Memorial Bible Reading Schedule 2024 and Invitation

[Click to read article]|[Frequently Asked Questions About Jehovah’s Witnesses, article 45]
“Why Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Observe the Lord’s Supper Differently From the Way Other Religions Do?”

We adhere strictly to the Bible in our observance of the Lord’s Evening Meal, which is also known as “the Lord’s supper,” the Last Supper, and the Memorial of Jesus’ death. (1 Corinthians 11:20; King James Version)
[Quotation] 1 Corinthians 11:20: When you come together in one place, it is not really to eat the Lord’s Evening Meal. [End Quotation]
In contrast, many beliefs and practices of other denominations in connection with this observance are not based on the Bible.
Purpose. The purpose of the Lord’s Evening Meal is to remember Jesus, showing our gratitude for his sacrifice in our behalf.
[Quotation] Matthew 20:28: Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many.” [End Quotation]
[Quotation] 1 Corinthians 11:24: and after giving thanks, he broke it and said: “This means my body, which is in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” [End Quotation]
The observance is not a sacrament, or a religious practice that imparts merit such as grace or the forgiveness of sins. The Bible teaches that our sins can be forgiven, not by a religious rite, but only through faith in Jesus.
[Quotation] Romans 3:25: God presented him as an offering for propitiation through faith in his blood. This was to demonstrate his own righteousness, because God in his forbearance was forgiving the sins that occurred in the past. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] 1 John 2:1 and 2: My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not commit a sin. And yet, if anyone does commit a sin, we have a helper with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one. And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s. [End Quotation]
How often? Jesus commanded his disciples to commemorate the Lord’s Evening Meal, but he did not specifically say how often.
[Quotation] Luke 22:19: Also, he took a loaf, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: “This means my body, which is to be given in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” [End Quotation]
Some feel that it should be observed monthly, while others observe it weekly, daily, several times each day, or as often as a person feels is appropriate.* [Footnote] Some Bible translations use the term “as often as” in reference to the Lord’s Evening Meal, and that phrase has been interpreted to indicate how often the meal should be commemorated. However, the correct sense of the original-language term in this context is “whenever” or “every time.” 1 Corinthians 11:25 and 26; New International Version; Good News Translation.
[Quotation] 1 Corinthians 11:25 and 26: He did the same with the cup also, after they had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood. Keep doing this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he comes. [End Quotation] [End of footnote] However, here are some factors that should be considered. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Evening Meal on the date of the Jewish Passover, and he died later that same day.
[Quotation] Matthew 26:1 and 2: Now when Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples: “You know that two days from now the Passover takes place, and the Son of man will be handed over to be executed on the stake.” [End Quotation]
This was no coincidence. The Scriptures compare Jesus’ sacrifice to that of the Passover lamb.
[Quotation] 1 Corinthians 5:7 and 8: Clear away the old leaven so that you may be a new batch, inasmuch as you are free from ferment. For, indeed, Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. So, then, let us keep the festival, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of badness and wickedness, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. [End Quotation]
The Passover was observed once each year.
[Quotation] Exodus 12:1 through 6: Jehovah now said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: “This month will be the beginning of the months for you. It will be the first of the months of the year for you. Speak to the entire assembly of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month, they should each take for themselves a sheep for their father’s house, a sheep to a house. But if the household is too small for the sheep, they and their nearest neighbor should share it between themselves in their house according to the number of people. When making the calculation, determine how much of the sheep each one will eat. Your sheep should be a sound, one year old male. You may choose from the young rams or from the goats. You must care for it until the 14th day of this month, and the whole congregation of the assembly of Israel must slaughter it at twilight. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] Leviticus 23:5: In the first month, on the 14th day of the month, at twilight is the Passover to Jehovah. [End Quotation]
Likewise, the Memorial of Jesus’ death was observed once each year by the early Christians, and Jehovah’s Witnesses follow that Bible-based pattern.
Date and time. The pattern established by Jesus helps determine not only the frequency but also the date and time of the Memorial. He introduced the observance after sundown on Nisan 14, 33 C.E., according to the Bible’s lunar calendar.
[Quotation] Matthew 26:18 through 20: He said: “Go into the city to So-and-so and say to him, ‘The Teacher says: “My appointed time is near; I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your home.”’” So the disciples did as Jesus instructed them and prepared for the Passover. When evening came, he was reclining at the table with the 12 disciples. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] Matthew 26:26: As they continued eating, Jesus took a loaf, and after saying a blessing, he broke it, and giving it to the disciples, he said: “Take, eat. This means my body.” [End Quotation]
We continue to observe the Memorial on this date each year, following the practice of early Christians. Although Nisan 14, 33 C.E. was a Friday, the anniversary of that date might fall on a different day of the week each year. We determine the date that Nisan 14 falls each year using the same method as was used in the time of Jesus, rather than applying the method used for the modern Jewish calendar.* [Footnote] The modern Jewish calendar determines the beginning of the month of Nisan by the astronomical new moon, but that technique was not used in the first century. Instead, the month began when the new moon was first visible in Jerusalem, which can be a day or more after the moment of the astronomical new moon. This difference is one reason why the date on which Jehovah’s Witnesses observe the Memorial does not always coincide with the date used by modern Jews for the Passover. [End of footnote]
Bread and wine. For the new observance, Jesus used unleavened bread and red wine that were left over from the Passover meal.
[Quotation] Matthew 26:26 through 28: As they continued eating, Jesus took a loaf, and after saying a blessing, he broke it, and giving it to the disciples, he said: “Take, eat. This means my body.” And taking a cup, he offered thanks and gave it to them, saying: “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. [End Quotation]
Following his example, we use bread without leaven or added ingredients and plain red wine, not grape juice or wine that has been sweetened, fortified, or spiced.
Some denominations use bread with leavening or yeast, but leaven is often used in the Bible as a symbol of sin and corruption. (Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 5:7-9)
[Quotation] Luke 12:1: In the meantime, when a crowd of so many thousands had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, he started by saying first to his disciples: “Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] 1 Corinthians 5:6 through 8: Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole batch of dough? Clear away the old leaven so that you may be a new batch, inasmuch as you are free from ferment. For, indeed, Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. So, then, let us keep the festival, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of badness and wickedness, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] Galatians 5:7 through 9: You were running well. Who hindered you from continuing to obey the truth? This sort of persuasion does not come from the One calling you. A little leaven ferments the whole batch of dough. [End Quotation]
Thus, only bread free from leaven and other additives can be a fitting symbol for Christ’s sinless body.
[Quotation] 1 Peter 2:22: He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth. [End Quotation]
Another practice not supported by the Bible is that of substituting unfermented grape juice for wine. Some churches do so because of their unscriptural prohibition against consuming alcohol.
[Quotation] 1 Timothy 5:23: Do not drink water any longer, but take a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent cases of sickness. [End Quotation]
Emblems, not literal flesh and blood. The unleavened bread and red wine served at the Memorial are emblems, or symbols, of Christ’s flesh and blood. They are not miraculously changed into or mixed with his literal flesh and blood, as some feel. Consider the Scriptural basis for this understanding. If Jesus had commanded his disciples to drink his blood, he would have been telling them to break God’s law against consuming blood.
[Quotation] Genesis 9:4: Only flesh with its life, its blood, you must not eat. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] Acts 15:28 and 29: For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you except these necessary things: to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!” [End Quotation]
Yet this could not be, for Jesus would never instruct others to violate God’s law regarding the sacredness of blood.
[Quotation] John 8:28 and 29: Jesus then said: “After you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing of my own initiative; but just as the Father taught me, I speak these things. And the One who sent me is with me; he did not abandon me to myself, because I always do the things pleasing to him.” [End Quotation]
If the apostles had been literally drinking Jesus’ blood, he would not have said that his blood “is to be poured out,” indicating that his sacrifice was yet to occur.
[Quotation] Matthew 26:28: for this means my ‘blood of the covenant,’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins. [End Quotation]
Jesus’ sacrifice took place “once for all time.”
[Quotation] Hebrews 9:25 and 26: This was not done to offer himself often, as when the high priest enters into the holy place from year to year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, he would have to suffer often from the founding of the world. But now he has manifested himself once for all time at the conclusion of the systems of things to do away with sin through the sacrifice of himself. [End Quotation]
However, if the bread and wine were changed into his flesh and blood during the Lord’s Evening Meal, then those partaking would be repeating that sacrifice. Jesus said: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me,” not “in sacrifice of me.”
[Quotation] 1 Corinthians 11:24: and after giving thanks, he broke it and said: “This means my body, which is in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” [End Quotation]
Those who believe in transubstantiation, that the bread and wine become Jesus’ literal body and blood, base this doctrine on the wording of certain Bible verses. For example, in many Bible translations, Jesus is recorded as saying of the wine: “This is my blood.”
[Quotation] Matthew 26:28: for this means my ‘blood of the covenant,’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins. [End Quotation]
However, Jesus’ words can also be translated as: “This means my blood,” “This represents my blood,” or “This signifies my blood.” As he had often done, Jesus was teaching by using a metaphor.
[Quotation] Matthew 13:34 and 35: All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds by illustrations. Indeed, without an illustration he would not speak to them, in order to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet who said: “I will open my mouth with illustrations; I will proclaim things hidden since the founding.” [End Quotation]
Who partake? When Jehovah’s Witnesses observe the Lord’s Evening Meal, only a small fraction of us partake of the bread and wine. Why is that so? Jesus’ shed blood established “a new covenant” that replaced the covenant between Jehovah God and the ancient nation of Israel.
[Quotation] Hebrews 8:10 through 13: “‘For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ says Jehovah. ‘I will put my laws in their mind, and in their hearts I will write them. And I will become their God, and they will become my people. “‘And they will no longer teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother, saying: “Know Jehovah!” For they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful toward their unrighteous deeds, and I will no longer call their sins to mind.’” In his saying “a new covenant,” he has made the former one obsolete. Now what is obsolete and growing old is near to vanishing away. [End Quotation]
Those who are in that new covenant partake of the Memorial emblems. It includes, not all Christians, but only “those who have been called” in a special way by God.
[Quotation] Hebrews 9:15: That is why he is a mediator of a new covenant, in order that because a death has occurred for their release by ransom from the transgressions under the former covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] Luke 22:20: Also, he did the same with the cup after they had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf. [End Quotation]
These ones will rule in heaven with Christ, and the Bible says that just 144,000 people receive that privilege.
[Quotation] Luke 12:28 through 30: Now if this is how God clothes the vegetation in the field that today exists and tomorrow is cast into an oven, how much more will he clothe you, you with little faith! So stop seeking what you will eat and what you will drink, and stop being in anxious suspense; for all these are the things the nations of the world are eagerly pursuing, but your Father knows you need these things. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] Revelation 5:9 and 10: And they sing a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slaughtered and with your blood you bought people for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
Revelation 5:10: and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.” [End Quotation]
[Quotation] Revelation 14:1: Then I saw, and look! the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who have his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] Revelation 14:3: And they are singing what seems to be a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one was able to master that song except the 144,000, who have been bought from the earth. [End Quotation]
In contrast to the “little flock” of those called to rule with Christ, the vast majority of us hope to be part of “a great crowd” who will gain everlasting life on earth.
[Quotation] Luke 12:32: “Have no fear, little flock, for your Father has approved of giving you the Kingdom. [End Quotation]
[Quotation] Revelation 7:9 and 10: After this I saw, and look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. And they keep shouting with a loud voice, saying: “Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.” [End Quotation]
While those of us with an earthly hope do not partake of the Memorial emblems, we do join in expressing thanks for the sacrifice that Jesus made in our behalf.
[Quotation] 1 John 2:2: And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s. [End Quotation] [Click to close]