Communion is a central sacrament in Christianity instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ on the Last Supper.
In this article, you will find a short introduction and the most essential Scripture passages on communion.
May these Bible verses help you understand the practical and theological significance of the Lord’s Supper.
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Communion in the Bible
In Christianity, communion, also known as the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, or the Holy Communion, is a sacrament commemorating Jesus Christ’s Last Supper with his disciples.
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper on the Passover, the Jewish rite memorializing God’s deliverance of Israel from their bondage in Egypt (Exod. 12:21-27, 42-49; Deut. 16:1-8).
During the celebration of Communion, Christians are encouraged to give thanks for the work Jesus Christ has done through the cross and resurrection, confess their sins, and approach communion with a pure heart and self-examination.
Communion is about getting together while eating. Eating a meal together is a central act in human relations. All five senses are used during a meal, which evokes and sets memories. “Do this in remembrance of me.”
Memory is a building block of cohesive human experience. You remember your past, but you also have to remember your future by remembering your purpose. Why are you doing something right now rather than anything else? For us Christians, this purpose is life in Christ now and in the world to come. Memory anchors you into a continuum in which one end is in the Last Supper, or even in the first Passover, and the other in partaking in the glory of God.
Remembrance leads to sacrifice. To participate in the Kingdom of God now, you must align yourself with it, and that requires sacrifice. From all the possible actions you could be doing at a given moment, you select some and reject the others. You, then, offer the sacrifice up toward your highest purpose, Christ.
A shared meal, a ritual that unites two parties, is a powerful symbol of connection. As the saying goes, ‘you are what you eat,’ and so the two parties become closer by eating together. This is why the Old Testament blessings and covenants were often set over meals.
- Abraham got a blessing from Melchizedek over bread and wine (Gen 14).
- Abraham had a meal with three angels (Gen 18).
- Isaac made a covenant with Abimelech (Gen 26:28-30) and Jacob with Laban (Gen 31:43-55).
- Moses and elders ate with God at Mt. Sinai (Ex 24).
This is the idea behind the marriage supper of the Lamb—two are united. In Christian marriage, two become one flesh, which is acted out symbolically by sharing a meal. Adam and Eve had a meal after God brought Eve to Adam as a wife, but this meal was presented to them by the enemy, and thus it separated them from each other and God.
The Fall in the Garden led to the fall in the field when Cain murdered Abel. Christ unites the brothers’ story in the communion. He is Abel, the Good Shepherd, who dies at the hands of a jealous “older brother.” But He is also Cain, a tiller of the ground, sowing (Parable of the Sower) and reaping (Rev 14:14). He is the true brother’s keeper. He brings to the communion Cain’s sacrifice from the earth, bread, and wine. But He also brings the sacrifice of Abel, His body and blood.
In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus presses together all of the above elements and more. He undoes the Fall in the Garden, in the field, and in the world at large, bringing Christians into participation in the communion of believers and in Himself.
Best short Bible verses on communion
John 1:29
The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 6:33
For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.
7 key Scripture on communion
What does the Bible say about Communion? The below seven passages are foundational for understanding the significance of communion in Christian practice and theology.
Mark 14:22-26
22 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had blessed, he broke it, and gave to them, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.”
23 He took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them. They all drank of it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Most certainly I tell you, I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it anew in God’s Kingdom.” 26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Matthew 26:26-30
26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, “All of you drink it, 28 for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Luke 22:14-20
14 When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles. 15 He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, 16 for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in God’s Kingdom.” 17 He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, “Take this, and share it among yourselves, 18 for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until God’s Kingdom comes.”
19 He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.” 20 Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
John 6:47-58
Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves. 54 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
1 Corinthians 10:15-21 (ESV)
15 I speak as to wise men. Judge what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf of bread, we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf of bread. 18 Consider Israel according to the flesh. Don’t those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?
19 What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have fellowship with demons. 21 You can’t both drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You can’t both partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.
1 Corinthians 11:20-27 (ESV)
20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when 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 also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
Revelation 19:9
He said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.’” He said to me, “These are true words of God.”
Scriptures about Communion as a sacrifice
Two Scriptures about communion particularly present the Lord’s Supper as a sacrifice. They are 1 Corinthians 10:15-21 and Malachi 1:6-11.
In 1 Corinthians 10:15-21 (see above), Paul presents the communion as a sacrifice. He connects his message to Malachi 1:6-11 by using the same language, “the Table of the Lord,” as in Malachi 1, “LORD’s table,” and by using “altar” synonymously with “table,” as is done in Malachi 1.
In 10:14-22, he compares and contrasts the Christian Communion with the cult meals of pagan deities. Paul says the pagan cult meals are sacrifices to demons.
In verse 18, he says with a rhetorical question that by eating the sacrifices, one takes part in the altar (table).
In verse 21, he warns the Christians not to participate in the table (altar) of the Lord and the table of demons by drinking both the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. So, considering verses 18 and 21, “the cup of the Lord” means the wine consumed during communion, the same way as in 1 Corinthians 11:27, which mentions both the bread and the cup of the Lord in the context of communion and ties them up with the body and blood of the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 10:15, Paul connects “the cup of blessing” with the blood of Christ, solidifying the interpretation of “the cup” as the Communion wine.
1 Corinthians 11:27 (ESV)
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
The Holy Communion, as a sacrifice, fulfills the prophecy in Malachi 1:10-11. This prophecy foretold that the Lord would not accept Israel’s sacrifices in the future and that a pure sacrifice would be offered to Him in every place throughout the world. This pure sacrifice is none other than Christ Jesus himself.
From the earliest days of Christianity (The Didache c.80-90 AD, Irenaeus 120-202 AD, etc.) until the reformation, all Christendom universally saw the Lord’s Supper as the pure sacrifice offered throughout the world, which Malachi 1:10-11 mentions.
Malachi 1:6-11
6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised. 8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. 9 And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. 10 Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.
Bible verses about Communion in the early church
The below Bible verses about Communion show how the eucharistic celebration was called in the early church. Another name can be found in Paul’s first letter to Corinthians, where he uses the term Lord’s supper (1 Cor 11:20).
Acts 2:42-46
42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. 43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 All who believed were together, and had all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. 46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,
Acts 20:7
On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight.