The Agape Feast

Meals in the Bible are never just about food. When we trace meals through Scripture, we find a pattern culminating in the Lord’s Supper, what Jesus calls “the new covenant in my blood.”

In Ancient Israel, eating together was a way of entering into a relationship, ratifying a covenant, and acknowledging shared loyalty. When you begin to consider the various contexts in which meals were shared, you begin to see the importance of sharing meals with fellow believers.

Sharing a meal in the Old Testament carried great significance. A covenant was ratified by eating (see Exodus 24:-11). "They saw the God of Israel... and they ate and drank."

In treaty-making, a shared meal sealed the agreement. YHWH adopted this cultural practice to communicate the covenant relationship with Israel.

In other ancient civilizations (Hittite, Mesopotamian, etc.), treaty-making often ended with a sacrifice, a shared meal, and the acknowledgement by witnesses. Ancient Israel’s covenant-making process follows the same structure.

The Passover meal signified redemption through a meal. Take a few minutes to read Exodus 12.

The Passover meal is not merely a remembrance. It is a participatory reenactment. If you've ever participated in a Passover meal, you'll know the host will lead his table-guests through reading in Scripture the Exodus story, allowing the symbolic meal to enhance a sense of participation and reenactment. In Jewish thought, participants are to see themselves as personally delivered from Egypt. We now realize it is not only a Jewish thought!!

When Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, it was more than a mental recall or remembrance. Instead, it was covenantal participation. Luke 22:19-20: "This cup is the covenant in my blood."

Jesus re-centers Passover on Himself as The Lamb, The Blood, and The Deliverance. Jesus said, “This is My Body”.

The Greek σῶμα (sōma) body (Strong’s G4983) implies the whole person offered. In other words, Jesus told His disciples, "I am the covenant sacrifice."

In ancient Israel, to eat at a king’s table signified allegiance. To eat in the presence of a god/God was an act of worship.

 Communion (the Lord's Supper) declares loyalty. In other words, loyalty is the rejection of other powers and total allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord

 Paul makes this explicit:  “You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons”. (1 Corinthians 10:21)

 This is spiritual warfare language, not metaphor. There’s a battle going on for the allegiance of the worshiper.

The early Christian meals (Agape Feasts) included communion within the full meals. It echoed the ancient covenant banquets and was in anticipation of the Messiah Banquet (Isaiah 25). The Agape feast also looked forward "until He comes..."

The Agape Meal or Communion is not simply symbolic. It is covenant renewal, sacred participation, and a declaration of loyalty.

The Agape Meal tells the world, both seen and unseen, who you belong to.


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© 2026 Jan Ross
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