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Passover – A Sign of Israel; Preparation of Jesus for the Cross

Rev Colin Chow
11-04-2017

It has always been about Jesus. It’s still all about Jesus. And it will be about the second coming of Christ.

Mark 14:12-16New International Version (NIV)

The Last Supper

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

Mark and Luke described the location where Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with His disciples as a large upper room (Mark 14:15; Luke 22:12) which seems similar to Luke’s description of the upper room (Acts 1:13) where the disciples gathered after Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after His resurrection.

Isaiah 53New International Version (NIV)
Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.

Jesus is the Passover Lamb that gave His life for His people.

Cleaning the leaven from the homes

Exodus 12:14-24New International Version (NIV)

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.
17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe.
 None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 

In Jesus’ burial, He fulfilled the unleavened bread.

In Jesus’ resurrection, He fulfilled the first fruits.

Why Celebrate the Passover or Pesach (Hebrew: פֶּסַח Pesah or Pesakh)?

Exodus 12:25-27New International Version (NIV)

25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

Seder (Hebrew: סֵדֶר‎ sedeʁ) means “Order” or “Arrangement”
Haggadah (Hebrew: הַגָּדָה) means “Telling”

The Passover Seder involves a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. (Exodus 12) Seder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine, eating unleavened bread (matzah), partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom.

God told the people of Israel to celebrate this day as a festival of the LORD – and He intended it as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.

Lighting the Candle

Exodus 13:21-22New International Version (NIV)

21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Hebrews 12:29New International Version (NIV)

29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

The Ten (10) Plagues (Hebrew: מכות מצרים, Makot Mitzrayim)
One of the most dramatic moments of the Passover seder comes with the recitation of the 10 plagues that, the Bible says, God brought on the Egyptians to persuade Pharaoh to free the Israelites from slavery. 

The Plagues:
  1. Blood (Hebrew: דָם dam) (Exodus 7:14-24)
  2. Frogs (Hebrew: צְּפַרְדֵּעַ tzefardea) (Exodus 7:25-8:15)
  3. Gnats or Lice (Hebrew: כִּנִּים kinnim) (Exodus 8:16-19)
  4. Flies (Hebrew: עָרוֹב arov) (Exodus 8:20-32)
  5. Livestock (Hebrew: דֶּבֶר dever) (Exodus 9:1-7)
  6. Boils (Hebrew: שְׁחִין shechin) (Exodus 9:8-12)
  7. Hail (Hebrew: בָּרָד barad) (Exodus 9:13-35)
  8. Locusts (Hebrew: אַרְבֶּה arbeh) (Exodus 10:1-20)
  9. Darkness (Hebrew: חוֹשֶך chosekh) (Exodus 10:21-29)
  10. Slaying of the firstborn (Hebrew: מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת makat bechorot) (Exodus 11:1-12:36)

The Passover Seder Plate (Hebrew: קערה ke'ara)
Maror (Hebrew: מָרוֹר‎‎ mārôr) or Marror, also known as Chazeret:
Bitter herbs (horseradish root, watercress or some other strong radish or vegetable) bring tears to the eyes to remember the tears and bitterness of slavery that the people of Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל Yisraʾel) endured before their escape from Egypt. It is also symbolic of the worldly system ruled by the Adversary.

Zeroah or z'roa (Hebrew: זרוֹע zrōā):
The shank bone of the Passover/Pesach brings to mind deliverance which the Lord God wrought for us by the blood of this sacrifice. It represents the roasted lamb which could no longer be sacrificed as the Temple had been destroyed in 70 C.E. So we no longer eat roast lamb at Passover/Pesach because Jesus/Yeshua (ישוע) was the perfect sacrificial lamb at Passover/Pesach offered one time for all times. Hence the zeroah represents the Arm of YHWH who would redeem the world.

Charoset (Hebrew: חרס cheres, meaning "clay"):
Mixed fruit salad made from finely chopped apples, chopped nuts, dates, cinnamon and wine reminds us of the mortar which the Israelites (Hebrew: בני ישראל‎‎ Bnei Yisra'el) were forced to use to make bricks without straws in Egypt, enhancing the bitterness of slavery, yet were tempted with the sweetness of hope of redemptions promised to Abraham (Avraham), originally Abram, years ago. The sweetness of the apples in contrasting from the bitterness of slavery is a symbol of hope.

Beitza (Hebrew: ביצה‎‎):
The egg symbolises new growth as fresh vegetation springs forth after winter, giving fresh hope as Israel was/is agricultural based. It could represent sorrow at the destruction of the Second Temple. It also impresses upon the desire for freedom to which hard labour gave birth, i.e. new life after Egypt.

Karpas (Hebrew: כַּרְפַּס‎‎):
Parsley is a spring vegetable and sign of new life. It symbolises life that YHWH created and sustained as:
(a) the Israelites came out alive after crossing Yam Suph (Hebrew: יַם-סוּף) or the Sea of Reeds whilst Elohim drowned their enemies;
(b) resurrection because Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead;
(c) spiritually, believers accepting Jesus/Yeshua experience newness of life.
The parsley is dipped in salt water twice to represent the hyssop dipped for sprinkling on the door posts. It is a sign of tears that need to shed and groaning caused by oppression and enslavement in Egypt before joy can be experienced.

Salt water:
Not part of the Seder plate but kept on the table to represent the sweat and tears shed by the Hebrews.

Matzah or unleavened bread:
The unleavened bread is a reminder that the Israelites left Israel in such a haste that there was no time to wait for the bread dough to rise or puff up. So it became bread of affliction. When roasted, it was striped and pierced and looked like bruised marks on the surface. Isaiah 53:5 says He was pierced for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities and by His stripes we are healed.

Kiddush (/ˈkɪdɪʃ/; Hebrew: קידוש‎‎ [ki'duʃ]) wine/grape juice:
This is the first cup of sanctification, praising Elohim for sanctifying us with His commandments, giving us the season of freedom and memorial of the Israelites departing Egypt, from this worldly system.

Four Cups
According to the four promises of God to Moses:

Exodus 6:6-7New International Version (NIV)

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

1) I will bring you out (Cup of Sanctification)
2) I will free you (Cup of Deliverance)
3) I will redeem you (Cup of Redemption)

4) I will take you as my own people (Cup of Acceptance/Restoration)

Note that Jesus did not drink the fourth cup.

Matthew 26:27-29New International Version (NIV)

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Elijah Cup
Open up the door for Elijah to enter with us. Elijah prophesied the coming Messiah.

Order of the Passover Seder
1
Kadeish קדש
Recital of Kiddush blessing and drinking of the first cup of wine (Kos Rishon)
2
Urchatz ורחץ
The washing of the hands
3
Karpas כרפס
Dipping of the parsley in salt water
4
Yachatz יחץ
Breaking the middle unleavened bread; the larger piece becomes the afikoman
5
Maggid מגיד
Retelling the Passover story, including the recital of “the four questions”:
Q1: Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzah, but on this night we eat only matzah?

A1: Matzah reminds us that when the Jews left Egypt, they had no time to bake their bread, but took raw dough and baked it into crackers.

Q2: Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?

A2: Maror reminds us of the bitter and cruel way the Pharaoh treated the Jewish people as slaves in Egypt.

Q3: Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?

A3: We dip bitter herbs into Charoset to remind us of the bitterness of our slavery. The chopped apples and nuts look like clay used to make bricks for Pharaoh’s buildings. We dip parsley in salt water to remember the tears of our captivity.

Q4: Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

A4: We lean on our pillows to remind us that we are now free and no longer live as slaves.

Drinking of the second cup of wine (Kos Sheni)
6
Rachtzah רחצה
Second washing of the hands
7
Motzi מוציא, Matzo מצה
Blessing before eating matzah
8
Maror מרור
Eating of the bitter herbs
9
Koreich כורך
Eating of a sandwich made of matzo and maror
10
Shulchan oreich שלחן עורך
The serving of the holiday meal
11
Tzafun צפון
Eating of the afikoman
12
Bareich ברך
Blessing after the meal and drinking of the third cup of wine (Kos Sh'lishi)
13
Hallel הלל
Recital of the Hallel, traditionally recited on festivals; drinking of the fourth cup of wine (Kos Revi'i)
14
Nirtzah נירצה
Say “Next Year in Jerusalem!”

Related:

Hebraic Root - Cultural Insights into words, action and saying of Jesus

Hebraic Perspective in Understanding the FATHER'S HEART in HIS WORD for HIS Children


Jesus the Jewish Messiah


The Threefold Calling


Pentecost

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