Monday, January 15, 2018

Remembrance

"Brethren" frequently talk about "remembering the Lord in His death". Scripture does not. Scripture says we remember the Lord, and in so doing, we announce His death (1 Corinthians 11:23–26).

The Lord Jesus asks us to remember Him (1 Corinthians 11:24–25). That certainly includes remembering His death – the bread reminds us of His body given for us (Luke 22:19), the wine reminds us of His blood poured out for us (Luke 22:20) – but we don't remember an event, we remember a Person.

Psalm 102 is a remarkable passage, "the prayer of the afflicted". Hebrews 1:10–12 tells us that Psalm 102:24–28 (starting in the second part of v. 24) is God addressing the Son. He reminds the Son that He is eternal, He is the creator, and He won't end.

Similarly, Hebrews 1:8–9 quote Psalm 45:6–7 as addressed to the Son. So we understand that Psalm 45 is Messianic. Psalm 45 ends with the promise, "I will make thy name to be remembered throughout all generations" (Psalm 45:17).

And that brings us back to 1 Corinthians 11:23–26. As we remember the Lord, we are really fulfilling Psalm 45:17. In this generation, His name is being remembered. Think of that! God is using us to fulfill a promise He made to the Son: we are part of the remembrance of His name in all generations.

5 comments:

HandWrittenWord said...

Mark -

Welcome back! And great comments regarding our remembering, not an event, but a Person -- in Whom, and only in Whom, we have eternal life at this very moment!

I am thankful that you are writing again after the too long absence.

susan said...

Yes,so nice to have you back writing again Mark!!!

However, you DO confuse me at times...

You say: "The Lord Jesus asks us to remember Him (1 Corinthians 11:24–25). That certainly includes remembering His death" and then you say: "but we don't remember an event, we remember a Person."

How can we remember Him and not "The Event"?

Anonymous said...

Such an encouraging thought, Mark. Thanks. I needed that. CG

clumsy ox said...

I do sound self-contradictory.

The Lord Jesus asked us to remember Him. That certainly involves remembering His death, it involves remembering His resurrection, ascension, and sitting at God’s right hand too. It involves remembering everything about Him.

1 Corinthians 11 mentions announcing His death almost as a side-effect of remembering Him. We remember Him, and as a result, we announce His death.

Certainly we remember His death, but we remember much more than that: we remember Him.

Susan said...

Thank you Mark for that!

"the Lord shows us unmistakably that the particular event in His history to be remembered on these occasions is His death, because there were the two elements, each bearing its witness. There was the bread, and there was the wine. The bread was the body, and the wine the blood. Separate as they were in that emblematical form, jointly they truly set forth the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Drink ye all of it, for this is My blood of the new testament." In these words the Lord shows us unmistakably that the particular event in His history to be remembered on these occasions is His death, because there were the two elements, each bearing its witness. There was the bread, and there was the wine. The bread was the body, and the wine the blood. Separate as they were in that emblematical form, jointly they truly set forth the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They come to remember Him Who died, having borne their sins in His own body on the tree."
http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/WJ_Hocking/WJH_Lords_Supper.html