Time to Celebrate Passover

At our home we like to celebrate some Jewish holidays, as they often times were used to remind the people of Israel how great their God is. One of the main holidays we celebrate is the Passover Seder. The Bible talks about the very first passover that took place in Egypt when the people of Israel were preparing to leave a life of slavery and journey to the promised land. The meal eaten is very symbolic of what they endured while in slavery, shows the hope of the brighter future and points us to the final lamb, the Lamb of God, who redeems us by his blood! Here are the main foods eaten in a passover meal and what they are meant to symbolize. There are three that are required and then some that were added later.

Matzo{the unleavened bread} 
Exodus 23:14 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt.

The children of Israel had to leave in haste from Egypt so the bread did not have time to rise. The Matzo also traditionally has lines of prick marks to represent that our Lord was stripped and pierced for our sins.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The celebration of passover Seder also means that no leavening(yeast, baking soda, baking powder, sodium bicarbonate ect.) or products containing them can be in the house, this is because it was symbolic of sin. When I still lived at home we would strategically use up anything we had with leavening weeks before passover so we didn't have to throw it away. We would save a few things to hunt for before the eve of passover, just to have fun with the little ones. Let me tell you, you have to get creative in what you pack for lunches, peanut butter and jelly matzo is way too messy! 

 
Roasted Lamb 
 Exodus 12:3,7-11 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts.  And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.  In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover.

This is a very important piece of the passover, as the blood of the lamb was a sign to the Lord to "Passover" that home and not kill the first born child of that house hold. The Jews were spared this plague but it hit the Egyptians hard. It was the final plague on Egypt then Pharaoh let them go.  The neat part about this traditional food is that it all has to be eaten that evening, so if you like lamb this is great! 

Bitter Herbs{Maror} 
 ...with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.
The bitter herb that we use is Horse radish, to show the bitterness of slavery.  

 

Karpas{parsley}
The parsley, as part of the Ceder, we dip in salt water to symbolize the tears of the Jews in slavery.



Haroset 
This is one that was added later but it is one of my favorites! It is a mixture of ground up apples, walnuts, raisins, a little honey and some grape juice. It is made to symbolize the mortar the children of Israel used when making bricks for pharaoh. It also is there as a contrast to the bitter herbs to show the sweetness of a new life. 
 
Grape juice/ Wine
During the course of the meal there are four different glasses of grape juice that all are required to drink. 
1st Cup-Sanctification
It is to show how God set apart His people in Egypt. In the same way we are set apart when we accept Jesus as our savior.  
2nd Cup-Judgement
This cup was what Jesus prayed to be taken from Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is the punishment for all our sins. Jesus drank this the night of His death so we would not have to.
3rd Cup-Redemption

Jesus did not drink this cup on the night of his death, He couldn't because it represented redemption. He knew his blood was needed for remission of our sins.
4th Cup-Kingdom
This cup is usually poured but not drunk, this is because Jesus did not drink the wine offered him as He was on the cross. It is a reminder of what we will enjoy with Jesus when He comes back!
   
 The Passover is the oldest continually observed feast today, it has been going on for around 3,500 years! It is the last meal Jesus ate before he died and he desired to eat it with His disciples, it is a very special picture of what He did for us. It is such a joy that I can pass the story of the faithfulness and redemption of the Lord, and the promise that He is coming again for us to my children through this festival! This Friday at Sunset we begin this years Passover!