DEFINED – “A monument is a type of—usually three-dimensional—structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical, political, technical or architectural importance.” WIKIPEDIA
The Jewish people were very fond of monuments as visual reminders of certain historical events. When they prepared to cross over the Jordan God told them “on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the LORD God of your fathers promised you,” Deu 27:2-3 Now notice Joshua 4:7 “Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” These memorials were set up for numerous reasons. 1. To help them remember the event. 2. To help them remember God’s leadership and plan for them. 3. A teaching tool for their children You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” Deu 6:7. As New Testament Christians we are given the greatest monument of all time, the Lord’s Supper. The supper was initiated in Luk 22:18. Jesus said “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” This spiritual feast stands in memorial of the greatest event in human kind. It stands as the hub of history. It commemorates the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first century brethren met on the first day of the week to “break bread” which stands for partaking of the Lord’s supper. When doing so, they must partake in the body and blood of Jesus. Paul warned, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 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” 1Co 11:26- 29. It stands before us as a memorial of hope. We were lost and without any hope and the Lord sent His son to intervene for us. 1Jn 2:2 . And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. It stands as a memorial of love. Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us. So the next time we partake of the communion, LET US REMEMBER.