In John 6, Jesus preached a sermon about bread. In 1 Corinthians 11, the church started acting that sermon out. Once you see how those two passages connect, you’ll never look at the Lord’s Supper the same way again.

The Sermon in John 6

In John 6, Jesus tells the crowd exactly what the bread of life will cost Him:

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." — John 6:51 (KJV)

Jesus is pointing ahead to the cross. He would give His own flesh, His own life, so that the world could have life through Him.

The Sermon Acted Out in 1 Corinthians 11

Now jump to 1 Corinthians 11. Paul is teaching the church about the Lord’s Supper, and he says something remarkable:

"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." — 1 Corinthians 11:26 (KJV)

What Jesus preached in words in John 6, the church pictures in action at the Table. The bread and the cup point to His body given and His blood shed.

What Does “Shew” Mean?

Kataggello — to proclaim or announce publicly.

That little KJV word “shew” is the Greek word kataggello. It means to proclaim or announce publicly, and in the New Testament it’s a word the apostles use again and again for preaching Christ.

Look at how Luke uses it when Paul preaches in Thessalonica:

"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ." — Acts 17:2–3 (KJV)

“Whom I preach unto you.” That’s the same verb. Notice what Paul was preaching, too: that Christ had to suffer and rise again. That’s the very death the Lord’s Supper shews.

An Enacted Sermon

This is the key that unlocks why Paul phrases it this way. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial (Jesus said, “this do in remembrance of me”), but it’s more than a memorial. It’s an enacted sermon.

Every time the church eats the bread and drinks the cup, the act itself proclaims the gospel: Christ died for sinners. The church is preaching to itself, and anyone watching is seeing the message of the cross acted out in front of them.

Looking Two Directions at Once

Paul says we do this “till he come.” That means the proclamation looks in two directions at once:

The same Jesus who gave His flesh for the life of the world is coming back, just as the angels promised the disciples:

"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." — Acts 1:11 (KJV)

Every time the church takes communion, it announces both truths —

He died, and He’s coming again.

Verse of the Week

Hold onto this week’s verse:

"I am that bread of life." — John 6:48 (KJV)