Only By Remembering Our Past Can We Face The Future: The Woman Who Anointed Jesus Series

It’s so incredibly important that we remember our history, our heritage, and who we are. If we don’t know who we are, the history of our people, our nation, our faith, our religion, our family, our state, our city, all of these things, then we’re liable to believe anything that we’re fed, and to be manipulated by the forces in the world around us that are trying to promote their various ideological agendas.

I want to talk to you about the history of Israel, in particular this morning, which as Christians is part of our story:

Long, long ago the nation of Israel was only one man and his family, it was Abraham, and his wife Sarah. And their children and extended family. Abraham would have two children, Isaac, from Sarah, and Ishmael from Hagar, his wife’s servant girl. Ishmael according to tradition would go on to found the modern Arab nations, including many who are part of modern day Islam.

Isaac and his wife Rebecca would have children, and one their children’s children Joseph, would save his family from a terrible famine that had come across the land. That is what led Israel to live in Egypt. Joseph became a leader in Egypt and helped shelter his family in a place called Goshen in Egypt.

God blessed the Israelites and they became numerous. But the Egyptians began to fear them because of their great numbers, so they enslaved them.

They had been slaves for 400 years, building the wealth of Egypt. But God was at work. He began working through a man named Moses, to bring Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and into the promised land, the land that would be called Israel. And it’s capital, the city of Jerusalem, which means, “city of peace.” A place of peace between God and man.

Moses died, and Joshua succeeded Moses as leader of Israel, and led them into the promised land. The nation was founded, amongst their enemies.

But once God brought them into the land, he gave them detailed instructions in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, on how to celebrate festivals each year to remember everything God did for them.

That is our first point today, a single word: Remember.

If we don’t remember, we’re liable to forget, as they say.

It was very important that Israel remember what it was like to live as slaves in Egypt, and what it was like to travel through the wilderness.

Why would that be important? None of the generations born after the journey through the wilderness and out of Egypt were even there? Why does it matter if they remember it?

Because it’s part of their history. It’s part of their identity under God.

It was the most important festival of the year, Israel was celebrating, the Passover festival, and the festival of unleavened bread. These two festivals celebrated first, the Passover lamb, that the blood of the Passover lamb was slaughtered and the blood was wiped on their door posts, and this protected them from the wrath of God against the nation of Egypt.

Secondly, they would celebrate for seven days after, the festival of unleaven bread, to celebrate their deliverance from Egypt and into the wilderness.

Jews to this day celebrate these festivals each year. The purpose is to remind them what God has done for them.

What happens when we stop reminding ourselves what God has done for us? We forget what God has done for us. We start to drift away. We start to think we don’t need God. We stop coming to church. We go back into the world of sin. And we end up shipwrecked once again.

I’ve seen many people come in the church and learn and grow, and then leave. They slowly seem to forget all that God had done for them, and they go back to the world of sin. This is a very sad and tragic thing so, don’t let that be you. Always remember.

Set a pattern in your life. Remember the day you received salvation through Jesus Christ. Celebrate that day. Rejoice. Remember the day of your birth, the day God gave you life. Celebrate Christmas, that Jesus was born. Celebrate Resurrection Sunday, that Jesus is alive.

The reason we so carefully come to church each Sunday, and attend bible study, and celebrate holidays, and to consistently remind and re-remind ourselves of all God has done for us, so we never forget, and so that we always remain grateful, and joyous, and focused on God.

We as sheep are prone to wander, the Shepherd Jesus helps us to stay on course, but we ought to try not to wander, but to stay close to the shepherd.

All of that to explain, that in Mark chapter 14 today, in verses 1-26, Jesus and the twelve disciples were all preparing for the festival of Passover and unleavened bread.