When Did Jesus Partake of the Lord’s Supper in His Kingdom?

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper with His disciples after they had eaten the Passover meal. “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). Notice the prophecy of Jesus in this passage. He promised to eat of it again when the kingdom had come. All prophecies must be exactly fulfilled. If this prophecy had not come true, it would mean Jesus was a false prophet and consequently not the Son of God.

When would Jesus partake of the Lord’s Supper with His disciples again? Jesus said when His kingdom had come. So, when did the Kingdom come? If we find the day the Kingdom came, we will be able to find the day when Jesus communed with the apostles.

The Kingdom could not have been established before John the Baptist. After His baptism by John Jesus went out “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14,15). Earlier John had preached the same. “John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:1). The phrase “at hand” tells the time of this message’s fulfillment. It was close enough to the hand, one could reach out and touch it.

Neither could the Kingdom of promise have been established before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When Jesus had commissioned the Seventy disciples to send them out preaching, He told them “whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, `The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you’” (Luke 10:10-11). When Jesus sent out the Twelve disciples He told them “as you go, preach, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matt. 10:7). After Peter proclaimed of Jesus, “You art the Christ the son of the living God” Jesus promised to build His church and gave to the disciples the keys of the kingdom (Mt. 16:16-18). He also promised, “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (16:28).

In Mark’s gospel the afore quoted passage in Matthew has some additional information. Here Jesus says, “assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power” (Mark 9:1). The Kingdom was promised to come with power. This power was to begin at Jerusalem and its source is from Heaven. As part of the Great Commission speech Jesus promised, “behold, I see the Promise of My Father upon you but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endured with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Just before His ascension into Heaven Jesus again promises, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:7a). After witnessing the ascension of the Christ the eleven “…returned to Jerusalem….” (Acts 1:12a). Ten days later “when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound form heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). The Kingdom could not have come before the Holy Spirit of promise was sent with power.

If the Kingdom came before Pentecost, then it had no King. Christ was King only after His death and resurrection. “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne” (Acts 2:29-30). You cannot have a kingdom without the King.

If the Kingdom came before Pentecost, then it had no throne (Acts 2:30). If the Kingdom came before Pentecost, then it had no citizens. Three thousand were added to the church or kingdom on the day of Pentecost.

If the Kingdom came before Pentecost, then it had no High Priest. Jesus was of the tribe of Judah and not of the tribe of Levi where the high priesthood originated. He could not be a priest on earth (Heb. 8:4). He has ascended into Heaven to be our High Priest. Jeremiah prophesied of Coniah (a shortened form of Jehoiachin, 37:10 and another form is Jeconiah, 24:1; 27:20; 28:4; 29:2): “For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, and ruling anymore in Judah.” Jesus was a descendant of Coniah (Matt. 1:12). Therefore Jesus could have never ruled on the throne of David in Judah. He is on the throne of David on the right hand of God since the day of Pentecost. Could Jesus have been a king on earth? NO! He could only be a king after His ascension.

Could Jesus have partaken of the Lord’s Supper during the forty days between His resurrection and the His ascension into Heaven? He did eat with a few (not all eleven) of His disciples by the sea shore of Galilee. Some of the disciples came to the beach where Jesus was “they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish which you have just caught’… Jesus said to them, ‘Come and eat breakfast.’ Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, ‘Who are You?’ —knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish” (John 21:9-13). They ate FISH. The Lord’s Supper only has two elements authorized by Jesus: unleavened bread and fruit of the vine, NOT FISH. So NO! This was not the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus also ate food with two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-27). These two men were not even of the eleven apostles to whom the promises had been made at the last Passover feast when promised them, “I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:16). One of these men was named “Cleopas” (Luke 24:18) who was not one of the Twelve.

Before His ascension Jesus appeared alive to his disciples and “He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ‘Have you any food here?’ So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence” (Luke 24:40-43). Again, the Lord’s Supper has only unleavened bread and grape juice, NOT FISH and HONEYCOMB! Why did the Lord eat fish on two different occasions after His resurrection and also some honeycomb? To demonstrate that He was not a ghost or spirt but that He was alive. Furthermore, the church or Kingdom was established in Jerusalem after the Lord’s resurrection and ascension. The Day of Pentecost is the Kingdom’s birthday. As promised, Christ is on David’s throne and is now king (Acts 2:30-33). It was on this day and in Jerusalem that repentance and forgiveness of sins was to be preached (Lk. 24:46-49). On this day Peter preached what Christ had commanded him (Mk. 16:15,16; Mt. 28:18-20; Acts 17:3). All necessary elements for the establishment of the kingdom were present on Pentecost. It was the beginning of Christ’s Kingship, when He sat on His throne, gave the Law through the preaching of the Gospel, and had three thousand citizens enter it by means of obedience to the Gospel. For a kingdom to exist it must have a king, a throne, a law, and citizenry. It was on Pentecost in about 29 AD in Jerusalem all these elements for the Kingdom of promise came to fruition. As noted in the passages studied, every passage before Acts 2 points forward to Pentecost as to the beginning of the Kingdom/church and every passage afterward Acts 2 points back to Pentecost for the beginning of the Church/Kingdom.

The answer to our question as to when Christ fulfilled His promise and partook of the Lord’s Supper with His disciples: Christ partook of the Lord’s Supper with His apostles on the Day of Pentecost. It was on this day three thousand became citizens of the Kingdom, when they were baptized. From that day “the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). This “breaking of bread” refers to the partaking of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:17ff). Since the promise made by Jesus at the Passover feast the disciples had not partaken of the Lord’s Supper. Christ fulfilled His promise at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Ever since whenever the saints gather on the first day of the week to partake of the Lord’s Supper they are communion with the Lord (1 Cor. 10:14-22). Jesus promised to partake of the Lord’s Supper anew in the Kingdom (Matt. 26:29; Luke 22:16) was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost after His resurrection and ascension when the apostles were gathered in Jerusalem for the establishment of the Kingdom/Church (Acts 2:42).

– Daniel R. Vess