"Remember and proclaim the Lord's death" (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Japanese people are known to be resistant to accepting the gospel. However, there is someone who has testified to Jesus to the greatest number of Japanese people through Japan's NHK broadcasting and the publication of poetry collections. It is Mr. Mizuno Kenzo. (1937-1984) When he was 11 years old in the 4th grade of elementary school, he suffered from measles, and due to a high fever, he developed cerebral palsy, becoming paralyzed in his entire body. He lost the ability to speak, move his fingers and toes, and could not even sit up on his own, with the exception of being able to hear and see.
One day, he received a Bible as a gift from a neighboring pastor and, while reading it, encountered Jesus and was able to write exquisite poems expressing gratitude to God. Unable to speak or use his hands, he couldn't write either, but his mother posted the 50 characters of the Japanese alphabet on the wall, and when he blinked his eyes at the character he wanted among those his mother pointed to, those characters were gathered to form words, sentences, and poems. It is said that a collection of poems was published after 10 years. Among the poems he wrote is the following poem titled "My Lifelong Wish":
I want to say "Thank you" aloud to my mother.
I want to say "Thank you" aloud to those who come to me.
I want to try calling out "Heavenly Father" aloud. Heavenly Father in heaven, I want to call out Heavenly Father in heaven. Even though I believe that you hear me even if I don't speak out and call, I want to call out Heavenly Father in heaven.
Are you grateful for the fact that you can speak, and therefore say thank you, express gratitude, and call out Heavenly Father in heaven? Or have you ever been grateful? There are so many things to be thankful for, even just physically: being able to hear, being able to speak, being able to see, being able to touch, stand, and walk, being able to sit, being able to sleep and wake up without pain, being able to excrete and breathe easily, and so on. We live in a world filled with things to be grateful for, including the people He has allowed around us, wives, children, parents, church members, living in America, the fresh air, the sky, the surrounding grass and trees, mountains and seas, etc. We are told to give thanks in all circumstances, so how much gratitude do we have in our lives? How often do we live with gratitude, even if it's just once a day or a few times a week?
Unfortunately, when we look at the history of the Bible, we can see that even God's people lived lives in which they did not know how to give thanks. A representative example that we already know well is the Israelites who came out of Egypt. God not only saved the Israelites from the oppression of Pharaoh, the most powerful king in the world, through amazing miracles and wonders, but also, when they came out of Egypt, they received many valuables as gifts from the Egyptians. However, the response of the Israelites as they headed toward the promised land was more complaining and resentment than praise or gratitude. They complained, "There is no water, there is no food, we miss Egypt, are you going to kill us here, who made you our leader, does God speak only through you?" These complaints, on the surface, may seem to be reactions to their circumstances, but in the end, they were complaints and resentments against God's salvation and God's grace.
The history of the Kingdom of Israel, which began after arriving in Canaan, is no different. The fact that they continuously engaged in idolatry even while receiving God's discipline reveals their attribute of not knowing how to be grateful to God and rather complaining and resenting Him. Even after seeing the Northern Kingdom of Israel perish through idolatry, didn't the Southern Kingdom eventually perish as well because they continued in idolatry instead of coming to their senses?
When we look at the history of Israel, we are astonished at how they could do that. They are people afflicted with spiritual amnesia who forget God's grace so easily. There is no other solution to this terrible and chronic spiritual amnesia that even severs their relationship with God. There is only one thing: to "remember" God's grace consciously and intentionally.
Deuteronomy 5:15 "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day." The reason God had them observe the Sabbath was that He wanted them to remember the history of salvation from the Exodus and God's grace throughout their lives. And the fact that He commanded them to observe it so thoroughly that He even said to kill those who did not observe the Sabbath shows how important it was for God's people to remember God's history of salvation and grace.
We may think that we are somewhat better than the Israelites, who quickly forgot God's history of salvation and complained. But let's think together. Which history do you think is greater and more amazing, the history of salvation that Israel experienced or the history of salvation that we have experienced? Israel was saved from temporary slavery in this world and became God's people, but we have been saved from slavery to Satan and sin, become God's children, and saved from eternal hell and possess eternal life. And while Israel was saved through God's miracles and the sacrifice of lambs through Moses, we Christians have been saved through an unimaginably tremendous process, history, and cost: God's own Son, Jesus, had to come into this world in the flesh, suffer, and die on the cross to forgive our sins and save us.
Is there anyone among us who is grumbling, complaining, or resenting, saying, "What is my situation now?", "What is the state of my family, or church, or business?", "What is this reality that I am experiencing?" If so, what do you think makes us better than the Israelites who complained and resented after the Exodus? Our resentment and complaining are probably due to the fact that we have forgotten God's immense and amazing grace, rather than just being due to our circumstances.
When the Apostle Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to take away his extreme physical suffering, the Lord replied, "My grace is sufficient for you." The Lord responded that His grace was all that Paul needed. Mizuno Kenzo also published a collection of poems titled "My grace is sufficient for you." I believe it is a confession of faith that expresses gratitude even in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances because the Lord's grace is so great.
We, like Paul and Mizuno Kenzo, have received the same salvation, love, and grace of God. If we easily lose joy and gratitude and fall into despair, complaining and resenting, it is evidence that we are suffering from a serious illness of spiritual amnesia. When we are not filled with God's grace, our circumstances appear large, but when we are filled with God's grace, our circumstances appear small. If you are living a life in which you forget God's grace and are overwhelmed by your circumstances because of this chronic spiritual amnesia, there is only one solution. It is to "remember" consciously and intentionally.
Therefore, the Lord commands, "Remember me." "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
While there are countless sacrificial systems, festivals, and rituals to observe in the entire Old Testament, our Lord commanded the saints of the New Testament to observe only two things. Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism also symbolizes the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection. It is to remember the Lord's death and resurrection. The Lord's Supper also signifies and causes us to remember the Lord's death for us.
Just as the Israelites could live a proper life of faith only by continuously remembering the history of salvation from the Exodus while living in the wilderness, so we Christians can live a proper life of faith only by continuously remembering the grace of the Lord who saved us from sin, death, and Satan. That is why the Apostle Paul confessed, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." I believe that the determination to earnestly and fervently remember the Lord's grace is the secret to a victorious faith. As we partake in the Lord's Supper today, I would like to briefly share why remembering the Lord's death and the Lord's grace is so important.
First, we must always remember the Lord's grace to live a life of loving God, a life as a worshiper. “(Augustine, a famous theologian of the 5th century, says in the book [Access to God]): After the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the infinite and constant desire for temporary things replaced the longing for God, causing us to forget about God. (It is amazing that he had this insight 1600 years ago.)”
Because we forget about God due to our desire for temporary things, the world seems bigger, more important, cooler, more powerful, more valuable, more blessed, and more fun. And relatively, our faith in God seems meaningless, powerless, and shabby. There are so many things more precious, better, and more fun than the Lord Jesus.
So, because of this desire to pursue temporary things, our longing for God, our thirst for God's word, our hunger for God, and our thirst for righteousness are insignificant. As a result, we distance ourselves from the Bible, neglect prayer, lose gratitude, neglect even mealtime prayer, distance ourselves from fellowship with believers, and even regard gatherings to worship God as insignificant.
Therefore, because He knows our tendency to forget God, the Lord commands, "Remember me." He commands us to remember the body the Lord gave as we take the bread, and to remember the blood the Lord shed as we drink the wine. It is a command to remember the death of the Lord, who is the Son of God and the creator of all creation, who came to this earth in the flesh and died on the cross. It is a command to remember the new covenant that your sins have been forgiven. (Is He the Lord and Savior of you and me?) It is to remember the love of God the Father who did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all.
(The Bible says,) “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) Our expression of our complete love for God through worship will be possible when we are first filled with God's grace and our hearts are filled with God's love for us, and then we can offer worship that God receives with joy and is pleased
I hope that today’s Lord's Supper, and our hymns, prayers, and confessions, will be a precious act of worship where we remember and proclaim the Lord's grace, are filled with the Lord's grace, and please the Lord.
And I pray in the name of Jesus that you will live a life as a worshiper that pleases the Lord by continually remembering God's grace through praise, prayer, the Word, and spiritual fellowship or conversation during the week, as well as through spiritual books or programs.
Secondly, we must always remember the Lord's grace to live a life of loving our brothers and sisters. (Remembering God's grace greatly affects not only our relationship with God but also our relationship with our brothers and sisters.) According to today's scripture, the reason the Apostle Paul conveyed the message of "Remember the Lord's grace" to the Corinthian church was because there were problems among the members of the Corinthian church. The Corinthian church had serious problems in their relationships, including division, strife, and looking down on those who were poor.
In fact, division and strife are not problems that existed only in the Corinthian church but are problems that all churches experience to varying degrees. Right before Jesus entered Jerusalem to be crucified, He saw his disciples, who had been trained for three years, arguing about who was the greatest, and said this: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave” (Matthew 20:26-27).
No one would feel offended by the fact that we should serve the Lord and become His slaves. However, Jesus did not say, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be someone who serves me," but said, "must be your servant." He did not say, "Whoever wants to be first among you must be my slave," but said, "must be your slave" (Matthew 20:26-27).
He is saying that we should serve other brothers and sisters and become their slaves. And He explains the reason like this. Verse 28 is not an independent sentence but is connected with the word "(even as)." So, it is saying that “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” we should serve other brothers and sisters and become their slaves.
A life of remembering the grace of the Lord who served us and gave His life as a ransom is a life of serving other brothers and sisters. It is a life of becoming their slave. The Lord said that the one who loves Him is the one who keeps His commandments. The Lord's commandment is "to love one another as Jesus loved us." If we truly love the Lord, it is a command to practice the same kind of love for one another that the Lord showed when He loved His disciples even to the point of giving His life for them.
Those who are in the grace of Christ change from being the most selfish to being the most loving. They love not only God but also their brothers and sisters sincerely.
However, if we forget the grace of Jesus, we will assert our own opinions, boast about ourselves and our own achievements, try to be masters and kings over one another, and try to be served by others and treat them badly. Then we will easily get offended, and complaints and resentments will come out. So, He tells us to examine ourselves before taking this bread and cup. He is telling us to repent. We must examine ourselves to see “if there is anything we cherish more than the Lord Jesus” and “if we are serving and loving our brothers and sisters in the Lord with Christ's love.”
Jesus came to this world and died because of His love for God the Father and His love for us, and He wants to continue to reveal His love through His body, the church, by sending the Holy Spirit. As we partake in the Lord's Supper today, I pray in the name of Jesus that we will examine ourselves, remember the Lord's grace, and live a life of loving and serving our brothers and sisters, filled with the Lord's grace.
Lastly, today's scripture tells us another important reason for partaking in the Lord's Supper besides remembering the Lord's grace: “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” v. 26 It says that whenever we remember the Lord, remember the Lord's grace, and partake in this bread and cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Ms. Ayako Miura, a famous Japanese Christian writer who wrote the novel "Freezing Point," said, after observing Mr. Kenzo Mizuno, "I realized that you can evangelize as much as you want even if you don't have a fluent speaking mouth, legs to walk anywhere, or hands to hold a pen."
How was Mr. Kenzo Mizuno able to witness the gospel to so many people despite his physical, mental, and environmental disabilities? A pastor who observed his life said this: “Brother Kenzo Mizuno never lost his awareness of being a sinner and his genuine gratitude for being forgiven of that sin through Christ's atonement. Gratitude and joy overflowed in Mr. Kenzo's heart. He was filled with a deep emotion that would not stop him from conveying Christ's love no matter what. This is true evangelism.”
Isn't Mr. Kenzo Mizuno's life evidence that if we are filled with gratitude and deep emotion from God's love (by always remembering the Lord's grace), we will proclaim the gospel of the Lord?
Also, the Bible says that if we put our brothers and sisters before ourselves and serve them by remembering the Lord's grace, we, as a community, proclaim the gospel of the Lord.
The Bible describes the early church in Jerusalem, like this:
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
We see that the early church in Jerusalem, filled with the grace of Christ, witnessed the gospel through their lives of worshiping God and serving and caring for one another with God's love, without any barriers among the members. As a result, the work of salvation took place, and many people were saved.
The purpose for which God called us, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, is “that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 God has given us, both individually and as a church, the mission of proclaiming the gospel. Therefore, the fact that Jesus' cross forgives sins must always be proclaimed through us. It must be proclaimed until Jesus comes again.
However, we see that whether or not we fulfill the mission of gospel proclamation that the Lord gives us ultimately depends on how much we remember the Lord's grace and how much we love the Lord and our brothers and sisters.
As we partake in the Lord's Supper today, I hope that there will be a renewed commitment to a life of remembering the Lord's grace. And I earnestly desire that not only today but also through all our gatherings, including all Sunday services and Small Group meetings, we may be victorious in the battle to always remember God's grace by always mentioning, thinking about, remembering, and confessing God's grace through our praise, confessions, prayers, gratitude, sharing, study, and testimonies until the day we stand before the Lord.
Therefore, I pray and bless you in the name of Jesus that we may be filled with God's grace, love God more, and love our brothers and sisters more, so that we may be filled with the work of the gospel being proclaimed.
