The Lord’s Table
Part 6
Five Senses
of Communion
By Phil Beals
Scripture Reading: - John 6:35-44
Text: - John 6:53-58
Resp. Reading: Excerpts from Isaiah 55 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
July 7/13 – LCC
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The Lord’s Table-Part 6-Five Senses of Communion
Before we get into this, let’s go to one more passage of Scripture. It comes from John 6, the same
chapter our Scripture reading came from, but further down, specifically verses 53 to 58.
Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and
drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal
life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink
indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father
sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is
the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He
who eats this bread will live forever.”
In our Scripture reading we heard how the Jewish leaders got upset because Christ was equating Himself
with God, including when He said “I am the bread of life”. Of course when He went on to talk about
what appeared to be the actual consumption of His physical body and physical blood, that would have
been the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak, for the religious leaders of the day.
There are some who take this literally though, but consider this.
Matthew Henry’s commentary says – “The flesh and blood of the Son of man, denotes … Christ and
him crucified, and the redemption … by him, with all the precious benefits of redemption; pardon
of sin, acceptance with God, the way to the throne of grace, the promises of the covenant, and
eternal life. These are called the flesh and blood of Christ, because they are purchased by the
breaking of his body, and the shedding of his blood ... they are meat and drink to our souls. Eating
this flesh and drinking this blood means believing in Christ … Meditating on the cross of Christ
gives life to our repentance, love, and gratitude. We live by him, as our bodies live by our food.”
And Albert Barnes writes in his notes on the Bible – “The plain meaning of the passage is, that by his
death - his body and his blood offered in sacrifice for sin - he would procure pardon and life for
man; that they who partook of that, or had an interest in that, should obtain eternal life.”
Now, in this chapter Christ was not instituting the Lord’s Table, which we celebrate once per month and
what we have been spending time on over the past several months. However, in a way He was setting
the stage for what was coming. Not only is this the focus of our attention each month, but it has been a
specific focus of attention in the Sunday messages since January.
In Part One, we considered generally why we celebrate the Lord’s supper, aside from the habit of doing it
on the first Sunday of the month. We learned that it dates back to the Passover in Egypt, but also
because the Lord commanded we do it to remember his suffering and death. We also find Paul’s
reminder to continuie to celebrate the Lord’s Table in 1 Corinthians 11.
In Part Two, we considered the symbolism of the altar and the linens. The one representing the object on
which an offering was killed … the other representing the burial linens used on Christ, prior to laying Him
in the tomb.
Part Three focused on the bread and wine, which is the most obvious symbolism. The bread obviously
representing his broken body and the wine representing his shed blood.
Then in Part Four … our attention was drawn to the matter of who qualifies to partake in the Lord’s
Supper and the importance of our heart being in a right relationship, not only with God, but also with each
other, prior to taking part in Holy Communion.
And … last month … in Part Five … we considered the four looks of Communion, so to speak. Those
four looks specifically addressing where our attention should be focused when we partake of the
elements. Those four looks were : The Backward Look; The Upward Look; The Forward Look; and The
Inward Look
In this final part of the series, I want to draw our attention to how we should engage our five senses. The
five senses I am referring to are these: sight; hearing; smell; taste and finally touch. As any educator
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knows, the more senses one can engage in the classroom, the more the student is apt to remember at
the end of the lesson. The principle is the same here.
What is the specific application then with respect to this subject?
First, for our sense of Sight …
The bread and wine should be visible during the service. It is more effective if people see the elements
during the entire service. Traditionally we cover the elements for most of the service, but they are
uncovered as we gather around the Lord ’s Table. It is important that we see the elements which begin to
draw our attention to what the elements actually represent as we engage in this most solemn event. For
this reason, the celebrant, or pastor, holds the bread and wine goblet, in the air for all to see and focus
on.
Next is our sense of Hearing …
You might be wondering what it is you are listening for. There are a couple of things we listen for. At the
top of the list is the listening for silence. Why silence? because it invokes the solemnity of the service. It
is that one time in our spiritual state when we need to be solemn and quiet and in a state of quiet worship
listening for God to speak. The other part we listen for are the words of institution and the prayers offered
for the elements and during the service, which draw our attention even more deeply into the solemnity of
this service.
Then comes our sense of Smell …
You can smell the bread that was prepared for the specific purpose of Holy Communion. Years ago,
ladies in the church took turns and looked forward to baking the bread. Of course now-a-days we just run
to the grocery store and pick it up off the shelves. However, as we partake in the bread, we can smell it.
Also, as we take the wine or grape juice … there is a pleasant smell to it if you inhale through the mouth
and nose as you drink it.
Along with the sense of smell, comes the sense of Taste …
If you ask any connoisseur of food or wine, the bouquet or scent of the food or wine is also key to the
taste of the ingredient. In fact, a lot of our sense of taste is driven by our sense of smell. That is one
reason this sense is a key point in the five senses. When you eat the bread no matter what kind of bread
it is, you will taste it. Even though churches today use all kinds of bread such as wafers, crackers, white
bread, etc. The same applies to the wine or grape juice. There is a taste to it as well.
Finally is the sense of Touch …
The bread is touched; the wine is touched. There is no way to get it into your mouth without touching it.
Some preachers break the bread and place it into the person's hand. We do that sometimes. Most of the
time though, the bread and wine is passed around for you to take. Not only do we touch the elements with
our hands, but we also touch the elements on our lips when we partake; our tongue when we ingest it;
and so on through the mouth into our internal systems.
This is essentially what Christ was referring to in the symbolism of what He said to the religious leaders of
the day when He said:
“My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My
blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so
he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.”
We, as Christians, are to feed on Him.
(Pray)
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