Do you remember the old riddle: What came first, the chicken or the egg? Hopefully, you have not lost any sleep over this riddle, but indeed, it is an interesting question. In the Bible, we could ask the same question about Communion: What came first, the wine or the bread?
In most churches, not all, the sharing of the bread and the wine in Communion usually means eating bread first and drinking the wine last, and of course, there are reasons for this order. However, there are churches that drink the wine first and eat the bread last, and they too have their reason for their order. Interestingly, some churches reaching back to ancient times take both the bread and the wine simultaneously by intinction. They dip the bread into the wine and eat. Luke, who also wrote the book of Acts wrote that the early church only shared bread. Wine is never mentioned (2:46). Some ancient churches not only offered wine and bread but also fish.
Order hoarder. In an attempt to stave the chaos in our lives we cling intensely to any kind of order we can get, this includes the order of Communion. But what does the Bible teach? Once again, it is important to understand that each author or writer of the New Testament has a different and unique perspective and this is true of Communion.
For Matthew, Mark, and John’s order, the bread comes first and then the wine. Luke, on the other hand, the wine came first and the bread last. This is how Luke reads, 22:17-21:
“Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table.”
To keep this discussion brief, note the underlined portion of the above reading. This section is what textual critics call a Greek variant. Someone added this section to Luke’s original reading in an attempt to make it agree with the other Gospels. However, if we remove these added words underlined above one can read Luke’s authentic words that clearly state the wine is first and the bread is second:
Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body.”
So, what came first, the bread or the wine? It all depends on which Gospel you read.
In our next study, we will look at the stories, myths, and the Bible.
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