Taken Into the Kingdom Covenant 6 On the night that Jesus instituted the Memorial of his death, he told his faithful apostles: “You are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Luke 22:28-30) Jesus here referred to a special covenant that he made with his 144,000 spirit-begotten brothers, who would remain “faithful even to death” and prove themselves ‘conquerors.’—Revelation 2:10; 3:21. 7 Those of this limited group forgo all hopes of living forever on earth as humans of flesh and blood. They will reign with Christ in heaven, sitting on thrones to judge humankind. (Revelation 20:4, 6) Let us now examine other scriptures that apply only to these anointed ones and that show why the “other sheep” do not partake of the Memorial emblems.—John 10:16. 8 The anointed share in Christ’s sufferings and are willing to submit to a death like his. As one of that group, Paul stated that he was prepared to make any sacrifice so that he might “gain Christ . . . so as to know him and the power of his resurrection and a sharing in his sufferings.” Yes, Paul was willing to submit himself “to a death like his.” (Philippians 3:8, 10) Many anointed Christians have endured in their fleshly bodies “the death-dealing treatment given to Jesus.”—2 Corinthians 4:10. 9 When instituting the Lord’s Evening Meal, Jesus said: “This means my body.” (Mark 14:22) He was referring to his literal body, soon to be beaten and bloodied. Bread without leaven was a fitting symbol of that body. Why? Because in the Bible, leaven can denote sin or wickedness. (Matthew 16:4, 11, 12; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8) Jesus was perfect, and his human body was without sin. He would offer that perfect body as a propitiatory sacrifice. (Hebrews 7:26; 1 John 2:2) His doing so would benefit all faithful Christians, whether they hoped for life in heaven or everlasting life on a paradise earth.—John 6:51. 10 Concerning the wine that anointed Christians partake of at the Memorial, Paul wrote: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of the Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16) In what way do those partaking of the wine ‘share in the blood of the Christ’? They certainly do not share in providing the ransom sacrifice, since they themselves need redemption. Through their faith in the redeeming power of Christ’s blood, their sins are forgiven and they are declared righteous for life in heaven. (Romans 5:8, 9; Titus 3:4-7) It is by means of Christ’s shed blood that the 144,000 joint heirs of Christ are “sanctified,” set apart, cleansed from sin to be “holy ones.” (Hebrews 10:29; Daniel 7:18, 27; Ephesians 2:19) Yes, it is with his shed blood that Christ “bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and . . . made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.”—Revelation 5:9, 10. 11 When Jesus inaugurated the Memorial of his death, he handed the cup of wine to his faithful apostles and said: “Drink out of it, all of you; for this means my ‘blood of the covenant,’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27, 28) Just as the blood of bulls and goats validated the Law covenant between God and the nation of Israel, Jesus’ blood made valid the new covenant that Jehovah would make with spiritual Israel, beginning at Pentecost 33 C.E. (Exodus 24:5-8; Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:14, 15) By drinking the wine that symbolizes the “blood of the covenant,” the anointed indicate that they have been taken into the new covenant and are receiving the benefits of it. 12 The anointed are also reminded of something else. Jesus told his faithful disciples: “The cup I am drinking you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am being baptized you will be baptized.” (Mark 10:38, 39) The apostle Paul later spoke of Christians’ being “baptized into [Christ’s] death.” (Romans 6:3) The anointed live a life of sacrifice. Their death is sacrificial in that they renounce any hope of everlasting life on earth. The baptism of these anointed Christians into Christ’s death is completed when after dying faithful they are resurrected as spirit creatures to “rule together as kings” with Christ in heaven.—2 Timothy 2:10-12; Romans 6:5; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 50. Partaking of the Emblems 13 Since sharing in the bread and wine passed during the Memorial involves all of this, it would obviously be inappropriate for those having an earthly hope to partake. Those with an earthly hope discern that they themselves are not anointed members of the body of Christ, nor are they in the new covenant that Jehovah made with those who will rule with Jesus Christ. Since “the cup” represents the new covenant, only those in the new covenant partake of the emblems. Those looking forward to everlasting life in human perfection on earth under the Kingdom are neither baptized into Jesus’ death nor called to rule with him in heaven. Were they to partake of the emblems, it would signify something that is not true with respect to them. Thus, they do not partake, though they do attend the Memorial as respectful observers. They are thankful for all that Jehovah has done for them by means of his Son, including the extending of forgiveness on the basis of Christ’s shed blood. 14 The final sealing of the relatively small number of Christians called to reign with Christ in heaven is nearing completion. Until the end of their life of sacrifice on earth, the anointed are spiritually strengthened by partaking of the Memorial emblems. They feel a bond of unity with their brothers and sisters as members of Christ’s body. Their partaking of the emblematic bread and wine reminds them of their responsibility to remain faithful until death.—2 Peter 1:10, 11.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Sep 2013 10:22:47 +0000
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