"Do this in Remembrance of Me"
“Do this in Remembrance of Me”
Someone said, “What you value and cherish, you celebrate and remember”. We have just observed the President’s Day in America. It is a day set aside to remember and honor the past and present presidents. Why do we celebrate holidays, birthdays and any other days we set aside? It is simply because they are important and we do not want to forget.
In our study today, we come across a very important ordinance and tradition of the Church. Unlike many others that are man made, this one is instituted by no other than Jesus Christ himself. If you are going to have the last meal of your life with the ones you love, every word shared during this time becomes very important and sacred. Let’s hear our Lord Jesus and pay heed to His words.
Luke 22: 7-20
Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. 8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
9 So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”
10 And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. 11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”
13 So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve[a] apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you,[b] I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Jesus has lived for 33 years knowing that this day is coming, so he anticipated and planned for this special meal, the last super as we have come to call it. We see Jesus sending Peter and John (two of the inner circle) for the preparation. I believe that Jesus must have made the arrangements before hand that was unknown to his disciples. It is possible also that the place of dinner was a divine provision. Compare Luke’s account to Matthew 26:18.
2. See the surprise expressed by Peter and John as indicated in the narrative, “13So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover”. They saw a man carrying water which led them to the exact house just as Jesus had told them. When Jesus commissions a mission, he provides for it. It is important that we hear clearly from God before running out to do our own thing even in the name of ministry. We also see the deity of Christ in play here. Only God could know what was ahead with exact description – “a man carrying a pitcher of water”. When we hear clearly from God, we don’t miss His target for us. Our problem is that we rush and not wait long enough to ask Jesus questions for direction.
3. Imagine your home being selected by Jesus for this special occasion. I believe that the Master of this house must have been a follower of Jesus. Think of how we can honor Jesus with our homes. We are reminded not to neglect entertaining strangers because we could entertain angels unaware (Hebrew 13:2). If Jesus was looking for a place today, you and I would have all kinds of excuses why our home would not be suitable? I can hear us say, “Lord, it
4. is not as big as Mr. & Mrs. X’s house; or we have not cleaned the carpet, thus I don’t want anyone to see my mess”; It could go on and on, but we sure have excuses for not having people at our homes. Notice, the Master has need of your home. Can we make it available?
5. “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer”. We can see the heart of Jesus. Jesus was looking forward to this meal. You would think otherwise if it were you and me. Jesus was looking at the big picture of redeeming the world. For Jesus, it was more like a send off party that are usually filled with mixed feelings. None of us likes to say good byes but this was a necessary good bye. Also notice (v.21) the gracious love of Jesus to have Judas who will betray him at this table. We can still be gracious even in difficult times to those who may mistreat us. Do you have someone like that? Let’s extend grace to them. They may turn around and follow Jesus.
6. The communion table is a wonderful place to be. We are being handed the best gift of our lives. Jesus says, “This is My body which is given for you; “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you”. “My body and My blood” Awesome. Regardless of your tradition for communion, coming to the table should generate the highest reverence and appreciation from us. Who has ever given you his body and blood to redeem you? The world wants to take advantage and abuse our bodies, not give it us.
7. Apostle Paul warns us that we should not take communion casually and lightly. 1 Corinthians 11: 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood[d] of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner[e] eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s[f] body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep”. Communion is a serious business. We are to examine ourselves but it does not say we should be afraid and avoid taking it. It is okay to skip especially if you remember any unforgiveness of another (Matt. 5:23-26). Please let’s not get “sick” or “sleep” (code word for die) because of negligence.
8. We are not given the number of times but it says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes”. The phrase “as often” does not sound like once in a lifetime or once a year. The key is to know why and what we are taking communion for. We are proclaiming the “Lord’s death till He comes”. It is not a time to feel sorry for Jesus but of Thanksgivings for what he has done for us; and to honor one another in the Church family – His Body. A family that prays and eats together stays together.
I am looking forward to Jesus’ promise, to eat this again with us “until the Kingdom of God comes”. That would be at the great wedding bouquet, the marriage supper with the Church, the Bride of Christ. I trust you are looking forward to it too. For now, “Do this in Remembrance Me”. Lord we thank you for the gift of yourself to us for the forgiveness of our sins. May we never forget. Amen.
Someone said, “What you value and cherish, you celebrate and remember”. We have just observed the President’s Day in America. It is a day set aside to remember and honor the past and present presidents. Why do we celebrate holidays, birthdays and any other days we set aside? It is simply because they are important and we do not want to forget.
In our study today, we come across a very important ordinance and tradition of the Church. Unlike many others that are man made, this one is instituted by no other than Jesus Christ himself. If you are going to have the last meal of your life with the ones you love, every word shared during this time becomes very important and sacred. Let’s hear our Lord Jesus and pay heed to His words.
Luke 22: 7-20
Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. 8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
9 So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”
10 And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. 11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”
13 So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve[a] apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you,[b] I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Jesus has lived for 33 years knowing that this day is coming, so he anticipated and planned for this special meal, the last super as we have come to call it. We see Jesus sending Peter and John (two of the inner circle) for the preparation. I believe that Jesus must have made the arrangements before hand that was unknown to his disciples. It is possible also that the place of dinner was a divine provision. Compare Luke’s account to Matthew 26:18.
2. See the surprise expressed by Peter and John as indicated in the narrative, “13So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover”. They saw a man carrying water which led them to the exact house just as Jesus had told them. When Jesus commissions a mission, he provides for it. It is important that we hear clearly from God before running out to do our own thing even in the name of ministry. We also see the deity of Christ in play here. Only God could know what was ahead with exact description – “a man carrying a pitcher of water”. When we hear clearly from God, we don’t miss His target for us. Our problem is that we rush and not wait long enough to ask Jesus questions for direction.
3. Imagine your home being selected by Jesus for this special occasion. I believe that the Master of this house must have been a follower of Jesus. Think of how we can honor Jesus with our homes. We are reminded not to neglect entertaining strangers because we could entertain angels unaware (Hebrew 13:2). If Jesus was looking for a place today, you and I would have all kinds of excuses why our home would not be suitable? I can hear us say, “Lord, it
4. is not as big as Mr. & Mrs. X’s house; or we have not cleaned the carpet, thus I don’t want anyone to see my mess”; It could go on and on, but we sure have excuses for not having people at our homes. Notice, the Master has need of your home. Can we make it available?
5. “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer”. We can see the heart of Jesus. Jesus was looking forward to this meal. You would think otherwise if it were you and me. Jesus was looking at the big picture of redeeming the world. For Jesus, it was more like a send off party that are usually filled with mixed feelings. None of us likes to say good byes but this was a necessary good bye. Also notice (v.21) the gracious love of Jesus to have Judas who will betray him at this table. We can still be gracious even in difficult times to those who may mistreat us. Do you have someone like that? Let’s extend grace to them. They may turn around and follow Jesus.
6. The communion table is a wonderful place to be. We are being handed the best gift of our lives. Jesus says, “This is My body which is given for you; “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you”. “My body and My blood” Awesome. Regardless of your tradition for communion, coming to the table should generate the highest reverence and appreciation from us. Who has ever given you his body and blood to redeem you? The world wants to take advantage and abuse our bodies, not give it us.
7. Apostle Paul warns us that we should not take communion casually and lightly. 1 Corinthians 11: 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood[d] of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner[e] eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s[f] body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep”. Communion is a serious business. We are to examine ourselves but it does not say we should be afraid and avoid taking it. It is okay to skip especially if you remember any unforgiveness of another (Matt. 5:23-26). Please let’s not get “sick” or “sleep” (code word for die) because of negligence.
8. We are not given the number of times but it says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes”. The phrase “as often” does not sound like once in a lifetime or once a year. The key is to know why and what we are taking communion for. We are proclaiming the “Lord’s death till He comes”. It is not a time to feel sorry for Jesus but of Thanksgivings for what he has done for us; and to honor one another in the Church family – His Body. A family that prays and eats together stays together.
I am looking forward to Jesus’ promise, to eat this again with us “until the Kingdom of God comes”. That would be at the great wedding bouquet, the marriage supper with the Church, the Bride of Christ. I trust you are looking forward to it too. For now, “Do this in Remembrance Me”. Lord we thank you for the gift of yourself to us for the forgiveness of our sins. May we never forget. Amen.
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