Do this in remembrance of Me

God knows our human weaknesses so well. He knows that we need physical reminders of spiritual truths to help us stay true to the path He modelled for us through Jesus.

 Judaism therefore has many remembrances, for example, the Passover is a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt. The fringes on the corners of their garments are a remembrance of the commandments of the Torah. There are also many rituals associated with the Feasts, all to remind Israel of her covenant with her God Yahweh.

But did you know that the Bible also speaks about remembrances for God? We read about God “remembering” Noah – it means that He acted on the promises He made to Noah and brought an end to the flood. He “remembered” Rachel, and she conceived. It is not as if God forgot Noah and Rachel. No, when He remembers someone, it means that He fulfils His promises to that person.

Sacrifices placed on the altar were referred to as a remembrance- the smoke of them rose before God as a remembrance of the person bringing the sacrifice. The high priest wore the names of the tribes of Israel on his breastplate and on his shoulders as a remembrance before the Lord (Ex 28:12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for remembrance.)  In other words, when the priest entered the presence of the Lord, he continually reminded God of His covenant obligations to Israel.

This means that the giving of the bread and wine as New Covenant signs at Jesus’ Last Supper, has a deeper meaning than only serving as reminders for us of what Jesus has done for us. It also has the significance of bringing His death and atonement to remembrance before God – it ‘petitions’ God to remember the suffering Jesus had to endure and His death that has earned us the forgiveness of our sin. This is why Jesus asks us to proclaim His death in the presence of God (1 Cor 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.), reminding God of His covenant relationship with us, brought about by the death of Jesus!

Pearls to ponder:

Just as the high priest facilitated atonement for Israel by displaying their names in God’s presence, so through communion we are displaying our covenant status with Him in His presence, which Jesus gave us through His death on the cross. Let us think about the awesome implication of this when next we partake of communion!