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REFLECTIONS FOR A SUNDAY MORNING
Do This In Remembrance Of Me
Of the Seven Feasts of Leviticus 23 there were three to which all male Israelites were instructed by the Law to attend, as recorded in Exodus 23:14-16. These three so-called `Pilgrim Feasts', Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, were the Three Great Feasts in the yearly cycle of Feast Days, centered on the Temple in Jerusalem with their clearly presented Sacrifices and Offerings, and as we have said, it was obligatory for all male Israelites to attend. We have also recorded in an earlier study that the Seven Pauline Epistles (Corinthians and Thessalonians should each be seen as one Epistle in two Parts) have three which are different from the remaining four. We have also noted that canonically these Seven Pauline Epistles have always been set in the same order in Scripture, and that each of these three `Pilgrim Epistles', when read with a critical eye, can be seen to contain a doctrinal position and are more of a formal Treatise rather than a familiar Epistle.
Thus we can see that Paul, when writing them, had in mind and was drawing upon the Three Great Feasts of Leviticus 23 and set them, under the inspiraton of the Holy Spirit, in the same canonical order, with Romans stating our Justification in Christ (Passover); Ephesians, our Sanctification in Christ (Pentecost); and Thessalonians, our being Glorified with Christ forever (Tabernacles). All three of the `Pilgrim Feasts (whether Levitical or Pauline) are centered on Offerings and Sacrifices, and one leads to another and are consummated in the third. There are no short cuts in God's Kingdom - Passover leads to Pentecost and is consummated in Tabernacles - and without `Romans' there is no `Ephesians' and no leading to `meeting the Lord in the air, and so we shall be with the Lord forever'!
In these Reflections we will be bringing together the three Pilgrim Feasts of Paul's Epistles, all centered upon the Person of Christ Jesus and His Perfect Sacrifice, and the sacrificial Levitical Feasts which have been written about in earlier studies. Theses Scriptural Feasts are all centered on and find their purpose in Sacrifice and Offering, which is where we need to start, and for that we need to turn to the Mosaic Law. An earlier sighting of a sacrifice is seen in Genesis, where we find Abraham being tested by God over the sacrifice of his son Isaac, but as we are reflecting on the Three Pilgrim Feasts (and here, on Passover) we start with the Exodus account of sacrifice. In Exodus 12 we read of the First Passover: (v 3-7)
" Tell the whole community of Israel . . . each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household . . . without defect . . . when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door-frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. "
The narrative continues with the clear understanding that the sacrifice would provide a deliverance, a salvation for the community of the Israelites. The sacrifice and the blood sprinkled was the central act leading to their natural deliverance.
This Covenant of God with Israel was confirmed, or ratified, at Mount Horeb, recorded in the account in Exodus, where we read: (Exodus 24:5-6;8)
" Then he (Moses) sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar . . . Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, `This is the Blood of the Covenant that the LORD has made with you . . . . "
After this the elders, the leaders of the Israelites, went up on the mountain and joined in the sacrificial feast. This, then, forms the central act of a Covenanted Feast; an animal without defect sacrificed, the blood sprinkled on the altar and upon the people who have assented to `the Words of the Book of the Covenant'.
There are six parts involved:
The drawing near of the people
The laying hands of the offerers upon the animal
The actual killing of the animal
(all are performed by the offerers of the sacrifice)
The sprinkling and the pouring out of the blood
The burning of the flesh
The eating of the flesh
(all are concerned with the disposal of the sacrifice
With the blood of the sacrifice sprinkled, next would come the burning of the slain animal, which had to be spotless, without any defect, a sacrifice holy to the LORD. It was this act of the Burnt Offering which rose upwards towards God that transformed the flesh of the animal so that its ascent to the LORD, who sees the Blood, enabled the people to join in communion with Him in `eating the flesh'. The central object of the sacrifice was the slain animal - the burning of the flesh was not to destroy the animal but to transform it so that it rises to God as an Atonement: (Leviticus 17:11 KJV)
" For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul. "
This is the eternal principle: In this sacred sacrifice, the heavenly, the spiritual, has accepted the earthly, the natural, and God and man are reconciled yet remaining distinctly separate; all, a foreshadowing of the Perfect Sacrifice which was accepted by God and provided Atonement for all who would accept `the Words of the Book of the Covenant'.
With this understanding of a Scriptural sacrifice we can turn to Paul, writing to the Romans, the First Great Doctrinal Epistle mirroring the Levitical Feast of Passover. In Paul's opening words we can see the continuing proclamation of the Gospel of God: (Romans 1:2-4 kJV)
" (Which He had promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,) concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the Seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. "
We are not intending here a detailed exposition of the Epistle to the Romans but merely setting out its framework, its main principle message. The Epistle concerns God's Righteousness, and wherever in Scripture this is proclaimed it is always concerning God's Righteous Acts towards His Covenanted people. The Epistle was written in AD 58 from Corinth, and its doctrinal message ends at chapter 15, `signed off' in the next chapter in verse 22: `I Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord'. However, Paul himself now adds a second postscript, written later in AD 63 whilst he was in Rome and writing his Epistle to the Ephesians. In his postscript Paul writes: (Romans 16:25-26 NKJ)
" According to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the command- ment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. "
As we have said, these `Three Great Pilgrim Epistles' will reveal a progression - One leading to Another, culminating in a Conclusion - and here at the end of the `Passover Epistle' we see this implied. And so to the central truth revealed in this Passover Epistle, the first of the Pilgrim Feasts, which is `that all are dead in sin but alive in Christ' and seen in chapter 6 through to chapter 8: (Romans 6:1-7 NJK)
" What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not that as many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the Glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin. "
This, then, is the full understanding of the Righteous Acts of God towards His people - a baptism into His death and, as He was, so also believers in Him are raised to new life by the Glory of the Father! The clear implication of this revelation is of a sacrifice through baptism, leading to reconcilliation with God. We need therefore to rest a while and consider this Act of Baptism - and here we run into the difficulty of language and our reading of certain words without considering them in association with other words within the narrative being read. We fully understand the meaning of the word `baptism', which is the act of plunging, so as to overwhelm, an object, usually plain cloth, into water containing dye. When the cloth is pulled out of the water it has been changed from the old into something new and desired. It is not the act of baptism that brings about the change, but that into which the cloth has been baptised. Therefore, by concentrating on the word `baptism' our minds can so easily glaze over the associated words and the context of the narrative, which can lead to confusion in our understanding of Scripture. This can so often cause division in the Body of Believers (as can be seen in the chastening words of Paul when writing to the Corinthians: `Is Christ divided, was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul?')
So, looking at the word `baptism', the first instance is to be found in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 3, where we find: (3:1-2 NKJ)
" In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying: Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. "
Here `preaching' should be read as `proclaiming' as a herald of the One who is coming (the word springing from the Hebrew `kerusso') Luke further fills this out: (3:2-4 NKJ)
" The Word of God came unto John . . . . and he came into the country about Jordan, preaching (proclaiming) the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. As it is written in the Book of the Words of Isaiah the Prophet saying: `The voice of one crying in the wilderness; `Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight'. "
Matthew tells us that this John was - `If you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come' (11:9-14). In the passage of Scripture the word `repentance' is translated from the word `metandia', calling for a change of mind and attitude towards godly behaviour connected to the coming Messiah. In other words `John's baptism' (also seen in Acts 19:1) was to prepare the way for a salvation to come, not to actually receive salvation at that time of proclamation through repentance and baptism!
We next see this act of baptism in Matthew 3 but for an entirely different purpose, which if we concentrate solely upon the word baptism will distort our understanding of the sacrificial nature of the event. The passage describes the baptism of Jesus by John, who protested at the request of Jesus: (Matthew 3:14-15 NKJ)
" . . . I have need to be baptised of Thee, and comest Thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him: `Suffer it to be so for now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness'. The He suffered him. "
To understand this baptism we need to turn to earlier Scriptures (Exodus 29:4 & 40:12-15 and Leviticus 8:6-12) which concerns the washing of Aaron and his sons and the anointing to consecrate them for service as priests. Here in His baptism in the Jordan by John, Jesus was washed and anointed, consecrated as High Priest for service and sacrifice!
" And Jesus, when He was baptised, went up straightway out of the water, and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. And lo a voice from heaven, saying: `This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'. " Matthew 3:16-17 NKJ
Once again we need to step into this unfolding drama to look at these `associated words'. Jesus in answering John said, `it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness'. The word `fulfil' has a meaning of `to accomplish its objectives' and is connected to `all righteousness'. As we have said earlier, in Scripture God's Righteousness always speaks of His Acts towards His Covenanted people. Therefore, within the context of `the Baptism of Jesus' we see the revealing of the long-promised Messiah of Israel, who would bring deliverance and salvation to all who accept Him. John's ministry was to prepare the way, calling for a baptism of repentance in preparation for the coming Messiah. And yet there is more to understand in this Baptism, for Jesus the Messiah was now washed and anointed, consecrated as High Priest to officiate at the Passover Feast in a Sacrificial Offering to God of His Own Body for the remission of sins. In this Baptism there is the clear understanding of sacrifice, the death of a Person, an offering to God, who in His Righteousness accepts and raises to New Life in Resurrection Power. It is this baptism that all believers are called into, as Paul writes in his `Passover Epistle' to the Romans.
However we first need to step back to the Acts of the Apostles, which is set in a Probation Period of 40 years - from the Crucifixion of Jesus through to the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. In general terms the first half of Acts covers approximately 15 years and refers principally to the Jews and proselytes to Judaism. We see this in Acts 2 where Peter was in the Temple Compound proclaiming that, `this Jesus whom you crucified' was the promised Messiah of David's Psalms, where it is stated that His Body would not see decay but be raised from the dead. The second half of Acts reveals Paul in his ministry to the Jews and Gentiles: `a chosen messenger unto Me to have My Name before the Gentiles and its kings, and the children of Israel' (Acts9:15). Paul's message was no longer that of Peter's proclamation of Jesus the Messiah whom you crucified, but Jesus and His Resurrection; Jesus as Saviour and God . . raised from the dead and Glorified as Head of His Body, a New People. This was not a new message but one foretold by the prophets but hidden (a mystery) until the appointed time. Psalm 2 reveals this `mystery': (v7-8 KJV)
" I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, `Thou art My Son;
this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the
heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for
Thine possession'. "
This understanding must bring us back to chapter 2 of Acts, where we find Peter addressing the Jews and proselytes to Judaism in the Temple Compound - often spoken of as `the birth of the Church'. We concede that the Church was undoubtably `conceived' at this time, but the `birth' could not happen until the end of the Probation Period when the Jewish Elders rejected Paul's message of a Risen, Glorified Son of God (Acts 28), which then led to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Peter's proclamation on that day was a continuation of John the Baptist's preaching of a baptism of repentance, a turning to Godly ways and belief in the crucified Messiah. Peter's proclamation should not be used as a requirement for believers who follow on from the end of that Probation Period. For that we need to turn back to Paul's Epistle to the Romans, the `Passover Epistle', for the commencement of a disciple's New Life in Jesus, with the clear understanding of the Sacrifice of His Death with them being `raised up from the dead by the Glory of the Father'. In this, our sacrificial dipping in baptism into Christ's death, we are imbued with, saturated with, the Holy Spirit and raised to New Life - not in the Name of the Messiah but into the Person of Jesus and into a Living Relationship.
This Baptism by the Holy Spirit into death and resurrection is seen in the Levitical Scriptures recorded earlier surrounding the Passover Feast. The act of the Burnt Offering transforms the flesh of the sacrifice so that it is raised towards God, who sees the blood and so enables the people to join in communion with Him in the final eating of the sacrificial lamb. For believers in Jesus, baptism is entering into this Sacrificial Offering of His Blood and His Resurrection through the work of the Holy Spirit - a Baptism by the Holy Spirit into the Life of Jesus. This, then, is the `Beginning' for all true Believers in Christ Jesus, a Sacrificial Act through the work of the Holy Spirit . . the first of the `Pilgrim Feasts' seen in the Epistles of Paul. This first one leads into a progression of these Feasts: First, the believers' position, `once dead in sin but now alive in Christ'. Next will come their `standing', leading on to a `consummation', all compounded in the Sacrificial Offering of Christ Jesus. As one well-respected Bible teacher has said: `Baptism is a physical event releasing a spiritual effect'. This is the continuing message of Paul's Epistle to the Romans: the Righteous Acts of God towards His people, a physical event of Baptism releasing a spiritual life, a communion with God.
And now to the second Pilgrim Feast of Pentecost, or as it is also known, The Feast of Weeks, as recorded in the Book of Leviticus: (Leviticus 23:15-16 NIV)
" From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. "
The setting of this Feast is to be seen in Exodus 19, where after fifty days from the exodus out of Egypt, during a time of rebellious grumbling, the people were given, through faithful Moses, `the Law'. It is often said that baptism can be seen in the `crossing over the Red Sea', a deliverance from the bondage of sin. However it is worth noting that even though they `crossed over', the Israelites were still within the Governmental Land of Egypt as they wandered in the wilderness. Their destination lay beyond, and they had need to cross the River Jordan out of the authority of Egypt - that is, the world. (A small but significant digression, for it ties in with Peter's proclamation in Acts 2: `Repent and be baptised . . turn from ungodly ways and prepare for your deliverance by faith in the promised Messiah'.) This is also to be seen in the narrative of Leviticus 23 setting out the prescription for the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost.
There is, as we have said, progression in these Three Feasts. First, in Passover is seen our Position; and now would come our Standing, the Law was given through Moses with its intention of `leading us to Christ'. At the heart of this Feast there was still the need of a sacrifice, the animal slain, the blood sprinkled But this Feast is also called `The Feast of Harvest' - which reveals this progression, for the Feast also reveals the end of the Old Harvest (Passover) with its bringing of an offering made with unleavened bread. A third title for this Feast is the Feast of First Fruits - fresh loaves made with new grain and made with leavened bread but still offered through the sacrifice of the Burnt Offering, accepted by God still in communion with His people.
And so we need to turn to Paul's `Second Pilgrim Feast', his Epistle to the Ephesians, to see the fulness of this Feast of Weeks. Written in AD 63 while in prison in Rome, Paul is able to reveal the `mystery' hinted at in the second postscript to his Roman Epistle. The great theme of this Epistle is the revelation given to Paul, that all who have been buried with Christ in death are now raised to new life in Him. Our `standing' is now: `Raised up together with Him and seated in the heavenly realm with Christ Jesus'. This whole `Pentecost Epistle' rings out with this incredible Good News: (Ephesians 1:7-23 and 2:4-5)
" The riches of God's Grace . . . in Him we were also chosen . . . marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance . . . But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by Grace you have been saved. "
The First Fruits of the New Harvest, the Offering of new grain baked into leavened bread, offered to God together with the sacrificial Burnt Offering of Jesus, in communion with God in this Pentecost Feast Feast of First Fruits.
And so the progression continues through to the Consummation - and for this our thoughts turn back to Leviticus 23 and the Third Great Pilgrim Feast, that of `Tabernacles', wherein the Israelites were commanded to hold: `. . . the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles . . . the first day is a sacred assembly, do no regular work'. Again on the closing day of the Feast the Israelites were commanded: `On the eighth day is a sacred assembly . . . the closing assembly, do no regular work'. The wording recorded here in Leviticus speaks of the Feast lasting for seven days, and yet, as we have just recorded, the closing assembly is on the eighth day wherein the Israelites were commanded to rest from regular work. An Eighth Day known only to God, when His people, who have accepted His Son Jesus, will be with Him in Perfect rest for ever, Tabernacling with Him! And yet at the heart of this most joyous of the Feasts lay the sacrifice of the Burnt Offering. This Feast of the Ingathering (as it is also called in Exodus 23) comes through a Great Cost and in the midst of joyful celebrations the New Grain needed, and still needs, a constant reminder of Thanksgiving.
And so to Paul's `Third Pilgrim Epistle' that we may celebrate the Fulness of what the Israelites could only dimly understand. The Epistle to the Thessalonians was actually the first to be written by Paul in AD 52 whilst he was in Corinth. The Church in Thessalonica was composed mainly of Gentiles, as is recorded in Acts 17: ` When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue'. Paul preached his message of the Risen Christ and: `Some Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and a few prominent women'. Later in his Epistle to the Thessalonians Paul expressed his joy at the reception of the word preached: `And so you became a model to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord's message rang out from you' (1:7-8). However, that which is common to all believers (doubt and anxiety) began to nibble at their minds and hearts, caused by false teachers coming into the Assembly, and in this Third Pilgrim Epistle Paul reminds them of what they first heard as they wait for the Consummation of their certain hope: (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 KJV)
" Now we beseech you, brethren, by the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him, that you be not shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the Day of Christ is at hand. (Paul continues, v15) Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold to the tradition which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. "
And the `tradition' first taught to them is seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV):
" For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. "
This, then, is the Progression of our lives in Christ: Three Pilgrim Feasts, a Progression from our Position in Christ to our Standing with Him, culminating in our Consummation with Him for ever! All three centered on and made possible through His Sacrifice to God! His death resulting in acceptance by God, releasing Him from the bonds of decay into Resurrection Life! Every true believer now baptised into the death of that sinless Sacrifice enters into a New Resurrection Life in Him! Truly a Baptism by the Holy Spirit to the Glory of God! And so we return to the opening title of this Reflection, `Do This in Remembrance of Me'.
Of all the many doctrinal issues that separate Christians, none are more persistent than that of . . Holy Communion . . the Eucharist . . Breaking of Bread . . the Lord's Supper . . and, of course, the principal `bone of contention' amongst Protestants, the Roman Catholic Mass with the Eucharist as its central act. So with the picking up of our pen we, in this Reflection, are entering into this `doctrinal issue' with much trepidation, for this matter is controversial. Because such deeply entrenched divisive doctrinal issues do indeed break the unity of the Christian Body, we do need to reflect on rather than continuously repeat the often vitriolic attacks that constantly emerge - and let it be said, emerge mainly from the Protestant Groups within the Church. The clear understanding from `the Gospels' is that the foundation of this `Act of Remembrance' is set within a sacrificial meal, the Passover Meal, for the Lord Jesus Himself said: `I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer' (Luke 22). Therefore this Reflection must finish with that Passover Meal which we are called to do `in remembrance of Me'.
In reflecting on this last Passover Meal we need to revert to an earlier event which we have remarked upon, where in Matthew's Gospel we read of the Baptism of Jesus by John. We need not repeat the words - suffice to say that at this baptism Jesus went beneath the water, rose up and was annointed by the Holy Spirit, thus revealing Himself as the Messiah of Israel `to fulfil all righteousness'. Jesus, now washed and annointed as High Priest (as High Priest this required annointing was poured upon the head in accordance with the Jewish ritual oblations for priestly service in the Temple), waited only for the Passover Sacrifice appointed by His Father - which takes us back to that time in the Upper Room where Jesus met with His disciples. In the Synoptic Gospel Account of this last Passover Meal there is the clear understanding that this was a sacrificial meal, ministered by an annointed High Priest, concerning the death of a Sacrifice. If we may paraphrase the narrative of this in the Synoptic Gospel, the words of Jesus would say:
" I am the sacrificial victim where blood is poured out for you, that
is, the believing people, to seal a New Covenant with God and whose
body is slain for you. "
The emphasis here is on the sacrificial words, `Blood and Covenant', and in the understanding of a sacrifice the body of the slain animal has to be present between the parties entering into a Covenant; the life of this sacrifice, the blood, has to be poured out (`for the life of the flesh is in the blood') with the consummation of the Covenant culminating in a meal - a sacrificial communion between the parties of the Covenant. (The word `communion' simply means `to share in'.)
Turning now to the account of the Passover Meal in John's Gospel we see another implication brought in, where in chapter 13 we read of Jesus `washing His disciples' feet' and of Peter's indignation at this act: (John 13:8-10)
" Jesus answered, `Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me'. `Then, Lord,' Simon Peter replied, `not just my feet but my hands and my head as well'. Jesus answered, `A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean'. "
We see here another priestly function in accordance with the sacrificial rituals: Although there is no mention of those disciples undergoing `John's Baptism' it is hard to believe that they, of all people, would not have done so, and the implication that they have done so is seen in the words of Jesus, `a person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean'. Here in these words we see again what was happening at this Last Passover Meal. According to the Mosaic Law those called to be priests were washed and then annointed by smearing oil on their foreheads in preparation for ministry in the Tabernacle or Temple. They were now already `washed' and ceremonially clean, but before they could minister in their priestly duties their hands and feet were ritually washed again for they were handling holy things and standing on holy ground in the Temple. Even they, as they waited in the Temple for their course of ministry to begin, needed to have their feet washed before standing on holy ground. Here in John's Gospel we see priests of the New Covenant, whose bodies have already been washed, needing their feet to be washed before the Sacrificial Passover Meal where Jesus, as High Priest, offered Himself as the Perfect Lamb of God!
So now we come to Paul's words in his First Epistle to the Corinthians (chapter 11 v23): `For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you'. What follows is the recalling of the enactment of the Last Passover Meal with its sacrificial significance - a Holy Communion not to be entered into lightly or to be partaken in an unworthy manner, for you are `priests of a New Covenant', ministering in the New Temple of the Body of Christ. The words given to Paul here are clear:
" Take, eat, this is My Body . . . . This cup is the New Testament in
My Blood . . . . do this in remembrance of Me. "
Here we wish to end this Reflection with the words, `Do this in remembrance of Me'. The Greek word for remembrance is `Anamnesis' and conveys more than can be understood in English, for the word implies `the bringing alive' of a previous action or person. Remembrance in the Passover Meal between New Covenant priests brings alive and into the presence of those meeting the Person of that Sacrifice. It is a `Holy Communion' between God and man - as seen in the foreshadowing of the Temple ritual sacrifice described earlier. This `remembrance' is a re-presentation not a representation. The Hebrew understanding can be seen in a passage recorded in 1 Kings 17 v18 in its word `zakar' (to remind) where the widow before Elijah is remebering her sin, which returned and settled on her son, causing his death. In this we can hear the words of Paul, still writing within the context of the Passover Meal between believers in Christ Jesus: (1 Corinthians 11:27-29)
" Therefore whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord
unworthily, shall be guilty of sinning against the Body and Blood of
the Lord . . . . . For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks
judgement on himself. "
To digress - and to use a poor analogy - we can (because of age) remember in the last war the Lancaster bomber planes overhead on their way to bring retribution to Germany and deliverance for others. As we `anamnesis' this we bring together the past (the bombers) and the present (their remembrance) which becomes as real as the experience of that time so long ago. So it is in the Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper: In remembrance of the Sacrifice the Fact and the Act are brought together and become as real as seen in our analogy. This anamnesis, a remembrance of a previous fact, brings it alive in the present act. It is not just a physical matter but a most profound spiritual event, bringing together the Lord and His New Covenant priests into a Communion with a Holy God, eating and drinking the Passover Sacrifice of our High Priest.
Do this in remembrance of Me.
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