Sermon on the Lord’s Supper | Why Remember Jesus?

1. The apostles taught the fact that we must remember Jesus

1) Luke records Jesus words during the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19) “This do in remembrance of me.”

2) John records Jesus’ desire for them to remember (John 16:4a) – “But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.”

3) And when the time came, they did remember. In Luke 24:6-8 we read, “He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words”.

4) Years later, Peter also stated that he would not be negligent in these matters (2 Peter 1:12-15) – “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.”

5) It was Jesus’ and the apostles’ desire that we remember Him.

2. But the fact of remembering was not the only concern of Jesus and his apostles. There was also the question of “how?”

1) That this question was important to Jesus is clearly indicated in that statement, “This DO in remembrance of me.”

2) Jesus himself told us HOW to remember Him.

3) Would he tell us HOW to do something if that wasn’t important?

4) The apostles also thought the “how” of remembering Jesus was important.

5) Paul thought it so important that he wrote to the church at Corinth to tell them how to do it correctly. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”

3. We also have the question of “when?”

1) We may, of course, mentally remember Jesus at any point in our life.

a. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:8 “Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel”.

b. “Remember” here means “keep on remembering.”

2) But when we remember Jesus in the Lord’s Supper both the how and the when must be respected.

a. Paul told the Corinthians, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:26). There was regularity to the practice.

b. We find, in fact that Jesus said he would observe it with the disciples in the kingdom (Matthew 26:29, Mark 14:25, Luke 22:16, 18).

c. The kingdom came in Acts 2 and we find the apostles partaking of the Lord’s Supper that Sunday – Acts 2:42 states, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

d. It was then observed regularly every Sunday thereafter by all Christians everywhere — Acts 20:7 exemplifies this: “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread…”

e. They observed the Lord’s Supper on Sunday, the first day of the week, every week.

4. If we will continue in Jesus and the apostles doctrine we will so remember Jesus.

1. We know how to memorialize the sacrifice of others.

1) Washington D.C. contains hundreds of memorials.

2) Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, etc.

3) The war memorials: WWII, Korea, Vietnam.

4) The tomb of the unknowns.

2. We also recognize the need for regularity in memorializing another’s sacrifice.

1) Memorial day, Veterans day, Pearl Harbor, etc.

2) At the beginning of most major sporting events.

3) Who could reasonably suggest that we not do such?

3. The Bible speaks of our need to be grateful.

1) In Everything — 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

2) For Everyone — 1 Timothy 2:1 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;”

3) For Christ — 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

4. Those who are grateful, remember.

1) There is a relationship between being thankful and remembering — Psalm 6:5 “For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?” (Hebrew Parallelism)

2) The Psalmist writes, “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness” (Psalm 30:4).

3) Giving thanks is part of the pattern of the Lord’s supper — 1 Corinthians 11:24 “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.”

4) Thankfulness is, in and of itself, a way to remember.

5. Why would we not want to be thankful for and remember the sacrifice of Jesus every week?

1. The entirety of the Bible serves to illustrate this point.

1) The fact that we have the Bible in and of itself proves that God wants us to remember Jesus.

2) Jesus as Messiah is the theme of the Bible.

3) He speaks to us today through His Son, Jesus. Hebrews 1:1,2a “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.”

2. The New Testament writers beckon us to remember.

1) God wants us to remember . . .

a. That Jesus came from heaven — Phil.2:5,6

b. That He lived as a man — Phil.2:7

c. That he took the form of a servant — Phil.2:7

d. That he humbled himself in obedience — Phil.2:8

e. That he submitted himself to death — Phil.2:8

2) 1 Corinthians 15:3 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures”.

3) Galatians 1:4 “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father”.

4) Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

5) 1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

3. Wouldn’t you want people to remember if your child made such a sacrifice?

1) Illustration: Worldwide epidemic.

2) Wouldn’t you want people to remember?

3) Don’t you think that God wants us to remember His only begotten Son Jesus?

4) How would you feel if the memorial of your child was neglected?

5) How do you think God feels about that?

4. Some say they don’t observe the Lord’s Supper weekly for fear of its getting old and losing its meaning.

1) Do you think our remembering Jesus gets old to God?

2) Does it lose meaning with God?

5. Do we believe that God will let us get away with NOT remembering Jesus every week?