This Do In Remembrance of Me

This Do in Remembrance of Me

Many religious groups celebrate many feasts like Christmas, Easter, Ash-Wednesday and many others in remembrance of Christ. What does the Bible say about these celebrations? Let us find out from the scriptures.

From Genesis through Malachi, nothing is said to be done in remembrance of Christ, but in the Gospels and in the Epistles, a feast is instituted to be done in Christ's remembrance and that is the Lord's Supper.

God sent Christ to die and deliver us from our sins. (Romans 5.8.) Before His death, He commanded His disciples to partake of the supper in His remembrance. (Matthew 26.26-28; Mark 14.22-25; Luke 22.14-19.) “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' And He took the cup, and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26.26-28.) Note: All the four gospels give the same account, and in Luke 22.19, Jesus said, “This do in remembrance of me.” Also, the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth concerning the Lord's Supper, when he heard they were partaking of it improperly. (1 Corinthians 11.20-34.) In verse 23 it reads: “For I have received from the Lord, that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus Christ 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 was broken for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

From this, we can see that Paul quoted what was already recorded in the gospels and is exactly what Christ told His disciples. In fact, apart from this supper, nothing else is said in the Bible to be done in Christ's remembrance. Neither Christmas or Easter is mentioned anywhere in the Bible as a memorial of our Lord. Any one or group of people who do this is/are pleasing men and not Jesus Christ.

Now for those who do these things and claim they are doing the will of God, the question is: “Whose doctrine are they following?” Why don't we search the Scriptures and do what is authorized?

WHAT DAY SHOULD IT BE PARTAKEN?

In the Old Testament, we can see that the Levite priests ate shew-bread every Saturday in the house of God. (Leviticus 24.8-9.) And in the New Testament all Christians--being priests (1 Peter 2.9)--are to partake of the bread and the fruit of the vine which represent Christ's body and blood, instead of the shew-bread, and on Sunday instead of Saturday. In Acts 20.5-7, we can see that Paul and some of the brethren went to Troas and stayed there for six days. They waited until the 7th day (first day of the week, which is Sunday) before they met and brake the bread.

The Bible makes it clear that the early Christians met on the first day of the week. (Acts 20.7; 1 Corithians 16.1-2.) Also, when they met, all of them partook of the supper. (Acts 2.42.) What about members of some religious groups who refuse to partake of the supper? Let's do it as it is authorized. It is weekly--not quarterly, monthly, annually, or when the priest comes.

The Word of God says, “Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ hath both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 9.) Please, friend, follow not the blind leaders--follow, rather, the doctrines of Christ so that you might be saved. (Matthew 7.25.) There is no indication in the Bible that Christ Himself ever celebrated His birthday anywhere as he lived on earth for about 33 years. Why try to do so? Why did God not tell us in the Scriptures when Christ's birthday was? God is wise--His life was before the foundation of the world. By celebrating Christmas as a birthday of Christ, are you not telling God that He is forgetful and that you want to remind Him of His Son's birthday? Remember, Christ's life did not begin on earth that we should give a date for it. We must obey God by observing the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Christ. The warning is still in effect: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14.15.)

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