A Feast to be Remembered
The feast instituted by God in the Old Testament and the Lord’s Supper instituted by Christ in the New Testament are purposeful remembrances that point to God’s mighty acts of deliverance. Moses said to Israel, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place.” He repeats that twice more, “For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.” They did not leave. They were brought out.
Jesus said the same to His disciples as He gave them the Lord’s Supper for the first time. “Do this in remembrance of Me.” In other words, We did not find a way to salvation. We did not find God. We were not even looking for Him. God found us. God delivered us. With a strong hand, God brought us out to bring us in!
That’s what Moses tells the people of God, that He was taking them out of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey. It is a good place. We know the story and all the troubles and trials and dangers and disobedience the people of Israel faced over the next 40 years. God knew it too but promised them they would get there. It reminded me of the time Jesus told His disciples as they stood on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, “Let us go across to the other side.” They piled in and started across and suddenly a great storm came up, as can happen on that sea, and the disciples were terrified. Especially when they looked around and saw Jesus fast asleep in the back of the boat! They woke him up and basically asked Him if He didn’t care that they were all getting ready to die. The Lord rebuked the storm, and it became perfectly calm immediately, and then He said to the disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Jesus told His disciples, “Let’s go to the other side.” You can trust Me, Jesus spoke into their fears. And Jesus has promised all who believe in Him, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” We will get to the other side.
God gave Moses other instructions about how the Passover Feast would be remembered and repeated year after year. I would argue that a powerfully important part of God’s instructions on the Passover is about discipleship, particularly of our children. He made it known that the language of our faith and the truth of God’s Word would be passed down from one generation to the next. So that a hundred years from that night, a father would say to his children, “It was your great, great, great, great grandfather who was brought out of Egypt by the mighty hand of God. If God had not kept His promises, you would not be here. Let me tell you about God and His salvation.” Fathers and mothers today, and all people of faith who follow the Lord and want to be conformed more and more to His character, are very intentional about the Word, to know it and to love it and to follow it and to share it. And to remove even the slightest hint of leaven, of false teaching, that the world has added to or taken away from the Word of God.
We make disciples one day at a time. We grow as disciples one day at a time. By the grace of our great God.