Today, is Good Friday, which marks the anniversary of the most sacred event that has ever taken place in the history of mankind. Today is the anniversary, of the death of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
It has been approx. 1,989 years since Jesus was nailed to the torture stake, taking his last breath, and laying down his life as a ransom for the entire world. He gave himself as a sacrifice, a perfect lamb, the Lamb of God, buying back what Adam had so foolishly and selfishly lost. Jesus poured out his own blood so that ALL may have life. On this day, God gave his beloved, and only begotten Son for all of mankind, to repurchase us, making a way, when there was no way, reconciling us back to him. That's how very much he loves you. Imagine the great pain and suffering Jesus had to endure, and the great pain it must have been for his Father to watch his precious son be tortured and ridiculed, knowing he had the power to stop it at any moment. But he also knew that, Jesus sacrifice would save the world. We were bought with a price...a price we could never repay. An incredible gift of love. Free to all who would accept.
The night before Jesus was to be crucified, he had one last meal with his disciples. They were in Jerusalem, and people all over the city were celebrating what was called the "Passover Meal", where they were remembering their enslavement and bondage in Egypt many years prior. On the anniversary of the date that they were delivered, they would have a meal of lamb with bitter herbs which represented their years of enslavement and bondage in Egypt. God used Moses to warn Pharaoh of the plagues that would come upon Egypt if he wouldn't let the Israelites go free from captivity. There were 10 plagues, and the last plague was the one which Pharaoh finally let God's people go. But first, because of his hardheartedness he refused, even when being warned that the first born in every house, including his own, would die. God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that to escape that plague, they needed to sacrifice a lamb and smear the blood on the door of their houses, so that God's angel would know whose home to "Passover" when the plague came upon Egypt. It was quite an event and represented the future sacrifice of our Savior Christ Jesus, who was called the Lamb of God...who's blood has delivered mankind from the bondage of sin. -See Exodus chapters 7-12 for the account.
On the night that Jesus was arrested, but before he was betrayed, Jesus and his 12 disciples celebrated the Passover meal. It was during this time that Jesus made a new covenant with them. "When the hour had come, Jesus reclined at the table with His apostles. And He said to the, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering. For I tell you that I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." After taking the cup, He gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you. Look! The hand of My betrayer is with Mine on the table. Indeed, the Son of Man will go as it has been determined, but woe to that man who betrays Him."
It's interesting to read a couple other prospectives from the disciples that were there that night.
This is the account according to Mark: "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is My body. Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they drank from it. He said to them, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."-Mark 14:22
This is the account according to Matthew: "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, " Take and eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father's kingdom.""-Matthew 26:26-29
Paul wrote later of the event, saying, "The Lord Jesus, on the night that He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Jesus wanted his followers to keep doing this in remembrance of him until he returned. It would serve as a reminder to us as to what he did for each of us. You may be familiar with communion...that's what some churches call it. Maybe you go to a church that observes this on a regular basis. Perhaps your church does communion only on occasion. Jesus didn't say how often it needed to be done, the point was just to keep doing it. You may be like many who don't belong to any particular church, who don't even go to a church...what can you do? Well, your not alone. Many faithful Christians don't belong to a church, and many no longer attend for one reason or another but continue to love God, serve him and share the gospel. I too found myself in that camp. Wanting to observe what Christ Jesus had said to do more often, I set out to find a recipe to make some unleavened bread, and find some Kosher Passover wine.
Unleavened bread is what Jesus used and it contains no yeast, so it doesn't rise like regular bread, its really more like crackers. It's represents Christ's perfect body. The wine I researched and found most liquor stores carry, it's a Kosher Passover wine. The clerk usually knows right where to direct you if you say its Kosher Wine for Passover. I made the bread, and bought the wine, and made some time to sit down in a quiet room where I read the accounts, and prayed and then had a little bread and a little wine, and reflected in appreciation of the incredible gift that was given on my/all of our behalf.
You don't have to make it a big ordeal. Your mate may not feel comfortable doing this together, which is totally fine for you to partake on your own. The point is your doing what Jesus commanded, and I promise you will feel really good after doing it too. Taking and making the time to show honor and appreciation to the Father and the Son for this incredible gift is something you will always feel good about doing. Remember not only are we being observed by the Father and the Son, but we are being observed by all the others in heaven...all the Angels, and we are showing Satan and his wicked demons who's side we stand on!
As time draws near, those who are paying attention, know were deep into the time of the end. Now more than ever, is the time to get ourselves right with God, repent over our past wrongdoings and draw close to Him. As things continue to decline, know that our deliverance draws near. We need to pray to have on the whole armor of God every single day. Stay in his word, whether you read daily or if you aren't able to read but have time while driving to and from work, maybe listen to the audio Bible on YouTube. I love starting my day on the way to work with a dramatized version of the Bible on. It sets the tone for my day, and helps me stay close to God, even though I may not have time to sit and read as often as I used to.
I hope this post gives you some ideas on how to "keep remembering" Christ Jesus the way he commanded us to. Please find below the recipe I found for the Communion/Passover bread.
Brand of Wine: Mogan David Blackberry Wine-Kosher for Passover
Recipe: https://discover.hubpages.com/food/How-To-Make-Communion-Bread
Blessings and Joy~
Lisa
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