Throughout history, there is one denominator that cuts across all cultures and nations when it comes to communication, or passing on of information from one generation to the next, and that is symbols. A symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract. Hence symbols are not in themselves the idea or the event but rather a representation of the idea or the event that they symbolize. All world religions have symbols which bear some sacred truths and Christianity and the church has its share of the same. Among the many symbols and sacred rituals in Christianity, I feel obliged today to write about the Passover and the Lord’s Table.
We first encounter the word “Passover” in the Bible when the children of Israel were about to be delivered from their bondage in Egypt by God through Moses1. God gave them detailed instructions on how the Passover night was to be conducted. They were to smear their door posts with blood from the sacrificial lamb so that when the Angel of death was to pass through the land of Egypt killing the first born sons, he would pass over them because of the blood on their door posts2 . (Click here to Read about the Passover and Blood)
God further instructed the Israelites to keep the day a memorial3 and that the feast should be repeated in future generations forever. In other words, they should commemorate the day every year henceforth always keeping in mind its sacred significance. Simply put, they should constantly bear the weight of what God had done for them.
History tell us that the Israelites practiced the Passover feasts for many generations then somehow, slowly, it lost its meaning and became devoid of spiritual fervor4 . The Passover to a Jewish mind was supposed trigger a memory of the greatness of God in delivering them from their captivity and death. It was supposed to elicit praise and adoration to the most high but instead it became a mere ritual.
Fast forward to the time of Jesus. During his last Passover while here on earth, Jesus made arrangements to celebrate it with his disciples5 . During the Passover or the last supper, as some would prefer to call it, Jesus gave it its true meaning. He revealed the true picture painted earlier by God in exodus. The Lord offered them bread which he said symbolized his body and the cup symbolized his blood shed for the forgiveness of the sins of many6 . Luke further states Christ’s reminder that we should do it in remembrance of him7. Paul caps it by stating that Christ is the Passover sacrificed for us8.
If we are to partake the Lord’s Table which is symbolic of Christ’s sacrificial offering for our sins, then the whole sacred ritual should trigger the memory of what Christ accomplished through his death on the cross. It is not that the symbols (bread, drink, etc.) have magical powers or the ability to transform into the real flesh and blood of Jesus but rather that the practice is symbolic of a real and true historical event that shaped the destiny of man. The weight of that thought should exert enough pressure to send us to our knees in reverence worship to God who provided a permanent solution to the problem of sin.
Notes
1 Exodus 12:11
2 Exodus 12:12-13
3 Exodus 12:14
4 Isaiah 66:3
5 Matthew 26:18
6 Matthew 26:26-28
7 Luke 22:19
8 1Corrinthians 5:7
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