Jehovah Blesses Our Efforts to Observe the Memorial - REESTABLISHING THE PATTERN THAT JESUS SET

 Each year at the Memorial, we listen to a Bible-based talk that gives clear answers to a number of questions. We learn why mankind needs a ransom and how the death of one man can atone for the sins of  many. We are reminded of what the bread and the wine represent and who should partake of them.  (Read Luke 22:19, 20.) And we meditate on the blessings that are in store for those who cherish the earthly hope.  (Isaiah 35:5, 6; 66:17m 21-23)  We should not take these truths for granted.  Billions of people do not understand them, and they do not appreciate just how valuable Jesus' sacrifice is.  They also do not observe the Memorial of his death according to the pattern he established. Why is that?

Soon after most of Jesus' apostles died, imitation Christians worked their way into the congregation.  (Matthew 13:24-27, 37-39)  They spoke "twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." (Acts 20:29, 30) One of the "twisted things " that imitation Christians eventually began teaching was that Jesus did not offer his body "once for all time to bear the sins of many," as the Bible says, but that his sacrifice must be repeated over and over again.  (Hebrews 9:27, 28) Today, many sincere people believe this false teaching.  They gather together in churches regularly-sometimes daily-to observe what has come to be called "The Sacrifice of the Mass.  Other religious organizations observe the death of Jesus less often, but most of their members have only a vague notion about what Jesus' sacrifice has accomplished. Some may wonder,  'Does Jesus' death really mean that my sins can be forgiven?' Why do they ask they question?  In some cases, they have been influenced by those who doubt that Jesus' sacrifice makes it possible the forgiveness of sins.  How have Jesus' true followers dealt with this issue?

Next time: Jehovah Blesses Our Efforts to Observe the Memorial - REESTABLISHING THE PATTERN THAT JESUS SET

From the jw.org publications