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Practical Applications of the Memorial In the
Beginning Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.—John 15:13, NIV After the sun sets on Tuesday, April 7, 2009, Bible Students around the ..world will gather to memorialize the death of Jesus Christ. This follows his simple request to eat the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of him (1 Corinthians 11:24, 25). Memorializing his death, and water baptism for believers, are the two sacraments enjoined upon Jesus’ footstep followers. In this issue of The Herald we explore some of the practical applications contained in the memorial, lessons we need to put into practice in our daily walk. We begin with Washing the Disciples’ Feet, a menial act of service done by Jesus when no one else thought of it. Literal foot-washing is rarely appropriate today, though many other service opportunities abound. God’s Eternal Purpose explains how God desired to have a family sharing his very nature. That family began with his only begotten son (John 1:14) and will eventually include the faithful members of the church who will share with Christ as a wife shares with her husband. The church members share Christ’s experiences, explains Communion in Jesus’ Sacrifice, without adding any atoning merit to his precious sacrifice. Our verse-by-verse study of Psalm 42, entitled As Pants the Hart, looks at how David “thirsteth” for fellowship with God. The contrast between the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, and the denial of him by Peter, is described in Dipping the Sop. Judas persisted in his wrong course to the end, while Peter repented and became a pillar of the church. Prior to and during the last supper the disciples were preoccupied with the question Who Shall Be Greatest? Such ambition kept them from learning the lesson of humility being constantly taught by the Master. The apostle John gave a much longer account of what Jesus said after the supper. Jesus’ Farewell Sermon looks at those words, especially the emphasis on love. That sermon continued when they left the upper room, as we learn in The Walk to Gethsemane. As we think back to the events immediately preceding the crucifixion, let us focus on the lessons taught by Jesus to his closest followers. And let us put these lessons into practice so that we might be pleasing to him in all things |