Do this in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19)

History tells us that this instruction by Jesus has been the source of fierce debates. Some have regarded it as justification for creating an unbiblical liturgy in which the bread and the wine are regarded as a sacrifice whereas others have assumed that all that Jesus meant was that he should be remembered in a manner similar to how people recall a deliverance that was a great event in the past. As we look at the request, we can immediately see that there are some unusual features about it, which we cannot ignore; so we can think about them first. Then we can mention some ways in which the Saviour would want us to remember him. 

Unusual features

The first detail is that we are asked primarily to remember a person rather than an event. Of course, it is possible to say that the person of Jesus was an event in itself because everything about him is extraordinary. His arrival in the world and his actions in the world are all connected. Men and women have done great actions, but usually those actions are not connected to their birth or to their childhood or to their adolescence. But with Jesus they were connected to what he did, so it is possible to regard him and his time on earth as one big event. Why? Because it was the arrival and the actions of a divine person.

 

When Jesus asked his disciples to remember him, he did so because he knew that he was a unique person. Who was he? As we know, he is God and man. The person who is giving this instruction is not merely the best man who ever lived, although he is that. He is also the eternal God. 

 

A second unusual feature is that here Jesus was indicating that what he was about to do was greater than the Exodus. After all, the reason why he and his disciples were together in the upper room was connected to it. It was not the first time that they had done so. Every male Jew went to Jerusalem to keep the Passover. It was from that event that they received their identity. 

 

We often miss the extraordinary aspect of what Jesus was doing when he calmly replaced the Passover. He was instructing his disciples that his person and his mission was far bigger than the greatest incident in the history of Israel. And he said this before he actually went to the cross to pay the penalty for sin. 

 

He did tell the disciples that the remembrance was connected to him becoming a sacrifice, that his blood would be shed, but that he would yet drink of the fruit of the vine in God’s kingdom. His disciples who were present could not make sense of what was saying, but we can. And he also told them that because he would die, they would enjoy the blessings of the new covenant. The institution of the Lord’s Supper was a radical moment in the history of the people of God.

 

So we can see why Jesus asked his disciples to remember him as a person. He is God, and he was engaged in doing the work of God, but he was also doing it in his human nature as he would suffer on their behalf on the cross. They were also to remember that somehow in the future he would yet drink of the fruit of the vine, which is probably a reference to the new heavens and new earth. A lot to remember, but not difficult to do so. It is as if he was saying, ‘Remember me as the God who became man in order to suffer on your behalf and who did this so that you and I could be together for ever.’

 

How to remember Jesus

It would be safe to assume that features of that occasion would guide them regarding how to remember him. Here are some suggestions. 

 

First, those who remember him must do so carefully. Where do we get this idea from? We see it in the requirement of the room to have been cleared of leaven by the disciples as they prepared the Passover. Leaven, in this regard, is a picture of what should not be there, and what should not be there is sin. Searching for leaven is like searching our hearts. 

 

They could not just search for leaven in the space near the table where they would be gathered round. They would have to go and look into the corners of the room, into spaces that were darker than others, and search carefully for even a little amount of leaven. It is similar with sin. We don’t just search for it in the obvious places, we also go into the corners of our hearts. Verse 24 would not have happened if the disciples had searched their hearts: ‘A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.’ Verses 33 would have been different if Peter had searched his heart when he was literally searching for leaven: ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.’

 

Second, we must do so conscious of the love of Jesus. His great love is expressed in verse 15: ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.’ Often, when a person wants to prepare himself for an important moment, he wants to be by himself. How different it was with Jesus! He prepared for Calvary by attending a gathering of his disciples. We should not find that surprising. After all, they were the ones he was going to die for. I suppose many a soldier has prepared himself for a battle by thinking of the hills of home and the people who live there, and by reminding himself that he was fighting on their behalf. Jesus did something like that, but in a far profounder manner.

 

Third, we must do so conscious of the people of God. Sometimes we read of private masses and individual celebrations of the Lord’s Supper. Those who advocate such things don’t appreciate what they are doing. They are removing an essential feature of what Jesus wanted which was that his disciples should remember him together. The Lord’s Supper is not so much about the fact that Jesus died for me as it is about the fact that Jesus died for us. No doubt, the disciples in the Upper Room were looking at each other as they met, and we should be conscious, visibly or otherwise, that we belong to the family of God. This is one way in which we can experience the blessings of the Spirit of adoption as he works in our heart to stimulate brotherly love.

 

Fourth, while it is the case that we look back to the life and death of Jesus, there are other directions in which we should look and see him. We can look up to the throne of God in heaven and see by faith that Jesus is crowned there as Lord of all, that he is worshipped at this moment by the hosts of heaven. We can also look round and see people in whom Jesus is presently working because the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace and is one of the ways by which Jesus strengthens his people by the workings of the Holy Spirit. Further, we can look ahead to the glory to come, not only to heaven where the souls of the redeemed will go, but also to the renewal of creation because that is what Jesus indicated he was looking forward to when he spoke about drinking again the fruit of the vine.

 

So we remember him carefully, lovingly, corporately and intelligently. This is a holy ordinance, an affectionate ordinance, a family ordinance, and an anticipating ordinance. We can say that it is a rich occasion because it is a means of grace, we can say that it is a royal occasion because we meet with the king, and it is a repenting occasion because the only people who participate literally are sinners.