Thoughts on the Way: “Do This in Remembrance of Me”

In an upper room in Jerusalem, Jesus shared the Passover with his disciples, introducing a new covenant through bread and wine symbolizing his body and blood, marking the beginning of a growing ecclesia that would spread globally.

By GEORGE BOOKER

Read Time: 5 minutes

The scene was an upper room in a house in Jerusalem, where the disciples met with Jesus. He had planned for this evening, ensuring no one outside their circle would know their whereabouts. He had organized the provisions that they would need to celebrate the Passover. 

This Passover would be different from all others. For one thing, there would be no ordinary Passover lamb because Jesus would be the lamb. And for another, this Passover would have long-lasting effects on all believers:

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take and eat; this is [represents] my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:26-29).¹

The First Ecclesia

Looking at this simple ceremony, we realize that it was the first “seed” of an ecclesia to be planted—one that was destined to multiply exponentially as the years passed:

a) After Jesus’ resurrection and before his ascension, his disciples asked him: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). He answered: “It is not for you to know the times or dates which the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem… and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8).

b) After Christ’s ascension, the eleven apostles gathered in the same upper room they had occupied before, and there they selected Matthias to replace Judas. The group assembled in that room numbered 120 believers (Acts 1:15-16). Obviously, the small group (twelve) that had followed Jesus from the beginning had, like a seed planted, grown tenfold—and then given the assignment: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20).

c) On Pentecost. Peter, accompanied by the 120 believers, preached in the Temple, where, by the Holy Spirit, all the listeners heard his message in their own languages. To this, they responded: “Brethren what shall we do?” And Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:37-38 KJV). And there were added to the original 120 believers “about three thousand.” (Acts 2:41). “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (v. 47).

d) “In those days when the number if disciples was increasing” (Acts 6:1), partly because Jews who had come from distant lands to celebrate Pentecost had been baptized and then decided to remain in Jerusalem.

e) “And a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” (v. 7). One reason for this great number of conversions was the extraordinary miracle of the veil in the temple being torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). 

f) “Every day they [the believers] continued to meet together in the temple courts.” (Acts 2:46) It is here where they preached the gospel to all who would listen. Then they would have left the temple to meet together in their homes, where they broke bread, as Jesus commanded, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25)

g) Finally, in those days, “A great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered through Judea and Samaria… those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:1, 4), thus growing the body of believers enormously.

As mentioned above, the earliest converts met in the precincts of Herod’s Temple not to offer sacrifices or pay tithes but only to preach to their Jewish brothers and sisters. Those they baptized would have joined their fellow believers in meetings from house to house and breaking bread together. These original “house churches” were common then and set a standard for believers to recognize they were all part of one family, with one Savior and one Father. (The earliest structure, set apart solely for a church, was built about A.D. 250.)

Those who first believed in Christ were not the least bit interested in building a temple or a church because they were already part of a spiritual “temple,” with their Lord Jesus as their cornerstone. Not only was Jesus their cornerstone, but he was also their altar, their high priest, and their sacrificial lamb. Consequently, they understood that each of them was a member of a unique family organized around their Savior, with God as their Father.

As we read the New Testament, we realize that Jesus Christ is not only the center of God’s plan but also the embodiment of the Lord’s glory and love, shown in the salvation He offers to all humankind. In fact, we may also say that Jesus Christ was greater than the Law of Moses and its sacrifices because he was the perfect sacrifice and the only sacrifice that could provide forgiveness and eternal life. Thus, he became, in the words of John the Baptist, “the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). In this remarkable man’s own words, he had come, not to “abolish the Law or the Prophets,” but to “fulfill” them (Matthew 5:17).

As we read through the Bible, we also notice the many times when Jesus has referred to himself (or been referred to by others) as the true and everlasting “temple” of God—the “temple” to whom believers might approach, to praise and worship their heavenly Father, and to enter with confidence or boldness into His presence. 

The unique temple, Jesus, has several characteristics that make his “temple” more accessible and thus more attractive than any great building. For one thing, single believers may find their way to any assembly of believers and know they are in God’s temple (2 Corinthians 6:16). They also know they can pray to the Lord God in Christ’s Name, and their prayers will be heard. 

Secondly, a single believer who has no access to any meeting can think of themself as an individual “temple” of God (1 Corinthians 3:16) and know that, wherever he is, he may partake of the bread and wine on his own and pray to God, knowing that his prayer will also be heard. 

Finally, when God oversaw the Roman invasion of Israel, with its destruction of Jerusalem and Herod’s temple, in A.D. 70, He also took away the only place where devout Jews could offer sacrifices to Him. This destruction may have led thoughtful Jews to turn their attention toward the only available “temple” in the whole world—the temple of which Jesus is the “cornerstone” and the temple of which believers in Jesus are “living stones.” And so it has been ever since.

George Booker,
Austin Leander Ecclesia, TX