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Luke 22:14-30

“When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. And He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.’

“After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’

“And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’

“In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray Me is with Mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays Him.’ They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

“Also, a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who[’s] greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as One who serves. You are those who have stood by Me in My trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as My Father conferred one on Me, so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’”

“Father, we ask for Your help as we think for just a moment or two about some of these words. After giving our attention to Your Word, then, we’ll do as You’ve asked and remember You around the table. For we offer this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

The Gift of Memory

Among our congregation, I know that many of you think about memory or, perhaps more specifically, memory loss. Memory is one of the greatest and most precious gifts that God has given – at least in terms of our physical bodies. And it’s for that reason that a loss of memory is one of the saddest and most cruel things that can happen to an individual. Therefore, it’s quite remarkable to consider the frequency with which the Bible calls the people of God to remember, and not only for our remembrance but also provides aids for our remembrance.

For example, the Passover itself, of which we read way back in Exodus, all of the emblems were not only to be performed on that initial occasion but were to be written into the consciousness of God’s people from that day on. It’s within that framework that these events are now taking place.

You find the same thing when God gives instruction for stones to be set up as memorial stones. He says, “when your children or your grandchildren have occasion to ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ you can tell them that just as God intervened and set us free from Egypt, so He intervened – brought His people not only through the parted waters of the Red Sea, but He also brought them through the parted waters of the Jordan” (Joshua 4:5-7, paraphrased). And the stones would serve as a memorial to that end.

And then, of course, in our immediate context Jesus, in the institution of what we refer to as the Lord’s Supper, gives to us these wonderful aids for our reflection, for our recollection, and for our memory.

Assuming that Jesus and His disciples ministered together for a total of three years, then this was their final Passover, and Jesus is said to have been eagerly wanting to spend it with them. But they still hadn’t made the connection between the Passover and Jesus’ impending death for sinners. In fact, it must have been quite startling to them when Jesus took the bread and the wine, and told them that this was symbolic of His body being broken and His blood being shed. And just like in the Passover they rejoiced in their liberation from Egypt and the bonds of evil from the hands of Pharaoh, so now they would be able to rejoice in the way in which He, in His death, was liberating sinners, casting them free from the shackles that bound them to their past and to their guilt.

And it’s for this very reason that we’re able to view this meal as a meal that’s been provided for those of us who understand and believe. Who believe what? Well, who believe that it’s a futile attempt on anyone’s part to try to be good enough to make oneself acceptable to God . . . who believe that all acceptance with God is found only in the atoning death of Jesus . . . who believe that although they’re sinful and although they’re guilty and although they’re burdened, that in coming to Jesus, He puts “their sins as far away as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12), so much so that even when the Accuser comes to remind them of these things they’re able to resist him firm in the faith and remind themselves and the Accuser that they have an Advocate with the Father (Christ Jesus) and that all of their sins have been nailed to the cross; so that when Jesus, in this simple ceremony, takes the bread and breaks it, it’s symbolic of Christ’s broken body on behalf of sinners; when they, then, in turn would take the bread and eat it, it would be a reminder to them of what it means to have received Jesus Christ, to have accepted Him in all of His work and all of His wonder, and to have been made part of His family; that when the wine was poured out, it would be indicative of the blood of Jesus being shed on behalf of sinners. And to the extent that wine was given to cheer and enrich the body, so there would be in this sacrifice and ceremony that which would lift and encourage and lighten the load and send those who participated out with all the joyful remembrances that were there.

Could They Forget Jesus?

And it is within that context that Jesus says something that is quite fantastic. And here it is. He says, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Have you ever wondered if it was possible for the apostles to forget Jesus? Most commentators say that when Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of Me,” what He’s referring to is the significance of His death. In other words, they argue that He’s not actually saying, “Do this so that you will remember Me.” He’s saying, “Do this so that you will remember Who I am and what I have done.” Well, clearly that’s part of it. But let me ask you a question: Don’t you think there’s some validity in Jesus actually saying, “Do this so that you will remember Me”?

Think about it for a minute. Is it possible that the apostles – who were all in the room and gathered around the table – could actually forget about Jesus being with them? If you think not, then let me point you to verse 24, which says that a “dispute arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.” “Eh hum, excuse me boys. Have you forgotten that Jesus is in the room?” And just in case you’re beginning to think that you’d never forget about Jesus, let me ask you: Where has your mind wandered thus far in this service? If you’re completely honest, then perhaps you’ve discovered that your mind has wandered off of Jesus too.

Charles Spurgeon is such a help to pastors like me. In fact, I ran across a little ditty about Spurgeon that goes like this:

There once was a preacher called Spurgy
Who really detested liturgy,
But his sermons are fine,
And I use them as mine,
And so do most of the clergy.

So, I went to Spurgeon and I found a sermon preached in 1855 on this very phrase: “Do this in remembrance of me.” Listen to what he said to his congregation, “I know what it’s like to forget Christ, and let me tell you how it happens.” He says it happens by two means.

First, he told his congregation that his heart was “a cage of unclean birds, a den of loathsome creatures, where dragons haunt and owls do congregate” (C. H. Spurgeon, “The Remembrance of Christ,” The New Park Street Pulpit 1, no. 2, 10. Paraphrased). So, here’s Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, the one who holds London in sway, and he says, “Well, maybe some of you won’t forget Jesus, but I want you to know that I am very good at forgetting Jesus. And I’ll tell you why: because my heart, my soul, is a cage of unclean birds.”

Second, he said, “And the reason I can forget Him is because far too many other things attract me and occupy me.” And picturing the moon and the sun, he uses the analogy of the sun in all of its largeness, so much more significance in size than the moon, and yet the moon being far more influential on the ocean tides of our planet. And Spurgeon makes the point that the reason the moon has the influence that it does is because of its proximity to the earth. And so, he says, “Here is my problem in forgetting Christ”:

So, I find that a little crawling worm [upon] the earth has more effect upon my soul than the glorious Christ [of] heaven; … a puff of fame, a shout of applause, a thriving business, my house, my home, will affect me more than all the glories of [heaven]; … simply because earth is near, and heaven is far away.

The memorial meal in which we share serves, then, to draw us away from all that distracts us, to turn us away from all that infects us, and to bring us close to all that actually matters in all the world. It’s a means of drawing near.

Jesus says, “Do this so that you won’t forget Me, so that you will remember Me.”

How Should We Remember Him?

And so, as we come around this Table tonight, let us remember Christ. How should we remember him? Well, I’m not going to preach, but let me give you a few areas you may wish to recall.

First, you may wish to remember Him in His baptism as He comes up out of the waters of the Jordan – He who created water buried beneath His own creation for a moment, identified as the Messiah of God, identifying with sinners in His baptism. That’s one.

Or you may want to think about Him in His temptation. Adam in the garden of Eden had fought a battle with temptation and failed. Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane fought a battle with temptation and was victorious. And in that temptation He provided for us a way of escape, so that tonight, as you remember Him, you may want to remember the fact that you will never be tempted beyond that that you are able, because He with the temptation will provide you a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). You have a High Priest who knows what it’s like to face your temptations. You have a High Priest who is like us in every way and yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

You may want to ponder Him in the garden of Gethsemane as He’s deeply troubled and distressed, or to think about Him on the cross and that great unanswered cry, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). And no answer ever comes. The very silence is the answer. And you may want to think about the fact, as you take this cup tonight, that Christ was ruined, that Christ was separated from that which He’d known from all of eternity in order that we might be able to call Him Abba, Father.

But wherever you choose to settle your mind, let us remember Christ.

“Father, why would Jesus ever exhort His disciples in this way if it were somehow unnecessary or irrelevant? We confess with Spurgeon that our souls are the habitation of all kinds of loathsome designs and desires. We confess that stuff, things around us, calendars and agendas and plans and so much more clamor for our attention. And so, it’s good for us to gather round this Table and to realize that all of our acceptance with You is found in Christ alone – that He’s the One who is our robe of righteousness, He’s the One who is our beautiful clothing, He’s the One in whom we hide, and He’s the One in whom You see us. Thank You that our lives are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

Help us now, as we crown the worship of our day in passing these elements to one another. May we do so with a spirit of genuine joy and thanksgiving. For we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.”