He is risen! Because He lives we will live. Hallelujah! But there is more good news than just the resurrection. Eternal life would have been enough...but Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave us so much more, and it will be received as we remember. Let me explain.
"And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me'" (Luke 22:19). At this meal Jesus and the disciples were remembering the first Passover which brought freedom from bondage in Egypt. Jesus now redirected their focus so it would be done in remembrance of Him.
"Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My Blood, which is shed for you'" (Luke 22:20). Blood is required for the remission of sin. Through the shedding of the Blood we receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life through His covenant. That would have been enough – this life is short when compared with eternity. Jesus, offering His Blood, redeemed us from the curse of sin and death. That would have been enough, but on the way to the Cross He also endured a beating on His body to remove the effects of sin. Jesus used these two different elements for two different purposes.
I Give It All To You On Earth NOW As It Is In Heaven
Jesus, "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), made a choice to take the beating on His physical body. From the top of His head, which was crowned with thorns, to the soles of His feet, which were pierced as He was nailed to the Cross, He endured this with you and me in mind.
He knew it would fulfill prophecy and release God's promise. "...He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Because Jesus loves us, He allowed Himself to be bruised by hands which beat Him for our error. Because He loves us, He allowed a crown of thorns to be pressed onto His head so that we could have peace, completeness, and soundness in our soul/emotional realm. Because He loves us, He allowed Himself to be whipped, leaving stripes on His back so that we could be healed!
The Lord's body was beaten, broken, pierced, and cut for healing body and soul. These elements do not have one function but rather two. Jesus told us to take communion in remembrance of Him, to remember it, to partake of it, to profess it, to confess it.
There is no power in the elements themselves – the power is in the faith that the elements are what Jesus said they are. The word "faith" in Hebrew is pronounced aw-man'; we know it as "Amen," meaning to support, confirm, uphold, to be established, be faithful, to be certain, i.e. to believe in. It's really that simple. Unfortunately, there is an adversary roaming around trying to confuse the simple truth found in John 3:16. He is trying to distort our belief system so we can't "sit" on the fullness of the Word of God and allow it to support us, to uplift us, to establish us in the finished work of Christ in our lives.
It would have been enough if He has just given us life, but Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). This phrase "more abundantly" means: life surpassing the ordinary life, a life more excellent, a life over and above anything you could imagine! He was saying, in essence, "Everything I am, everything I have, I give it all to you on earth NOW as it is in Heaven – everything." Hallelujah!
Our Memory Is a Weapon In the Palm of Our Hand
Depending on the circumstance you are in today, this revelation may seem far away. Nevertheless, in your memory you have a powerful weapon of war that may help bring it closer. Let me explain.
The Hebrew word for "remember" is zachar. I like to find the equivalent Hebrew word of Greek ones because all Hebrew letters have ancient pictographs to them. Therefore, they paint a type of spiritual picture for us to see.
In Hebrew, zachar/remember is spelled: zayin, kaf, resh.
Zayin is a pictograph of a weapon. Kaf is a pictograph of a hand. Resh is a pictograph of a head.
Through this we can see that in our head, our memory, is a weapon in the palm of our hand. We can use this weapon to pull down anything that would attempt to exalt itself above God's revealed will for our lives.
This Resurrection Sunday, remember His love. Remember, it would have been enough if He only gave you eternal life – but He gave you life abundantly. Remember that He went through it all because He loves you. Use this weapon to cut through the lies of the enemy. Amen and amen.
"...do this in remembrance of Me." The Master.
Tiffany Ann Lewis
Dancing with the Flame of the Lord Ministries
Email: tiffanyann@tiffanyannlewis.com
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