Blog Series Intention Recap
At the Table: Understanding Communion from Passover to the Church
This Fifth Thursday series slows readers down at a table they think they already understand. Communion is one of the most practiced and least examined acts in the Church. Familiarity has made it efficient, but often shallow. This series invites us to recover its depth, context, meaning, and hope.
At the Table is written to do five things clearly and pastorally. 1) Re-root communion in Scripture, beginning with Passover and the covenantal story of Israel rather than later ecclesial tradition alone. 2) Clarify what Yeshua (Jesus) was doing in the Upper Room, showing how His words and actions fulfilled, not replaced, the redemption story already in motion. 3) Address theological differences honestly and charitably, helping readers understand why Christians disagree about communion without turning the table into a battleground. 4) Restore communion as proclamation and formation, not mere ritual, something the Church practices to remember who God is, what Messiah has done, and who we are as His people. 5) Recover the future hope of the Table, remembering that communion does not only look backward to Passover and the cross. It looks forward to the return of Messiah and the coming kingdom, when He will drink the fruit of the vine anew with His people.
This series is not written to win arguments, flatten mystery, or introduce novelty. It is written to help believers come to the Table with understanding, humility, gratitude, and expectation, recognizing that every time we eat the bread and drink the cup, “we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26, ESV).
Communion is not an isolated ordinance. It belongs to the unfolding story of God’s redemption, rooted in Israel’s Passover, centered on Messiah’s death, practiced by His Church, and pointing toward His return and kingdom.
The Table remembers Passover, proclaims the cross, forms the Church, and anticipates the kingdom.
