The Lord’s Supper or Communion is the New Testament form of the Jewish Passover celebration. Christians rightly understand that our Lord changed the character of the Passover meal as He celebrated it with His disciples shortly before His trials and crucifixion.

In Luke 22:19, Jesus commanded His disciples (and therefore all Christians) to “do this in remembrance of Me”. In response, truly Christian churches celebrate Communion as a commemoration of His having given His body and shed His blood for our salvation. Rightly, as Christians partake of the meal, they somberly reflect on His sacrifice and taking upon Himself the wrath of God in our place.

Yet, I believe there is another aspect to the Lord’s Supper that makes it not only a commemorative act but also a joyfully prophetic one.

In the past, having done some research on the Lord’s Supper, I found it even more amazing than most Christians realize. The Jewish Midrash, Tractate Pesachim, Chapter 10, requires that four cups of wine be consumed during the Passover celebration. According to www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org these four cups of wine are based on the four promises of God in Exodus 6:6-7 (NASB95),”⁶ “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am YHWH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷ ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am YHWH your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” (Emphasis added).

The website www.chabad.org states the four promises as:

1. “I will take you out…”
2. “I will save you…”
3. “I will redeem you…”
4. “I will take you as a nation…”

The website further states, “Our sages instituted that we should drink a cup of wine, a toast if you will, for each one of these expressions. We recite the Kiddush (a prayer of sanctification) over the first cup, we read the Exodus story from the Haggadah (directions for the observance of the Passover) over the second cup, we recite the Grace after Meals over the third cup, and we sing the “big Hallel” (Psalms and hymns of praises to G‑d) over the fourth cup.” (Explanations added)

Another website www.chosenpeople.com, states the four cups represent: 1. Sanctification, 2. Deliverance, 3. Redemption, 4, Praise.

Other websites label the first cup as the cup of “Bringing out” or sanctification. The second cup is labeled as the cup of “Salvation/Judgment” signifying the Israelites were saved at the Red Sea, but the Egyptians were judged. The third cup is labeled the cup of “Blessing/Redemption”.

In 1 Corinthians 10:16 (NASB95): Paul asks, “¹⁶ 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 the body of Christ?” He is obviously speaking of the Lord’s Supper because he goes on to state in 1 Corinthians 11:23–25 (NASB95), “²³ For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; ²⁴ 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.” ²⁵ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” (Emphasis added)

Paul clearly states in this passage that the cup of which Jesus was speaking was the cup taken “after supper”. The website www.chosenpeople.com, states “The Cup of Redemption is the third cup of the Passover Seder and is the first cup to be drunk after the meal. It is obvious that it is the Cup of Redemption which Jesus instructed the disciples to partake of in the last supper since both accounts in Matthew 26:27 and Luke 22:19 describe the cup being taken after the meal.”

It should also be obvious that Jesus never finished the meal. He arrested the Passover. All three Synoptic Gospels quote Jesus as saying that after that cup He would not drink of the fruit of the vine again until He could drink it new with His disciples in the kingdom of God. In Matthew 26:29 (NASB95), Jesus states, “²⁹ “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Mark, in 14:25 (NASB95), quotes Jesus “²⁵ “Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” In Luke 22:18 (NASB95), Luke writes that Jesus said, “¹⁸ for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”

Since Jesus made this statement while He was partaking of the third cup, He did not drink of the fourth cup, the cup of Hallel which was taken at the end of the Passover meal.

The truly amazing thing is that while we should observe the Supper with reverent hearts and “Do this in remembrance of” the death of Jesus in our place as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins, we should also observe the Supper in a spirit of joyous, prophetic celebration. Because our sins were imputed to Christ and His righteousness is imputed to us, we can look forward to finishing that meal with Him in the kingdom of God. We can do so remembering the fourth cup, the final cup in the meal, is the cup of “Hallel” or praise. As Christians, we will attend the marriage supper of the Lamb and lift our cup in praise to Him for our great salvation.

One final note: in the more modern celebration there is a fifth cup included in the Seder (there is no certainty that it existed in the time of Jesus). It is “The Cup of Elijah” that is on the table and filled with wine but is not partaken of. According to Jewish tradition, the cup looks forward to the coming of Elijah as promised in Malachi 4:5 (NASB95) “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.” Elijah was to be the one proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. Judaism does not accept Jesus as the Messiah or that Elijah has already come. However, Jesus Himself clearly states, in Matthew 11:13–14 (NASB95) “¹³ “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.”