April 3, 2014 Member Letter

April 3, 2014

Dear Brethren,

By the time you receive this letter, the Passover will only be a few days away. If your schedule is anything like mine, you are busy preparing physically and spiritually for the Passover service and the Days of Unleavened Bread. It is easy to focus on the physical—removing leavening from our property and making plans for the Night to Be Much Observed—but it would be a shame if we were prepared physically, but failed to prepare spiritually.

The apostle Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” We know from Scripture that this is an annual ceremony and not something we can choose to do weekly or monthly or anytime we desire. That is not the meaning of “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup.” The meaning is more “whenever”—or “at the time”—you eat the bread and drink the wine, you are doing it for this purpose. It does not imply “as often as you want.” The Bible in Basic English translates this verse as “For whenever you take the bread and the cup.” The Twentieth Century New Testament has a slightly different rendering, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink the cup.” Weymouth’s New Testament uses the phrase “for every time” you eat of the bread and drink of the wine. The point is that when we do this, it is done to proclaim the Lord’s death. Paul was not giving allowance to do this more than once per year as prescribed by Scripture and practiced by the New Testament Church.

Notice that whenever we partake of the Passover we are proclaiming the “Lord’s death.” How do you proclaim the death of Jesus Christ at the Passover service? The Greek word for proclaim is often translated “preach,” “declare” or “announce.” By eating the unleavened bread and drinking the wine on the night of Passover, you are making an announcement. You are acknowledging the way of life that you have chosen, and you are announcing that you are a Christian. As Christ shed His blood and died for your sins, you are willing to give your life to Him. You are a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ.

To come together to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ is a very heavy thing and very humbling. For the past 40-plus years, each year I have spoken at a Passover service. Normally I take a full day to pray, fast and work on the message. I want it to be just right, covering the material and following the outline that Christ gave on that final Passover prior to His death. I want the evening to be special for the brethren. But I always feel unworthy and unqualified to do the job as it should be done.

Consider what Christ said in one of His longest and most famous confrontations with the Pharisees and how it relates to this subject. The incident is recorded in John 8 where Christ’s words made the Pharisees so angry that by the end of the chapter they were picking up stones to throw at Him (John 8:59). Their anger became intense when He brought up Abraham: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (verse 56).

How did Abraham see the day of Christ? We know that Abraham walked and talked with the One who became Jesus Christ. He is called the “Word” in John 1:1, and we see Him referred to as YHWH in many places in the Old Testament. Abraham walked with Him, talked with Him, and ate with Him. But how did he see the day of Christ?

In preparing for the Passover, in a recent sermon I referenced an incident in Abraham’s life that was a forerunner to what Christ went through. This incredible example, found in Genesis 22, involved Abraham and his son Isaac. You know the story, but have you ever considered that through this event God showed Abraham what it would be like in the day of Christ? Abraham was told by God to take his only son Isaac and sacrifice him. Abraham must have been stunned, but there is no recorded response except that he prepared to do just that.

We understand that Isaac was a young man and not a child. He thought they were going to sacrifice a lamb; but when they arrived on Mount Moriah, Abraham apparently informed him that he was the sacrifice! Isaac willingly allowed his father to bind him and place him on the newly constructed altar. And as Abraham raised his hand to kill him, an angel stopped him. A ram caught in the bushes replaced Isaac and became the sacrifice.

What did Abraham learn from this experience? He “saw” what the savior of the world would go through, to willingly die as the sacrifice for all mankind. I believe Abraham “saw” Christ’s day, as the Scripture tells us in John 8. He did not kill his son, but he went through all the preparation and the emotions. Each year on the evening of Passover, we are asked to “see” what Christ went through, to reenact His death by partaking of the symbols and properly discerning His body (1 Corinthians 11:29).

My question is, How well do we see what Christ did for each one of us? As Christians, we can only proclaim something that we understand and see clearly. Abraham and Isaac were able to see clearly by living through a type of Christ’s sacrifice, which explains why Christ said that Abraham “rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it.” Each year, on Passover night, we are asked to proclaim the death of Jesus Christ by looking back on His sacrifice. This event is central to our salvation and is an important story that we should never become casual about.

I want to wish all of you a most meaningful Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. Sharron and I will be in Fiji the week prior to the Passover and in Auckland, New Zealand, for the Sabbath, the Passover, the Night to Be Much Observed, and the first day of Unleavened Bread. We will return to the U.S. for the last day of the feast. Please take the time to prepare for these days. Set aside a day to fast and spend extra time in prayer and study. Never take these days for granted!

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Jim Franks