A Meal to Remember
Remember!
Remembering is a key theme in Scripture. Again and again, we’re encouraged to remember what God has done. Nearly as often, we read of the disastrous effects of forgetting God. In the Exodus passage we looked at on Sunday, the Lord instructs his people to remember. “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place” (Ex 13:3). They are to remember that it was God himself who rescued them from slavery in Egypt.
This section comes at a bit of an interlude in the book of Exodus. God has rescued his people out of Egypt through the Passover—he’s delivered them through the blood of the Lamb. And, if you’re familiar with the story, you know that the crossing of the Red Sea is coming. But here, between Passover and the Red Sea, God gives his people instructions about how to live life in the Promised Land. Central to life as God’s people is to remember God’s saving work.
One key way the people were to remember was by celebrating feasts together. From the end of Exodus 12 through the early part of chapter 13, the Lord gives his people two connected celebrations: Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Passover was to be celebrated in the first month of the year with a lamb to remember that they were delivered from Egypt by the blood of lambs. The Feast of Unleavened Bread followed for the next seven days. Each day of this feast, God’s people ate bread without yeast in it to remember the haste with which they left Egypt—bread did not even have a chance to rise. Then, the seventh day concludes with a major feast.
These annual celebrations were to serve as reminders of what God had done (13:3). They were opportunities to unpack for their children the great work of God for his people (13:8). Furthermore, they were a tangible sign that was to keep God’s saving work before them (13:9).
Our Greater Redemption
As we have discussed during our time in Exodus, Jesus has transformed the Passover. We now celebrate an even greater deliverance—being delivered from sin and death through the blood of Christ the Lamb of God. As the Apostle Paul declares, “Christ our passover lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Cor 5:7).
Jesus took the Passover meal on the night that he was betrayed and transformed it into a meal celebrating his redeeming work. He took the passover bread, and he said, “This is my body broken for you.” And with the cup he said, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many.”
From our passage in Exodus, we can highlight five truths about the Lord’s Supper.
We enjoy it together. The Lord’s Supper is a family meal, but it is open to all (Ex 12:43-50) . It’s for those who are part of the household of faith, and all are welcome to join God’s people through faith in Jesus.
We enjoy it regularly. Abib was the first month of the year for Ancient Israel, and so the Passover celebration set the agenda for the whole year. As Followers of Jesus, we celebrate this meal as we gather in worship on the first day of the week to celebrate his resurrection. We order our lives each week by the resurrection of Christ.
We enjoy it as Christ instructed. Exodus 13:6-7 gives particular instructions, and so we enjoy the Lord’s Supper with bread and the cup because Jesus gave us these two elements.
We enjoy it with the hearing of the gospel. This is not just any meal, but it is an announcement of what God has done. Word and sign go together.
We enjoy it as a tangible expression of the gospel. In Exodus 13:9 we read about the meal being in their hands, before their eyes, and in their mouths. As God redeemed us in body and soul, and so we enjoy him in body and soul. We can taste and see that he is good.
Gathering with God’s people to enjoy the Lord’s Supper is a gift of God’s grace to help remember that he has delivered by his strong hand through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
