Throughout the Bible there have been significant events that are worthy of remembrance. These events are often marked by memorials, which are representative reminders of God’s actions and promises. The memorials established in the Scriptures include: feasts, altars, stones, and even people. Memorials are important because we tend to forget what we should remember. God knows how forgetful we can be and so He has given His people memorials to remember important places, events, and promises.
The Passover is a memorial given to the children of Israel in Exodus 12:1-20. The Passover was an annual meal designed to remind them of their deliverance by God from slavery in Egypt.
The Ark of the Covenant, itself, may be considered a memorial because it reminded God’s people of His presence and covenant with them. The Ark of the Covenant also contains memorial items. Hebrews 9:4 tells us that “. . . the ark of the covenant, overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.” The tablets of the covenant (Exodus 31:18) are a memorial of God’s Law. The golden pot that had the manna (Exodus 16:32-34) is a memorial of God’s provision. Aaron’s rod that budded is a memorial of God’s plan (Numbers 17:6-11).
In Joshua 4, twelve stones are taken from the Jordan and placed on the shore as a memorial to the children of Israel. The twelve stones call to mind how God caused the Jordan river to dry up so the Israelites could cross into the Promised Land.
In Matthew 26:6-13, when Jesus was at the home of Simon the leper, shortly before His crucifixion, a woman came with an alabaster container of very expensive fragrant oil. She poured it over Jesus’ head. Jesus told us in verses 12-13 why she did this and how she will be remembered, saying: “12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
The most significant memorial given to us by God is the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper has its roots in the memorial Passover meal that commemorates the “passing over” of the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt. Exodus 12:21-23 records what happened, “21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.”
Roughly 1,400 years after the Exodus, Jesus establishes the new covenant in His blood. The night before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus observed the Passover with His disciples. As He shared the Passover, Jesus redefined the meaning of the bread and the cup of the meal. The Apostle Paul records what happened for us in 1 Corinthians 11: 23-25, “23 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; 24 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.” 25 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.”” It is in the new covenant established by Christ’s blood that we are delivered from sin to salvation. We remember Jesus’ great sacrifice for us in the memorial of The Lord’s Supper.
