<p>11:26 <em>For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death- </em>1 Cor. 11:26 AVmg. makes the act of breaking bread a command, an imperative to action: &ldquo;As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, shew ye the Lord&rsquo;s death, till he come&quot;. If we are going to eat the emblems, it is axiomatic that we will commit ourselves to shewing forth His death to the world, like Paul placarding forth Christ crucified in our lives (Gal. 3:1 Gk.). The Passover likewise had been a &lsquo;shewing&rsquo; to one&rsquo;s family &ldquo;that which the Lord did unto me&quot; (Ex. 13:8), the redemption we have experienced. The description of the memorial service as being a 'proclamation' of the Lord's death (1 Cor. 11:26 RV) is an allusion to the second of the four cups taken at the Jewish Passover: &quot;the cup of proclamation&quot;. This was drunk after the reading of Psalms 113 and 114, which proclaimed Yahweh's deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Therefore our breaking bread is our proclamation that we really believe that we have been saved out of this world, and are on the wilderness path to the Kingdom. God forbid, really, that our breaking bread should come down to mere ritual and habit. It is a very personal proclamation of our own salvation- as well as that of the whole body of believers.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Until he comes</em>- This is surely an allusion, but not a quotation, to the Lord's comment that He would not take the cup again <em>until</em> He returns (Mk. 14:25). The most evident link between the breaking of bread and the judgment / second coming is in the fact we are to do it &ldquo;until he come&quot;. The Jews expected Messiah to come at Passover, and the Lord seems to have plugged into that fact. &lsquo;Until he come&rsquo; was an allusion by Paul to the contemporary Passover prayer for the coming of Messiah at the Passover meal: &ldquo;May the Lord come and this world pass away. Amen. Hosanna to the house of David. If any man is holy, let him come; if any man is not, let him repent. Maranatha. Amen&quot;. Joachim Jeremias translates the phrase: &ldquo;&rsquo;Until (matters have developed to the point at which) he comes&rsquo;, &lsquo;until (the goal is reached, that) he comes&rsquo;&quot;. He points out a similar construction in other passages relevant to the second coming (Lk. 21:24; 1 Cor. 15:25; Rom. 11:25). Thus each memorial meeting brings us a step closer towards the final coming of Jesus. It would therefore be so appropriate if the Lord did return during a breaking of bread. One day, the foretaste of judgment which we experience then will be, in reality, our final judgment. As we break bread, each time we are &lsquo;reminding&rsquo; the Father as well as ourselves of His Son&rsquo;s work and the need to climax it in sending Him back.</p>