Understanding the Lord's Supper as a Memorial Service

The Lord's Supper is understood as a memorial service across various Christian traditions, though interpretations differ. The practice is rooted in the Last Supper Jesus shared with his disciples, as recorded in the New Testament (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:24-26) ^{[1, 2]}.

The concept of memorial is significant in biblical tradition. In Leviticus, the term "memorial" refers to a portion of an offering burned on the altar as a pleasing aroma to God (Leviticus 2:9; 23:37) ^{[3, 4]}. The Lord's Supper is seen as a fulfillment of this concept, where believers commemorate Christ's sacrifice.

The Presbyterian tradition, as represented by Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, interprets 1 Corinthians 11:26 as proclaiming Christ's death "for me," emphasizing a personal realization of Christ's presence in the Supper ^[5]. Similarly, the Baptist/Reformed perspective, as seen in John Gill's commentary, views the Lord's Supper as a representation of Christ's body and blood, with the act of partaking serving as a remembrance of Him ^[6].

In contrast, the Eastern Orthodox tradition, as represented by John Chrysostom, understands the Lord's Supper as a participation in the sacrifice of Christ, connecting the present celebration with the events of the Last Supper ^[7]. The Reformed tradition, as articulated by John Calvin, sees the Supper as a "memento" or memorial of Christ's sacrifice, emphasizing the role of faith in realizing Christ's presence ^[8].

The Catholic (Scholastic) tradition, as represented by Thomas Aquinas, views the Lord's Supper as a sacrament that represents Christ's Passion and allows participants to partake in its fruits ^[9]. The Anglican tradition, as expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles, understands the Supper as a sacrament of redemption by Christ's death, where the bread and cup are a partaking of Christ's body and blood for those who receive worthily ^[10].

Despite these differences, all traditions agree that the Lord's Supper is a significant act of worship and remembrance. The Augsburg Confession (Lutheran) notes that certain holy days, like Easter, are observed, not as a necessity, but as a way to commemorate significant events in Christian history ^[11].

The divergence in understanding the Lord's Supper stems from varying hermeneutical commitments and prior doctrinal premises. The way each tradition interprets the biblical accounts of the Last Supper and the significance of Christ's sacrifice influences their understanding of the memorial service. The historical context of the early Christian church and the development of different theological emphases also contribute to the diverse perspectives on the Lord's Supper ^{[1, 2, 5, 7]}.

Sources

Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Lords Supper — The words which thus describe the great central act of the worship of the Christian Church occur but in a single passage of the New Testament-- (1 Corinthians 11:20) + Its institution .--It was instituted on that night when Jesus and his disciples met together to eat the passover, (Matthew 26:19; Mark 14:16; Luke 22:13) (on Thursday evening, April 6, A.D. 30). It was probably instituted at the third cup (the cup of blessing) of the passover [see on [821]Passover], Jesus taking one of the unleavened cakes used at the feast and breaking it and giving it t”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Lord's Supper — (1 Cor. 11:20), called also "the Lord's table" (10:21), "communion," "cup of blessing" (10:16), and "breaking of bread" (Acts 2:42). In the early Church it was called also "eucharist," or giving of thanks (comp. Matt. 26:27), and generally by the Latin Church "mass," a name derived from the formula of dismission, Ite, missa est, i.e., "Go, it is discharged." The account of the institution of this ordinance is given in Matt. 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19, 20, and 1 Cor. 11:24-26. It is not mentioned by John. It was designed, (1.) To commemorate t”
Leviticus “Leviticus 2:9 (BSB) — The priest is to remove the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.”
Leviticus “Leviticus 23:37 (Geneva1599) — These are the feastes of the Lord (which ye shall call holie conuocations) to offer sacrifice made by fire vnto the Lord, as burnt offring, and meate offring, sacrifice, and drinke offrings, euery one vpon his day,”
1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 11:26: For--in proof that the Lord's Supper is "in remembrance" of Him. show--announce publicly. The Greek does not mean to dramatically represent, but "ye publicly profess each of you, the Lord has died FOR ME" [WAHL]. This word, as "is" in Christ's institution (Co1 11:24-25), implies not literal presence, but a vivid realization, by faith, of Christ in the Lord's Supper, as a living person, not a mere abstract dogma, "bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh" (Eph 5:30; compare Gen 2:23); and ourselves "members of His body, of His flesh, and of Hi”
1 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Corinthians 11:26: Wherefore,.... Since this is the plain institution of the Lord's supper, the form and manner of administering of it; and since the bread and wine in it are representations of the body and blood of Christ, and the design of the whole is to remember Christ, and show forth his death; it follows, that whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. The bread and cup are called the bread and cup of the Lord; because ate and drank in remembrance of him, being symbols of his body and of h”
CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 & 2 Corinthians: in His own Blood; lest any should be troubled on hearing this, He reminds them of that ancient sacrifice. [6.] Next, having spoken concerning that Supper, he connects the things present with the things of that time, that even as on that very evening and reclining on that very couch and receiving from Christ himself this sacrifice, so also now might men be affected; and he saith, Ver. 26 . “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till He come.” For as Christ in regard to the bread and the cup said, “Do t”
CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 100: offer Christ to the Father in the mass, we, by this work of oblation, obtain remission of sins, and become partakers of the sufferings of Christ. What is now left for the sufferings of Christ, but to be an example of redemption, that we may thereby learn to be our own redeemers? Christ himself, when he seals our assurance of pardon in the Supper, does not bid his disciples stop short at that act, but sends them to the sacrifice of his death; intimating, that the Supper is the memento, or, as it is commonly expressed, the memorial ”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part (Tertia Pars), Of the Rite of This Sacrament, Art. 2: Article: Whether the time for celebrating this mystery has been properly determined? I answer that, As stated above (Article [1]), in the celebration of this mystery, we must take into consideration the representation of our Lord's Passion, and the participation of its fruits; and the time suitable for the celebration of this mystery ought to be determined by each of these considerations. Now since, owing to our daily defects, we stand in daily need of the fruits of our Lord's Passion, this sacrament is”
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), Section 271: The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another; but rather is a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ's death: insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ; and likewise the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ.”
Augsburg Confession (Lutheran) “Augsburg Confession (Lutheran, 1530), 57 Of this kind is the observance of the Lord’s Day, Easter, Pentecost,: 57 Of this kind is the observance of the Lord’s Day, Easter, Pentecost, and like holy-days and 58 rites. For those who judge that by the authority of the Church the observance of the Lord’s Day instead of the Sabbath-day was ordained as a thing necessary, 59 do greatly err. Scripture has abrogated the Sabbath-day; for it teaches that, since the Gospel has been revealed, all the ceremonies of Moses can be omitted. And 60 yet, because it was necessary to appoint a certain day, that the ”

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