’s Spirit than me. Isn’t your inferiority complex multiplied when you’re around somebody who seems to be better at Jesus than you are?

The Lord’s Supper erases all of that. The book of 1 Corinthians is a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. Listen to what he wrote to the Corinthian believers.

“When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?” (1 Corinthians 11:20-22, NIV)

In the Corinthian culture, it was common practice to show favoritism at mealtimes. Those who were higher on the social and economic ladder got to go first, oftentimes leaving nothing for those who weren’t rich or prestigious.

The Christians at Corinth had now allowed this practice to creep into the church. The haves were jumping ahead of the have-nots.

Paul encourages them in verse 33, “So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.” (1 Corinthians 11:33, NIV)

He instructed them to wait for each other because, when it comes to the Lord’s Supper, we’re all on the same level. Social and economic distinctions disappear. And our spiritual inferiority complexes disappear as well. Jesus died for each of us because we are all sinners who are hopelessly lost except for the grace of God. That’s what we remember at the Lord’s Supper. A brand new Christian and a believer of 50 years are on the same level at the Lord’s Supper. It’s level ground at the foot of the cross.

Reason #3 – The Lord’s Supper is a big deal because it focuses our hearts and minds on Jesus. Two times in our passage, Jesus said to do this, “in remembrance of me.”

Nicki and I have both lost some of our grandparents. In our home, we have displayed pictures of them. The pictures are great reminders. Although these people are gone, they are not forgotten. The pictures help us to remember.

Each week, we have an incredible picture in our worship to help us remember Jesus. The bread to help us remember that Jesus body was beaten and crucified without mercy. The cup to help us remember the blood that spilled out of Jesus’ body during his floggings and crucifixion.

Communion is more than a religious tradition. It is more than a mid-service snack. It is a memorial. A picture of remembrance.

Our passage says, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26, NIV)

Every time you and I eat the Lord’s Supper, it is a proclamation, it is a sermon without words about the cross. Jesus left us with a picture so we would never forget.

Reason #4 – The Lord’s Supper is a big deal because it can be dangerous.

My dad and my younger brother recently went on a mission trip to Brazil. One evening near the end of their trip, they had the opportunity to eat in a Brazilian buffet restaurant. Dad said most of the food was outstanding, but the whole group was warned by the host missionary about one particular item on the buffet. He point out these little white circular things. He told everyone, “If you get some of these, remember that you’re simply supposed to put them in your mouth and suck on them. When the flavor is gone, spit them back out. If you bite into one, we’ll be taking you to the hospital to have the spines removed from your mouth.”

Dad wasn’t quite sure what this dish was, but he did say that no one on the team tried it. I don’t blame them. I’m all into trying new kinds of food, but I’ll steer clear of food that is dangerous.

But that’s precisely what the Lord’s Supper is. It is a dangerous thing because Paul tells us that it is possible to sin in the way we handle the Lord’s Supper.

Starting in verse 27: “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29, NIV)

Communion requires serious self-examination. It forces us to be real with God. Authenticity is scary. We’ve talked about that before. But when it comes to the Lord’s Table, we’ve got to come with no pretense, no mask, no disguise. It’s gut-level reality time. It is a time where we recognize God for what he is and we recognize us for who we are.

There’s no place for taking the Lord’s Supper flippantly or lightly. If your thoughts are not solely focused on Christ crucified, if you are not mindful of the grace and mercy shown to you on the cross, then you would be much better off to let communion pass by. If you’re thinking more about what you have to do this afternoon, if you’re worried about beating the crowd to the restaurant, if you’re focused on some problem that you have with another person, then let the trays pass by. It would be more spiritually authentic then simply going through the right religious motions.

Reason #5 – The Lord’s Supper is a big deal because it restores reverence. We’re ending where we started. Nadab and Abihu were killed because somehow, in some way, they approached God irreverently. And when it comes to the Lord’s Supper, we can easily fall into the same trap.

There is a prevailing attitude about God among Christians today. The thought that God is my good buddy. There was a t-shirt fad not too long ago where the shirts said, “Jesus is my homeboy.” There is this mindset that Jesus is our pal, our buddy.

Don’t get me wrong: there is the friendship aspect of our relationship with Jesus. He is our friend. But first and foremost, he is God.

Paul warns us that if we take the Lord’s Supper lightly, it is the same as taking the cross lightly. And we will be eating and drinking judgment on ourselves. So let’s come, not slapping God a high five, but instead bowed facedown in reverence and honor.

We’ve rearranged our service this morning just so that we could focus our attention on the very thing that we’ve been talking about it. The men who will be serving communion can come forward now. God has spoken very clearly about our worship through the Lord’s Supper. Let’s turn all our energy and attention on him. Let the shadow of the cross fall over your every thought as we prepare to commune with our God. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

COMMUNION

OFFERING

INVITATION: A lot of you have probably never heard of Kyle McDonald, but after this story, you’ll probably never forget him. Kyle’s mission was to trade one red paperclip for an entire house. Before you say, “This guy is nuts,” you should know that he succeeded.

He started in July of last year. He found someone who would trade in a fish-shaped ink pen for his red paper clip. From there, he was off and running. He traded the ink pen for a hand-sculpted doorknob. And he just kept on trading, each time trading up for something bigger and better. Some of the trades included a Honda generator which he received from a U.S. Marine, a snowmobile, a large truck, an afternoon with Alice Cooper, a movie role, until finally, after 43 trades, Kyle traded for a two story farmhouse.

It took Kyle McDonald almost a year exactly to turn one red paper clip into a house. I think every one of us would say that this was a pretty impressive trade.

But there is an even more incredible trade that is available to each one of us. And each week, we’re reminded of that trade through the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is representative of a horrible death that Jesus died on a cross. He died for your sins and for mine. His body was broken and his blood was shed, not because of his sins, but because of ours. In the cross, Jesus took all of our mistakes, shortcomings, and sins. He takes the blackest and darkest things we have ever done. And in return, we are clothed with his perfection and holiness. And this offer is made to everyone. We simply need to choose to accept it. If you’ve never accepted this trade that God offers, we invite you to come today.

Mike Edmisten

tags: Lords_Supper communion reverence forgiveness self_examination cross worship