In Remembrance of Me | Sunday, April 10, 2022

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years..." And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. (Genesis 1:14–19)

Time flies—but God built sacred pauses into the calendar so His people would stop, remember, and rejoice in His goodness, all of which points to Christ the Passover Lamb.

Time and the Markers God Gave Us

I was recently driving with my oldest son in the passenger seat. He is 13 years old and already a little taller than me—I'm about 6'2". It struck me how quickly the years had passed. I remember his tiny hand holding my two fingers as a baby, and now he looks like a young man. Time is amazing in how quickly it goes by.

We mark time carefully, especially here in Western culture. We follow watches and schedules, and the markers of time are core to who we are—not just in the West, but as human beings. The opening words of the Bible highlight this: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." A few short days later in the creation account, God set lights in the heavens to divide day from night, for signs and seasons, days and years. From the very beginning of human history, we have kept track of our times and seasons.

Numbering Our Days

Moses, the great lawgiver of Israel and the speaker of Deuteronomy, is also considered the author of Psalm 90. There he writes:

The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years... So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:10, 12)

There is a number to our days. The Scriptures tell us God knows how many days there will be for each of our lives (Psalm 139). When you were young, time seemed to crawl—you looked forward to a birthday, to Christmas, to summer, to becoming an adult, and it seemed to take forever. But looking back, it went by incredibly fast. That is one of the frightening things about time. The days, weeks, months, and seasons fly by.

The Sabbath and the Feasts

In the midst of the ticking by of time, God commanded that throughout the year His people would pause—to mark time with a Sabbath, a rest, a breath. These pauses were for the people to remember, reflect, and rejoice. They were holy—that is, set apart and consecrated. In addition to the annual holy days, there was one day in seven, the Sabbath, set apart to the Lord to pause and breathe. A holiday is a holy day, a pause from work and the pressing things of life to rest and rejoice.

Interestingly, the Hebrew word translated "seasons" in Genesis 1:14 is the very same word used when God commanded Israel to rest and reflect on holy days. In Leviticus 23 it's translated "feasts."

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.'" (Leviticus 23:1–2)

The law makes very clear that God set appointed times for us to rejoice in His goodness and blessing—the weekly Sabbath, and specific times throughout the year when the whole nation would gather as one people in one place.

Three Seasons, Seven Feasts

About 3,400 years ago, God ordained through Moses that three times a year Israel would gather together, ultimately at Jerusalem, to celebrate seven feasts.

The first gathering came in early spring—right about this time of year—at the barley harvest. They came to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits.

The second gathering came seven weeks later, forty-nine days after First Fruits, during the wheat harvest in late spring or early summer. This was the Feast of Weeks, called Shavuot, which we know as Pentecost.

The third gathering came in the fall, at the harvest of the grapes, with three more feasts: Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Feast of Atonement), and Sukkot (Feast of Booths or Tabernacles).

At each of these seasons they brought their tithe—the first tenth of their increase—to the Lord at Jerusalem. These celebrations were a Sabbath rest for the people. After working hard to bring in the harvest, they took time to rest, reflect on all God had done in the past and would do in the future, and rejoice in His goodness.

Why This Matters Here in Deuteronomy 16

I share all this for several reasons. First, this is the text we are in. In Deuteronomy 16 Moses reminds the children of Israel of their commitment to observe these feasts. Verses 1–8 command the early spring feasts at Passover, verses 9–12 the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, and verses 13–17 the Feast of Tabernacles.

It's important to recognize that Israel had not observed these feasts during their roughly 38 years of wilderness wandering. Now, as they prepare to enter the promised land, Moses reminds them: when you come into the land, you are to observe these feasts.

Second, I share this because this very week we are coming into the time of Passover. Friday marks its beginning. I didn't plan it this way—it just happens that we're in Deuteronomy 16 during Passover week.

Christians Have Holy Days Too

The third and most important reason is this: just as Israel had holy days of rest, remembrance, reflection, and rejoicing, we who are Christians have holidays to celebrate what God has done, is doing, and will do. Today, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of what is for Christians the most important season of the year—Passion Week, our appointed time to rejoice in the greatness and goodness of our God.

Time goes by so quickly, but these moments where we pause and reflect are intentionally given to us by God to slow things down and focus on the great things He has done. As I look at my life, I am so grateful for God's constant goodness to me.

Remembering Redemption from Egypt

When Israel celebrated Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits, they were remembering and rejoicing in their redemption from slavery in Egypt—not only the present harvest, but their past deliverance.

Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night... You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction... that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. (Deuteronomy 16:1–3)

When Jewish people throughout the world celebrate Passover this week, they are remembering their exodus from Egypt some 3,400 years ago, after 400 years of slavery.

The Passover Lamb in Exodus 12

Christians this same week observe a celebration with clear connections to Passover—though not the same thing. We are not remembering our redemption from Egypt; we are celebrating a much greater redemption. As you study the feasts of the Lord, you discover that all of them—Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, Yom Kippur—look forward to Christ and what He accomplished.

When God heard Israel's cry, He sent Moses to deliver them. Pharaoh refused, so God brought ten plagues, culminating in a destroyer passing through the land to strike every firstborn son.

Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt... "On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb... Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year... Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly... shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses... For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn... when I see the blood, I will pass over you... So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations." (Exodus 12, selected)

This was to be an everlasting ordinance in Israel—a yearly remembrance that God by His grace and power redeemed them from bondage. The anniversary of Israel's exodus is this very week.

A Lamb Selected, Inspected, and Offered

Notice the timeline. The lamb was selected on the tenth day of the month, inspected to make sure it was without spot or blemish, and then sacrificed on the fourteenth day. Israel partook of the meal that Passover night, then left Egypt so quickly they had no time to leaven their bread—so Passover flows immediately into the Feast of Unleavened Bread the next day. The day after that, experiencing their first morning as free people, they celebrate the Feast of First Fruits.

But what does this have to do with us? Passover was not only meant to look back; the Passover lamb foreshadowed the coming Lamb of God. This becomes clear in John 1:

Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

The lamb was a remembrance of redemption from Egypt and a looking forward to our redemption from bondage to sin and death.

Palm Sunday: The Selection Day

On the tenth day of the month of Nisan—the very day the lamb was selected—Jesus came into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday.

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! The King of Israel!" (John 12:12–13)

"Hosanna" means save now. They looked at the Lamb of God and cried, "Save us! Rescue us!" What did Jesus come to save His people from? Matthew 1:21 says He was named Jesus because He would save His people from their sins—not from a physical bondage in Egypt, but a spiritual bondage to sin and death.

After being selected as the Lamb on Palm Sunday, He was inspected for the next several days by the religious leaders. In Matthew 22 and 23 the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians all question Him, searching for any blemish—and finding none.

The Passover He Longed For

Then, on the fourteenth day at sunset, when all the pilgrims gathered to partake of the Passover meal, Jesus partook with His disciples.

When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." (Luke 22:14–15)

Everything Passover had pointed to for nearly 1,400 years looked forward to this very moment. The eternal Christ had long anticipated this, because the whole feast anticipated its fulfillment in Him. And then He did something extraordinary, breaking with one of the best-known traditions in Israel.

As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:26–28)

The ultimate focus of Passover was never only what happened in Egypt, important as that was. It all looked forward to Jesus, the pure and spotless Lamb of God without any blemish.

What Isaiah Saw 700 Years Before

The very next day—Good Friday—Jesus fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah foresaw seven centuries earlier.

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief... Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows... But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray... and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all... He was led as a lamb to the slaughter... For He shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53, selected)

Today, Palm Sunday, the day of the selection of the Lamb 2,000 years ago, we remember and reflect on what Jesus did to redeem us from sin and death and to give us rest from all our labors. He is the One who said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

A Somber Week of Great Rejoicing

This Passion Week is a time for great rejoicing, even though it is somber. When we gather on Good Friday, we will remember Jesus' death on the cross, which is horrific—and yet it is a time of great rejoicing, because Jesus is the Lamb of God who came and died to save us from our sins. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are the most important events in all of human history and the core of the Christian faith.

Because they are so important, we will remember our Lord today by partaking of communion, just as He taught us. If you don't have the elements, you can do this another time with your family, or alone.

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." (1 Corinthians 11:23–24)

We do not believe this is Christ's actual physical body; it represents His body and is how we remember what He did. The Lamb of God died in my place, offering His body so that through it He could rescue and redeem me from sin. If you have bread, let's partake and remember our Lord, who gave His body as the Lamb slain to take away our sin.

In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:25–26)

Jesus' blood was shed for us. Hebrews says that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. But the pure and spotless Lamb gave His body and shed His blood so our sins could be purged and paid for. If you have juice, drink with me, remembering His blood poured out for us.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we thank You for Your goodness and Your grace. I thank You for this moment in time. With all the busyness, time just flies by—one week into the next, one season into the next, one year into the next—and then it's ten and twenty years. I'm so thankful that in the midst of all the time going by so quickly, You give us these markers: a Sabbath each week, a few times a year where we pause to reflect, remember, and rejoice in what You've done and who You are.

This week we pause to remember Your greatness, to rejoice in Your goodness, and to give thanks for the salvation we have. Lord, You came into Jerusalem, You wept over the city, and several days later You bled over the city. You gave Your body to be broken and Your blood to be shed so we could have life, redeemed not from a physical enemy but from the spiritual oppression of sin and death. We thank You and give praise to You.

We remember Your crucifixion, but even greater, we look forward to remembering Your resurrection next Sunday. We rejoice in the resurrection You accomplished in the past, the new life You are bringing right now to those once dead in sin, and the eternal life You have promised in the future. Just as Scripture says, we proclaim Your death until You come again—and we believe You will come again, because You are not dead; You are alive. In Jesus' name, amen.