In the upper room that night, Jesus “reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Lu. 22:14,15). That evening Jesus broke the bread and drank the cup with his apostles, but not with all of them. One remained for Jesus to commune with.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians and reminded them of the importance of the bread and cup and said, “For I received from the Lord which I also delivered to you” (1 Co. 11:23.) It appears that Jesus and Paul had several “face to face” meetings. The first after His resurrection, on “the road” (Ac. 9:27). followed by other occasions (Ga. 1:12, Ac. 22:18, 2 Co. 12:8,9).
Exactly how and when Paul received this “one on one” instruction about the Lord’s supper we do not know, but what a special time of communion with Jesus that must have been. From that instruction Paul met often with the disciples to “break bread” with them (Ac. 20:7), and, as in Corinth, made sure all churches understood the meaning and importance of this memorial meal. Let our communion with Jesus on the first day of the week be important to us as well, as we meet to “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Co. 11:26).
-Dennis Doughty