Jesus in the Passover
Jesus In The Passover Meal
The “Last Supper,” was a traditional Jewish Seder held in Jerusalem, remembering the Passover event in Exodus 12-13. Jesus would have been celebrating the traditional meal of roasted lamb, Matzah (unleavened bread), and bitter herbs. It is difficult for modern readers to understand the magnitude of what Jesus did by changing the symbolism at the Seder meal. For over 1,400 years, Jews had celebrated the Exodus story in a very similar manner according to the prescription by God. Then, in one single moment, the 1,400-year-old tradition was changed because Jesus was instituting a “New Covenant.” It would be comparable to myself declaring that next year at Christmas, the entire celebration was going to be about me. We would all say Merry-Aaron, put up Aaron-trees, and give gifts celebrating Aaron’s day. While this would be ludicrous, it is also the reason C.S. Lewis declared that Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or God. He did not leave us any room to relegate Him simply as a good teacher. Jesus claimed to be God and therefore had the authority to change the meal that once celebrated liberation from slavery in Egypt, to liberation from slavery to sin.
In the Exodus story, God sent the angel of death through Egypt to kill all the firstborn sons, because Pharoh refused to free the Israelites slaves (Exodus 12-13). All firstborn sons would die unless the family had the blood of a lamb painted on their doorposts. When the angel of death moved through Egypt, he would “pass over” the homes of the Israelites, because the lamb’s blood had been accepted as a substitution for the life of the son. After this event, Pharaoh allowed the Israelites to leave Egypt, and Moses began leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. To help the Israelites remember this dramatic story, God instructed them to hold an annual Passover Seder meal that included elements from the Exodus storyline.
The Seder meal would include honey, bitter herbs, lamb, unleavened bread, and four cups of wine: these different portions serve as symbols representing sanctification, judgment, redemption, and praise. The unleavened bread would be called “Matzah”. The Passover Matzah bread was prepared in a special manner that has great visual symbolism for the modern church. The bread could not contain any yeast. In Biblical symbolism, yeast represented sin and impurity. The bread was also striped because it is baked in an oven, causing striped lines to be on the bread. The third representation of the Matzah bread is that it was pierced with small holes to prevent it from puffing up during baking. The completion of the symbolism of the bread comes into play when Jesus breaks it and declared “This is my body broken for you…” (Mark 14:22). When we examine the Matzah bread and know that Jesus used it as a symbol for his body upon the cross, we should remember the prophetic words of Isaiah:
Isaiah 53:4-5
“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
While the gospel narratives do not reveal every detail about the Last Supper, there are some very interesting connections that should be emphasized. Before the Seder meal, three pieces of Matzah bread are placed inside a special bag called a “Matzah Tash”. At the start of the meal, the leader takes the middle Matzah bread, and he breaks it in half. One half is placed back in the bag, while the other half, the “Afikomen” (Greek word meaning "that which comes after" or "dessert") is taken away from the table and hidden for children to find later. The Matzah that is kept in this bag represent the "bread of affliction" and signifies the hurried exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
The Matzah Tash in which the Matzah bread was placed in a specialized, often decorative, bag or cloth cover with three internal compartments. Each compartment holds three pieces of unleavened bread (Matzah). Hebrew tradition has a few different views on why there are three compartments, but it is interesting to note that the bread which represents Jesus was kept in a bag of three spaces all containing the same element. One cannot help but see a possible reference to the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons, one being.
The Afikomen, the piece of Matzah that was hidden, was and is wrapped in a cloth and taken away from the table, possibly even outside the house. At the end of the meal the children are invited to go find the Afikomen. It is like an easter egg hunt. Once found, the bread is returned to the table, the bread is broken, and everyone receives a piece of the bread for dessert. The Afikomen is to be eaten before midnight. It is the finale of the meal, ensuring the taste of Matzah remains last in both taste and remembrance, as it represents the finality of the redemption where the lamb gave its life as a ransom for ours.
When Jesus changed the Last Supper to signify a new Exodus, he was using familiar symbols and stories while revealing a new act that was about to unfold in the redemption story. The narrative of God’s faithfulness was about to crescendo upon the cross. The act of atonement, where Jesus substituted his life for ours, was just hours away as he broke the Passover bread and shared the cup of wine with the disciples.
Remember that the message of the 10th plague was that God was holy and just. Love cannot be love without justice. But humanity could not pay the price for our sins. The Apostle Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23). Since God is the God of the living, not the dead, (Mark 12:27), sin caused separation from God. Only a perfect, eternal sacrifice could substitute in our place. God, who is just, loving, and holy, is also merciful. In the first Passover, God devised a way in which he could be both just and merciful. When Jesus picked up the third glass of wine at the Passover meal, he was reminding his disciples that God was still both just and merciful, and he would give salvation through his substitution.
There are four cups of wine drunk in the Passover meal. The third cup is most likely the one that Jesus spoke, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them,” (Mark 14:24). The third cup is the “Cup of Redemption.” The fourth cup is the “Cup of Praise,” but Jesus did not take this cup. Instead, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God,” (Mark 14:25). Just as the lamb’s blood substituted for the life of the first born upon the wooden beams of the door post. So too the blood of the Lamb of God would be the substitutionary payment for the wages of our sins upon the wooden beams of the cross. Jesus offered us salvation from sin by taking our place upon the cross. By accepting the gift of salvation from Jesus he is requiring that we submit to his Lordship. Jesus commands us to take up our cross and follow him. This act of obedience should change everything about our lives as we seek to be more Christ-like.
The final note I wish to emphasize as we remember the Last Supper is what took place before the meal. The question might be, “who is the meal and the sacrifice for?” Often, I hear people tell me that they are not worthy to take communion. I remind those who feel this sentiment that Jesus original meal of salvation was offered even to Judas. Jesus could have prevented Judas from gathering with him and the other disciples or even kicked him out of the group before the trip to Jerusalem. Instead, Jesus offered one last chance for Judas to discover the beauty of redemption that he was offering. This picture of Jesus offering the one who betrayed him grace gives me hope. The many times I have betrayed Jesus does not exclude me from the table of grace. It does not exclude you either. We are all equal and blessed to be recipients of the atonement of Jesus our Lord. Judas rejected God gift of grace symbolized in the Last Super communion moment. Will you reject or submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and receive the gift of grace?
The “Last Supper,” was a traditional Jewish Seder held in Jerusalem, remembering the Passover event in Exodus 12-13. Jesus would have been celebrating the traditional meal of roasted lamb, Matzah (unleavened bread), and bitter herbs. It is difficult for modern readers to understand the magnitude of what Jesus did by changing the symbolism at the Seder meal. For over 1,400 years, Jews had celebrated the Exodus story in a very similar manner according to the prescription by God. Then, in one single moment, the 1,400-year-old tradition was changed because Jesus was instituting a “New Covenant.” It would be comparable to myself declaring that next year at Christmas, the entire celebration was going to be about me. We would all say Merry-Aaron, put up Aaron-trees, and give gifts celebrating Aaron’s day. While this would be ludicrous, it is also the reason C.S. Lewis declared that Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or God. He did not leave us any room to relegate Him simply as a good teacher. Jesus claimed to be God and therefore had the authority to change the meal that once celebrated liberation from slavery in Egypt, to liberation from slavery to sin.
In the Exodus story, God sent the angel of death through Egypt to kill all the firstborn sons, because Pharoh refused to free the Israelites slaves (Exodus 12-13). All firstborn sons would die unless the family had the blood of a lamb painted on their doorposts. When the angel of death moved through Egypt, he would “pass over” the homes of the Israelites, because the lamb’s blood had been accepted as a substitution for the life of the son. After this event, Pharaoh allowed the Israelites to leave Egypt, and Moses began leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. To help the Israelites remember this dramatic story, God instructed them to hold an annual Passover Seder meal that included elements from the Exodus storyline.
The Seder meal would include honey, bitter herbs, lamb, unleavened bread, and four cups of wine: these different portions serve as symbols representing sanctification, judgment, redemption, and praise. The unleavened bread would be called “Matzah”. The Passover Matzah bread was prepared in a special manner that has great visual symbolism for the modern church. The bread could not contain any yeast. In Biblical symbolism, yeast represented sin and impurity. The bread was also striped because it is baked in an oven, causing striped lines to be on the bread. The third representation of the Matzah bread is that it was pierced with small holes to prevent it from puffing up during baking. The completion of the symbolism of the bread comes into play when Jesus breaks it and declared “This is my body broken for you…” (Mark 14:22). When we examine the Matzah bread and know that Jesus used it as a symbol for his body upon the cross, we should remember the prophetic words of Isaiah:
Isaiah 53:4-5
“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
While the gospel narratives do not reveal every detail about the Last Supper, there are some very interesting connections that should be emphasized. Before the Seder meal, three pieces of Matzah bread are placed inside a special bag called a “Matzah Tash”. At the start of the meal, the leader takes the middle Matzah bread, and he breaks it in half. One half is placed back in the bag, while the other half, the “Afikomen” (Greek word meaning "that which comes after" or "dessert") is taken away from the table and hidden for children to find later. The Matzah that is kept in this bag represent the "bread of affliction" and signifies the hurried exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
The Matzah Tash in which the Matzah bread was placed in a specialized, often decorative, bag or cloth cover with three internal compartments. Each compartment holds three pieces of unleavened bread (Matzah). Hebrew tradition has a few different views on why there are three compartments, but it is interesting to note that the bread which represents Jesus was kept in a bag of three spaces all containing the same element. One cannot help but see a possible reference to the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons, one being.
The Afikomen, the piece of Matzah that was hidden, was and is wrapped in a cloth and taken away from the table, possibly even outside the house. At the end of the meal the children are invited to go find the Afikomen. It is like an easter egg hunt. Once found, the bread is returned to the table, the bread is broken, and everyone receives a piece of the bread for dessert. The Afikomen is to be eaten before midnight. It is the finale of the meal, ensuring the taste of Matzah remains last in both taste and remembrance, as it represents the finality of the redemption where the lamb gave its life as a ransom for ours.
When Jesus changed the Last Supper to signify a new Exodus, he was using familiar symbols and stories while revealing a new act that was about to unfold in the redemption story. The narrative of God’s faithfulness was about to crescendo upon the cross. The act of atonement, where Jesus substituted his life for ours, was just hours away as he broke the Passover bread and shared the cup of wine with the disciples.
Remember that the message of the 10th plague was that God was holy and just. Love cannot be love without justice. But humanity could not pay the price for our sins. The Apostle Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23). Since God is the God of the living, not the dead, (Mark 12:27), sin caused separation from God. Only a perfect, eternal sacrifice could substitute in our place. God, who is just, loving, and holy, is also merciful. In the first Passover, God devised a way in which he could be both just and merciful. When Jesus picked up the third glass of wine at the Passover meal, he was reminding his disciples that God was still both just and merciful, and he would give salvation through his substitution.
There are four cups of wine drunk in the Passover meal. The third cup is most likely the one that Jesus spoke, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them,” (Mark 14:24). The third cup is the “Cup of Redemption.” The fourth cup is the “Cup of Praise,” but Jesus did not take this cup. Instead, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God,” (Mark 14:25). Just as the lamb’s blood substituted for the life of the first born upon the wooden beams of the door post. So too the blood of the Lamb of God would be the substitutionary payment for the wages of our sins upon the wooden beams of the cross. Jesus offered us salvation from sin by taking our place upon the cross. By accepting the gift of salvation from Jesus he is requiring that we submit to his Lordship. Jesus commands us to take up our cross and follow him. This act of obedience should change everything about our lives as we seek to be more Christ-like.
The final note I wish to emphasize as we remember the Last Supper is what took place before the meal. The question might be, “who is the meal and the sacrifice for?” Often, I hear people tell me that they are not worthy to take communion. I remind those who feel this sentiment that Jesus original meal of salvation was offered even to Judas. Jesus could have prevented Judas from gathering with him and the other disciples or even kicked him out of the group before the trip to Jerusalem. Instead, Jesus offered one last chance for Judas to discover the beauty of redemption that he was offering. This picture of Jesus offering the one who betrayed him grace gives me hope. The many times I have betrayed Jesus does not exclude me from the table of grace. It does not exclude you either. We are all equal and blessed to be recipients of the atonement of Jesus our Lord. Judas rejected God gift of grace symbolized in the Last Super communion moment. Will you reject or submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and receive the gift of grace?
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