Second Cup Section
The Second Cup represents the plaques or judgements. The head of the household takes up another piece of Matzah and tells the people that "This is the bread of our affliction." It is pointed out how the Matzah is pierced and striped. Since there is no leaven in the flat bread it leaves the bread pierced and striped. Remember Isaiah 53:5? It says: "For He was pierced through for our transgressions and with His Stripes we are healed." A blessing is recited and then everyone eats of the Matzah bread. Next is the Maror. The Maror is the dipping of the bitter herbs. A piece of Matzah is dipped into horseradish, enough to bring tears to the eyes. Everyone eats the Maror together after more recitation and blessing.
The Charoseth (this is the good stuff, sweet) is taken next. The Charoseth is a mixture of apples, nuts, and grape juice (or wine) that signifies the mortar the Israelites used while in bondage to Pharoah. The sweetness of the Matzah dipped in the Charoseth helps one to look at the joy in the midst of the troubles., "for the redeemed have both His promise and His presence (Nadler, p.11)."
The Baytsah is the egg or Haggigah. This recalls the fact that Temple sacrifices no longer exist. As mentioned in the Haggadah, " the egg is round, endless, like life eternal coming out of bondage is like being brought back from the dead. For our redemption, Messiah was raised from teh dead. The redeemed of the Lord shall be with Messiah forever! We have been released from our bondage in sin, and the fear of death. Hallelujah (pg. 11)!"
A tradition of the Passover is the reciting of four questions performed by a child. Usually after this a responsive reading of Exodus 12:1-13 is led by the head. This is where the plagues are remembered. The significance of the blood on the doorposts and lintels is mentioned at this time.
Mr. Nadler points out in The Messianic Haggadah that:
"God was looking for a sign; for He was not going to redeem people merely of the flesh, but people of faith. The blood had to be applied for judgement to 'pass over' their homes. The blood applied as the Scriptures prescribes makes for a sign of redemption that speaks of great redemption from a far more terrible judgement that sign takes our attention to 100 B.C. and Psalm 22:16... They pierced My hands and My feet, describing how Messiah would die. That sign then takes our attention to 700 B.C. and Isaiah 53:7, He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, describing Messiah's identification with the Passover Lamb in His death.
Finally, our attention comes to Golgotha, Calvary, where the Messiah Yeshua, the true lamb of God was nailed to the executioner's stake and God fulfilled His promise for our eternal redemption.
Whether it was Abraham, Moses, David, or Isaiah, people have alwaya been redeemed the same way, at all times: by faith (Gen. 15:6). Prior to Messiah's coming, people had faith that anticipated what God would provide. After Messiah's coming and in our day, people have faith that appropriates what God has provided: All with the same faith trusting Yeshua, the centerpiece of history (Nadler, 14-15)."
Next Zoroah (the shankbone of the Lamb) is mentioned. It is on the Seder plate as a reminder of the last and final sacrifice that was made for our redemption, THE Lamb. The Zoroah means literally 'arm' or 'the arm of the Lord that delivers us from bondage forever.' The second Cup ends with a blessing and a drink of the second cup.
After the Second cup a meal is eaten which is called Shulcan Orech.
Third Cup Section
The Third cup stands for redemption. The children look for the Afikomen, and whoever finds it receives a reward from the Head of the household. Then everyone takes and eats part of the Afikomen which is the broken Matzah. This is the last bite of food that is taken as a reminder of the Passover Lamb, the last sacrifice for our redemption. For those who do not recognize the Messiah this part is a reminder of the redemption out of Egypt, but for those who are Christians the broken Afikomen is eaten in rememberance of Him. A blessing is recited. After the head leads with more responsive reading, this time about the New Covenant, another blessing is said over the third cup.
I hope you can see what the third cup section is. Every time that one participate in the Lord's Supper or Communion you are taking part in the Third cup section of the Passover. This is significant. As Nadler states in The Messianic Passover Haggadah,
"this bread and third cup remind us of the eternal relationship we have with our God, that we know Him, not merely know about Him. To know Him is relationship; to merely know about Him is religion. But how do we know Him, by way of the first two cups.
At the first cup, the broken Afikomen pictured that God would provide for our redemption. We could never redeem ourselves, but God alone would provide The Lamb...
At the second cup we recognize that the lamb was not only to be slain, but that the blood has to be applied to the door. If all the lambs of Egypt were slain but the blood unapplied, there would have been no Passover and no redemption.
So also, the fact that Messiah has been slain for our redemption does us no good, unless 'the blood has been applied.' By trusting in Messiah's sacrifice, we apply His blood as atonement to our heart's door. This is how we come to the third cup, the place of remembering the relationship we have by faith in Messiah, the provision of God (Nadler, 19)."
Fourth Cup Section
THe final cup is called the Hallel which means praise or Elijah's cup. In most homes that celebrate Passover this is the time that Elijah's seat is recognized as empty, and that neither he not the Messiah will come this year. They say: "La Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalaim," meaning "Next year in Jerusalem." They have to wait another year for Hope to arrive, never understanding that He has already come. For the Christian this time is ended in praise and rejoicing for the coming time of Messiah's return. The final cup is blessed and drunk, and with joy the people look forward to being with the Lord in the New Jerusalem. The head of the household closes the Seder meal in prayer.
I hope that you see more clearly Jesus in the Passover. I know when I had the opportunity to first go to a Messianic Passover Seder and we got to the third cup section I got so excited to realize and comprehend more fully the significance of the Lord's Supper that we, Gentile Christians, celebrate. My hope is that you too will be excited at the significance of the Pasover as it relates to the Lord's Supper, and the importance that it has on life, our redemption from death's bondage that was paid by the atoning Blood of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. He paid a price we could not pay, and He paid a price He did not owe. What joy we should have in our hearts because of the Sacrifice of One Lamb, the Lamb of God.
Works cited:
Nadler, Sam. The Messianic Passover Haggadah. Word of Messiah Ministreis, 2000. Charlotte, NC
Showing posts with label Messiah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Messiah. Show all posts
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Jesus in the Passover
This article was originally written for our Adult class newsletter (published April, 2001) at our former church. My husband and I use to teach an adult class and part of the way we ministered to our class members was through a monthly newsletter. It gave me a chance to do what I love...write, and share a few tidbits. Hope you enjoy it. This will be a 3 part series! .....Oh....I'm back....more on that later....
Revised addition: Part 1
I have often heard the comment that the Old Testament is not relevant to the New Testament Church. I beg to differ. Without the Old Testament the New Testament is without full contextual meaning, and without the New Testament, the Law of the Old Testament has no fulfillment. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law and Jesus is the promised realized in the New Testament. Even though we are no longer under the law, but under grace, a full understanding of God's love for us cannot be obtained without first looking to the Old Testament Scriptures. Jesus Christ is all thoughout the Old Testament. He is present at Creation. He is also known as the Angel of the Lord throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. He is the Branch of David in Jeremiah. He is the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. He is the promised Messiah, our Passover Lamb.
The Jewish people were in bondage to the Egyptians for 100s of years. Whereas, the Jews were once in Egypt with blessing, the Jews of the Exodus were at that time under persecution and hardship. The Jews, with Joseph gone, were seen as a threat to the nation of Egypt by the new Pharoah because they were great in number as a result of God's blessing upon them. The Pharoah appointed taskmasters over the people of Israel, and imposed hard labor onto them thinking that this would decrease their number. However, it did not (see Ex. 1:12). No matter the attempt to decrease their number, the Jewish Nation continued to grow. No man can deter the hand of God.
Because of a mother's faith, a child, Moses, was saved from death and came to live within Pharoah's household (see Ex. Chapter 2). Moses, who grew up in affluence and wealth, was later on the run for his life, because of the murder he had committed and had tried to cover up. He came to the land of Midian and found refuge there with the family of Jethro, who was the Priest of Midian. Jethro was to eventually become Moses's father-in-law.
Moses had a lifechanging experience with God on the mountain of God (Horeb) as a result of the nonconsuming fire of the burning bush and his encounter with the Angel of the LORD, Christ of the OT (Exodus chp. 3). God had seen the affliction of His people, and came down to Moses to give him a mission to deliver the people out of the bondage of slavery.
God sent down plagues throughout Egypt. The Pharoah did not recognize the God of Israel and his heart was hardened in spite of the horrible plagues. God allowed pestilence to cover the land and His people too. The last plague was the turning point for Pharoah and the Jewish nation. God gave specific instructions to Moses concerning the last plague in order to protect the people, and as a means to reveal the Messiah.
Passover was ordained by God. It shows clearly the redemption and deliverenace from death that only God can bring. Each Jewish household had to prepare their homes, their hearts, and the Passover Lamb in accordance to God's specific instruction. There were no shortcuts! Period! God had declared that all the firstborn thoughout the land would be killed unless these instructions were followed. God have the Jews a means of protection to escape the impending sentence of death for the firstborn that even the animals would not be spared. God did this in order for His people to understand the distinction between Israel and Egypt. The people of Israel were God's Chosen People, and He wanted them to understand that fact. He chose them out of all the people groups He had created in order to bring to ALL people the ultimate form of deliverance and redemption, His Son, Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb.
Part 2 Thursday 4-1-10
Revised addition: Part 1
I have often heard the comment that the Old Testament is not relevant to the New Testament Church. I beg to differ. Without the Old Testament the New Testament is without full contextual meaning, and without the New Testament, the Law of the Old Testament has no fulfillment. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law and Jesus is the promised realized in the New Testament. Even though we are no longer under the law, but under grace, a full understanding of God's love for us cannot be obtained without first looking to the Old Testament Scriptures. Jesus Christ is all thoughout the Old Testament. He is present at Creation. He is also known as the Angel of the Lord throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. He is the Branch of David in Jeremiah. He is the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. He is the promised Messiah, our Passover Lamb.
The Jewish people were in bondage to the Egyptians for 100s of years. Whereas, the Jews were once in Egypt with blessing, the Jews of the Exodus were at that time under persecution and hardship. The Jews, with Joseph gone, were seen as a threat to the nation of Egypt by the new Pharoah because they were great in number as a result of God's blessing upon them. The Pharoah appointed taskmasters over the people of Israel, and imposed hard labor onto them thinking that this would decrease their number. However, it did not (see Ex. 1:12). No matter the attempt to decrease their number, the Jewish Nation continued to grow. No man can deter the hand of God.
Because of a mother's faith, a child, Moses, was saved from death and came to live within Pharoah's household (see Ex. Chapter 2). Moses, who grew up in affluence and wealth, was later on the run for his life, because of the murder he had committed and had tried to cover up. He came to the land of Midian and found refuge there with the family of Jethro, who was the Priest of Midian. Jethro was to eventually become Moses's father-in-law.
Moses had a lifechanging experience with God on the mountain of God (Horeb) as a result of the nonconsuming fire of the burning bush and his encounter with the Angel of the LORD, Christ of the OT (Exodus chp. 3). God had seen the affliction of His people, and came down to Moses to give him a mission to deliver the people out of the bondage of slavery.
God sent down plagues throughout Egypt. The Pharoah did not recognize the God of Israel and his heart was hardened in spite of the horrible plagues. God allowed pestilence to cover the land and His people too. The last plague was the turning point for Pharoah and the Jewish nation. God gave specific instructions to Moses concerning the last plague in order to protect the people, and as a means to reveal the Messiah.
Passover was ordained by God. It shows clearly the redemption and deliverenace from death that only God can bring. Each Jewish household had to prepare their homes, their hearts, and the Passover Lamb in accordance to God's specific instruction. There were no shortcuts! Period! God had declared that all the firstborn thoughout the land would be killed unless these instructions were followed. God have the Jews a means of protection to escape the impending sentence of death for the firstborn that even the animals would not be spared. God did this in order for His people to understand the distinction between Israel and Egypt. The people of Israel were God's Chosen People, and He wanted them to understand that fact. He chose them out of all the people groups He had created in order to bring to ALL people the ultimate form of deliverance and redemption, His Son, Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb.
Part 2 Thursday 4-1-10
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