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Yellow: Direct Answer.
Dark Yellow: Additional Answer.
Light Blue: Additional Points.
"Keep doing this in remembrance of me" (LUKE 22:19).
1, 2. Why do we attend the Memorial every year?
Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus gave his life for us, and because of that we have the opportunity to live forever. The night before he died he established a simple ceremony in which he used bread and wine. He commanded his disciples to continue celebrating it so that they would remember that great gesture of love (1 Cor. 11: 23-26).
2 Christians obey that command of Jesus because we love him very much (John 14:15). During the Memorial season, we show how much we value his sacrifice. For example, we spend time praying and meditating on the meaning of his death. Also, we love to spend more time preaching to invite as many people as possible to join us for this very special event. And, of course, we don't want anything to prevent us from attending the Memorial.
3. What will we see in this article?
3 Jehovah's servants have tried hard to remember Christ's death. In this article we will look at three facts that demonstrate this: 1) we celebrate the Memorial as Jesus said, 2) we invite others to attend, and 3) we celebrate it despite the difficulties.
WE CELEBRATE THE COMMEMORATION AS JESUS SAID
4. (a) What truths are explained each year at the Memorial? (Luke 22:19, 20). (b) Why is understanding these truths so special?
4 Every year when we attend the Memorial, we hear a talk based on the Bible that clearly answers some questions. a). For example, why we need the ransom and how the death of one man achieves the forgiveness of the sins of many people. We are reminded who eats the bread and drinks the wine, and what these symbols represent (see Luke 22:19, 20). During the talk, we reflected on the blessings that those who hope to live on earth will enjoy (Is. 35:5, 6; 65:17, 21-23). Understanding these truths is something very special; we must not take it for granted. b). There are billions of people who do not understand them and who do not know how to give the sacrifice of Jesus the value it deserves. Also, they do not commemorate the death of Jesus as he said it would. And what is that for?
5. How did people begin to commemorate the death of Jesus after most of the apostles died?
5 Shortly after most of Jesus' apostles died, false Christians began to infiltrate the congregation (Matt. 13:24-27, 37-39). They said “twisted things to drag the disciples away and lead them after them” (Acts 20:29, 30). One of the "twisted things" they began to teach over time was that Jesus did not offer his body "once to bear the sins of many people." Contrary to what the Bible says, they taught that the sacrifice of Christ must be offered over and over again (Heb. 9:27, 28). Today, many good-hearted people believe this false teaching. They go to church every week, or even every day, to celebrate what is known as the sacrifice of the mass.On the other hand, there are religions that remember the death of Jesus less frequently, but most of their members do not clearly understand what it means. Some may wonder: "Can my sins really be forgiven thanks to the death of Jesus?" Some ask this question because they have been led to believe that the sacrifice of Jesus does not serve to forgive our sins. And the true followers of Christ, what have they done?
6. What did a group of Bible students come to understand in 1872?
6 In the 1970s, a group of Bible students, led by Charles Russell, began to take an in-depth look at the Word of God. They wanted to understand the true value of Jesus' sacrifice and how to remember his death. In 1872 they understood with the help of the Bible that Jesus paid a ransom for all mankind. And they did not keep secret what they had discovered. On the contrary, they published it in books, newspapers and magazines . Soon afterward they began to celebrate the Memorial only once a year, just as the first-century Christians did.
7. How does what the early Bible students investigated benefit us today?
7 How does everything that those sincere Christians investigated so many years ago benefit us today? Jehovah blessed his efforts, and thanks to that we see clearly what the sacrifice of Jesus means and all that he will accomplish (1 John 2: 1, 2). We have also learned that the Bible offers two hopes for people who obey God: immortal life in heaven for some and eternal life on earth for millions. And we feel closer to Jehovah when we reflect on how much he loves us and how much he benefits us personally from Jesus' sacrifice (1 Pet. 3:18; 1 John 4: 9). So, like faithful brothers in the past, we invite others to celebrate the Memorial with us in the way that Jesus directed.
WE INVITE OTHERS TO THE COMMEMORATION
8. What have Jehovah's servants done to invite others to the Memorial? (See pictures).
8 Jehovah's servants have been inviting people to the Memorial for many years. In 1881, this magazine invited the brothers from the United States to meet in a house in Allegheny (Pennsylvania) to celebrate it. Afterwards, each congregation began to celebrate its own Memorial. But it was in March 1940 that publishers were told they could invite anyone from their area who showed interest. And, in 1960, Bethel sent printed invitations to congregations for the first time. Since then, Jehovah's Witnesses have handed out billions of invitations. Why do we invest so much time and effort in this work?
9, 10. Who benefits from our efforts to invite others to the Memorial? (John 3:16).
9 One of the reasons we invite others to the Memorial is because we want them to know what Jehovah and Jesus have done for all of us.—Read John 3:16. We want what they see and hear for the first time that night to motivate them to get to know Jehovah better and to be his servants. But they are not the only ones who benefit from our efforts to invite others.
10 Our invitations are also addressed to another group of people: the inactive. We invite you to the Memorial to remind you that God still loves you. It fills us with joy to see that many decide to attend. That night he reminds them how happy they were serving Jehovah.Let's look at Monica's case. During the COVID-19 pandemic she started preaching again. After attending the 2021 Memorial, she said: “This Memorial has been very special to me. This is the first time in 20 years that I have preached to others and invited them to the Memorial. I did it with all my heart, because I had no words to thank what Jehovah and Jesus have done for me” (Ps. 103:1-4). Whether people accept our invitation or not, we do our best to invite them because we know that Jehovah values our efforts.
ILLUSTRATION
A man receives the Memorial invitation in the mail and reads it while holding it in his hand. Image series: 1. Publishers from different parts of the world presenting the Memorial invitation. 2. Invitations to the Memorial in multiple languages, including sign language. The invitations, digital or printed, date from the 1960s to the present. What can we do to fully support the Memorial campaign? (See paragraphs 8 to 10).
11. How has Jehovah blessed all that we do to invite people to the Memorial? (Haggai 2:7).
11 Jehovah has generously blessed everything we do to invite people to the Memorial. For example, in 2021, despite the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had a record attendance of 21,367,603 people. This is more than twice the number of Jehovah's Witnesses in the entire world. Of course, for Jehovah the most important thing is not numbers, but people (Luc. 15:7; 1 Tim. 2:3, 4). Surely Jehovah uses the Memorial campaign to help us find good-hearted people.—Read Haggai 2:7.
WE CELEBRATE THE COMMEMORATION DESPITE THE DIFFICULTIES
12. What situations might prevent us from celebrating the Memorial? (See picture).
12 Jesus predicted that in the last days we would have all kinds of problems: family opposition, persecution, wars, epidemics... (Matt. 10:36; Mar. 13:9; Luc. 21:10, 11). Any of these situations could become an obstacle to our celebrating the Memorial. What have our brothers done in these circumstances, and how has Jehovah helped them?
ILLUSTRATION
A group of brothers and sisters celebrate the Memorial in the basement of a home. Jehovah blesses our efforts to celebrate the Memorial. (See paragraph 12).
13. How did Jehovah bless Artem's courage and determination in celebrating the Memorial in jail?
13 Jail. The brothers who are imprisoned for their beliefs do their best to remember the death of Christ. Let's look at Artem's example. During the 2020 Memorial season, he was locked in a 183-square-foot (17-square-meter) cell, holding up to 5 inmates at a time. Despite everything, he managed to get a few items that he would use as symbols for the Memorial and made plans to give the talk himself. But there was a problem: his cellmates smoked and spent the day swearing. What did Artem do? He asked them if they could go an hour without using that language or smoking. To his surprise, they said yes.He recounts: “I told them that I could explain what the Memorial is about.” Although they told him that they were not interested in him, after seeing him celebrate it, they asked him for more details.
14. What did Jehovah's people do to celebrate the Memorial despite the COVID-19 pandemic?
14 The COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this pandemic, Jehovah's people were unable to attend the Memorial in person. But that didn't stop us from celebrating. Congregations with internet access enjoyed the occasion via videoconference. But what about the millions of brothers who did not have internet? In some countries the speech was broadcast on television or radio. In addition, the branches recorded it in more than 500 languages so that even those living in isolated areas could celebrate the Memorial. And there were brothers who took it upon themselves to send them those recordings.
15. What do we learn from a Bible student named Sue?
15 Family opposition. The greatest difficulty some have had in celebrating the Memorial is opposition from their family. That's what happened to a Bible student named Sue. In 2021, one day before the Memorial, Sue told her teacher that because her family was against it, she would not be able to enjoy the Memorial. Her teacher read Luke 22:44 to her. She explained that when we have problems, it is best to follow Jesus' example and pray to Jehovah with the full confidence that he will help us. The next day, Sue herself prepared the bread and wine, and watched the morning worship special program on jw.org. Later, she locked herself in her room and listened to the Memorial over the phone. She later wrote these words to her teacher: “Yesterday you encouraged me so much. I did my best to attend the Memorial, and Jehovah did the rest. You can't imagine how happy and grateful I feel." If you are going through a similar situation, do you think Jehovah can help you?
16. Why can we be sure that Jehovah will bless every effort we make to attend the Memorial? (Romans 8:31, 32).
16 Jehovah highly values every effort we make to remember the death of his Son. We can be sure that God will bless us if we show gratitude for what he has done for us (read Romans 8:31, 32). We don't want to miss this year's Memorial for anything in the world. Let us do more for Jehovah in this Memorial season.
WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?
What truth about the ransom or Memorial do you personally value?
For example, why we need the ransom and how the death of one man achieves the forgiveness of the sins of many people. We are reminded who eats the bread and drinks the wine, and what these symbols represent (see Luke 22:19, 20).
Whom do we invite to the Memorial, and why?
We invited people for the first time that night with the goal of motivating them to get to know Jehovah better and to be his servants. But they are not the only ones who benefit from our efforts to invite others. Our invitations are also addressed to another group of people: the inactive. We invite you to the Memorial to remind you that God still loves you.
Whether people accept our invitation or not, we do our best to invite them because we know that Jehovah values our efforts.
What difficulties have some faced in celebrating the Memorial?
Jesus predicted that in the last days we would have all kinds of problems: family opposition, persecution, wars, epidemics... (Matt. 10:36; Mar. 13:9; Luc. 21:10, 11).
The difficulties some have faced in celebrating the Memorial included jail, the COVID-19 pandemic, and family opposition.
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