[Biblemat] S) "DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME"

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
files.  Use to the glory of God.

"DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME"

     During the last weeks of His earthly ministry, on several
occasions Jesus directed His disciples' attention to His appro-
aching suffering and death.  Behold, we are going up to Jerus-
alem, and all things which are written through the prophets 
about the Son of Man will be accomplished" (Lk. 9:51; 18:31-34).  He was 
fully aware of the way of suffering that awaited
Him.  Jesus chose voluntarily and of set purpose to lay down
His life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

     So, on the eve of His crucifixion, Jesus made definite pre-
parations in anticipation of His death and departure -- prepar-
ations that would be necessary for Him to carry out His plan
to save man.  "My time is near" was the message Jesus sent
by the disciples to the man at whose house they would meet
for the Passover meal.  "I am to keep the Passover at your
house with My disciples" (Matt. 26:17-19).  His message here
underlines the sense of urgency Jesus must have felt.  He was conscious of 
His destiny.  Our Lord was rapidly approac-
hing the goal and purpose of His life on this earth.

The Passover: -- The preparation of the Passover involved
removing all the leaven from the house (Exo. 12:14-22).  Un-
leavened bread would be prepared for the Passover and the
lambs would be slaughtered.  So, on the day before Jesus'
crucifixion -- "the first day of unleavened bread" -- He sent
Peter and John to "Go and prepare the Passover for us, so
that we may eat it" (Lk. 22:7,8).

     But even as the Passover was approaching, one of Jesus'
disciples had already made arrangements with the Jewish
authorities to deliver Him into their hands for a sum of money
(Lk. 22:1-6).  Perhaps Jesus intended to keep the place where
they would gather to eat the Passover a secret right up to the
end.  The eve of the Passover might provide a "good opportu-
nity for them to take Jesus (Lk. 22:6).  Arrangements had 
been made in advance with the owner of the house.  Peter
and John were to find a man carrying a pitcher of water at a
certain place and follow him to the house.

     In the large, furnished upper room, Jesus and His discip-
les observed the Passover meal together.  How fitting!  God's
redemption of Israel from Egyptian bondage was commemor-
ated every Passover (Exo. 12:23-27).  Those historic events
foreshadowed Jesus' own redemptive sacrifice.  So it was
necessary for Him to eat the Passover meal with His disciples
the night before His death.  The Passover was perhaps the
most appropriate setting for Jesus to convey to them the
meaning fo His impending death for all men.  John the Baptist
had already proclaimed this truth: "Behold, the Lamb of God,
Who takes away the sin of the world" (Jno. 1:29).

Bitter Ironies: -- The bitterest of ironies in these events was 
about to be revealed.  Jesus announced to His disciples the
solemn and shocking news that His betrayer was one of them!  (Matt. 
26:21-23).  They were deeply grieved.  "Surely
not I, Lord?" they each began to ask.  Jesus' answer seems
delibertately vague, for they all had dipped their hand with 
Him in the dish.  Here we see the painful reality that one of
those who were gathered there to participate with Jesus and
His disciples in such a holy feast would also now betray Him.
Yet Jesus used the occasion to emphasize the necessity that
the Son of Man suffer as written of Him in the prophets (Matt.
26:24).  "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has
turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity
of us all to fall on Him" (Isa. 53:6)  "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
Judas, it seems, asked the question only after Jesus had also
revealed the tragic fate of His betrayer.  Jesus answered, "You have said it 
yourself" (Matt. 26:25).

     This was not the only tragic irony.  After supper, as Jesus
and the disciples went out to the Mount of Olives, Jesus warned of what the 
immediate future held in store for them
as well as for Himself.  Because of what was about to happen
to Him, they would all become disheartened and lose faith be-
fore the night had passed.  Using Zechariah's words, Jesus
made a dire prediction: "I will strike down the shepherd, and
the sheep of the flock shall be scattered" (Matt. 26:31; Zech.
13:7).  He was their shepherd and they were His flock.  The
sheep would be temporarily scattered even while the shep-
herd laid down His life for them.  Then He would be raised
(Matt. 26:32).

The End And...The Beginning: -- In the midst of all these revel-
ations, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper.  As they observed
the Passover, Jesus took some of the unleavened bread, offered a blessing, 
broke it, and gave it to the disciples.  "Take, eat; this is My body" (Matt. 
26:26).  In the same way He took a cup, gave thanks, and said, "Drink from it, 
all of you" (vs. 27).  The significance of His impending death was 
revealed to them when He said, "this is My blood of the cove-
nant, which is poured out for many for remission of sins" (vs.
28).  Jesus knew that the shedding of His blood would mark
the inauguration of a new covenant -- the new covenant prop-
hesied by Jeremiah, where God said, "for I will forgive their
iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more" (Jer. 31:31-34)
He would suffer "for many" as Isaiah said that God's Servant
would "justify the many" and "bear their iniquities" (Isa. 53:
11).

     Jesus intended that His disciples repeat the events of that
night as a perpetual memorial.  "Do this in remembrance of 
Me," He said (1 Cor. 11:23-26).  It was their last Passover to-
gether, but it was also the beginning of something new and
wonderful.  We who are disciples of Jesus Christ continue to
observe the Lord's Supper every first day of the week (Acts
20:7).  By doing so, we share in the body and blood of Christ
that was offered as our sacrifice (1 Cor. 10:16).  Our fellow-
ship with Christ and His sufferings (Rom. 8:17; Phil. 3:10) is
enriched by the privilege of communing with Him in His death.
His suffering on the cross in our behalf becomes real to us as
we relive that scene.  At the same time, we are drawn togeth-
er in fellowship with one another, "for we all partake of the
one bread" (1 Cor. 10:17).  The unity of disciples is enhanced
as our minds are brought to dwell on the sacrifice that recon-
ciles us to God and to one another (Eph. 2:13-16).

     Through the perpetual observance of the Lord's Supper,
we "proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (1 Cor. 11:26).
We  declare our faith in the redeeming power of His death.
Just as the yearly observance of the Passover retold an old,
old story of redemption, our gathering around the Lord's table every Lord's 
day becomes our proclamation and conf-
irmation of the words of Jesus: "this is My blood of the cove-
nant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins"
(Matt. 26:28).

     And that is the greatest story every told.   ---- Dan Petty in
Biblical Insights, Vol. 7, No. 10, Oct. 2007.   </HTML>
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