Communion: Forgiveness and Healing

During this time of year, many people think back on Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. They are reminded of his last supper and how he instituted “holy communion” as a memorial of what he would accomplish.

Growing up at Sacred Heart Church, I was never told about the relationship between forgiveness and healing. This was especially true when I received the communion wafer weekly, and at times even daily. I knew that I needed to be forgiven,  and I often needed physical healing. But could communion help?

Jesus Christ was God’s response to man’s need for forgiveness and healing.  Jesus Christ is our Passover.

I Corinthians 5:7:
… For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.

Forgiveness and Healing: Children of Israel

What does it mean that Jesus Christ is our “passover” today?  To better understand this, we need to see what the original Passover lamb in the Old Testament did. It brought spiritual and physical deliverance when it was sacrificed.

Exodus 12:3,6-8,13:
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 
And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you….

The sacrifice of the Passover lamb had two parts: 1) forgiveness—where the lamb’s blood redeemed the children of Israel from the destroyer; and 2) healing—where the lamb’s broken body brought physical wholeness to all who ate of it. When the children of Israel left Egypt after eating the Passover lamb, everyone was in excellent health.

Psalms 105:37:
He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble [wavering or stumbling] person among their tribes.

Forgiveness and Healing: Spiritual and Physical Wholeness

Sin is broken fellowship with God. When we are born again, we receive remission of sins (Acts 2:38; Romans 3:25).  If we sin after that time, we confess our sins and God “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). That gives us spiritual wholeness.  When we believe what we have spiritually, we can claim the physical healing that Christ accomplished for us.

I Peter 2:24:
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Jesus Christ bore our sins on the tree. He shed his blood for our forgiveness from sins. That is why we can “live unto righteousness.” And his body was broken on the tree so that we are healed.

Forgiveness and healing is God’s will for us. He forgives all our sins so that we have spiritual wholeness and fellowship with Him. He also heals all our diseases.

Psalms 103:3:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities [sins]; who healeth all thy diseases.

The Lord promised to forgive Israel’s sin, and then to heal their land.

II Chronicles 7:14:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

When Hezekiah was told that he was about to die, he sought the Lord with tears. God sent Isaiah to tell him that he was forgiven and healed. Hezekiah would live another fifteen years, and during that time he would have a son who was an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 38:5:
Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

Forgiveness and Healing: Through the Accomplished Work of Jesus Christ

Jesus understood the relationship between forgiveness and healing.

Luke 5:23-25:
Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

Like the original Passover lamb, Jesus Christ came to bring forgiveness of sin and physical healing. John the Baptist declared who Jesus was and what he was to do. He was the “Lamb of God.”

John 1:29:
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Jesus Christ shed his blood for the remission of our sins.

Matthew 26:28:
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

His body was broken for our physical healing. Jesus Christ bore our sicknesses.

Matthew 8:17:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

When we celebrate communion, we fully share in Christ’s accomplishments for us. That is what the Greek word for “communion” literally means.

I Corinthians 10:16:
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion [fully sharing] of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion [fully sharing] of the body of Christ?

Forgiveness and Healing: What Christ Has Done for Us

Isaiah prophesied long ago of what Christ would do for us.

Isaiah 53:5:
But he was wounded [broken open] for our transgressions [rebellion], he was bruised [crushed and smitten] for our iniquities [perversity and evil thinking]: the chastisement [rebuke, instruction] of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes [wounds] we are healed.

Our redeemer, Jesus Christ, was “broken open” and poured out his sinless blood (Matthew 27:4; I Peter 1:19) to overcome our rebellious actions. No matter what we have ever done contrary to God’s will, it can be forgiven by the outpoured blood of Christ. His open wounds forgave our open transgressions.

Our advocate, Jesus Christ, was “crushed and smitten” to nullify our perversity and evil thinking. He overcame the death-dealing power of the Devil (Hebrews 2:14). No matter what evil thoughts we have ever entertained or hidden darkness we have concealed from others, they are forgiven by the inner contusions and unseen ruptures that Christ endured. His bruises brought release from our iniquities.

Our lord, Jesus Christ, took the most vicious “rebuke” imaginable. For almost forty hours, he was subjected to the taunts and vile cursing of devil-possessed Roman soldiers and Judean religious leaders. Even as he hung dying, he was mocked to come down from the cross and save himself as he had saved others (Matthew 27:42; Mark 15:31; Luke 23:35). Yet, because he knew that the Father was with him, he maintained a peaceful heart. It was God’s goodness and the joy set before him that gave him the strength to endure (Hebrews 12:2). No matter what devious methods Satan uses to wreak turmoil within our souls, we can stay peaceful in Christ’s atoning work. His chastisement brought us a peace that “passeth all understanding” to guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7).

Our savior, Jesus Christ, had his face beaten and his body ripped apart. His “stripes” brought the utmost in pain and suffering. What an immense price that our loving heavenly Father paid for our physical healing. Because we are so precious to Him, He gave us the precious gift of His Son. And Jesus Christ freely gave himself for our healing. By his stripes we have been healed (I Peter 2:24).

Forgiveness and Healing: Spiritual, Mental, Physical

When we confess Jesus as lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, we are saved—made “whole” (Romans 10:9,10). We not only have a physical body and soul life (including mental ability), but also the gift of holy spirit.

I Thessalonians 5:23:
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ makes us whole in every category of life: body, soul, and spirit. Isaiah 53:5 declares what Christ would do for us spiritually (forgiveness of our transgressions and iniquities), mentally (rebuked to bring us peace), and physically (his stripes for our healing). Today this is a finished reality.

Spiritually—our internal and external sins are forgiven. We are made the righteousness of God in Christ.

II Corinthians 5:21:
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Mentally—he took on the adversary’s worst abuse so that we can have peace and sound minds.

Ephesians 2:14:
For he is our peace….

II Timothy 1:7:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Physically—his stripes overcame our sickness and disease. Now we have wholeness, good health, and healing. That is why he instituted the memorial of communion.

I Corinthians 11:24-26:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

Let’s be thankful for God meeting our need for forgiveness and healing by way of His wonderful Son, Jesus Christ. Let’s claim today what Christ has done for us as we eat the bread and drink the cup. By believing, receive and thank God for your physical as well as spiritual wholeness.

For a new hymn to sing about what Jesus Christ has done for us, please click here.