Post by foxjj on Oct 25, 2022 16:06:06 GMT
The Christian Significants Of Passover.
The Jewish festival of Passover is celebrated on the first night of the feast of Unleavened Bread as instructed by The Lord when He brought the people out of Egypt:
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. 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.” (Exodus 12:12-14)
The spiritual theme of Passover is one of salvation by the atoning blood of a perfect, spotless sacrificed lamb as recorded in Exodus 12. For Christians the spiritual significance is brought to its ultimate New Covenant fulfillment in the sacrificial death of Jesus who was The Lamb Of God as recorded in John 1:29: “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
The house is thoroughly cleansed in order to remove all leaven, because leaven represents sin. When leaven/yeast, is added to bread dough, the dough will rise. To the Jewish mind, this is similar to how sin entered our world through our first parents Adam and Eve when they committed the sin of disobedience in the garden of Eden changing the perfectly created world forever.
Paul refers to levin in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8: “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.”
Ritual washing is perform before the meal which reminds Christians that we have been washed clean by the sacrifice of Jesus. It was at His last Passover meal when Jesus washed His Disciples feet as recorded in John 13.
Interestingly there’s an empty chair set at the table reserved for the prophet Elijah who is expected as a forerunner of Messiah. The meal starts as all Jewish meals when the Mother of the family lights two candles on the table and says a blessing called Kiddish:
“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe who gave us food to eat and wine to drink.”
The Passover meal is known as a Seder. It’s customs include telling the story of the first Passover from Exodus 12, and the partaking of four cups of wine at designated times, along with the eating of matzo and other symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder plate. Participants recline to the left while eating in celebration of freedom. This is because, in ancient times a person who reclined at a meal was a free person, while servants and slaves stood and served. This gives the understanding to John 13:23-25: “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” 25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
There are 3 pieces of matzo called the bread of affliction stacked one on top of the other on the table. At one stage the middle piece is taken out and broken in two. The smaller piece is returned between the two unbroken pieces. The larger piece of the broken matzo is wrapped in a linen cloth and hidden for later. As Christians, we see in this a symbol of The Trinity.
The Hallel is also a part of the celebration in which psalms 113 through 118 are recited in which The Lords Faithfulness is proclaimed:
“Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!”
(Psalm 117)
Children are a significant part of the Seder, from asking pacific questions to searching for the piece of matzo that was wrapped in cloth and hidden earlier. The one who finds it receives a reward. To Christians this has two significants. The reward reminds us of the thirty pieces of silver that Judas received. The second represents the Resurrection of Jesus, who’s body had been wrapped in linen and buried. There is also a tradition where the children open the door in order to see if Elijah has come. After looking out, they sadly close the door unaware that John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah preparing the way for Jesus:
“The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.”
(Matthew 17:10-13)
The following posts will show how Jesus fulfilled Passover as the Jewish Messiah.
John Joseph Fox.
The Jewish festival of Passover is celebrated on the first night of the feast of Unleavened Bread as instructed by The Lord when He brought the people out of Egypt:
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. 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.” (Exodus 12:12-14)
The spiritual theme of Passover is one of salvation by the atoning blood of a perfect, spotless sacrificed lamb as recorded in Exodus 12. For Christians the spiritual significance is brought to its ultimate New Covenant fulfillment in the sacrificial death of Jesus who was The Lamb Of God as recorded in John 1:29: “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
The house is thoroughly cleansed in order to remove all leaven, because leaven represents sin. When leaven/yeast, is added to bread dough, the dough will rise. To the Jewish mind, this is similar to how sin entered our world through our first parents Adam and Eve when they committed the sin of disobedience in the garden of Eden changing the perfectly created world forever.
Paul refers to levin in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8: “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.”
Ritual washing is perform before the meal which reminds Christians that we have been washed clean by the sacrifice of Jesus. It was at His last Passover meal when Jesus washed His Disciples feet as recorded in John 13.
Interestingly there’s an empty chair set at the table reserved for the prophet Elijah who is expected as a forerunner of Messiah. The meal starts as all Jewish meals when the Mother of the family lights two candles on the table and says a blessing called Kiddish:
“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe who gave us food to eat and wine to drink.”
The Passover meal is known as a Seder. It’s customs include telling the story of the first Passover from Exodus 12, and the partaking of four cups of wine at designated times, along with the eating of matzo and other symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder plate. Participants recline to the left while eating in celebration of freedom. This is because, in ancient times a person who reclined at a meal was a free person, while servants and slaves stood and served. This gives the understanding to John 13:23-25: “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” 25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
There are 3 pieces of matzo called the bread of affliction stacked one on top of the other on the table. At one stage the middle piece is taken out and broken in two. The smaller piece is returned between the two unbroken pieces. The larger piece of the broken matzo is wrapped in a linen cloth and hidden for later. As Christians, we see in this a symbol of The Trinity.
The Hallel is also a part of the celebration in which psalms 113 through 118 are recited in which The Lords Faithfulness is proclaimed:
“Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!”
(Psalm 117)
Children are a significant part of the Seder, from asking pacific questions to searching for the piece of matzo that was wrapped in cloth and hidden earlier. The one who finds it receives a reward. To Christians this has two significants. The reward reminds us of the thirty pieces of silver that Judas received. The second represents the Resurrection of Jesus, who’s body had been wrapped in linen and buried. There is also a tradition where the children open the door in order to see if Elijah has come. After looking out, they sadly close the door unaware that John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah preparing the way for Jesus:
“The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.”
(Matthew 17:10-13)
The following posts will show how Jesus fulfilled Passover as the Jewish Messiah.
John Joseph Fox.
