Remember Memorial Day

By

Shelby G. Floyd

May 30, 2010

Memorial Day or as it was originally called: “Decoration Day,” will be celebrated tomorrow. It was started by some southern ladies to commemorate the dead soldiers after the Civil war—both union and confederate. Today, it is observed on May 31 to remember all of our veterans who died in service of America. We are to remember them for their great sacrifice.

REMEMBER is a keyword in American history. We are to remember the Alamo, Pearl Harbor, the Okalahoma City Bombing, and especially are we to remember 9-11-01. And remember is the watchword for Christians participating at the Lord’s Table in the Lord’s Supper. We should not forget Christ and his sacrifice for us. As Moses admonished Israel not to forget God after their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, so we should not forget our liberation from the bondage of sin. “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord….” (Deut. 6:12).

The Last Supper

On the night before Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross of Calvary, he ate the last supper of the Jewish Passover with his twelve apostles. Peter and. John had secured a large upper room according to instructions, and there they made ready to eat the Passover with Christ. This included a lamb without spot or blemish, unleavened bread and fruit of the vine. When everything was ready and the hour was come, Jesus sat down with the twelve apostles and said unto them, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22: 1-16.)

The Passover Was a Commemorative Institution

The Passover was a memorial institution commemorating the deliverance of the Jewish nation from bondage in Egypt, and commemorating the deliverance of their first born from death because the blood shed from a lamb had been applied to the doorpost and lintels of the Jewish homes on the night that the Lord passed over Egypt. For 1500 years faithful Jewish people had been observing the Passover in commemoration of that notable historical event.

Christ Is Our Pascal Lamb

The Passover was also typical in nature; it was a shadowy copy of our Passover who has sacrificed himself for us, even Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 5:7.) The shed blood of the Passover lamb was typical of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1: 19.) This was the last time that the Passover would ever be eaten by the authority of God, for soon Christ would die upon the cross and the type would be fulfilled in the antitype, Jesus Christ. (John 1: 29.) The last supper of the Passover was to find its fulfillment and consummation in the kingdom of God, or the church of our Lord.

The Body and the Blood of Christ

It was in connection with this last supper of the Jewish Passover that Christ took two of the elements of that meal and gave us a new institution called the Lord’s supper, in commemoration, not of the type but of the real thing, the body and the blood of Christ. “And. he took bread, and gave thanks, and. brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22: 19-20.) The Lord’s Supper consisting of unleavened bread and fruit of the vine is to us today a commemorative institution symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus which he gave for us. By the sacrifice of himself and the shedding of his blood in his death, he has sealed and sanctified the New Testament. (Hebrews 9: 11-17.)

The Lord’s Supper—the Lord’s table—The Lord’s Kingdom

After the last supper was over, and Christ had given a new institution of the Lord’s Supper, he said to the apostles, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and. drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Luke 22: 28-30.) We learn from this that Jesus placed his supper on his table in his kingdom which is the church. (Matthew 16: 18-19.) Since the beginning of the church, faithful children of God have continued to eat and drink at the Lord’s Table in his kingdom, the church.

The New Testament Church Ate the Lord’s Supper Every Sunday

We read of the beginning of the church in Acts chapter 2. It began with a nucleus of 3,000 persons who received the word of God with gladness and were baptized into Christ and added to his church. (Acts 2:41, 47.) Luke informs us, those same persons “continued stedfastly in the doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2: 42.) The breaking of bread stands for the Lord’s Supper, it is a figure of speech called synecdoche, where a part is put for the whole. The breaking of bread was a stated part of the worship of the church of Christ, in its very beginning. In this passage we are not informed as to how often they broke bread, but we are informed that they did it steadfastly, that is, at stated times. The breaking of bread was a stated part of the worship of the church of Christ, upon the first day of every week. (Acts 20: 7.) It was sanctioned by the apostles of Jesus Christ, What was done with their approval and sanction was also approved by God.

Coming Together For the Better

In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, we learn that the Lord’s Supper is on the Lord’s Table in the Lord’s kingdom. The phrase “come together” is used five times in I Corinthians 11, in connection with eating the Lord’s Supper. Because some of the members of the Corinthian church had perverted the Lord’s Supper, Paul said that when they came together, it was not for the better but for the worse, (I Corinthians 11:17.) There were divisions in the church at Corinth when they came together, and this made it worse instead of for the better. (1 Corinthians 11:18.) When the Corinthians came together, it should have been to eat the Lord’s Supper, but Paul says, “When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.” (1 Corinthians 11:20.) That is, they were not doing what they were coming together to do. This is one of the strongest ways of both condemning a thing and commanding what is right. Paul enjoins that when they do come together, they should eat the Lord’s Supper together, even if it is necessary to tarry one for another. (1 Corinthians 11:33.) Some of the Corinthians had combined the Lord’s Supper with their own supper, and were making a common meal out of the communion of Jesus Christ. Paul commanded them to eat at home if they were hungry because if they were going to come together to eat a common meal in place of the Lord’s Supper, they were coming together for condemnation, instead of communion. (I Corinthians 11:34.)

We Preach A Sermon About Christ Till He Comes

As we meet upon the first day of every week to eat the Lord’s Supper, let us remember the words of Christ, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26.) Copyright © 2006 2010 All Rights Reserved