The Feast of Passover (PEsach)
Next observance: sunset of FRIDAY, the 6th of april 2012
Passover will be held at Corporate Caterers on Friday April 6th
The name of the festival, Pesach in Hebrew, means the “passing over”, which is derived from the instructions given to Moses by God in Exodus 6:6-8. The Lord instructed Moses of what was to come and how the Hebrews were to prepare for the last and most horrible of plagues against the Egyptians, the killing of the first born.
Passover is known as an Agricultural Feast (Beginning of the Barley Harvest) which ushers in the coming of spring; and as a Remembrance of God's Love and Deliverance of His people and the Freedom from the Bondage of Slavery to the Egyptians. By having the Blood of Yeshua upon the door frames of our hearts it also represents for believers today the Freedom from the Bondage of Slavery of Sin. It is celebrated on the 14th day of Abib, the first month in the Biblical calendar and is the first of three pilgrimage feasts in which all males were to go to Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 16:16 states: "Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.”
Passover is foundational in God’s eternal redemptive plan through the sacrifice of the lamb and the blood on the doorposts. If it were not for the blood on the doorposts, the Hebrews would have suffered the same fate as the Egyptians. But the Hebrews did follow God’s command to put the blood on their doorposts, and by doing so set the example of the “perfect sacrificial offering” that would be followed hundreds of years later when Yeshua our Messiah, as the perfect Lamb, went to the stake on our behalf to take away our sins.
We are commanded each year to “remember” the telling of this story in Exodus and impress it on our children for generations to come. This ceremony not only looks back to the miraculous story of God delivering His people, but it also represents the promise of Messiah’s death and resurrection. It is an exciting experience centering on a mixture of ritual emblems: the matzah, bitter herbs, wine and shank bone. Strange items all telling the story of the exodus from Egypt, but also telling of the death, burial and resurrection of our Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus) HaMashiach.
In Leviticus 23: 1 & 2 it states: “The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD'S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations -- My appointed times are these”. You may ask ‘Why should I keep these festivals today, especially if I am not of Jewish decent?’ God tells us the answer in Leviticus 23:43b where it states: because “I am the Lord your God.” So for this reason, and this reason only, we are to keep the Lord’s appointed times, starting the Biblical year off with Passover.
An Introduction to the Passover Seder Plate
Passover Seder Plate: The Seder plate contains the symbolic foods to remind the Jewish people and those who worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – of God’s redemption thousands of years ago and today. Here we find the symbols of God’s ultimate redeemer – the Messiah Yeshua/Jesus.
Haggadah: This is the Passover text used in the Seder meal. Reading of the Haggadah is in fulfillment of the scriptural commandment to instruct the Jewish children about God’s great redemption of the Jewish people from bondage. Exodus 12:23-28 and Exodus 13:7-10.
Kiddish Cup – During the Seder everyone drinks from the cup four times. The first cup represents - sanctification, the second cup - the plagues, the third cup - redemption and the forth cup - praise. At Remnant we added a fifth cup for the regathering of the people back to the promised land.
Maror: These are bitter herbs symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of Jewish slavery in Egypt. A horseradish root is typically used.
Karpas: Parsley represents new life, created and sustained by God. The parsley is dipped into salt water to remind us of the tears we shed in this life.
Salt water: Represents the tears of the Jewish slaves in Egypt. The Karpas/parsley is dipped in the salt water.
Zeroah: The lamb shank bone represents the Sacrificed Lamb offered in Jerusalem’s Temple. No lambs have been offered since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.
Charoset: A sweet, brown mixture representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses in Egypt.
Matzah/Afikomen: The middle matzah is broken in half and wrapped in a linen cloth, then hidden until the end of the meal. There is great joy when a child finds the Afikomen. At the end of the meal, the Afikomen is broken into pieces and shared by all with the cup of redemption (the third cup).
Images of Charlton Heston aside, the Passover was the dramatic precursor of the salvation story where Yeshua/Jesus would eventually give His life for us. God’s deliverance of the Jewish people in the Exodus story and the future eternal salvation for Israel and the world is why celebrating Passover is for both Jew and Gentile believers in the Messiah Yeshua.
During the Passover Seder each element represents an aspect of the Exodus story (see above). As we remember we also taste the story as if we ourselves were there in Egypt. It is an experience that embraces all the senses and is rich in tradition and symbolism.
The New Testament account is the source of the church’s sacrament of communion/The Lord’s Supper. Let’s step back to that time as we examine the context of an event that impacted the world. As you can imagine there is much to be done in preparation of the Passover Meal. Yeshua sent the disciples ahead to prepare the place for this meal as well as the elements required to observe this God-appointed time. What you may not know is that the preparation actually began before the Seder meal—in the home. In accordance with scripture, the Jewish people were instructed to remove all the leaven from the home, that is, all products made with yeast.
“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.” Exodus 12:14-16
Sound familiar? This is the earliest form of Spring Cleaning—you can thank God for that task! In the New Testament, God takes that task to a deeper, more personal level. He also wants us to take the time to examine our hearts and clean our lives of the “leaven”—sin—we have allowed to accumulate since this time last year.
“Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast — as you really are. For Yeshua, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
As we prepare for our Passover meals, or Communion/the Lord’s Supper, let us also remember to clean out the spiritual “yeast” and sweep our hearts clean.
(Excerpt from: MJAA Website on Passover)