Biblical 'Remembering' at Easter

The Last Supper of Jesus with His disciples appears to have been a Seder meal, though it seems to have been the night before the temple hierarchy was celebrating Passover (there continues to be debate about the nature of this meal, whether an actual Passover meal or the kind of ritual meal a rabbi would have with his disciples in advance so they could do the Passover with their families). At this ritual meal, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper and said to do it 'in remembrance of me'. (Luke 22:19). This is also how the Passover itself was being kept, as a 'memorial' done in remembrance (Exodus 12:14). Paul also recalls this in I Cor. 11; as he refers to the Lord's Supper he mentions that it is kept in remembrance and then mentions consequences for failing to observe the Supper properly that include weakness, sickness, and even death. These consequences sound very much like the warnings to Israel in Exodus that those who fail to keep Passover properly are to be 'cut off' from Israel. Overall, the observance of the Lord's Supper as a memorial sounds very much like the observance of Passover as a memorial, and this observance as a memorial is not the same concept as a sacrament.


Dr.Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., in his book Toward an Old Testament Theology, points out that the entire Exodus experience, where Passover began, is a type of 'remembering'. God had heard the Israelites groaning in Egypt and 'remembered' His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Kaiser goes on to say that all of the divine activity of bringing Israel out of slavery "could be subsumed under one concept: it was a 'remembering' of His covenant' (Exodus. 6:5)." That 'remembering' was not a mere mental activity since it was the motivating force for the entIre exodus event, a 'remembering' that results in His action.  Likewise, Israel's ritual remembering of Passover is in imitation of God's remembering,  'in His image' if you will. Israel was to remember God's redemption just as God had remembered His promise to Abraham. So also is our ritual of the Lord's Supper. In both cases we remember in a manner that includes bodily actions, eating the bread and wine, as an impetus to renewed focus on living out in actions our calling as believers to walk as His followers each day.


As we observe Easter let us 'remember' biblically, recognizing both His covenant with us that was sealed with His blood on the cross and our commitment to follow Him.