September 10, 2006… “Building Memories” …Joshua 4 & 5
This entry was posted on 9/8/2006 11:10 AM and is filed under Sermon.
Okay this is new for all of us. I have never ‘blogged’ before, so I have no idea what I am doing. But I am hoping this might be helpful for some to interact with the message and share what God is teaching them. I will respond to any questions, and listen to your comments. Do remember, anyone with with internet access can read what you wrote!
Below is the material I mentioned in the sermon that gives more detail about the Passover. I found all this material on Jews for Jesus website (http://www.jewsforjesus.org).
You have any questions? Any comments? Anything God is teaching you?
Let’s go...
PASSOVER INFORMATION
Passover begins at sundown on April 23. 2006. Jewish people often refer to Passover by its Hebrew pronunciation, Pesach (pay-sockh), and it is also known as the Feast of Redemption.
Passover commemorates the Exodus from slavery in Egypt, and is named after the paschal lamb. It was the blood of that lamb on the doorposts that caused the plague of death to pass over those homes, sparing those who had faithfully followed God's instructions concerning the lamb.
Some also refer to Passover as the Feast of Unleavened Bread, since God commanded that no leaven be eaten during the seven days immediately following Passover. In Leviticus 23:5,6 a distinction is made between the Lord's Passover at sundown the 14th day of Nisan, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which begins on the 15th and lasts for a week.
Most Jewish people will have a family celebration called a seder (pronounced say-dur) on the evening of April 23 or 24. The seder is a ritual meal incorporating various pieces of food and liturgy to help recount the story of Passover. Jesus was participating in a Passover seder when He had what is commonly referred to as "the Last Supper." It was during the seder that He identified His body and blood with the bread and the cup, which are traditionally linked with the body and blood of the Passover lamb.
by Rich Robinson April 1, 1986
This is an archived article. It originally appeared on April 1, 1986. Some information may be outdated.
|
In O.T. Accounts |
At Last Supper and/or in Early Church |
In Rabbinic Tradition |
In Contemporary Judaism |
As Applied in the Church Today |
|
BONDAGE AND EXODUS |
|
God's dealings with Israel—yearly celebration and remembrance (Ex. 12:24-27) |
Freedom in Christ from Bondage of sin (Romans 6:18) |
"In every generation let each man look on himself as though he himself came forth out of Egypt" (individuals to personalize the meaning of Passover) |
Plight of Soviet Jewry seen as a counterpart to ancient bondage in Egypt |
God as Redeemer of lost humanity |
|
THE LAMB |
|
One of the 3 items to be eaten at the Passover meal (Ex. 12:8) |
Christ is the Passover lamb (I Cor. 5:7) |
No tradition because not eaten at Passover since destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. |
Chicken substituted |
Christ portrayed as "Lamb of God" |
|
THE BITTER HERBS |
|
One of the 3 items commanded in Exodus 12:8 |
May have been the "sop" which Jesus handed to Judas |
Represents the bitterness of Egyptian slavery |
Eaten at the contemporary seder, called maror |
— |
|
THE UNLEAVENED BREAD |
|
One of the 3 items commanded in Exodus 12:8 (called matzoh) |
The body of Christ given in sacrifice (Luke 22:19);* Absence of sin (leaven) (I Cor. 5:8) |
Represents the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt (they could not wait for their bread to rise) |
Eaten at the contemporary seder and 7 days following in place of leavened bread; also year-round non-ceremonial use |
Many churches use matzoh as Communion element |
|
* Early Jewish believers may have added afikoman ceremony—breaking, burial and retrieval of a piece of matzoh to portray Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. |
|
THE CHAROSES
(A sweet mixture of chopped apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon) |
|
— |
Another possibility for Judas' "sop" |
Represents the mortar used by the Israelite slaves to make bricks for Pharaoh |
Eaten at the contemporary seder |
— |
|
THE CEREMONIAL CUPS |
|
— |
The cup before the Last Supper (Luke 22:17-18); The cup after dinner (Luke 22:20); The cup of blessing represents the blood of Christ (I Cor. 10:16) |
Represents the four phrases in Exodus 6:6-7: "I will bring you out"; "I will deliver you"; "I will redeem you"; "I will take you to me for a people" |
Four cups now taken at the contemporary seder as part of the ceremonial meal |
One of the elements of Communion |
|
THE KARPAS
(Greens) |
|
— |
Probably eaten at the Last Supper, but not specifically mentioned (greens were a likely part of festive meals during that time period) |
Dipped in salt water, they represent the lives of the Israelite slaves immersed in tears |
Eaten at the contemporary seder as part of the ceremonial meal |
— |
