The Lord's Supper: A Guide to the Heavenly Feast

Christian Essentials Series

by John W. Kleinig

You receive Communion. But what does it mean?

In The Lord’s A Guide to the Heavenly Feast, John W. Kleinig awakens a hunger for meeting Jesus in the bread and wine. The Bible tells us that Jesus came from heaven to earth to give us himself, and his self-giving continues in the meal that he hosts. In the sacrament of Communion, Jesus offers believers nothing less than his holy, life-giving body and cleansing blood. He brings heaven to earth for us and gives us a foretaste of the heavenly supper of the Lamb. And by faith, we commune with him. In the Eucharist, Christians give thanks for God’s gift of himself.

“My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods.” —Psalm 63:5

Genres: Theology

200 pages, Hardcover

Published March 12, 2025

Reviews

[Jon Stallings · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is so easy for the celebration of the Lord's Table to become a simple ceremony. Here the author digs deep to see how it shows us the fullness of Christ's broken body and shed blood. Highly recommend 

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Lord’s Supper, John W. Kleinig offers a guide to the heavenly feast.

The book begins by showing how meals, in the biblical sense, are social. Participation in a common meal is, at its best, a way people give of themselves and honor one another.



Body and Blood

Kleinig presents a biblical theology of meals and positions the Lord’s Supper as the meal of meals. I was struck by how Jesus longed to share this supper with His disciples, a longing noted uniquely in Luke 22:15. Kleinig reflects deeply on what it means to partake of Christ’s body and blood.


I was especially drawn to the meals of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel, particularly the encounter with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35). It is in this seventh meal that Jesus reveals Himself to them as He feeds them with His sacrificed body and blood.



A Foretaste of Heaven

I was most moved to read how the Lord’s Supper is a memorial meal, where we remember that we are pardoned and loved. It cleanses our conscience and replaces guilt and shame. While ordinary food strengthens us physically, the Lord’s Supper strengthens us spiritually.


The book ends by teaching how Lord’s Supper transforms us and gives us a foretaste of heaven. This book is brilliant and will enrich your understanding of the blessings found in our heavenly feast.



I received a media copy of The Lord’s Supper and this is my honest review.

[Conrad Gempf · Rating 4 out of 5]

An understandable, biblically-grounded Lutheran exploration of what the Lord's Supper is and what it means. Kleinig guides us in thinking about the sacrament, helping us understand it better while acknowledging that we cannot fully explain something so far beyond our comprehension. He, of course, majors on passages like Luke 22 on the Last Supper, and the 1 Corinthians passage telling the Corinthians about the Supper, but also touches on Acts and the breaking of bread, and most interestingly, the long passage in John 6, which culminates in Jesus' statements, so shocking at the time, about eating his flesh and drinking his blood.

[Jonathan Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an accessible and rich reflection on the Lord’s Supper from a Lutheran perspective. While readers from other traditions will disagree with some of the conclusions and applications, this thoughtful meditation will stir your gratitude for the grand feast that is the Lord’s Supper.

[Christopher Raffa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An accessible look into an otherwise difficult and naturally mysterious subject: the Lord’s Supper. Very pastoral in nature. Will come back to this one often.