Bible Verse Lookup
1 Cor 11:28-29
Chapter 11
28
Let each person examine themselves before eating the bread and drinking from the cup.
29
For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment upon themselves.
Let each person examine themselves before eating the bread and drinking from the cup.
For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment upon themselves.
Commentaries
Agape and the Eucharist.
Paul now confronts a much more serious issue—the scandal of the Corinthians’ Eucharistic celebrations. The “Lord’s Supper” or Eucharist was typically celebrated at sunset in the private homes—there were no churches yet—of the wealthiest members of the community, the only ones able to accommodate 50 or 60 people. Before the “Lord’s Supper” itself began, there was a fellowship meal where the wealthy brought their provisions to be shared among everyone.
Without waiting for the most needy and disadvantaged, who were often workers and slaves because of their long hours, the wealthy ate and drank to their satisfaction. By the time the poor arrived, they had to settle for whatever leftovers there were, if any.Immediately afterward, the rich, feeling satisfied and even intoxicated, and the poor, half-starved, began to celebrate the Eucharist. Paul, upon hearing this, bursts with indignation. Confronted with this situation, he explains to the Corinthians the story of the Institution of the Eucharist, its meaning, and its significance in a beautiful catechesis that teaches, condemns, and urges. This is the earliest New Testament document on the Institution of the Eucharist, written around 55 or 56, well before the Gospels.