Michael S. Heiser on the Lord's Supper
A memorial and sign; no presence in the elements
"the purpose of the Lord's Supper is really simple: to remember the Lord's death until he comes and proclaim that death (the gospel) to any onlookers. You don't need any mystical presence for that, so I marvel at how so many other ideas have accrued to this simple command."
THE POSITION
A memorial and a proclamation, and nothing more — no presence in the elements and no conveyance of grace. He treats the accumulation of sacramental theology around a simple command as the thing needing explanation.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
2 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Old Testament and Semitic languages scholar (PhD, Wisconsin, 2004), Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife/Logos, and host of the Naked Bible Podcast. Argued that the Hebrew Bible assumes a real divine council of lesser elohim under Yahweh, and held that this reading defends rather than threatens the deity of Christ.
Cite this page
"Michael S. Heiser on the Lord's Supper", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/heiser/lords-supper (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/heiser/lords-supper).