11:22
“Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
Why Paul will not praise them or except
what they are doing is found in the next verse.
11:23
The reason Paul will not accept their
behavior is they know what the tradition of the Lord’s Supper means and they
know how they should behave.
“received” (parelabon) – it means “to receive.” This is the word that translates the Hebrew
word “quibble” which means to receive tradition which has been passed on.”
“passed on” (paredwca) – It means
“teaching”. It is used in 1 Cor. 11:2. This is another technical term in Judaism for
the oral transmission or religious instruction.
It is being used to refer to traditions that Paul received and passed
down orally. Paul did not receive this
information by reading.
“from” (apo) - means “from”.
This word indicates that Paul did not receive this information directly
from the Lord.
In this verse Paul would be saying “I
received a tradition that goes back to the Lord that I passed on to you.”
Jesus did not tell or reveal this to
Paul but someone, probably one or more of the other apostles, told it to
Paul. The apostles had received it from
the Lord on the night of the Last Supper.
The phrase “on the night he was betrayed” are probably part of the oral
tradition that helps put the following words in context. They were probably not something Paul added
but something that came along.
11:24
“This
is my body”
1) The use of
this phrase is in the context of Semitic imagery. It is completely out of context for the
disciples at the Last Supper to have thought that the bread Jesus passed around
the table had turned into his flesh.
They could not have understood that when he said “This is my body” that
somehow the bread had replaced Jesus’ body or had miraculously somehow become an extension of his body. Other examples are:
a. 1 Cor. 10:4 – “the rock was Christ”
b. Gal. 4:25 –
“Hagar is
2) The focus was
that his physical body was going to be handed over to death as a sacrificial
offering both:
a. for them
b. instead of
them (Isaiah 53:12)
“Which
is for you”
is found in Luke’s account and is used by Paul.
There are two forms of this tradition
that have been handed down to us:
1) Mark (Mark
14:22) and Matthew (Matt. 26:26)
a. Matthew adds
“eat” as imperative or the voice of command
b. Matthew adds
“for the forgiveness of sins.”
2) Luke (Luke
22:19) and Paul (1 Cor. 11:23)
a. Luke and Paul
use the verb “give thanks” instead of “bless”
b. Eating the
bread is not imperative
c. “which is for
you; this do in my remembrance” is added to the bread
d. have the
phrase “after supper”
e. Do not have
the blessing of the cup
f.
Does not mention them all drinking from the cup
g. The cup saying
is different: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” or “This is my blood
of the covenant.”
Paul quotes Jesus as saying “do this in remembrance of me”. This refers to remembering what his body was
for. It was a sacrifice for sins.
Hebrews 10:19-21 – “living way opened
for us through the curtain, that is, his body.”
11:25
The bread and cup sayings are separated
by the meal. One was at the beginning of
the meal and the other at the end.
q “This cup is
the new covenant, in my blood” 1 Cor. 11:25
q “This cup is
the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:20
q “Drink from
it, all of you. This is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matt.26:27
q “This is my
blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” Mark 14:24
11:26
“For” returns us to
Paul’s words to the Corinthians.
Paul now gives his reason for quoting
the tradition he handed down to the Corinthians.
The Corinthians
remember the words and they still have the Supper.
The Corinthians
have forgotten the meaning and the purpose for having the remembrance meal.
What is the purpose? What is the meaning? Paul answers that in 1 Cor.
11:26:
“Proclaim the Lord’s death until he
comes”
The focus of the meal is the Lord’s
death since “death” is in the emphatic position. It literally says:
“the death
of the Lord you proclaim until he comes.”
The Corinthians new spiritual condition
or their lack of maturity have prevented them from
recognizing the two features of the Lords’ Supper:
Why are these two things
important? Many reasons, but one is we
are living our lives between these two events.
The Greek is the word “proclaim” is “kataggellete” it means “proclaim” and is used with
the idea of making a solemn announcement by word of mouth.
11:27
Here is Paul’s point
Partaking of the meal in an unworthy
manner is now the theme
“Guilty” is a technical legal term to
express liability. In its construction
here it can mean to the person sinned against or the crime itself. It can mean:
enocoV estai tou swmatoV
kai
tou
aimatoV tou kuriou
Guilty will be of the body and
of the blood of the Lord.
11:28
11:29
“recognizing
the body” means not to recognize his death.
This is not a reference to the bread
but to what the bread represents – the death of the Lord.