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| Vol. 16 No. 7 July 2014 | Page 11 |
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| Vol. 16 No. 7 July 2014 | Page 11 |
Mark McWhorter
The prophet Zechariah prophesied around 518 B.C. to the Israelites after their return from captivity. Zechariah gave numerous prophecies dealing with Jesus and the church.
Zechariah in Chapter 6 put crowns of gold and silver on the high priest Joshua. The high priest was never a king. Likewise the king was never a priest. Yet, God had Zechariah put these crowns on Joshua. Then, Zechariah began a prophecy with the words, “Behold the man.” God wanted them to know that He was talking about a man, but a very special man. This man was to be both king and priest. It is of special interest to read how Pilate referred to Christ in John 19:5. That was after Pilate had had Jesus scourged. The Roman soldiers put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. They put a purple robe on him. Then, Pilate brought Him out to the Jews and said he had found no fault in Him. As Jesus stepped out to where the Jews could see him, Pilate said, “Behold the man.”
Later, when Jesus was crucified, Pilate had a sign put over His head that He was King of the Jews. Pilate did not do these things so that he knowingly could fulfill prophecy. God had Zechariah prophecy it five centuries earlier because He knew what would happen.
Jesus is indeed our King and our High Priest. What a wonderful God we have. Study your Bible. Learn what you need to do to obey Jesus, and if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
Donald R. Fox
It seems that just about all memorials erected by mere men lose their significance in the passing of years. I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and like all large cities, monuments are plentiful. These monuments are built to preserve remembrance of the dead or a past event. However, in the fleeting of time, memories of these deeds become unknown by most of us.
Recently, the World War One Memorial in Washington, D.C. has become known again because of the death of the last USA WW1 veteran, Frank Woodruff Buckles (February 1, 1901 – February 27, 2011). In his advanced age of one hundred plus years, Frank visited the World War One Memorial and was shocked because of its deterioration over the years. The memorial had been neglected, and the reminder of those who served was forgotten. Trees and shrubbery had blocked viewing this once prominent monument. Sadly, in the passing of years, people forget. “And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph” (Exodus 1:6-8 ASV).
After all the wonderful works Joseph did for Egypt, there “arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.” So it goes with the memory of past generations. We forget! I find this fact very sad and proof of a lack of appreciation for past deeds. We understand that even fairly recent history is not taught in our school systems. What does that say about us as people?
A Lasting Memorial
In pondering this truism that people forget in a few short years, I was compelled to observe the timeline of the religion of the God of the Bible. We note that the Patriarchal Age was the first period of worship unto God Almighty. “God, who at sundry time and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1 KJV). Then, the Jewish Age lasted for about 1,500 years. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am come not to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). “[B]lotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Colossians 2:14 KJV). We now live in the Christian Age, under the New Covenant.
Dwelling on the lasting acknowledgment of the true and almighty God of the Bible, we see a continued and lasting memorial. This memorial is unbroken from the beginning of the creation of mankind. For nearly two thousand years Christians have met on the first day of the week to worship God Almighty. Every single Lord’s Day Christians remember our Lord Jesus and His great sacrifice for mankind. “All Biblical scholars and church historians, without regard to denominations, generally concede that the apostolic church observed the Lord’s Supper on the first day of every week” (Shepherd 39).
Whatever acts of worship the apostles taught and sanctioned in one congregation, they taught and sanctioned in all, because all under the same government of the same King. But the church in Troas met “upon the first day of the week… to break bread” (Acts 20:7)”…(1) That it was an established rule of the disciples to meet on the first day of the week; (2) that the primary object of their meeting was to break bread. And Luke also tells us that the Jerusalem church “continued steadfastly, in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and prayers” (Acts 2:42), which shows us that the breaking of bread was a prominent item in those stated meetings. (Shepherd 36)
For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me. In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ASV)
Works Cited
Shepherd J. W. The Church, the Falling Away and the Restoration.