Do you have trouble remembering things? There is a book called 21 Memory Techniques, which says do this to remember. Researchers say that we forget most newly learned information within a few hours or at most a couple days. While these techniques can be helpful to memorize facts and remember grocery lists, God put a memory technique in place centuries ago.
Remember God Brought You Out of Egypt
God had to force Pharaoh’s hand to free His people from the slavery of Egypt. He knew the plague of the death of the first-born would finally force Pharaoh to let His people go. But God wanted to keep His people safe and so gave instructions to paint blood of an innocent lamb on the doorposts. This would be a sign for the death angel to pass over the people inside. The Jewish nation had to be ready to leave at a minute’s notice so did not even have time to allow bread to rise. Each year God’s people would re-enact this time to remember what God had done.
Exodus 12:14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time… 17 “Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. [1]
Remember the New Covenant
As Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, He put a new spin on an old celebration. The unleavened bread now would represent His body and the wine would represent His blood. God had made a covenant with Abraham and now Jesus was building onto that a new way to receive the forgiveness of sins. Jesus would be the lamb that would take away the sins of the world.
1 Corinthians 11: 23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.[2]
Here again, we re-enact what happened on Maundy Thursday when Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper. Each time we re-enact this we remember what Christ did for us on the cross. Why do we have to remember? Because we so easily forget.
Do this to remember, to hear more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/foreshadowing-of-the-cross-unleavened-bread
[1-2] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.