What does the act ''Do this'' in remembrance of me mean?

The speaker discusses the lesson conveyed in the passage on breaking bread by Jesus in 1 Corinthians 11:24. He explains that Passover commemorates the Israelites' escape from slavery in ancient Egypt and that today, Christians observe the Lord's Supper in remembrance of what Jesus did at the cross. The act of breaking bread symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus, calling believers to focus on his sacrifice and break the body of sin in their own lives. Self-denial and carrying our own cross are emphasized as ways to destroy our old sinful nature and live for righteousness. The speaker emphasizes that proclaiming the death of Jesus is not limited to the Lord's Supper, but should be reflected in our behavior. The call to "do this in remembrance of me" is a call to live our lives in remembrance of Jesus and his sacrifice. Welcome to our weekly exhortation. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for your time. My name is Guy Lamiola, Servant of God, Servant of Jesus Christ. What is the lesson conveyed in the passage on breaking of bread by Jesus in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 24? Receive our Easter blessings. Dear friend, I should like to come back to one specific message that I posted a few months ago. I have found that it is important due to the relevance of the topic, especially in this memorable period of Passover. In fact, pending his death, the Lord Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples. On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, 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. What does the act, do this in remembrance of me, means? Or better, what is the lesson conveyed in the passage on breaking of bread by Jesus in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 24? What is Passover? In Judaism, Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites' escape from slavery and departure from ancient Egypt. Today, Passover means sin and death have no power over those who dwell under the protection of the blood of Jesus. In Israel, during the celebration of Passover, families hold a religious service set around a dinner table. They eat, pray, drink wine, and tell stories. Today, the community of Christians observe the Lord's Supper together in prayer, considering together what the Lord Jesus has done for them at the cross. So the celebration of Passover is first and foremost about eating the lamb. And the Lord Jesus says, do this in remembrance of me. This is my question. What does the act, do this in remembrance of me, means? I would like you to understand this. We eat the Passover lamb in remembrance of a mighty act of God of extreme importance. In fact, the commandment, do this in remembrance of me, is not limited only to the Lord's Supper. The scripture says, And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you. First, the Bible let us know that Jesus took bread, he gave thanks, and he broke it, and gave unto them. In this verse, there is one action that draws our attention. He breaks it. The scripture says he breaks it. Since the bread symbolizes the body of Christ, you may be wondering in what way the body of our Lord Jesus is broken, right? Well, the action of breaking the bread foreshadows the crucifixion of Jesus. In breaking the bread, Jesus declared that his body was broken in the sense that he was crucified on the cross. By calling his people to do this in remembrance of him, the Lord Jesus means that all believers should focus their lives on his cross. You know, the action of breaking the bread adds a deeper meaning to the commandment, do this in remembrance of me. And why so? Well, Jesus wants his disciples to rise above the fray and understand that Passover is first and foremost about our deliverance from the power of the flesh. The commandment, do this in remembrance of me, is a powerful call from Jesus to us to break the body of sin. Jesus is calling his church today to perpetuate this action by applying it to herself. The apostle Peter explains very well the intent of Jesus to his listeners, saying, 4 Even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving as an example that ye should follow his steps. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 21 Here, Peter says that all believers have been called to suffer like Christ suffered. Our suffering today is to carry our own cross through the destruction of the flesh. And anything that provides individual satisfaction. This passage is just calling all the disciples to be the imitators of Christ. Praise the Lord. Just like Jesus broke his body at the cross, our duty as disciples of Christ is to imitate him by breaking the body of sin to destroy our flesh. Because the action of breaking the bread is symbolic of the destruction of the body of Christ at the cross. See, a person who has consciously decided that he will accept suffering for the sake of Christ, that person has truly left the world and its attractions behind. That person has chosen to deny himself and his fleshly desire. He made the firm decision to identify himself with Christ and his sufferings. Praise the Lord. The same apostle Peter says this, For as much Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 1 See, this passage makes sense. Since the destruction of his body, the crucifixion of Jesus is so that sin doesn't rule over us anymore. Hallelujah. Now, in which way our bodies are broken? We try to answer to this question. Our body is broken when our old sinful nature is destroyed by crucifying it. This is what the apostle Paul writes. In Romans chapter 6 verse 6, he says, Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. You know, the cross is the spiritual instrument that allows the destruction of our corrupt nature. The gospel of salvation is the power that sanctifies us. In the book of Mark chapter 8 verse 34, when Jesus had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. My question is this, what is to be done when we apply the cross to our lives? Well, the answer is self-denial, according to the book of Mark 8 verse 33. The expression self-denial refers to the idea of dying to sin. It refers to the idea of putting an end to the activity of our old nature that constantly leads us to sin. Through self-denial, we allow God's power to transform us. So, by breaking the bread, or by crucifying our sins, Jesus is calling us to hate our old man, which pushes us to ungodliness and worldly lusts. To hate in this context is to offer to God what you love most in the world, hallelujah. The sacrifice and the consecration of oneself to God constitute the cost that must be paid by the one who follows the Lord. When Jesus says, do this in remembrance of me, he is pointing to the enormity of the expense for this disciple. We must return to God all that we are and everything we like. Priority to Jesus is what the disciple is called to consider. Now, by giving the broken piece of bread to his disciples, Jesus was giving them his life so that they, in turn, give theirs to him. In John chapter 13 verse 15, Jesus tells us, For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you. What Jesus did with his body, he is calling his church to do as well. Question, what did Jesus do to his body? He breaks it, he crucifies it, praise the Lord. Conclusion After all, on the surface, the command, do this in remembrance of me, is a call of Jesus to his disciples to eat the bread and to drink the wine which are symbolic of his body and his blood. Having said this, we must remember that the Bible is a spiritual book with a spiritual message using a specific spiritual vocabulary. Thus, the command, do this in remembrance of me, has to be understood first and foremost from a spiritual perspective. It is only when we get a good grasp of the spiritual meaning that then we can see in which area of our life we can apply it. So, through this command, our Lord Jesus is calling his church to break the body of sin, that is, the church should die to sin. This is the apostle Peter says, Jesus himself bore our sin in his body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 24. In other words, why should the disciples die to sin? Well, we should die to sin because Jesus took our sin in his body on the cross. Because Jesus broke his body and gave it to us, we should break ours and give them to him. That's the point. Praise the Lord. The apostle Paul makes it clear to us. He says, for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 26. As a believer, our way to proclaim the death of Jesus till he comes back is through self-denial. Proclaiming the death of Jesus is also known as proclaiming the good news or the gospel of salvation. Get this, we proclaim the gospel not only by our mouth but also by our lives. It is through our behavior that the world around us will know that something has changed in our lives. So, when the body of sin is broken like Jesus broke his own, this will reflect positively on our behavior and the world around us will notice the change in our attitude. Friend, like Jesus broke his body, Paul says we should also demonstrate this through our aversion to sin. The command, do this in remembrance of me, is nothing other than the call to carry our cross. You know, following Jesus has a high price attached to it. The commandment, do this in remembrance of me, is not specifically about the Lord's supper. This explains why Paul says that as often as we do it, we proclaim his death till he comes. The question is what do we do exactly? Well, whenever we focus our life on his cross, we are proclaiming the death of Jesus. Yes, every faithful Christian must participate in the table of the Lord. But the truth is that by taking only the Lord's supper regularly without breaking the body of sin will not bring any change in our lives. However, if we live and walk on the step of our Lord Jesus, if we do things in remembrance of him, if we focus our lives on the cross of Jesus, only then can we allow change. Friend, I hope you understand something from this message. I hope you enjoy it. At this time of Passover, I pray that you understand this message so that you can apply it to your life. Well, thank you so much for your attention. If God wills it, I will talk to you again next week. God bless. Amen. Amen.