To Remember Me

We are in that time of year: the time when a lot of people remember Jesus-at least sort of. It is not the way Jesus asked to be remembered, of course, but even that is not my point.

Last evening, as I was on the verge of sleep, I remembered this phrase: "Do this in remembrance of me." By this morning, I have a different outlook on that phrase than ever before.

At the time Jesus made that statement, he and his disciples were celebrating the Passover. The Passover was a memorial meal, instituted for the express purpose of remembering when the Lord miraculously delivered His people from slavery in Egypt. While everyone who came to live in Israel was expected to fall in with their customs-including the Passover-the Passover was about remembering something that happened to the Israelites' ancestors. That is all good and well, but part of Jesus' purpose on earth was to "sunset" that type of memorial.

Jesus was the turning point. From that time onward, what had happened to the nation of Israel became "for our learning." It was no longer relevant; in fact, it had probably ceased to be relevant for a long time. At that point, however, there was a huge change about to take place. Years prior to that, there had been a scattering that had taken place as part of a curse-as a result of Israel's disobedience. Now there was a scattering that was about to take place as part of a blessing-obedient sons of God were to carry the good news throughout the world. The fact is that there is not one person on the planet who can prove beyond argument that his or her ancestors were once slaves in Egypt. A lot of people make claims, and some have good arguments, but no one has proof. My sister-in-law can trace her ancestry back to the 15th century; most of us are doing well to trace our ancestry back to the 18th century. No one can trace their ancestry back to Israel in Egypt.

But never mind that. It's irrelevant. Jesus took an old memorial and gave it new meaning. He didn't specifically tell his disciples to no longer remember Israel's deliverance from Egypt, but he might just as well have done so. He told them that, in the future, each time they ate that meal, they were to remember him. He was the firstborn who was killed; he was the lamb whose blood saved us. What happened to Israel in Egypt is historically irrelevant to everyone on the earth today; what happened to Jesus is relevant to "whosoever will." He opened the door for deliverance for all, because all (not merely a few descendants of Abraham) have been in bondage.

Even that can be irrelevant, though. It's only relevant when I remember what he has done for me. He has delivered me, quite literally, from the jaws of death. So, yes, I will remember him.

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