8/23/2026 9:30 AM | Remember | Pastor Dr. Steven Thomas

Memory matters because what people choose to remember shapes how they move forward. The Bible has known this for a long time. God repeatedly gave His people altars, stones, and memorials so that their children could ask, “What do these stones mean?” and hear again what God had done. Forgetting God’s rescue led Israel toward disaster, even toward exchanging the glory of God for an ox that eats grass.

Luke 22 brings that need to remember right into the final Passover before the cross. Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare the meal in a way that keeps the location hidden from Judas. Jesus is in control of every event, even as betrayal and suffering get closer. Satan has entered Judas, but Satan is not steering this thing. Jesus protects this time because He must prepare His followers for what is coming.

Jesus says that He has “desired with great desire” to eat this Passover with His disciples before He suffers. Christ does not reluctantly make Himself known to His people. Christ delights in drawing people close, helping them understand what they could not understand before, and preparing them for the next step with Him. The disciples do not yet see the whole picture, but Jesus does.

The Passover itself had always remembered God’s rescue from Egypt through the blood of a lamb. Jesus takes the bread and cup and says that all that looking backward had really been looking forward. Christ is the ultimate Passover Lamb. His body is given, and His blood establishes the new covenant. The old rescue from slavery in Egypt points to the greater rescue from the tyranny, oppression, and destruction of sin.

Jesus also identifies the betrayer at the table. The presence of Judas does not catch Him off guard, and Satan’s presence does not threaten His mission. Christ goes “as it has been determined.” The cross is not a close battle where Jesus barely escapes defeat. Jesus completes exactly what He came to do.

Communion therefore calls God’s people to choose the right memories. Jesus calls them to remember that He is in control, that He loves to reveal Himself, that His blood has rescued them from sin, and that Satan cannot stop Him. The depth of a person’s awareness of sin becomes the depth of that person’s understanding of Christ’s love. Christ calls His people to remember what they could never get out of on their own.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus remains in complete control. Christ controlled the details of the Passover preparation even while Judas was plotting betrayal. Anxiety often acts as though circumstances have slipped outside Christ’s hands, but the cross proves otherwise. Jesus does not merely react to evil. Jesus carries out His purpose in the middle of it. [33:22]
• 2. Christ desires to reveal Himself. Jesus desired with great desire to share this meal with His disciples before suffering. Distance from God is not corrected by imagining Christ as irritated or reluctant. Christ delights in making Himself known and in leading His people into a deeper understanding of Him. [37:11]
• 3. Jesus is the ultimate Passover Lamb. The bread and cup declare that Jesus fulfills what Passover had pictured for centuries. The blood on Israel’s doorposts spared them from death, while Christ’s blood rescues sinners from sin’s oppression and judgment. Communion remembers not a vague religious feeling, but a costly and complete rescue. [40:57]
• 4. Satan cannot stop Christ’s mission. Judas’s betrayal and Satan’s opposition were present at the table, yet neither one gained control over Jesus. Christ went to the cross as it had been determined, not as a victim trapped by stronger forces. Those who belong to Jesus face a real enemy, but never an equal enemy. [44:42]
• 5. Remembering reshapes everyday living. The memories preserved in the heart will drive the actions that follow. Forgetting what Christ has done leaves people vulnerable to fear, rebellion, and the old patterns of sin. Remembering His rescue calls them to live as people who are no longer under sin’s control.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [19:50] - Remember, Remember
• [21:09] - Why Memories Matter
• [25:43] - God Gives His People Memorials
• [28:30] - Preparing the Passover
• [32:02] - Jesus Is in Control
• [34:03] - Jesus Desires This Meal
• [38:39] - The Bread and the New Covenant
• [42:39] - Judas and Satan at the Table
• [45:21] - Choosing What to Remember
• [46:48] - Questions Before Communion
• [53:19] - Taking the Bread and Cup
• [56:31] - Do Not Miss Jesus

Bible Reading

Luke 22:7–23

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. [29:00]

So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” [29:06]

They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” [29:09]

And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. [29:35]

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” [35:00]

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” [38:41]

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” [39:50]

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” [40:06]

“But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” [43:16]

And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this. [43:32]

Joshua 4:6–7

“That this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’” [26:32]

“Then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” [26:41]

Psalm 106:19–22

They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. [27:38]

They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. [27:45]

They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. [27:30]

Observation questions

1. In Joshua 4, what was the purpose of the twelve stones, and who was expected to ask about their meaning?
2. According to Psalm 106, what did Israel do after forgetting God, their Savior? What had God done for them that they failed to remember? [27:08]
3. What details did Jesus give Peter and John for preparing the Passover, and what happened when they followed His instructions?
4. What does Jesus say about His body, His blood, and the purpose of the bread and cup? [39:50]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Jesus have kept the location of the Passover meal hidden until the right time? What does this show about His purpose in preparing the disciples before the cross? [32:18]
2. Jesus says He “earnestly desired” to eat this meal with His disciples before He suffered. What does that reveal about Christ’s heart toward people who feel distant, confused, or weak in faith? [37:11]
3. Passover remembered Israel’s rescue from slavery in Egypt. How does Jesus’ language about His body and blood show that He is bringing a greater rescue from sin? [40:30]
4. Jesus knew Judas would betray Him, yet He says the Son of Man goes “as it has been determined.” How can both Jesus’ control and Judas’s real responsibility be seen in this passage? [43:39]

Application questions

1. What memories tend to shape your attitude and choices most often: past failures, painful moments, worries about the future, or specific ways God has been faithful? What might it look like to preserve and revisit memories of God’s grace? [46:48]
2. Where are you most tempted to believe that life is out of control right now? How does Jesus’ careful preparation for the Passover give you reason to trust Him in that situation? [33:22]
3. Jesus delights in making Himself known to His people. When you feel far from Him, what thoughts usually keep you from coming to Him honestly? What could taking one small step toward Him this week look like? [37:37]
4. Communion is a remembrance that Jesus’ body was given and His blood was poured out for sinners. What part of your need for Christ’s rescue do you most need to remember right now? [42:08]
5. Israel’s forgetting led them to exchange God’s glory for something powerless. What lesser things can compete for your trust, attention, comfort, or worship when you forget what God has done? [27:34]
6. Jesus has rescued His people from the oppression and destruction of sin. Is there an area where you are still living as though sin has the final word over you? What truth about Christ’s rescue needs to shape your next response? [46:00]
7. Satan is a real enemy, but he is not Jesus’ equal and cannot stop Christ’s mission. How could remembering Christ’s victory change the way you face temptation, fear, or spiritual discouragement this week? [44:42]