Weatherman2020
Diamond Member
All Christians should attend a Seder meal, preferably held by a completed Jew who can explain the symbolism as I outline below. It is a meal that Jesus would have conducted every year.
A little background first. The Passover is when the Jewish slaves of Egypt put the blood of a lamb over their door so that death passed over the house that night as the final plague on Egypt so they would free the Jews.
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The elements are symbols of events with the purpose allowing each generation to remember what occurred in the time of Moses. The Hebrew word Seder means “order.” The Passover meal has a specific order in which food is eaten, prayers are recited, and songs are sung. Each item on the Passover plate has a specific historical meaning related to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and their freedom from slavery. Most of the elements are historical, and some are messianic.
Passover is also the day Jesus was crucified.
One of the elements is the shank bone of a lamb to symbolize the placement of blood over the doors in Egypt. John 1:29, Jesus is the lamb of God. His blood saves all who accept Him.
The instructions for the original Passover specified that the lamb’s bones could not be broken, another foreshadowing of Christ’s death as the prophecy of the death of Jesus would not have his bones broken. (Crucifixion requires the use of the legs to fill the lungs with air. If they wanted to speed things along the legs of the person being crucified were broken. The two crucified with Jesus had their legs broken, Jesus was dead when they got to him. Then his side was pierced to make sure.)
Matzoh is unleavened bread to remember when the fleeing Jews did not have time to let the bread rise. It is flat, pierced, and striped as an end product.
Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Jesus was bruised, whipped and pierced.
Three matzoh are placed in a linen bag. Jews do not know why they place three in the bag. Christians recognize this as Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
There are three pouches in the bag, one for each matzoh. The middle matzoh is broken in half. One half remains inside the bag, the other is wrapped in linin and hidden until the end of the meal. As stated earlier, no one knows why three. Some Jews believe they represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But they cannot explain why Isaac is broken. Christians recognize this as the broken body of Christ. The other half removed is wrapped in a linen cloth and hidden. Christians recognize this as the linen wrapped body placed into a tomb.
There are also four cups of wine used at various points during the Seder. Each of these glasses of wine has a name: the first glass is the “cup of sanctification.” The second is the “cup of judgment.” The third is the “cup of redemption.” And the fourth is the “cup of praise.” At the Last Supper Jesus took the first cup and promised His disciples that the next time He drank the fruit of the vine with them would be in the kingdom. Later in the Seder, Jesus took the third cup—the cup of redemption—and used that cup as a symbol of the New Covenant in His blood. Thus Jesus fulfilled the Passover symbolism and infused the whole feast with a new meaning.
At the end of the meal tradition has the children go and find the hidden half of matzoh. When it is found it is removed from the linen and the festivities can begin. Christians see this as the resurrection.
A little background first. The Passover is when the Jewish slaves of Egypt put the blood of a lamb over their door so that death passed over the house that night as the final plague on Egypt so they would free the Jews.
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The elements are symbols of events with the purpose allowing each generation to remember what occurred in the time of Moses. The Hebrew word Seder means “order.” The Passover meal has a specific order in which food is eaten, prayers are recited, and songs are sung. Each item on the Passover plate has a specific historical meaning related to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and their freedom from slavery. Most of the elements are historical, and some are messianic.
Passover is also the day Jesus was crucified.
One of the elements is the shank bone of a lamb to symbolize the placement of blood over the doors in Egypt. John 1:29, Jesus is the lamb of God. His blood saves all who accept Him.
The instructions for the original Passover specified that the lamb’s bones could not be broken, another foreshadowing of Christ’s death as the prophecy of the death of Jesus would not have his bones broken. (Crucifixion requires the use of the legs to fill the lungs with air. If they wanted to speed things along the legs of the person being crucified were broken. The two crucified with Jesus had their legs broken, Jesus was dead when they got to him. Then his side was pierced to make sure.)
Matzoh is unleavened bread to remember when the fleeing Jews did not have time to let the bread rise. It is flat, pierced, and striped as an end product.
Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Jesus was bruised, whipped and pierced.
Three matzoh are placed in a linen bag. Jews do not know why they place three in the bag. Christians recognize this as Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
There are three pouches in the bag, one for each matzoh. The middle matzoh is broken in half. One half remains inside the bag, the other is wrapped in linin and hidden until the end of the meal. As stated earlier, no one knows why three. Some Jews believe they represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But they cannot explain why Isaac is broken. Christians recognize this as the broken body of Christ. The other half removed is wrapped in a linen cloth and hidden. Christians recognize this as the linen wrapped body placed into a tomb.
There are also four cups of wine used at various points during the Seder. Each of these glasses of wine has a name: the first glass is the “cup of sanctification.” The second is the “cup of judgment.” The third is the “cup of redemption.” And the fourth is the “cup of praise.” At the Last Supper Jesus took the first cup and promised His disciples that the next time He drank the fruit of the vine with them would be in the kingdom. Later in the Seder, Jesus took the third cup—the cup of redemption—and used that cup as a symbol of the New Covenant in His blood. Thus Jesus fulfilled the Passover symbolism and infused the whole feast with a new meaning.
At the end of the meal tradition has the children go and find the hidden half of matzoh. When it is found it is removed from the linen and the festivities can begin. Christians see this as the resurrection.