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Thought for the Month "Do this in remembrance of me." (1 Cor.11:24 NET) Remembering people from the past is commonplace. How often do we hear it’s been ten, twenty or one hundred years since a musician, composer, sport star or actor from popular culture was born or died? In April it will be a hundred years since the birth of Queen Elizabeth II. However the one person we must remember is our Lord Jesus. The one event we are told to remember is his death at the Passover season. [In 2026 it is 31 March from 6pm] The Last Supper found all twelve disciples in the Upper Room. Afterward Peter was in Gethsemane in the garden when he fell asleep while Jesus was praying, (Matt.26:40), then at Jesus’ arrest he cut off a soldier’s ear, (John 18:10‑11) and following Jesus to the High Priest’s house denied Jesus three times. (Matt.26:69‑75; John 18:17‑26) Notably Peter was one of the first disciples to run to the tomb and discover within 3 days the tomb was empty and that Jesus was resurrected. (Luke 24:12; John 20:4) Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus with spikenard in the last week of Jesus’ life "ready for burial." The women were first at the tomb very early on the Sunday morning with spices and knew of Jesus’ resurrection before the disciples. Peter was later to become a part of the royal priesthood (Gr. basileion hierateuma) that replaces the Aaronic priesthood of Old Testament times. Those who were witnesses of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection played a pivotal role in the early church and are witnesses to Christians today. Jesus’ resurrection is a guarantee that all will be restored in the resurrection. (Acts 17:31) Imagine the billions of human beings coming back, humans will have to get used to sharing land and resources as each generation, old and young, comes back to earth. All these events will be a result of Jesus’ sacrificial death. It has been said "the events of Easter makes more sense when one considers Passover".
This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. (Exodus 12:1‑14 NRSV) |
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbour in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year‑old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the Passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.