November 3, 2006

IN REMEMBRANCE

Assorted Scriptures

We are going to do things differently in our service today. What I want to do is take the time to continue to draw the connection I began to make in the message last week. It is the connection between the account of the first Passover in Exodus 11-13, and the fulfillment of the Passover imagery in the New Testament. The first Passover night was proclaimed in Scripture as “a night to be much observed.” It was a night to remember.

It is the Scripture itself that makes the connection between the first Passover, and the death of Christ. I Corinthians 5:7 states the link clearly: For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

We drew many of those parallels between the first Passover and the second Passover in the message last week. What I want to do today, however, is pick up on the theme of remembrance. Just as the Israelites were commanded to remember the first Passover, how shall we remember the second Passover and its central place in our lives?

There were three observances that God commanded the Israelites to keep, in order to keep the memory of the first Passover alive in their hearts. They were to observe the Feast of Passover by killing a lamb. They were to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread by abstaining from all food that contained yeast or leaven for seven days. And finally, they were to consecrate to God the first born of every womb, both animal and human. All three of these observances were to be done to keep alive the memory of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt.

I find that there are three parallel observances that are commanded for us as believers today to keep the second Passover alive in our hearts and memories. We are going to take the time to ponder each of those in our service today. The first parallels the Passover Feast that God commanded the Israelites to observe. On the night of his betrayal and arrest, Jesus met with his disciples in an upper room to celebrate the Passover together. During that meal, Jesus took two of the elements that were a part of the Jewish observance, and he injected them with new meaning. He took the unleavened bread gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying “This is my body, given for you.” Then he added these words, “Do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.”

These symbols, then, represent the body and blood of Christ, the Passover lamb who was sacrificed for us. We are commanded to eat and drink in an act of remembrance, just as the Israelites were commanded to eat the Passover in remembrance of their deliverance from Egypt.

So this is where we are going to start today. We are going to obey this command and observe the Lord’s Supper in an act of remembrance. Let us sing this song to prepare our hearts, while the servers join me at the front. (Sing: According to Thy Gracious Word)

THE CONGREGATION SHARES THE LORD’S SUPPER.

The second act of obedience the Israelites were commanded to observe to keep the memory of the Exodus alive was the feast of Unleavened Bread. It actually began simultaneously with the Passover feast, but it was to continue for seven days, after which they were to have another sacred assembly. During this week they were to purge their homes of all yeast or leaven. Once again, they were told that this act was to keep the events of the Exodus alive in their minds and hearts. In Exodus 13:8-10 we read, On that day tell your son, “I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.” This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.

What parallel do we find for this act of remembrance in the New Testament? Here we see an interesting development. In the Exodus account the significance of the unleavened bread seemed to focus on the necessity for haste in their departure from Egypt. Look at Exodus 12:39: With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

However, over the years, leaven evolved into a common symbol for sin and its insidious and pervasive influence. It is interesting to find, then, that it is this use of leaven as a symbol of sin that Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, picks up on in I Corinthian 5:6-8. (Read)

How shall we remember the sacrifice of our Passover lamb? We should do so by purging out the sin in our lives, just like the Israelites went through their homes in an effort to find and purge out all leaven. It is a symbol of a fresh, new start. Let’s not carry on with the old leaven. Let’s not carry the remnants of our Egypt with us into our new life. And it is a symbol of lives that are holy and clean in God’s sight. Let us act like a new batch of dough without yeast, because that is what we really are! And we are to do it because Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed, and this is how we are to remember him.

To reflect this truth together, let’s sing together. (Sing: Cleanse Me)

THE CONGREGATION SHARES A TIME OF QUIET REFLECTION AND SELF EXAMINATION.

The third way in which the Israelites were commanded to keep the memory of the Passover and the Exodus alive was by giving the first offspring of every womb to God. If it was a “clean” animal like a lamb or a goat or a calf, they were to literally sacrifice it to the Lord. If it was an unclean animal, like a donkey, they were to redeem it by offering a clean animal in its place. A first born son was to be redeemed. But in every case, they were to remember and acknowledge that the first born belonged to the Lord. This, too, was to keep the memory of the Passover alive. When questioned by their children, they were to explain: When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons. (Exodus 13:15)

What parallel do we find for this act of remembrance in the New Testament? Let us follow the reasoning carefully. The sacrifice of the Passover lamb spared the life of each firstborn son. Therefore, each firstborn son was to be consecrated to God in a special way. It belonged to him!

In the New Testament, Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Now, the question comes, whose life was spared by this act of sacrifice? The answer is, “Everyone who puts their faith in Christ and trusts in his blood as the sacrifice for sin.” So everyone who has trusted in Christ as Savior owes their life to Christ and therefore is to be consecrated in a special way to him.

How is this expressed in the New Testament? Turn with me to Romans 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Note the connection to “God’s mercy”. Because we have been recipients of God’s mercy (as the firstborn sons of Israel were) we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Our bodies, our lives belong to him. Paul continues with this language of redemption and sacrifice in I Corinthians 6:19-20: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Offering ourselves to God for his exclusive use and service is the third act of observance which we are commanded to make to keep the memory of our Passover alive in our hearts and minds. Let us reflect on this as we sing. (Sing: Take My Life and Let It Be)

THE CONGREGATION SHARES A TIME OF REFLECTION AND REDEDICATION.

Closing hymn: (To God Be the Glory!)