The Passover Connection

 

Thursday of Holy Week, April 1, 2021

For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself.  On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it.  Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood.  Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”  For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.  1 Corinthians 11:23-26

If you have ever attended a Passover seder meal you may have noticed the connection between the Old and New Testaments of Scripture.  

This meal, marking the Exodus of Israel from Egyptian bondage is a rich source of shadow of the ministry of Jesus, and God’s unfolding plan of redemption for all people. 

It would be impossible to write a small book to examine the similarities of Seder and Lord’s Supper, so let’s just admit to the brevity of what we will look at…something of a spiritual appetizer.[1]

There are 15 steps (or movements) to the Seder.  Each step is accompanied by food or elements that help tell the story of the captives who were set free by God.  Some of the elements and their meaning, salt water (signifying the tears shed in captivity), bitter herbs (the harshness of bondage and servitude), wine (the joy of release to freedom), and unleavened bread (made in haste).

The connection to the Lord’s (last) Supper include remembering His death as our release from bondage, the wine looking ahead to celebration of the Kingdom, and bread, representing He who is the Bread of Life.

Of the parts of seder I love most, and see the strongest connection to our Eucharist are:

·       Haggadah (translated Passover) literally means “tale”.  In the haggadah Jews tell the story of God’s salvation; our Gospel recounted in The Supper is the gateway to eternal life.

·       Barech and Hallel are the blessing after the meal and songs of praise.  The blessing is done with the opening of the door to invite Elijah into the home.  It is an acknowledgement of the coming of Messiah as their hope.  Our Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist, remembers his coming, and sacrifice with Hallelujahs, songs of praise for God’s mighty hand of salvation.

·       Nirtzah is the 15^th and last step in seder, a final blessing that includes the hope of next year, Jerusalem.  It is that looking forward to gathering at the place of God’s presence.  The connection, of course, for Christians is our blessed hope of eating the new meal with Jesus at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, in the New Jerusalem.

The meal is, for me, a hinge upon which swings the connection of Old Testament prophecy which looks to the coming of Christ and His Kingdom, and New Testament fulfillment, unfolding the glory of Jesus’ coming, ministry, and eternal life.  It is a sacred meal, our Passover connection!

For You Today

Here we are in the middle of Passover, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday.  How could we end, except with Nirtzah…next year, New Jerusalem!!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com      Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

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[1] For deeper study see:  Pelaia, Ariela. "The Order and Meaning of the Passover Seder." Aug. 28, 2020