THIS DO FOR A REMEMBRANCE OF ME
[p. 227] THIS DO FOR A REMEMBRANCE OF ME
1 Corinthians 11:23 - 25; Matthew 26:13; Genesis 40:14; Exodus 3:15; Exodus 20:24
The passage I read from in 1 Corinthians shows that the idea of a memorial was to occupy the central place in Christianity. I begin with that verse, therefore, so that you may have in your minds clearly what is in my mind. And one would appeal at the outset to those who have not as yet had any part in this memorial, who have not as yet responded to the Lord’s request in regard to it, because, as believers and lovers of Christ, they are labouring under a very great disadvantage.
God, Himself, gives us a lead as to the idea of a memorial as early as in chapter 9 of the book of Genesis. He set in the cloud His bow, that which was to be visible in every clime. It was intended to be a memorial. So that God thus gives us a lead, which should be observable by all in the matter of this memorial. He said that when He looked at the bow He would remember His covenant. How many times He has looked at it, who can say? But the continuance of the seasons, the stability of the order of things which He inaugurated after the deluge, is a constant reminder to us that He has never forgotten to look at that bow. If men’s hearts, as the apostle said at Lystra, are filled “with food and gladness”, Acts 14:17 it is but a testimony to God’s constant recognition of what that bow signifies — that there should be the continuance of the seasons, summer and winter, cold and heat, seed time and harvest. The continuance of the race on the earth was dependent on God’s recognition of that memorial, and at the present time we have a tangible evidence in our very bodies sustained by the fruit of the earth, that God has never forgotten [p. 228] that bow; in observing it He has never forgotten His covenant with man, and with beast, and with the earth itself. So that, physically, we are living in a stable order of things founded on the faithfulness of God, of which the bow in the clouds is a constant witness. And so I would say to young people here as you look at that bow, and see how God has given you a lead, and how your very existence physically hinges on His covenant with creation, does it not occur to you that you have something to do with this memorial? The Lord handed it down from heaven to him whom He had commissioned to bring the gospel to us Gentiles, so that we might have, with the gospel, this precious memorial of Christ fresh from heaven. It did not come to the Gentiles second-hand — it came, beloved, first-hand. It came directly from the Lord in heaven to Paul, and he delivered it, as I said, to us Gentiles.
Well now, I want to go to Matthew just for a moment, because you have in Matthew and in Mark another memorial besides the one of which I have read in 1 Corinthians. In Matthew you have the Lord enjoining that, wherever the glad tidings should be preached, what the woman had done who had anointed His head for His burial should be spoken of for a memorial of her. Mark also relates the same incident, saying that the Lord said of her, “She hath done what she could”. Mark 14:8. She had anointed His body, and wherever the gospel was preached what she did would be spoken of for a memorial of her. I want to dwell on these two gospels in this respect for a moment, so that young ones here particularly — and all of us — may understand how this memorial, of which Matthew and Mark speak, bears on the memorial of which the apostle speaks in 1 Corinthians and of which Luke, confirming Paul, speaks in his gospel narrative. For Luke only of all the evangelists speaks of this memorial of Christ. Matthew does not say [p. 229] that the Lord requested that He should be remembered, nor does Mark, but both record that the Lord said that the act of the woman should be spoken of as a memorial of her. Luke, on the other hand, as I said, does not refer to the act of this woman, but he does quote the Lord as saying, “This do in remembrance of me”. Luke 22:19.
I wish to speak of Matthew and Mark so that all of us, particularly young ones, here, may understand the bearing of this woman’s act on the Lord’s supper. I was saying the apostle had the memorial from heaven, so that as he went out into the Gentile world, and preached Christ, and men and women were converted and drawn together, as at Corinth, into an assembly, he would mention what this woman did for a memorial of her. I can understand some young one inquiring why she should be remembered. Why should it not have been Mary of Bethany as John represents her? Why should it not have been John the evangelist, who was specially loved of Christ? Why should it not have been Mary Magdalene, who was at the grave? Well, the answer to me is simple — that what this woman did, as recorded in Matthew and Mark, involves the principles that are to govern us, as we sit down and partake of the Lord’s supper. The anointing in Matthew signifies that the anointer appreciated the One whom she anointed as presented in that gospel. In anointing Him she spoke loudly. If you were to introduce to her the most revered dignitary in Christendom today she would give no ear to him; she would have no place in her mind for what he would have to say; she would say, ‘I learn everything from Christ’. If I am to be governed, if I am to have part in the assembly, I am to be governed only by the principles that He laid down, and I have no ear whatever for any other principles, however plausible they may seem to be — however necessary it may appear that there should [p. 230] be a change because of modern conditions. She would say definitely, I have no ear for any such proposals.
I recognise that Christ has foreseen the whole history of the assembly, and He has provided for its government under all conditions and circumstances. And then, again, if I look at her in Mark, and someone comes to her of high repute, as a minister of religion in the world, and says to her, “Ministry should be under authority, it should be regulated by responsible persons; a minister should have the education of a university or a seminary; he should be a theological student” — what would this woman say to him, or anyone, like her, who has come to recognise the Lord Jesus as set out in the gospel of Mark? She would turn a deaf ear to him; she would say, “My Lord and Master has laid down principles in that book for every Levite, and unless you are governed by those principles I have no ear for you”. You see what a revolution this woman would make in modern Christendom were she heard — were her example followed — and how she would keep out from the circle of the saints all human principles and innovations by adhering to the principles laid down by the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, as Paul preached at Corinth, he would mention, according to the Lord’s injunction, what this woman had done for a memorial of her. Indeed, he was himself, in his ways and actions and words at Corinth, the embodiment of this woman. His epistles show that he refuses at every point human innovations in the government of the assembly, and in the levitical service.
And so Matthew and Mark have to be taken into account by young Christians, as well as by all of us, if we are to have intelligent part in this memorial of which Luke speaks in his gospel, and of which the apostle Paul speaks in the passage I read. We have to see what this woman did, and we have to emulate [p. 231] her and imitate her, and if we do, we shall be preserved from the leaven of human principles in the assembly. We shall say, “Christ for me” — not only for my salvation, but for my government, for the government of the assembly, and Christ for me, if I am to minister as a Levite. I have to learn everything from Christ. I virtually anoint His head. You may ask, “Why the head?” Because these gospels present what is official — the government of God in Matthew, and the Levitical service in Mark, and hence He is anointed by one who valued Him in those two aspects.
Having said that much, I may proceed to say a word as to this memorial, and I wanted to show how it had been anticipated in the Old Testament, and incidentally to call attention to the importance of Christians reading the Old Testament, because you find in the Old Testament amplifications and details of great truths, which the New Testament does not contain. I may further add the great importance of becoming familiar with Scripture; for as, in this instance, and in all others, in order to be intelligent, we have to understand Scripture. Every scripture, as we are told, is inspired of God, and is profitable for doctrine and for reproof, and for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work. Hence the importance of the Scriptures, and so the Lord in Luke 24, when He came into the gathered company, as you will recall, says, “It is I myself”. Luke 24:39. He is never represented in the assembly by an angel. The angel represents distance in that sense, — He comes into the assembly Himself.
So, as in the assembly, He opens the Scriptures, and from the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms, on the road to Emmaus, He expounds to them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself. How that should appeal to our hearts!
[p. 232] How differently Scripture is read as we see it “concerning himself”. It is concerning Christ. And so if I come into the assembly — you will understand my use of the expression ‘assembly’. I am speaking as if I were at the beginning of Christianity — I expect to meet Christ. He says, “It is I myself”, Luke 24:39 and if I meet the Lord in the assembly, I look for something to correspond with what Luke records of His actions after He rose from the dead. I look for something to correspond with what John records of Him after He rose from the dead, and so with the other evangelists. But if I think of Luke I must come to the assembly with my Bible, unless I have it by heart, and I doubt if any of us have it by heart. You see the Bible is the accredited Word; it has authority, and if I expect the Lord to open up to me, and speak to me, and explain to me in the Scriptures, things concerning Himself, it is of all moment that I should have them with me. I cannot understand going to the assembly without the Scriptures, unless I have them by heart, and even then the Lord Himself used the actual written Word in the synagogue — “He found the place where it was written”. Luke 4:17. It seems to me as if in Luke He set an example for ministry. The actual written page was used by Him, and so “He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. Luke 24:27. Is He not going to speak to me in the assembly? Is He going to leave all the speaking to me? No; if it is God’s assembly over which Christ presides, surely He is to take the initiative. I must at least leave room for Christ in the assembly. He may open up something to me; am I going to miss it? What He says to me may give tone to my worship — to what I say to Him, to what I say to God.
And so, now to revert to these scriptures. I can understand the Lord referring to Genesis 40. Is it a mere incident that Joseph said to the cup-bearer of Pharaoh, “Think on me”? Is it a mere incident confining itself to Joseph? No, it refers to Christ, and has a solemn, and an appealing, voice to every Christian here. He says to the cup-bearer, after he had opened up his dream — full of precious light about Christ, and the vine budding and blossoming, and about the fruit, though I cannot dwell on all that, “When it is well with thee think on me, bear a remembrance of me with thee”. I would speak to the young ones here as to what you think of that. If you had been in that gathering — recorded by Luke — in Jerusalem when the Lord Himself referred to the fortieth chapter of Genesis — as He may have — and made reference to what Joseph said, would it not have a voice for you as the Lord would go over these words, “Bear a remembrance of me with thee when it is well with you”? Does it not make your heart burn now? It is the living voice of Scripture. As in Hebrews 3:7, where the writer quotes the Old Testament he does not say, ‘as the Holy Spirit said’, he says, “as the Holy Spirit says”. It is present tense. It is what He says to me now. “Bear a remembrance of me with thee when it is well with you”. It is a present voice. It is Christ speaking to us. How indebted that cup-bearer was to Joseph! At that moment Joseph had enlightened him as to his dream. The light involved complete deliverance from the prison and reinstatement with Pharaoh. But it says, he forgot Joseph. Who is there here like him who has forgotten Christ, the Christ that has enlightened you and relieved you?
Now I come to Exodus; I can understand the Lord referring to Exodus 3 on the occasion recorded in Luke 24. He would call attention to Moses at the bush. It says that when the Lord saw that Moses turned He called to him. As Moses is interested, God speaks to him. He says, “Moses, Moses”. Exodus 3:4. And so I would say to anyone who may be arrested by [p. 234] what I am saying this afternoon for the first time God is looking into your heart, and He would call you by your name twice. Joseph gives us light as to repetitions. He said to Pharaoh that the dream being doubled, it was sure, and so, as God would call you by your name twice, He would give you to understand that His thoughts for you are established. His thoughts in regard of Moses were established. Moses was to be the leader of His people. He says, “Moses, Moses”; Exodus 3:4 so “Samuel, Samuel”; and “Saul, Saul”. Acts 9:4. And now Moses turns to see, and we get all this unfolding, and God says to him, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. Exodus 3:6. That means that He is the God of the living — compare Luke 20:37,38. You see we are advancing now. And then He says, “This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations”. You have the name now. Joseph says nothing about his name, but when we come to Exodus we have Christ coming in for redemption, and hence the name. He has acquired a name in redemption and that name is precious to your heart if you are one of the redeemed; it is a memorial. It enters into the Lord’s supper. As I look at the bread and take part in it, I think of the Lord; I think of the renown that He has acquired in laying down His life. Death and destruction have heard that fame, and that fame is recognised in my ears — it is the fame of Christ. For He went down; you say, how far? To the “heart of the earth”. It is a dead Christ that is before us. The blood is separate from the body. Nothing can be more appealing to a lover of Christ than that. He was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth — scientists may call it a geological impossibility, but it is a spiritual possibility. He went to the very lowest point — the heart of the earth. Is it nothing to you? It is something to every lover of Christ. His name enters into that. The precious [p. 235] body of Christ in death, the blood separate from it, is before us. So that He says, “This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations”. How vividly that would stand out, as the Lord expounded unto them in all the Scriptures “the things concerning himself”. Luke 24:27.
And so we turn to Exodus 20, which comes in typically after redemption takes place, and after the covenant. Typically the death of Christ has taken place, and the love of God is known; and now He says, “In all places where I cause my name to be remembered, there I will come to you, and there I will bless you”. Now we are advancing again. You have not only the name now, but Himself: “There I will come to you, and there I will bless you”. I believe many of us are not making headway in our souls because we do not enter into the Lord’s supper; we do not enter into His memorial. And so I would appeal to all young people here as to it, “Where I cause my name to be remembered, there I will come to you, and there I will bless you”. See what you are missing! “Why should you be the last”, as David says, “to bring the king back to his house?” 2 Samuel 19:12. His house in a way is your heart. Why should you deny Him His right in your heart? The Lord opened the heart of Lydia, and she attended to the things spoken by Paul, and she opened her house to Paul. Paul was representative of Christ. She really opened her heart to the Lord. She was not the last in Philippi to bring the king back. You want to have respect for the king. The king is supreme, and as some of us were noticing this morning, “the king is held by thy ringlets”, Song of Songs 7:5. It says in Psalm 45, “Forsake thine own people and thy father’s house, and so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty”. Psalm 45:10,11 you say, “my own people and my father’s house?” Yes, you have to make a clean breast of it; everything natural has to be surrendered for Christ. You can [p. 236] take up your relations with your own people in a higher and better way, as you give Christ His place, the first place. “For he is thy Lord”. You cannot escape the consequences if you continue to disregard the rights of Christ. “He is thy Lord, worship thou him”. But here in this passage, it is “I will come to you and I will bless you”. Can you afford to miss that, young believer? Can any of us afford to miss it? To miss it means non-progress, and exposure to the world and to the devil.
In this passage that I read, the apostle says, “I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you”. We have it, you see, untrammelled by any human addition or innovation. We have the Lord’s supper as He delivered it to the twelve and as He delivered it to Paul; “That the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, gave thanks, brake it, and said, Do this for a remembrance of me”. How precious it is! “And in like manner also the cup, saying, Do this for a remembrance of me”. There it is, you see, fresh from heaven. I connect this passage with Judges 15, in which Samson faces the Philistines, and he finds a fresh jawbone of an ass. It is the freshness of the thing. Although years have elapsed since the apostle delivered it to the Gentiles, it is as fresh as if it had occurred today. It is in the freshness of the thing that the power lies, and so Samson says, “Heaps upon heaps with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men”. Judges 15:16.
You see, dear brethren, how great a place the idea of memorial has in the assembly. It is the very centre, as one might say, to maintain constant activity of affection and mind, and constant freshness amongst us.