Jewish Feasts: Passover

Jewish Feasts: Passover

We celebrated a Messianic Passover Seder with our Friday night Bible study last week on the first night of Passover.  In doing research to prepare, I found such an excellently written Messianic Haggadah that I chose not to reinvent the wheel.  We followed, with only slight modification, this Haggadah, from David Sargent.   We did not video the event.  

Here's a summary of the symbolism involved in the Seder, for those of us who know that Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, has fulfilled the Passover feast: 

• Before the meal begins, the father leads the children in searching for leaven.  When he finds it, he does not touch the bread himself.  He uses utensils to put it in a bowl, then pours it into a linen sheet, wraps it up, and throws it outside. 
• It is the Father who deals with our sin (both in redemption Isa 43:3 and Judgment Rev 20:11-15). 
• He cannot be in the presence of it (Isa 59:2)
• When he got rid of it, he did so upon his Son, who was wrapped in a white linen (Matt 27:59)
• He has cast our sin away from us and from himself (Psalm 103:12)
• Matzah is unleavened bread that is pierced and striped. 
• Jesus is holy, without sin (2Cor 5:21), and leaven symbolizes sin (Ex 12:15).
• He was pierced and striped in the context of his crucifixion (Isa 53; John 19:1)
• The bag holding the three pieces of Matzah is said to be a unity (H: Echad).  The second member of that unity is shown to the participants, while the first and third are not.  
• No man can see the Father (Ex 33:20)
• The Holy Spirit does not have a bodily form, but comes and goes like a wind (John 14:17; John 3:8)
• We can see Jesus, the second member of the trinity, who has revealed the whole nature of God to us (John 1:18)
• That second member is broken for all to see.  Then, part of it is wrapped in linen and hidden until a later part of the ceremony, when it is found by a child, who gets a reward for finding it, and it serves as the dessert of the meal. 
• Jesus was broken for us, in view of everyone (1 Cor 11:24; John 19:25)
• Jesus was wrapped in a linen cloth and buried (Matt 27:59)
• If we are to find Jesus today, we must approach him like little children (Matt 18:2-4)
• Those who find Christ have found a great reward (Matt 13:44-46)
• Those who find Christ will come to a sweet end, even if this life is hard (Matt 25:34)
• It was this Afikomen that became the communion meal.  Jesus states, directly, that this part of the Seder points to him and to his sacrifice. (Luke 22:19)
• There are four cups: Sanctification, Judgment, Redemption, and Praise.  
• God has set us apart, called us holy, even from the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4)
• He has judged sin in the person of Christ, not on our bodies (Romans 8:3)
• The third cup, the cup of Redemption, was originally focused on the Jewish redemption out of their slavery, but in its fullness, it points to the redemption of all man from Jesus (Romans 5:18-20). 
• The third cup was repurposed by Christ to point to the new covenant of his blood in the communion meal (Mark 14:24)
• The Haggadah looks for Elijah to come and join Jews at their Passover Seder to usher in the Messianic age. 
• We know that John the Baptist was born on Passover (Do the math between 1 Chron 24:7-18 and Luke 1)
• Elijah came figuratively in the person of John the Baptist, who ministered in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17)
• Elijah will come in actuality in the last days before Christ's second coming (Rev 11:3-12)

There are other smaller images in the Seder, but these will suffice.  The notes that I distributed to the participants in the Seder follow.  Again, these are modified from the above-referenced Haggadah by David Sargent. 

A MESSIANIC PASSOVER SEDER

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION
2. LIGHTING OF THE CANDLES
3. KIDDUSH -- First Cup
4. UR'CHATZ -- THE WASHING OF HANDS:
5. KARPAS -- EATING OF the GREEN VEGETABLE
6. THE SYMBOLS OF PASSOVER
7. YACHATZ -- BREAKING THE MIDDLE MATZAH
8. THE FOUR QUESTIONS
9. MAGGID -- TELLING THE PASSOVER STORY
10. THE SECOND CUP -- PLAGUES & iniquity
11. THE TEN PLAGUES
12. DAYEINU (Enough)
13. MOTZI -- MATZAH, MOROR & BITTER HERBS
14. SHULCHAN ORECH -- THE FESTIVAL MEAL
15. BAREICH -- GRACE AFTER THE MEAL
16. TZAFON -- EATING THE AFIKOMEN
17. THE THIRD CUP -- REDEMPTION
18. ELIJAH THE PROPHET
19. HALLEL -- PSALMS OF PRAISE
20. THE FOURTH CUP of PRAISE and Completion
21. NIRTZAH -- CONCLUSION OF THE SEDER

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A MESSIANIC PASSOVER SEDER

LIGHTING OF THE CANDLES

 “Blessed Woman”: Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sent Thy Son, Thine Only Son, Y'shua the Messiah, to be the light of the world and our Paschal Lamb, that through him we might live.

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.(Numbers 6:24-26)

Amen

KIDDUSH - First Cup

 [Lean to the left and drink the Cup.]

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UR'CHATZ - THE WASHING OF HANDS:

Exodus 40:29-32 English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁹ And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁰ He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, ³¹ with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet.³² When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Luke 12:14-18 Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁴ And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you I will not eat it^[a] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.¹⁸ For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

 

John 13:4-12English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel,tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” ⁸ Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him,“The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,^[a]but is completely clean. And you^[b] are clean, but not every one of you.”¹¹ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you?

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KARPAS - EATING OF the GREEN VEGETABLE

Exodus 1:22English Standard Version (ESV)

²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews^[a] you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

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YACHATZ - BREAKING THE MIDDLE MATZAH

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THE FOUR QUESTIONS

1. On all other nights we may eat either leavened or unleavened bread; but on this night why only unleavened bread?
2. On all other nights we eat herbs of any kind; but on this night why only bitter herbs?
3. On all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once; but on this night why do we dip them twice?
4. On all other nights we eat our meals sitting or reclining; but on this night why do we eat in a reclining position?

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MAGGID - TELLING THE PASSOVER STORY

Responsive Reading

Now we will read the telling of THE PASSOVER STORY Responsively from our Seder program.

READER: The Bible teaches that during a great famine in the land of Canaan, the sons of Israel journeyed to Egypt to purchase food. There they were reunited with their brother Joseph. Because of his influence, they were permitted to dwell in the fertile plains of Goshen. At first, the House of Israel numbered less than 80 souls. But in time, their numbers swelled, their flocks increased, and they became a mighty people.

ALL: And then there arose a new Pharaoh, one who did not know Joseph. He beheld the might of Israel, and he feared that in time of war, the sons of Jacob might join themselves with Egypt's foes.

READER: And so he subdued the Israelites, and he afflicted them with cruel labor. Task masters were placed over the Israelites, to compel them to make bricks and to build Pharaoh's great storage cities of Ramses and Pithom.

ALL: But despite their hardship, they continued to thrive, just as God had promised. This caused Pharaoh even greater alarm, and he ordered the slaughter of Israel's infant sons. By his command, every male child born to the Hebrews was to be cast into the Nile and drowned.

READER: How sober were the afflictions of the Jewish people. In anguish, we cried to the God of our Fathers. And God heard our cry. God remembered His covenant. And God raised up a deliverer, a redeemer, the man Moses. And He sent Moses to Pharaoh's court to declare the commandment of the Lord...

ALL: Let my people go.

READER: But Pharaoh would not hearken to the Lord of Hosts. And so, Moses pronounced God's judgment on Pharaoh's house and on Pharaoh's land. Plagues were poured out upon the Egyptians, upon their crops, and upon their flocks.

ALL: But Pharaoh's heart was hardened. He would not yield to the will of God. He would not let the House of Jacob depart.

READER: Then the tenth plague fell upon the land of Egypt: the death of Egypt's firstborn. "And all the first born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh who sittest upon his throne, even unto the first born of the maid servant who was behind the mill; and all the first born of beasts...and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment." But to protect the children of Israel, God commanded the head of each Jewish household to sacrifice a spotless lamb, without breaking any of its bones, and to apply it's blood to the doorway of our homes, first to the top of the doorway, the lintel, and then to the two sideposts.

ALL: "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plagues shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt."

READER: By the blood of lamb was Israel spared.

ALL: By the blood of the lamb was Jacob redeemed. By the blood of the lamb was death made to pass over.

READER: Passover. The night when death passed over the houses of Israel because of the blood of the Passover lamb. What a mighty act of redemption. And what a beautiful picture of redemption destined to come. For just as no bones of the first Passover lambs were broken, so none of the Messiah's bones were broken.

ALL: And just as the blood of those first Passover lambs was applied in faith to the doorposts of Israel's homes, so the blood of the Messiah must be applied in faith to the doorposts of our hearts.

READER: Tonight, we worship God not only because the angel of death passed over our ancestors homes, but because all of us whether Jewish or Gentile, may be redeemed from an even greater bondage through our faith in the Messiah of Israel, the Messiah Jesus. Through Him, we may pass over from death to life.

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THE SECOND CUP - PLAGUES & iniquity

THE TEN PLAGUES

ALL: Blood, frogs, lice, swarms of insects, cattle disease, boil, hail, locusts, darkness, slaying of the first born.

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DAYEINU (Enough)

 Had He brought us out from Egypt and not executed judgment against them, DAYEINU

Had He executed judgment against them and not done justice to their idols, DAYEINU

Had He done justice to their idols and not slain their first-born DAYEINU

Had He slain their first-born and not given us their property DAYEINU

Had He given us their property, and not divided the sea for us DAYEINU

* It would have been enough for us "if through Jesus, we received eternal salvation and not received His Holy Spirit. It would have been enough for us. (DAYEINU)

Had He given us His Holy Spirit and not bestowed us with the fruit of the Spirit. It would have been enough for us. (DAYEINU).

Had He bestowed us with the fruit of the Spirit and not given us His peace. It would have been enough for us. (DAYEINU).

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The THREE SYMBOLS

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THE SECOND CUP - PLAGUES

Drink the second cup, leaning to the left.

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MOTZI - MATZAH, MOROR & BITTER HERBS

John 13:21-28English Standard Version (ESV)

²¹ After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” ²² The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. ²³ One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side,^[a]24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus^[b] of whom he was speaking. ²⁵ So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” ²⁶ Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” ²⁸ Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.

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SHULCHAN ORECH - THE FESTIVAL MEAL

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BAREICH - GRACE AFTER THE MEAL

READER: Let us give thanks to the Lord.

ALL: May the name of the Lord be blessed from this time forth and forever.

READER: We praise You, O God, from whose abundance we have partaken.

ALL: We praise You, O Lord our God, our Savior and our King who gives bread to all flesh, for Your lovingkindness endures forever.

Please fill your cup in preparation for the cup of Redemption .

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TZAFON - EATING THE AFIKOMEN

John 1:29English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

 

Isaiah 53English Standard Version (ESV)

53 Who has believed what he has heard from us?^[a]
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected^[b] by men;
    a man of sorrows,^[c] and acquainted with^[d] grief;^[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces^[f]
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked
    and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;^[g]
when his soul makes^[h] an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
¹¹ Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see^[i] and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,^[j]
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,^[k]
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Zechariah 12:10English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

 

1 Corinthians 11:23-24English Standard Version (ESV)

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for^[a] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”^[b]

 

John 6:35English Standard Version (ESV)

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

 

1 Corinthians 11:28English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁸ Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

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THE THIRD CUP - REDEMPTION

Luke 22:20English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁰ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.^[a]

 

1 Corinthians 11:25English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁵ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

 Lean the left and drink the cup

1 Corinthians 10:16English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁶ The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

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ELIJAH THE PROPHET

Malachi 4:4-6English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴ “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules^[a] that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵ “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. ⁶ And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”^[b]

 

Mark 9:13English Standard Version (ESV)

¹³ But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

  

Matthew 11:13-15English Standard Version (ESV)

¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear,^[a] let him hear.

 

Genesis 27:29English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁹ Let peoples serve you,
    and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may your mother's sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
    and blessed be everyone who blesses you!

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HALLEL - PSALMS OF PRAISE

READER: Praise the Lord!

ALL: Praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord.

READER: Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever. When Israel went forth from Egypt, the House of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion.

ALL: The sea looked and fled. The Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

READER: You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?

ALL: I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.

READER: Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.

ALL: For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

READER: I shall give thanks to Thee, for Thou hast answered me; and Thou hast become my salvation.

ALL: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

LEADER: This is the Lord's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.

ALL: This is the day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

READER: O Lord, do save, we beseech thee!

ALL: O Lord, do save, we beseech thee!

READER: Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the House of the Lord.

ALL: Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

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THE FOURTH CUP of PRAISE and Completion

 [2-4 songs of praise and worship]

Mark 14:26-28English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁶ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Hebrews 13:11-14English Standard Version (ESV)

¹¹ For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. ¹² So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. ¹³ Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. ¹⁴ For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

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NIRTZAH - CONCLUSION OF THE SEDER

Revelation 21:1-4English Standard Version (ESV)

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I sawthe holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place^[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,^[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.^[c] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

 

Revelation 5:1-7English Standard Version (ESV)

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴ and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

And everyone said:

Next Year in Jerusalem!