At the beginning of the dinner, a woman lights the
candles and sings a blessing. Without her, the story of our redemption cannot
be told. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, she brings the light into the world
and shares it with all of us.
"And Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world; he
who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life.'" (John 8:12)
First, three matzahs are placed in one single pouch.
Early on in the dinner, the middle matzah is broken and one half is wrapped in
a cloth and hidden. Later on, a child will find the "affikomen" (a Greek
word meaning, "that which comes last"). This final piece - taken from
the "bread of affliction" is shared by all at the very end.
Early on in the meal, we dip our matzah into horseradish
and charoset (a sweet mixture of honey and nuts). This symbolizes how our
bitter afflictions can be sweetened by our hope in God. It's also at this point
in the Passover that Jesus identified Judas as the betrayer, saying:
"One of you shall betray me." Peter motioned to
John to ask who he was. Jesus answered, "He it is, to whom I shall give a
sop." After he dipped sop, Judas left to betray him." (John 3:21-30)
What I find interesting is that, during the meal,
everyone dips the sop together and eats it. Very likely the disciples
considered that it could be any one of them who would betray Jesus. Most
especially, Peter might have feared that it was him due to the fact that Jesus
rebukes him and prophesies that Peter will deny him three times before the cock
crows. This might explain Peter's dogged determination to stay with Jesus
throughout the night, and even to cut off the soldier's ear with the sword.
Another fascinating aspect of the Passover is the
inclusion of the prophet of Elijah. There is a cup poured for him, and a place
set at the table for Elijah. At one point, a child goes to the door to see if
he will return and announce the coming Messiah. In Malachi 4:5 it says that the
prophet Elijah will be sent before "the great and terrible day of the
Lord." Jesus said of John the Baptist, "...this is Elijah"
(Matthew 11:14).
If we read the prophecy in Malachi about the return of
Elijah to prepare the way for the Messiah we find this:
"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that
great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the
fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or
else I will come and strike the land with a curse." - (Malachi 4:5-6)
When the Angel of the Lord appears to Zechariah (the
father of John the Baptist) he repeats this same promise:
"But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid,
Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you are to give him the name John...Many of the people of Israel will he
bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the
spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord." - (Luke 1:13-16-17)
Jesus also affirms that John the Baptist is the
fulfillment of the Elijah prophecy saying, "Indeed, if you are willing to
accept it, he (John) is Elijah, whose coming was predicted." - (Matthew
11:14)
This is a serious revelation for me, because it suggests
that the "Day of the Lord" may have been fully realized in the first
coming of Christ (although I leave room for the second coming version as well).
However, when the Angel of the Lord refers back to the prophecy in Malachi, he
is affirming that the coming of Elijah - in the form of John the Baptist - is a
fulfillment of that same Malachi promise, which appears to speak of what we
would normally refer to as an "end times" event, or a final judgment,
not simply a messianic precursor.
It starts to make me wonder in what ways Jesus fulfilled
the "Day of the Lord" prophecies in his first coming. He most
certainly came to judge the Jewish leaders of the day, (the Pharisees, Scribes
and Sadducees), and his crucifixion resulted in the tearing of the temple veil,
and soon after the temple in Jerusalem was utterly destroyed...and remains so
to this very day.
At the final cup, "The Cup of Praise", it is a
tradition to sing the Hallel (Psalms 113-118). This is most likely the very
same hymn that the disciples sang (Matt 26:30) as they left the Passover table.
The song says, "The stone which the builders refused is become the head of
the corner...it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath
made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:22-24)
It was this fourth cup with Jesus refused to drink from,
saying, "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the
vine until that day when I drink it anew in the Kingdom of God." (Mark
14:35)
After the singing, Jesus and his disciples left the city
and went to the Mount of Olives. It was dictated by tradition that the
Atonement Lamb's body was to be offered up to God outside the city walls. (see Hebrews 13:11-14)
At 3pm on Good Friday, the shofar was blown to announce
that the lamb was being sacrificed. It was also the moment at which Jesus
declared, "It is Finished" and the veil in the temple was ripped in
two.
I cannot express to you how amazing it is to me that God
predicted all of this, thousands of years in advance, and instituted the Passover
Seder to remind the Jews of His plan. It blows my mind that God fulfilled all
of this on very exact day, even the same hour of the day, that He ordained so
long ago.
-kg
1 comment:
Thank you, Keith! I can't wait to share this with our family in Christ here. The greatest celebration of the year!
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