Transcript Passover / Pesach - Small Town Believer | the ramblings of

Passover / Pesach
Jesus on the road
to Emmaus
Jesus on the road to Emmaus
Luke 24v13-27
“And beginning with Moses and all the
Prophets he explained to them everything
concerning himself”…
Terms clarification
Torah
A primary root; to flow as water (to rain);
to lay or throw (to shoot an arrow); point
out (as if by aiming the finger), to teach,
direct, inform, instruct.
Strong’s Concordance no #H3384
Terms clarification
Talmuds – Babylonian and Jerusalem
Oral history of the Jewish people. Written
down 400AD, contains common law rulings,
cultural norms and interesting stories.
Seder
Order of service
Haggadah
The telling
The telling of Passover
The Haggadah
Exodus 12v1-42
Gods plan for redemption
Child of God, have you come out of Egypt?
Exodus 6v6-7
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.
I will bring you out
The people had no choice, they couldn’t
worship God as He’d intended or how they
wanted, they were subject to Pharaoh, and his
desires, just as we were slaves to sin and
subject to death.
“To bring out” implies a change of status, a
change of camp!
I will deliver you
People who need delivering are those who cannot
help themselves – they were helpless except for Gods
help. So God upstaged the gods of Egypt, taking their
belief system apart piece by piece, culminating in the
death of their living god, Pharaoh's son. The gods of
Egypt are like the gods we create for ourselves – pride,
greed and self centeredness
I will redeem you with an
outstretched arm
To redeem means to pay a ransom, often to
remove a family member from slavery. In this
instance it is the blood of the lamb on the
lintels which pays the price.
God showed his power over Pharaoh once
more when they perished in the sea. God gave
the life of Egyptians in exchange for their own.
I will take you as my own and I
will be you God
God took them into the desert to make a
covenant with them, and to give them the
promised land. Likewise God takes us, to make
us a people, holy, set apart for himself (1 Peter
1v15 quoting Lev 11v44-45). We still have a
way to travel before we reach the final goal,
but the journey, our earthly lives is still a
necessity.
Passover commandments
1. The lamb is sacrificed from midday until
sunset on the 14th day of the first month,
Nisan. (also called Aviv) (Lev 23v4)
2. Sacrifice only in the place that is God
chooses for a dwelling place, ie Jerusalem.
(Deut 16v5)
3. No foreigner may eat it unless he is
circumcised. (Ex 12v43)
Passover commandments
4. The sacrifice must not have any raising agent
in it. (Ex. 34v25)
5. Do not eat it with bread made with a raising
agent. (Deut. 16v3)
6. Do not have any raising agent in your
possession for 7 days following the Passover.
(Deut. 16v4)
7. On the 1st & 7th day hold a sacred assembly, it
is a Sabbath. (Deut. 16v8)
“In every generation…”
The Rabbis taught that one should speak
as if they were leaving Egypt , this is said
to be included to give every Jewish person
a personal part in the drama of the
Exodus and to add to his joy…
The great assembly
170BC
This was a group of Scribes, Sages and
Prophets, who began the process of canonizing
the Old Testament, began the process of
classifying the Oral Torah, set the Feast of
Purim and set specific prayers and times of
prayers, all things “ritual”.
“Mummy are we ready for Passover yet?”
“Yes honey, we are now!”
Cleaning the house
To fulfill the commandment not to have any
raising agent (Se’or) in your possession. Se’or is
a picture of sin and decay.
Traditionally parents hide chametz in the
house, the children take a light to look for it,
and then burn it.
Jesus enters Jerusalem
Jesus anointed
Mary anointed Jesus before he entered into
Jerusalem for the final time. It was Spikenard
an expensive ingredient of the anointing
perfume described in the Torah, used to anoint
Kings and Priests with. The smell lingered for
days.
She was declaring Jesus as “Mashiach”,
Messiah, the Anointed.
Proclaimed King
On the 10th Nisan Jesus enters Jerusalem to
shouts of “Hosanna, ben David, Baruch haba
b’shem Adonai” (save us, son of David, blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord), they
have designated Jesus as their Messiah. On
this day they choose their lamb for the feast
and kept in the house to check for blemishes.
Observed for blemishes
Jesus enters the temple, he is approached by
Pharisees, Sadducees and Torah teachers from
different sects, they question him, not to trap
him, but to check for things that would
disqualify him as the Messiah. They cannot
find fault with him – he is without any blemish.
Jesus’ last supper
Things to think about
1. What did Jesus eat for Passover?
2. What was the difference between the cups
of wine Jesus drank before and after supper?
3. What was the reason he dipped his bread
into the bowl?
4. What were the hymns he sang after supper?
1st Cup of Sanctification
I will bring you out – to be brought out, is to be
set apart, made Holy or Sanctified. The cup is
also called the Kiddush. Kiddush is from the
word Kadosh which means Holy.
Washing hands
This could allude to the Laver in the temple.
Despite being clean, the priests would wash
their hands and feet immediately before
offering a sacrifice.
Although we are spiritually cleansed by Jesus,
we need to return to him continually for the
washing of our souls...
The questions!
The youngest child asks… “Why is this night
different from all other nights?”
1. “Why is it that on other nights we eat bread,
but on this night we eat Matzah?”
2. “Why do we eat bitter herbs?”
3. “Why do we dip into the bowl twice?”
4.“Why do we recline?”
The afikomen
Afikomen means dessert, but it also means “I
have come”or “the coming one”
Three matzah are put in a bag, Jews believe
that this could represent Abraham, Isaac &
Jacob, we can see that it could be Father, Son
and Spirit.
One is taken out and broken, put in a white
cloth and hidden in the room , just as Jesus’
sinless body was hidden in the tomb.
The Seder plate
The lettuce
Romaine lettuce is pleasant on the leaves but
becomes bitter at the stem. In the same way
the children of Israel began their stay in Egypt
pleasantly, but ended up in bitter slavery…
Horseradish
These are the bitter herbs. They represent the
bitterness of suffering.
In a Messianic sense it also represents the
betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Can be eaten as a
Hillel sandwich. Some people put Charoset in it
to remind themselves that God can change
bitterness into sweetness…
The parsley
Represents the crushing backbreaking work of
slavery. It is dipped in salt water, to remind us
of our tears. It also looks forward to a time
when Messiah will come and wipe away every
tear…
The charoset
Represents the mortar used to make the bricks,
reminds us that God will not put on us more
than we can bear…
The shank bone
This replaces the Passover lamb which would
have been sacrificed for the festival. This is
because there is currently no temple.
It symbolizes God’s outstretched arm of
liberation and redemption…
The roasted egg
Reminds us that there is no temple to sacrifice
the Passover lamb in…
Its oval shape may also represents eternal life
as it has no beginning or end…
2nd Cup of deliverance
I will deliver you from their bondage.
“To deliver” shows that it was God who did the
work, just as it is God who does a work in us to
change us from the inside out..
Eating the meal / supper
Traditionally lamb is not served at Passover,
because there is no temple to sacrifice it in.
However, as believers in Jesus we can serve
lamb, to remember that Jesus is our Passover
lamb.
Note that what we are eating is NOT the
passover lamb, it is just lamb...
Afikomen (part 2)
The broken half of the afikomen is brought
back to the table and broken amongst the
people, just as Jesus said, “Take eat, this is my
body”…
3rd Cup of
redemption/thanksgiving
I will redeem (ransom) you with an
outstretched arm and great judgements.
Just like the lamb’s blood, it is the blood of
Jesus on our hearts that ensures that we are
free from God’s judgment.
“To redeem” shows God was willing to buy
them and us back at great cost to himself…
3rd Cup of
redemption/thanksgiving/blessing
In most Christian circles ‘grace’ is said before
meals, but in the scriptures ‘grace’ is said after
meals. The reason is, ‘When you have eaten
and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God’…
Note the word for thanksgiving and blessing
both come from the greek “eulogea”. To give
thanks is “eucharistesas” from where we get
the word “eucharist”.
4th Cup of Hope / Praise
I will take you as my own and I will be you God.
This is a marriage contract. Israel was to marry their
God and the celebration of the engagement was to be
the giving of the Torah. The engagement ring was to
be the Sabbath.
Between the Passover and the giving of the Torah was
fifty days, the number of liberation.
We will drink this cup with Jesus at the wedding feast
of the Lamb…
The Hallel
These are sung at the end of the meal, Ps 113118, 136
The gospels recall that after eating the
Passover, Jesus and the disciples “hymned”.
The Talmud says that the hymns sung at the
end of Passover were the Hallel…
Ps 113
From the rising of the sun to the place where it
sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised…
Ps 114
When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of
Jacob from a people of foreign tongue, Judah
became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
Tremble O earth at the presence of the Lord, at
the presence of the God of Jacob, who turned
the rock into a pool and the hard rock into
springs of water…
Ps 115
Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in
heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who
trust in them…
Ps 116
The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me…
Ps 117
Praise the LORD, all you nations; lift Him up, all
you peoples.
For great is his loving kindness toward us, and
the loving kindness of the LORD endures
forever.
Praise the LORD…
Ps 118
The stone the builders rejected has become the
cornerstone;
the LORD has done this, and it is marvellous in
our eyes.
The LORD has done it this very day; let us
rejoice this day and be glad..
Ps 136
To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt;
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel out from among them;
His love endures forever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder;
His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it;
His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever
5th Cup of Elijah
This is not part of the biblical exodus, but
rather the tradition that developed out of
Malachi 4v1-5 which says that Elijah would
come to prepare the way before Messiah.
Will Elijah come again before the return of
Jesus?
Can we celebrate Passover?
What did Jesus do?
Jesus kept Passover, as did his disciples.
Talmidim meaning apprentice; one who is
learning from a master.
He instructed them to go and make talmidim
from all the nations, Matt 28v19.
Can we celebrate Passover?
Ephesians 2v12-13
Remember that at that time you were separate from
Messiah, excluded from the way of life of Israel and
estranged to the covenants of the promise, without
hope and without God in the world. But now, in Jesus
the Messiah, you who once were far away [from the
covenants] have been brought near by the blood of
Messiah.
Should we celebrate Passover?
1 Corinthians 5v6-8
Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little
yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of
the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened
batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover
[lamb], has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the
Festival, not with the old bread, leavened with malice
and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth.
Testimony about Passover