By Shirley Mitchell
“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ ”
The crowds are gone. The public confrontations with the Pharisees are over. Jesus spent His final hours with the ones He chose from the crowds. He left those who rejected Him and focused on the ones God gave Him. It was Jesus’ last night with His disciples. It was a time of final teachings. It was a time of sweet remembrance.
They were celebrating the Passover Feast, which is the feast to remember how God
deliveredIsrael from slavery in Egypt Israel first moved to Egypt
At midnight, the death angel would pass through the land. Every firstborn of each family and the cattle would die unless blood was sprinkled on the doorway. In Exodus 12, God instructed Moses how the Israelites would be saved from the dramatic night of judgment. God would free His people from bondage and oppression. They were to select a male lamb of the first year without defect or blemish. On the 10th day of the Hebrew month, Nisan, it was to be taken from the flock and kept until the 14th day of Nisan. In these four days, the family became personally attached to their lamb. An innocent lamb would die in their place. On the 14th day the lambs were sacrificed in front of the whole assembly. Yet, the blood of their lamb was placed on the doorposts of each home. It symbolized each person’s individual faith. The blood of the innocent lamb caused judgment to “pass over” them.
In Exodus 12:14, God told them that future generations would commemorate this night as a festival to the LORD. Since God commanded them to observe the Passover as a memorial to this time forever, a typical ceremony emerged called the Passover Seder which was practiced centuries before Jesus. This feast is what this band of brothers celebrated that night.
One of my favorite songs in the Lexington Passion Play is the song, “Remember Me” that Jesus and His disciples sang after the Passover meal. In the play last week before I entered for the Garden scene, I slipped in the back of the sanctuary to watch the upper room scene. I sobbed loudly at the beauty of their relationships and for the pain that Jesus felt in knowing it was the end of their time together. Jesus warned them that His time was near and that He had to leave them. He said it hurt Him so that He had to go. It anguished Him to know their precious time together was ending. He sang repeatedly, “In all you say, in all you do, remember Me. Remember Me.” It is similar to a parent repeating words of instruction so the child will hear the parent’s voice in her mind reminding her of the right way even when the parent is absent. The verses of the song are filled with the disciples recounting their adventures with Jesus since they first met Him. They laughed together and remembered the good times that they shared. They remembered their first miracle of the water turning into wine. They remembered the lives Jesus changed. As the stories are told, their smiles became brighter. They touched each others’ shoulders and remembered their connections as they experienced the same emotions when they watched the Son of God reveal Himself to man.
Why would Jesus stress remembering? What is its impact? This entire night is about remembering. Remember the Passover and God’s deliverance fromEgypt
In Exodus 2:23-25, God remembered His covenant withIsrael
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, my God, thank You for delivering the Israelites from bondage and mankind from sin. Thank You for remembering me. I remember You, too. I can’t help but think of You and to dwell on how wonderful You are. May there not be a day that goes by that I don’t realize that I am a sinner saved by the blood of Jesus. May I use this memory to bestow Your gift of love to others. May I never be proud of myself but always boast in You. Help me to have a healthy memory of my past. I give You the dirt of my past and ask You to unleash Your power so that the things that I am ashamed of can be used for Your glory. I pray that through using my memory in a healthy way, learning more about You, and memorizing Your Word that my times when I fail are fewer in number. Thank You for all that You have done and all that You will do. You are worthy to be praised! I lift up my voice to exalt You, O Lord God Almighty! It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, I pray. Amen.
“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ ”
Luke 22:19
The crowds are gone. The public confrontations with the Pharisees are over. Jesus spent His final hours with the ones He chose from the crowds. He left those who rejected Him and focused on the ones God gave Him. It was Jesus’ last night with His disciples. It was a time of final teachings. It was a time of sweet remembrance.
They were celebrating the Passover Feast, which is the feast to remember how God
delivered
At midnight, the death angel would pass through the land. Every firstborn of each family and the cattle would die unless blood was sprinkled on the doorway. In Exodus 12, God instructed Moses how the Israelites would be saved from the dramatic night of judgment. God would free His people from bondage and oppression. They were to select a male lamb of the first year without defect or blemish. On the 10th day of the Hebrew month, Nisan, it was to be taken from the flock and kept until the 14th day of Nisan. In these four days, the family became personally attached to their lamb. An innocent lamb would die in their place. On the 14th day the lambs were sacrificed in front of the whole assembly. Yet, the blood of their lamb was placed on the doorposts of each home. It symbolized each person’s individual faith. The blood of the innocent lamb caused judgment to “pass over” them.
In Exodus 12:14, God told them that future generations would commemorate this night as a festival to the LORD. Since God commanded them to observe the Passover as a memorial to this time forever, a typical ceremony emerged called the Passover Seder which was practiced centuries before Jesus. This feast is what this band of brothers celebrated that night.
One of my favorite songs in the Lexington Passion Play is the song, “Remember Me” that Jesus and His disciples sang after the Passover meal. In the play last week before I entered for the Garden scene, I slipped in the back of the sanctuary to watch the upper room scene. I sobbed loudly at the beauty of their relationships and for the pain that Jesus felt in knowing it was the end of their time together. Jesus warned them that His time was near and that He had to leave them. He said it hurt Him so that He had to go. It anguished Him to know their precious time together was ending. He sang repeatedly, “In all you say, in all you do, remember Me. Remember Me.” It is similar to a parent repeating words of instruction so the child will hear the parent’s voice in her mind reminding her of the right way even when the parent is absent. The verses of the song are filled with the disciples recounting their adventures with Jesus since they first met Him. They laughed together and remembered the good times that they shared. They remembered their first miracle of the water turning into wine. They remembered the lives Jesus changed. As the stories are told, their smiles became brighter. They touched each others’ shoulders and remembered their connections as they experienced the same emotions when they watched the Son of God reveal Himself to man.
Why would Jesus stress remembering? What is its impact? This entire night is about remembering. Remember the Passover and God’s deliverance from
In Exodus 2:23-25, God remembered His covenant with
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, my God, thank You for delivering the Israelites from bondage and mankind from sin. Thank You for remembering me. I remember You, too. I can’t help but think of You and to dwell on how wonderful You are. May there not be a day that goes by that I don’t realize that I am a sinner saved by the blood of Jesus. May I use this memory to bestow Your gift of love to others. May I never be proud of myself but always boast in You. Help me to have a healthy memory of my past. I give You the dirt of my past and ask You to unleash Your power so that the things that I am ashamed of can be used for Your glory. I pray that through using my memory in a healthy way, learning more about You, and memorizing Your Word that my times when I fail are fewer in number. Thank You for all that You have done and all that You will do. You are worthy to be praised! I lift up my voice to exalt You, O Lord God Almighty! It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, I pray. Amen.
Excerpt from the Jesus Lives Bible study
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