The Rapture Series
Why Do you Believe? What Do you Believe? How Do You Believe? Who Do You Believe?
“Reason to Believe”
Preparing for Passover
II(B)
When is Passover in 2010?
Passover in 2010 will start on Tuesday, the 30th of March
and will continue for 7 days until Monday, the 5th of April.
Note that in the Jewish calander, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day,
so observing Jews will celebrate Passover on the sunset of Monday, the 29th of March.
CHRIST IN THE PASSOVER
(B)
by Curt Sewell
Don't look to a Temple or Synagogue for a Passover service; neither is it led by a priest or rabbi. Just as the first Passover was in the homes in Egypt, the modern service is held in homes, and is presided over by the head of the house, the grandfather or father. The woman of the house also has an important part.The first preparation is a thorough house-cleaning by the hostess, and a ceremonial search (the Bedikat Chametz) for leaven by the host. (NOTE: In the Bible, leaven is usually a symbol of sin.) He uses a lighted candle, a wooden spoon, a feather and a napkin. When he finds the last bits of leavened bread, he wraps it in the napkin and says the Kal Hamira -- "Now I have rid my house of leaven." The napkin and its crumbs are burned. Paul must have had this in mind when he wrote, in I Corinthians 5:7,"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us."
The normal dishes are all packed away, and a special set that's used only once a year is brought out. The hostess cooks a festive meal, but doesn't set it on the table until later in the service. The hostess begins the actual seder by lighting the candles and chanting a blessing. The table is set with several prescribed items, as follows:
1. The Seder Plate, a blue-enameled brass dish that has six compartments for the following foods:
A. The Zeroah, or shank bone of a lamb (no meat),
B.. The bytzah or haggigah, a hard-boiled egg roasted brown,
C. Three kinds of "bitter herbs" -- the chazereth (whole horseradish root), the maror (freshly ground horseradish), and the karpas (lettuce, parsley or celery),
D. The charoseth, a sweet mixture of chopped apples, nuts, raisins, cinnamon and wine.
2. A bowl of salt water.NOTE: For the first 1500 years, they actually sacrificed a lamb, then ate its meat in the Passover meal. But when the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed by the Roman Titus in A.D.70, proper sacrifices became impossible. Thus now the bone is placed on the plate as a memorial. The bitter herbs were to remind them of the misery their ancestors suffered; the charoseth represents the mortar they used in making bricks in Egypt; the salt water is a reminder of the water of the Red Sea and also of their tears. The egg was not there originally; it is a Babylonian symbol of fertility and may have started during their Babylonian captivity during the 6th century B.C.
3. There are also three matzohs (unleavened cracker-like wafers of bread, pierced and striped during baking). These are in a matzo tash, a square white silk bag having three sections.
4. The host has four wine goblets. Sometimes the other celebrants also have four, or sometimes their goblets are refilled several times instead. The four goblets represent the four verbs in Exodus 6:6,7, "I will bring you out; ... I will deliver you; ... I will redeem you; ... I will take you to be my people."
5. There is also an ornate book, the Haggadah, describing the service and containing the prayers. This was compiled in the 13th century A.D., from much earlier fragments.
6. Each chair has a pillow, and guests recline or sit comfortably (to show that they're not slaves).
The host wears a kitel, a long white robe-like outer garment, symbol of purity. On his head is the miter, a white silk crown-shaped headress. He chants the prayer of sanctification, or kiddush,
"Blessed are thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine."
Everyone drinks from the first wine-goblet, the "cup of sanctification."The hostess brings in a small towel and bowl of water for ceremonial hand-washing, used several times in the service. (Do you remember that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples at the Last Supper?)
The leader passes out bits of karpas to each person. They all chant,
"Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, who created the fruit of the earth."
Everyone dips the karpas into salt water and eats it.Now the leader takes the matzoh tash with its unity (the three matzohs). He removes the middle matzoh, breaks it in half, and hides or buries one half by wrapping it in a white napkin and placing it under a pillow, or under the table. The other half is replaced in the matzoh tash. The buried wafer is called the aphikomen. He doesn't explain why he does this. (There's a great deal of significance in this "burial," and its later "resurrection," especially for Christians. We'll explain it later.)
Four Questions
Now it's time for the traditional questions, chanted by the youngest child. Basically these ask, "Why is this night different from all others?"
Why do we eat matzohs?
Why must we have bitter herbs?
Why do we dip greens into salt water?
Why do we recline on pillows?
The leader then recites the history of the Hebrew nation, from Abraham to Moses. He tells about the slavery in Egypt, and God's deliverance. When he lists the ten plagues, everyone spills a drop of wine into a cup -- one for each plague. When the description is over, they all sing and clap a happy song, praising God. They recite Psalms 113 and 114 (the Hallel). Then they drink from the second wine-goblet (the cup of praise).There's more ceremonial washing and eating matzoh, bitter herbs and sweet charoseth. Now the hostess clears the table of the ceremonial items (but leaves the wine-goblets), and brings out the main dinner. This is a little like our big meals at Thanksgiving, etc. -- it contains whatever fancy dishes the family enjoys.When the meal is finished, the hostess clears the dishes. Now it's time for the search for the aphikomen (the buried half- matzoh). This is done by the children, who make a game of it. Adults call out clues, "You're getting close," etc. (Of course, they all saw the host hide it, so the contest is only ritual.) The youngest is usually allowed to find it, and receives a gift.The host breaks off olive-size pieces of matzoh from the aphikomen and distributes them to all. They each eat it, in a reverent manner. Sometimes there is a blessing, "In memory of the Passover sacrifice, eaten after one is sated." (This is the point during the Last Supper at which Jesus broke the bread and passed bits to His disciples; however, Jesus added the significant words given in Luke 22:19),"This is my body which is given for you."
The host now takes the third cup of wine, "the cup of redemption," or "the cup of blessing," and offers the main table grace blessing. (In Jewish tradition, the main blessing comes after the meal.) Then they all drink from the third cup. At the Last Supper, this is the place referred to in Luke 22:20,"Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you'."
There is a fourth wine-goblet at the table, that hasn't been used until now. This is called "the cup of Elijah." There is also an empty chair, waiting for Elijah to come. This is done because of the promise contained at the end of the Old Testament, in Malachi 4:5,6 :"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
Messianic expectations run very high among the Jewish people, especially at Passover time. The children of the house then make a ritual of going and looking closely at the cup, to see if Elijah has come and sipped some. One of the children goes to the door, opens it, and looks for Elijah. Everyone says, "Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the LORD!"The host then leads in the recitation of the second part of the Hallel -- Psalms 115-118, then the Great Hallel, Psalm 136. Everyone drinks from the fourth cup of wine. After one more prayer of blessing (that contains the phrase "Next year in Jerusalem") the Passover celebration is finished.
MYSTERY OF THE APHIKOMEN
It's fascinating that this age-old Passover ceremony is rich in so many details, and each one has a deep significance. In response to the ritual questions, each one is explained in terms of its historical origin and meaning. And yet, one of the main features of the feast is not well understood by most Jewish participants. They refer to the three matzohs in the matzoh tash as the Unity; but there is no agreement on what is united. And no one seems to have any idea why the middle one is broken, buried, and later brought back up.Some rabbis teach that these represent Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; others say they portray the unity of worship -- priests, Levites and congregation; still others say they stand for the crowns of learning, priesthood and kingship. But there's no explanation for breaking and hiding the middle one. Christians have a better explanation; it involves the "bread of heaven," spoken of in John 6:32-59.
A verse that is very holy to the Jews is the shemah of Deuteronomy 6:4-9,"Hear, O Israel: the LORD thy God is one LORD. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children ... and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."
That word "one" in the Hebrew is echad, meaning a composite oneness, not just the number one. It's the same word used in Genesis 2:24, where Adam and Eve are said to be "one flesh," and in Ezekiel 37 to describe the two sticks becoming one. Here it is describing the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit -- the three persons of the Godhead, acting as one.This is the true meaning of the unity of the three matzohs in the matzoh tash. And which of these is the middle one? That is obviously God the Son -- Jesus the Messiah, our Lord. Let's see how He could be represented by a piece of unleavened bread. Read John 6:32-59. Verse 35 says,And Jesus said unto them, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."
God subtly emphasized this truth in choosing the spot where His Son would be born. The meaning of the name "Bethlehem" is "house of bread." (By the way, the name "Nazareth" means "branch." That meaning clarifies the prophecy in Isaiah 11:1.)But why isn't the sacrificed lamb still used? And how did matzohs come to prominence? Deuteronomy 12:11-14 says that people were not to offer sacrifices except at the location that God chose. Other scriptures make it clear that He chose the Temple site on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. When the Roman army, under Titus, destroyed the Temple in A.D.70, there was no more acceptable place for sacrifice of the lamb. That's why today's Passover meals don't include the meat of a lamb, merely a symbolic shank bone. The rabbis, in the second century A.D., instituted the use of matzohs to represent the sacrificed lamb. That practice still holds.Now we can see why the middle matzoh is broken during the Passover, then hidden or buried. Jesus's body was broken for us, He died, and was buried. But He didn't stay dead -- He came back to life, came out of the tomb! That is represented by bringing out that matzoh later in the ceremony. It is then broken into pieces, and passed out to each person. And this is the exact spot during the Last Supper, when Jesus said,"This is my body which is given for you."
The the very next item in the service is drinking from the wine-goblet known as the "Cup of Redemption." That's when Jesus said, "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."
This is why we can say with confidence that Jesus is actually the central character in the Passover Seder. And, if that's not enough, let's look at the way His death, burial and resurrection fits the timing of the first three of the Seven Feasts of Israel. He was killed on Passover Day, was buried for three days during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and rose from the dead on the day of FirstFruits.
In John 1:29 John the Baptist announced Jesus's approach by shouting,"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
And Paul, in I Corinthians 15:20, said,"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfuits of them that slept."
(blogger)
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