I Still Remember

Passage: Luke 22:14-19, c.f. Hebrews 10:3, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Main Idea: The key to a life that honors God is remembering the blessings God

Message Goal: Cause believers to remember the precious gift that is the sacrifice of Christ.

Introduction: The Power of Memory and Experience

Question: Why Does Jesus command His disciples to remember Him

The Bible is a peculiar book! It contains timeless truth that are intended to strengthen the reader in whatever time they may find themselves in. Therefore, when reading the Bible and considering such topics as communion, we must evaluate the historical and contextual components of the text in order to develop the practical and principal for everyday living.

In short, we study to know the message that was intended to the original audience so we might know the principle that is intended for us.

Maya Angelou once said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This is so true in the lives of people throughout all time. It is never the songs we sing, the books we read, the events we attend that leave us wanting more. It is always the feeling and the thrill that leaves us wanting more!

Another word for feeling is emotion. Emotion is that part of us that is unseen, but deeply impacted by experiences; it’s the inner me that is responsive to everything I encounter—whether a TV show, the passing of a loved one or the birth of a child, the fragrance of momma’s cooking or the sight of an elderly couple—emotions are always present and impacted.

Whether we are aware of it or not—the impact of events and circumstances upon our emotion create memories, and memories, then create desire.

This is not to say that all desire comes f

Have you ever noticed how much God tends to leave individuals with impressions that are formed through experiences? The Christian faith is not a theoretical religion. It is an experiential religion.

A theory or hypothesis remains such until it is tested. The Bible sets before us the claim that God is Creator and Sustainer of all things. It declares that He intervenes and causes things to work according to His purpose and for our good. Then, God submits us to this thing called life so this claim can be tested.

This is why we endure situations in our lives.

This is why Israel endured 400 years of slavery.

This is why the New Testament church faced such harsh persecution.

Every experience that God has allowed us to have is supposed to solidify in our minds what would only be a theory if we had not known gone through some trial. Trials are God’s way of solidifying the facts in our mind. We know this to be the case, because of what God told Israel as they entered into the Promised Land.

Exodus 13:3 CSB

3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of his hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.

Deuteronomy 5:15 CSB

15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Deuteronomy 15:15 CSB

15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.

Deuteronomy 16:12 CSB

12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully follow these statutes.

The principle that Moses establishes through these passages is: We can only obey the God we remember. And God helps us remember Him by the things He does for us.

Major Points:

Communion is a means of creating memories with each other (Luke 22:14-20): What is Jesus doing just before He goes to suffer on the cross? He is creating a memory with His closest friends. Could you imagine what it would have been like to be the friend of Jesus during this time? Here’s the beautiful thing about Jesus—He treated his enemies no differently than He did His friends, because among those who are closest to Jesus is a traitor—Judas Iscariot. Yet, he sits down and eats a meal with them. Friends, the best memories are not established in a church service, during a program, or even through events or concerts. The best memories are created around the dinner table.

Notice, Jesus is using a meal that was used to provoke or trigger one’s memory, the Passover (Luke 22:15). The Passover was a holy day that Israelites observed to celebrate and remember their exodus from Egypt. “The observance took place on the 14th day of Nisan (Apr.–May; Abib in older calendars) and included the slaughter of a lamb and its consumption in a meal shared by the whole family.” Gorman, F. H., Jr. (2000). Passover, Feast of. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, & A. B. Beck (Eds.), Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (p. 1013). W.B. Eerdmans.

Communion is a means of memorializing Jesus (Luke 22:19): When Jesus died on the cross and rose again He launched a new family that does not begin with Adam. Rather, this family begins and is founded upon the work of Christ. Sharing a meal together is the best way to creating memories within our new family. However, it is not simply about creating memories among each other, but it is also about remembering or memorializing Christ’s death.

Understanding the Command to “Remember”

The command to remember means to put something in the mind for attention or consideration. The common word that conveys what is meant is the word memorial. When we think of a memorial, we think of someone being absent. There’s a need to re-collect experiences, because we are not able to collect experiences any longer, due to the person’s absence.

When we eat from the Lord’s Table, it is our reminder that though Jesus has ascended into heaven, He is still among us through the lives of those believers that have joined the family of God.

Communion is a means of proclaiming Jesus’s death: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 (26) speaks on the act of publicly declaring the death of Christ through a meal. Why is that?

During this time, every believer had to participate in a death. They died to their social status, economic status, gender, and whatever other rights that would have caused them to live with pride.

Conclusion

When we come to participate in Communion Sunday, we are confessing that we still remember the sacrifice that was made. We understand that the blood of Jesus Christ is so precious that we willing offer ourselves as a living sacrifice!