This Do in Remembrance of Me

“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine” (Genesis 14:18, quotes from ASV, unless otherwise specified).

— James Parkinson

There are hints of the Memorial of our Lord’s sacrificial death early in the Old Testament. This can be seen in the three phases of Joseph’s life after reaching Egypt. (1) Joseph began in Egypt as a slave in the house of Potiphar, Captain of the (Royal) Guard. There, he progressively advanced in authority. This Captain “made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand” (Genesis 39:4). (2) When Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, he was humbled and put into the King’s [Pharaoh’s] Prison. Yet, “the keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under [Joseph’s] hand, because Jehovah was with him; and that which he did, Jehovah made it to prosper” (Genesis 39:23). Some two years later, Pharaoh had two dreams of seven good things and seven bad things. Joseph was called to interpret them, which he did. (3) As a result, he was then exalted to the second-highest position in the land of Egypt.

Joseph’s three phases in Egypt appear to correspond to the three stages of Jesus’ existence: (1) As the Logos, he faithfully served God (“without him was not anything made that hath been made” John 1:3), (2) He then humbled himself, leaving his spirit nature and becoming human. Here, he spent his life working for the benefit of others and ultimately gave his life for Adam and his posterity. (3) After proving faithful, he was resurrected by his Father to the divine nature, and received the second-highest position in the universe, “All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).

During Joseph’s time in prison, Pharaoh likely experienced a severe stomach upset and, as a result, sent his baker and butler to the King’s Prison. There, they were put under Joseph’s charge. One night, each man had a dream: The butler dreamed of grapes from which he pressed juice into a cup and gave it to Pharaoh. In contrast, the baker dreamed of baskets of bread on his head from which the birds ate. Joseph interpreted each. On the third day (his birthday) Pharaoh had determined which one was guilty for his food poisoning: he hanged the baker but reinstated the butler to his food-tasting and serving office. Nearly two thousand years later, the (unleavened) bread and fruit of the vine were used for the Memorial emblems introduced to Jesus’ disciples.

Bread and Wine for Abraham

Still earlier in history, about four thousand years ago, “Melchizedek [Meleki-tzedeq, King of Righteousness] king of [Jeru]Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest of God Most High” (Genesis 14:18). By partaking of the bread and wine provided by Melchizedek, the Memorial emblems are linked to the Abrahamic covenant, which will be fulfilled through the anti-typical Melchizedek priesthood. The bread and wine pictured how the body and blood of Jesus, provided by his death, would be required for the Abrahamic covenant to be fulfilled. Paul also connects Melchizedek to Jesus, saying, “Neither his father nor his mother is recorded in the genealogies; and neither the beginning of his days nor the end of his life; but, like the Son of God, his priesthood abides for ever” (Hebrews 7:3, Lamsa).

Thus, both Joseph and Melchizedek typify our Lord Jesus, the one who was to offer the sacrifice of his flesh and blood, typified by the Memorial emblems of the bread and the cup (fruit of the vine).

Wine or Grape Juice?

A long-standing question is whether Jesus introduced his Memorial with wine or grape juice. There are rational arguments on both sides:

Wine (with alcohol): A case was expressed in WT July 1883, “So far as the Jewish custom is concerned, it disproves instead of proves the claim that wine contains the leaven quality, for the Jews use wine at the Passover and put away leaven. … The vintage season in Palestine was September and October, and the Passover was about six months later. The wine made in October would of necessity be fermented before April. … If anyone should feel himself endangered by tasting wine at the remembrance of our Lord’s death, we would recommend that such a one should use raisin juice instead, which, though not wine, is certainly a ‘fruit of the vine’” (page 6). In 1904 the same author wrote, “So far as we are able to judge, the Lord used fermented wine when he instituted this Memorial. Nevertheless, in view of his not specifying wine, but simply ‘fruit of the vine,’¹ and in view also of the fact that the alcoholic habit has obtained so great and so evil a power in our day, we believe we have the Lord’s approval in the use of unfermented grape juice or raisin juice” (Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 6, page 476 footnote).

Wine (unfermented grape juice): Samuele Bacchiocchi, the first non-Catholic to graduate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, points out, “wine in English, vinum in Latin, oinos in Greek, and yayin in Hebrew, have been used historically to refer to the juice of the grape, whether fermented or unfermented.” ² Bacchiocchi continues, “The ancient testimonies surveyed indicate that at least four methods were known and used in ancient times to preserve grape juice unfermented: (1) boiling the juice down to a syrup, (2) separating the fermentable pulp from the juice of the grape by means of filtration, (3) placing the grape juice in sealed jars which were immersed in a pool of cold water, (4) fumigating with sulphur the wine jars before sealing them.” The fermentation of wine must be stopped at a critical time, before the alcohol oxidizes to ketone and then vinegar. Earlier, he notes, “Ancient writers tell us that the preservation of unfermented grape juice was sometimes simpler than was the preservation of fermented wine” (page 7).

Each of us should do our best to understand what is meant by “the fruit of the vine” or “cup” which we should use in the Memorial of our Lord Jesus’ sacrifice for the life of the world. But then we should think kindly also of others, whether or not they may share that understanding.

(1) Bacchiocchi also notes, “The Jewish historian Josephus, who was a contemporary of the apostles, explicitly calls the three clusters of grapes freshly squeezed in a cup by Pharaoh’s cupbearer as ‘the fruit of the vine.’ This establishes unequivocally that the phrase was used to designate the sweet, unfermented juice of the grape,” page 49.
(2) Samuele Bacchiocchi, Wine in the Bible, abridged edition, Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical Perspectives, 2002, page 19.

Things More Important

That which the Memorial emblems symbolize is more important than the emblems themselves. Our prime emphasis should be our Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice: “This do in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). Additionally, Jesus said, “He that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgment unto himself, if he discern not the body” (Christ’s body of consecrated believers, 1 Corinthians 11:27-30). This implies that we each must accept all others whom He has called.

The apostles had their problems when discerning “the body.” Peter and his brother Andrew had to forgive James and John for trying to be the chief apostles. Ten apostles needed to be merciful to Peter for denying Jesus in his last hours. John and Peter needed to be understanding of the others for not even trying to be near Jesus in his last hours. The other ten needed to be patient with Thomas for not believing their report that they had seen Jesus since his crucifixion.

As we contemplate the Memorial emblems, let each ask, Whom among my brethren do I need to forgive? If I find my heart is resentful against another fallible brother (or sister), I need to change my own heart. If I fail and remain resentful, I should consider following the precedent in Numbers 9:9-12 and observe the Memorial thirty days later (the 14th day of the second Hebrew month).

Memorial Dates

How is the Memorial date to be reckoned? Jews today observe Nisan 15, the first day of the Feast of Passover. The Passover lamb was to be sacrificed in the evening of Nisan 14, but today there is no Temple at which to sacrifice the lambs: “At the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 16:6 ASV). Jesus instituted His Memorial on the eve of Nisan 14. Therefore, we should observe our Lord’s Memorial on the eve of Nisan 14. On the common Gregorian calendar used today, it will correspond to Nisan 13, after sunset. For the next three decades, this will be after sunset on the following dates:

2026 March 31 Tuesday
2027 April 20 Tuesday
2028 April 09 Sunday
2029 March 29 Thursday
2030 April 16 Tuesday
2031 April 06 Sunday
2032 March 25 Thursday
2033 April 12 Tuesday
2034 April 02 Sunday
2035 April 22 Sunday
2036 April 10 Thursday
2037 March 29 Sunday
2038 April 18 Sunday
2039 April 07 Thursday
2040 March 27 Tuesday
2041 April 14 Sunday
2042 April 03 Thursday
2043 April 23 Thursday
2044 April 10 Sunday
2045 March 31 Friday
2046 April 19 Thursday
2047 April 09 Tuesday
2048 March 27 Friday
2049 April 15 Thursday

One may check each date by going to a Hebrew calendar website, http://www.hebcal.com, and hit the button “Date Converter.” On the right side, enter 13, Nisan, and 3760 plus the Gregorian (common) year of interest. For example, 3760 + 2026 = 5786 (the current Hebrew year).

It may be noted that the Memorial never falls on a Monday, Wednesday, or Saturday. It is an artifact of the fixed Jewish calendar (since Hillel II, about AD 400), which prevents a high holy day from occurring adjacent to a weekly Sabbath, and keeps a day requiring physical activity from falling on a weekly Sabbath.

Sequence of Jesus’ Introduction of the Memorial

Luke records history “in order” (sequentially; Luke 1:3), while Matthew and Mark organize some of it topically. Thus, the probable sequence of the bread and cup is in Luke 22:14-20.

The Last Supper was not the Passover meal, as the Passover lambs, and the true Lamb of God, had not yet been slain. It was at the Passover season and so may be properly called a Passover meal. Additionally, to “eat” here may primarily mean bread.

Matthew 26:26-29 simply combines bread and cup topically: “Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins. But I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Thus, either sequence should be proper for observing our Lord’s Memorial.