Exodus 12:25-27 New International Version (NIV)
When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
It was for this purpose that God instituted the Passover ceremony. Not so that the Hebrews could feast on this special day. Not so they could celebrate the Egyption’s first born being killed, but so that they could remind themselves of what God had done for them. To remember when God guided them out of slavery and into the promise land, and more importantly, to pass this knowledge to their children. This is one of the most important aspects of one’s faith; to pass it on to the next generation. God knew that the Hebrews would forget God’s power and protection easily. Didn’t the Hebrews complain incessantly when they were in the wilderness, and ask that they be returned to Egypt? Hadn’t they just seen Gods power in the plagues, the parting of the red sea, and quite obviously, their freedom from the Egyptions in general. God had literally just saved the Israelites from slavery, and yet, they still forgot. If the people of that generation were already forgetting and taking God’s power for granted, think of how easy it would be for future generations. THIS is why the Passover was established; to remember the sacrificial lamb and the salvation God had given them from slavery. With this tradition, the faith of the Hebrews has been passed down for thousands of years in not only the Jewish culture, but in the Christian culture as well. For when Jesus broke bread at the last supper, he did not change the reason or tradition itself.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26: For I received from the Lord, what I passed on to you: the lord Jesus, on the night 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.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread an drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
When we partake in the Lord’s supper, we are partaking in the new Passover. This time Jesus is the lamb slain in sacrifice for our salvation. We remember this sacrifice and our own salvation through this tradition. It is the WHY to our salvation. We remember this sacrifice and our salvation through this tradition. It is the WHY to the WHATS of Christianity. It is important that the parents generation remembers why the do what they do, lest the children feel as if what they do is useless. The new generation ask the question WHY? Why do we partake in this strange ceremony? Why do we come to church on Sunday? Why do we follow these rules from a 2000 year old book? It remains only the parents faith if these “why” questions are not answered. Like the Israelites in the desert, we forget God’s power and grace, and we need reminding. And it is vital that our children understand that this is not just a tradition we do because we have always done it. Be ready to answer the whys of the next generation. As we partake in the bread and juice, think about why we do this, and remember.
North Raleigh Church of Christ Ladies' Ministry 