Bible Dictionaries
Love Feast (2)

Holman Bible Dictionary

A fellowship meal the Christian community celebrated in joy in conjunction with its celebration of the Lord's Supper. See Ordinances . Agape (This love meal) was a significant dimension of the fellowship and worship of the early church. As a concrete manifestation of obedience to the Lord's command to love one another, it served as a practical expression of the koinonia or communion that characterized the church's life. While the only explicit New Testament reference to the agape meal is found in Jude 1:12 , allusions to the practice may be seen in other New Testament texts. Thus, while the mention of “the breaking of bread” in Acts 2:42 is most likely a reference to a special remembrance of Jesus' last supper with His disciples, the allusion in Acts 2:46 to their taking of food “with gladness and singleness of heart” implies that a social meal was connected in some way with this celebration. Paul's discussion of the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 also suggests a combining of the ceremonial act with a common meal. Such a practice is also suggested in Acts 20:7-12 . By the second century the word agapai had become a technical term for such a common meal which seems to have been separated from the ceremonial observance of the Lord's Supper sometime after the New Testament period.

The origin of the love feast is probably to be found in the religious fellowship meals, a common practice among first-century Jews. While the Passover meal is the most familiar of these, such meals were also celebrated to inaugurate the sabbath and festival days. On these occasions a family or a group of friends who had banded together for purposes of special devotion (know as chaburoth from the Hebrew word for “friends”) would gather weekly before sundown for a meal in the home or another suitable place. After hors d'oeuvres were served, the company would move to the table for the meal proper. The host would pronounce a blessing (a thanksgiving to God), break the bread, and distribute it among the participants. The mealtime would be characterized by festive, joyous religious discussion. At nightfall lamps were lit and a benediction recited acknowledging God as the Creator of light. When the meal was over, hands were washed and a final benediction pronounced over the “cup of blessing” (see 1 Corinthians 10:16 ) praising God for His provision and praying for the fulfillment of His purposes in the coming of His kingdom. The meal was concluded by the singing of a psalm. It was not uncommon for small groups of friends to gather weekly for such means.

Jesus and His disciples possibly formed just such a fellowship group. The fellowship meals of the early church appear to be a continuation of the table of fellowship which characterized the life of Jesus and His disciples. Such joyous fellowship served as a concrete manifestation of the grace of the kingdom of God which Jesus proclaimed. Jesus' last meal with His disciples may represent one specific example of such a fellowship meal causing some to trace the origins of the love feast directly to this event. See Ordinances; Worship .

Hulitt Gloer