Cheryl Schatz

Gillian, it is a tradition that it was only believers that are to take communion, because only believers (it is thought) were at the first Lord’s Supper that Jesus initiated. Even the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Judas had left before the Lord’s Supper so that he did not partake. I did not research on this issue many years ago and I presented the evidence at a conference for apologetic ministries and ex-JWs. I showed them that Judas was not only still there with Jesus and the disciples after the Lord’s Supper, but that he was commanded to eat and drink and that all of the disciples partook. I gave all the Scriptures and their eyes popped open as they had never seen this before. I never thought I would have to use the same information about Judas with a Calvinist. The training I had for 16 years working with Jehovah’s Witnesses has come in handy in helping Calvinists see some of their blind spots. The fact is that tradition blinds us. We are never told to keep people away from Communion but tradition says Communion is only for Christians even though Jesus died for all. The facts about Judas blow that tradition out of the water. But many people have been raised with the tradition and people do not easily change. In India, many pastors do not take communion even though they are pastors. They have been taught that if they have an addiction (many of them struggle with an addiction to tobacco) they are taught that they do not qualify to take communion. I find this practice so sad in that Jesus died for us as even as we were sinners so that we can come to Him just as we are. To keep people away from the sign of God’s covenant with us because they feel they are unworthy is just not right. If Jesus died for Judas and called Himself the friend of Judas, and Judas was commanded to take the first Lord’s meal, how can we tell people they cannot partake? I can’t say how close we are to crossing the line where the Corinthians had crossed and they were sinning against the Lord’s sacrifice. What I can say is that we are to proclaim that Jesus died for everyone and each are invited to partake of what He did on their behalf.