[Steve Myers] In 1 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul is giving instructions for taking the Passover. Passover is a Christian thing, it’s a New Testament thing, and in this section of scripture, the apostle Paul is saying that we need to do a couple of things. In verse 23 of chapter 11, he says, “I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you.” Jesus Christ Himself taught Paul how you take the Passover, how a Christian should take the Passover. He says, “On the same night that He was betrayed, He took bread.” And then later, he says, “’This is My body, take and eat. Do this in remembrance of Me.’” And then he says about the cup, the wine – he says, “’This cup is the new covenant in My blood.’” And he says, “’Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)

And as preparation for that special event, for the New Testament Passover, he says something interesting down in verse 28. He says, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” And so oftentimes, people will read through this section of scripture, and as they rededicate their lives to Jesus Christ and God the Father at the Passover, they consider this passage that says, “Let a man examine himself” (1 Corinthians 11:28-29).

And oftentimes as we look at ourselves, we see every flaw, we see every fault that we have, and we can become overburdened, and we can become disappointed in ourselves. We can become very discouraged, even depressed, about our spiritual state. And yet, in Paul’s instructions, he tells us that we should examine ourselves, we should look at ourselves closely. And yet then what does he say? Well, in verse 27, that’s exactly what he says – verse 28 – “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat”.

The result of looking at our lives and examining ourselves – scrutinizing what we’re like spiritually – should lead us to take the Passover. Shouldn’t lead us to be so down and so discouraged that we feel like we can’t take it, because it’s exactly the opposite. Here he says we do this, and then we take the Passover. And so the same word is used in the passage right before this, where he says that we should examine ourselves, “and so let him eat”. In verse 26, “As often as you eat this bread and cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” So we see those things are connected, that we do one thing and then we follow through and do the other.

So don’t get discouraged when we go through this examination period before the Passover, because there is a solution, even for the discouragement. There is a solution for the sin, and it’s in the remembering part. We remember and honor and memorialize Jesus Christ, because ultimately, that’s where the solution lies.

That’s BT Daily. We’ll see you next time.