Remembering His Death

Unlike most world religions, biblical Christianity is not big on ceremony. A ritual the New Testament clearly commands is one that commemorates the death of Jesus Christ. Jesus hinted of this ceremony:

“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:53, 54).

His disciples thought He intended them to consume literal flesh and blood, and many stopped following Him (vv. 60, 66). But Jesus was referring to something much more profound — something spiritual: We must accept His broken flesh and shed blood as payment for our sins and as the only means to eternal life.

We may eat and drink Jesus’ body and blood in another spiritual sense: by reading and meditating on His teaching and example so that we imbibe and digest His very nature, becoming like Him in character. Christians do not live by bread alone but by the very words of Christ (v. 63).

Our eternal relation to God, however, is based on one thing only: our purchase through the broken body and spilled blood of Jesus Christ. Because of His sacrifice, we stand before God not as sinners to be judged but as beloved children, declared by God’s grace to be righteous even though we are not.

Thus it is fitting for us to focus on the significance of our Savior’s death as we prepare for and participate in the Christian rite of the Memorial Supper. Do we recognize our continuing need for forgiveness? Do we believe in Christ’s atonement as payment for our sins, both past and present? Do we continue to accept Him as Lord and Master, seeking to obey His will in all aspects of our lives?

Through the centuries, many conflicts have arisen among Christians concerning the memorial observance of Jesus’ body and blood. Different interpretations of Bible passages, pagan traditions, and personal prejudices have all contributed to the controversies. In some cases, the clear teaching of the New Testament has been set aside. While the spiritual meaning of this Christian memorial is of paramount importance, it is also appropriate to deal with some of the questions regarding physical observance.

Many Christians believe that the new covenant memorial is a direct extension of the Old Testament Passover, with a mere change of symbols. They argue that Jesus’ last supper was an actual Passover celebration (Mark 14:16; Luke 22:13 seem to imply this), even though the Pharisees ate their Passover a day later (John 18:28).

Others claim the meal Jesus ate was not technically the Passover but a meal in anticipation of it, that the Passover lamb was not killed until the following afternoon at about 3 p.m.—at the same time Jesus died on the cross (Luke 23:44). Other arguments against Jesus’ last supper being the Passover are these: absence of the mention of the Passover in Paul’s description of the event in 1 Corinthians 11:23; John’s account says, “The evening meal was being served. . .” (John 13:2); there is no mention of the Paschal lamb in any of the accounts; Jesus and the disciples went out of the house the same night, contrary to the instructions regarding the Passover (Exodus 12).

There are also major controversies about whether the Old Testament Passover was to be celebrated at the beginning or the end of the fourteenth day of the first month (Abib or Nisan) and about the calendar itself. Some argue that there were different methods of calculating new months at the time of Jesus, and that the Jewish calendar used today is an artificial creation based on man-made traditions.

Resolving these questions is important to those who believe Christians are under legal obligation to observe the Old Testament festivals. But if centuries of sincere and serious biblical scholarship cannot provide a consensus on technicalities of dates and calendars, we would be wise to be wary of dogmatism. Since we are not convinced that the Christian memorial was intended by Jesus to be a legal observance of the Old Testament Passover, we don’t feel obligated to enter the debate over calendars and dates. Our practice is to observe it annually, at the beginning of the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish calendar currently in use.

There are Christians who take the bread and wine daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. While the New Testament does not directly specify the frequency, we believe it should be taken as an annual memorial observance or anniversary. Precedent for this is found in the fact that the Old Testament Passover, which specifically foreshadowed Jesus’ death, was an annual celebration of the same event.

Some argue that Paul’s language in 1 Corinthians 11 implies frequent observance. Although there may be some merit to this argument, most of the evidence is that the letter to the Corinthians was written in the spring around Passover time and that Paul may have been referring to their annual observance. Another factor is that frequent observance tends to diminish the meaningfulness of any ceremony. Observed annually, it is indeed a very special occasion.

To be sure, of and by ourselves, we are unworthy to eat and drink this supper. But through Jesus Christ, and only through Him, we become worthy in God’s eyes. What a wonderful blessing! And what a wonderful opportunity to reaffirm our commitment as we eat the bread and drink the cup!

— Richard A. Wiedenheft