Passover Begins Today

One of the things I have loved about this year is how Easter and Passover have lined up. Yesterday was Palm Sunday and today begins Passover. When I was a new believer, a wonderful family invited us to their home to share Passover with them. Being Christians, they shared Passover because as Completed Jews, (They were Jewish people who believed in Jesus as their Messiah) It was a wonderful gift to them. It was a life changing moment to me. I thought I would spend a bit of time sharing this.

 

God commanded in Exodus 12 that this day be kept. Passover is the celebration of God's delivering His people out of the slavery of the Pharaoh.  On this night God promised that He would visit every house to execute judgement and would take the life of the first-born son unless the family had marked the door of their house with the blood of a perfect lamb. Then he would passover that family and no one would die when he saw the blood on the lintel and the door posts.

 

At the Seder we attended we ate standing up. Only the Father seated at the head of the table, the dishes are by the father so he may begin passing the dishes. The oldest son begins by asking his father, " Why is this night different from all other nights?"  The oldest son asks 4 times that same question as the Father explains each food.

Matazoth---wafers of unleavened bread---To remind us of the fact that the Israelites did not have time to wait for yeast bread to rise to be ready to move when God said. (For the Christian this reminds us to live so that we are always "ready to go" When Jesus returns. Also yeast sometimes represented the evil in the world. God wants his people to be pure.)

Maror---bitter herbs, usually freshly grated horse-radish or other bitter herbs, pungent vegetable such as onion. These herbs are a reminder of the bitter suffering in Egyptian slavery. They are dipped in salt water to signify the tears of bitter suffering.  (For the Christian, this reminds us that many have suffered that we may know the joy of the good news of Jesus. So in our Celebration, we remember the great cost.)

Haroseth---A mixture of chopped apples, nuts, cinnamon, and wine. This represents the mortar with which the Israelites were force to make bricks to build Pharaoh's great cities. ( See Exodus 2:11-14 and 5:4-23)

The shank of bone of a lamb---This is the symbol of the lamb that was sacrificed for sins ( For the Christian, this represents Jesus, God's own gift of a perfect Lamb for the sins of all.


There are still the elements  of the roasted egg, parsley or watercress, wine or grape juice and Elijah's cup. Then of course, the empty tomb. For me I learned that so often  I look only the cross. I feel sad, but really I should focus on that empty tomb and see it not as a tragedy but a triumph. 

Thank you for reading along,
~Kim~

Most of this material is taken from the book " Lets Make a Memory" by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson 1983 It is the best book on understanding The Passover and the completed meaning of the Seder Feasts.