Memorial of Jesus’ Death

The Memorial of our Lord’s death is one of two ceremonies Jesus requested of his followers, the other being baptism. Each year, as we consider the special trials and testing Jesus endured during the last week of his life, it should help us to rededicate ourselves to his service and to renew our commitment to follow in his footsteps.

“The Great Deliverance” reflects on the initiation of the Passover with the children of Israel in Egypt. That generation did not maintain the spirit of the first Passover, and except for the Levites and two faithful spies, subsequently could not enter the Promised Land. We who dedicate ourselves to the cause of Christ should feel a renewed commitment each year as we commemorate the death of Jesus.

“Simon the Cyrene” examines the incident recorded by three Gospel writers in which this individual was called out of the crowd to aid Jesus in carrying the cross to Golgotha. The author calls us out with three questions related to the cross-bearing of our brethren, and how we might best assist them on their Christian walk.

“Six Trials, One Night” reviews the illegality of the various trials Jesus endured on the last night of his life. Three Jewish trials and three Roman trials failed to follow the accepted procedure in finding Jesus liable to the death sentence. In the end, only Pilate’s fear of being labeled a traitor to Caesar moved him to allow the crucifixion.

“Memorial Issues” examines the bread and the cup, and what these mean to us as we partake of them during the Memorial service. Jesus said to “do this in remembrance of me.” Paul expanded on this with a discussion of our participation together. The author examines a misperception arising from translation error and offers some suggestions regarding our own sufferings for Christ’s sake.

“Unique Meditations” discusses how the night of the Memorial is different from every other night of the year, and how it should move us to turn our thoughts toward the suffering and faithfulness of our Lord’s sacrifice. A personal perspective on the depicted suffering of Jesus in the commercial movie, The Passion of the Christ, provides visual reinforcement of the last night of our Lord.

“Enter Thou Into Thy Chambers,” an edited version of an article from the 1928 Memorial issue of The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom, is a meditation on the words of Isaiah 26:20, “Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation be overpast.”

The Directors of the Pastoral Bible Institute and the Editors of The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom offer prayers for a blessed Memorial season for all of our readers, and to all those who hold dear the “ransom for all.”