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Preparing
For Passover |
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| Now this day [Passover] will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance (Ex. 12:14). Passover is an eight day festival kept in remembrance of the Lord’s “passing over” the houses of the Israelites, when the firstborn of all the Egyptians were slain. | |||||
| It is also called the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” because during its celebration no leavened bread was eaten, or even kept in the house. From Memories to Messiah Growing up as a small child in New York City, my family celebrated Passover every year. We would all crowd into the small apartment where my grandfather would lead the seder (‘say-der’--Passover dinner). I remember the wonderful smells of the food, the family gathering around, and grandpa in his kittel (traditional robe). It was always a joyous occasion. Traditionally, Jewish people understand this deliverance from bondage as a time to reflect upon and appreciate our personal and political freedom. Therefore during the meal we read from a Haggadah, a booklet that leads a family through the seder explaining the elements that refer to our bondage, and our redemption from that bondage. Biblically however, Passover finds its fulfillment in the spiritual freedom of redemption, salvation and eternal life in Israel's Messiah, Yeshua. The New Covenant is built upon the foundation of Passover; hence Yeshua is declared to be the Passover “Lamb of God.” In the New Covenant Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He [Yeshua] sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.” So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?” And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. Then you shall say to the master of the house,‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’ Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.” So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover (Luke 22: 7-13). Preparations in the Home When Messiah Yeshua celebrated Passover just before His sacrificial death for our atonement, He sent two followers to prepare the room for the Seder, as the passage states. These preparations center around the scrupulous removal of all leavened foods (made with yeast, or chometz) from the home. During the eight days of Passover, only foods without yeast may be eaten. The most well known unleavened food is the bread, called matzah. There are two reasons why only matzah is eaten during Passover: 1) The historical reason: Thirty-four hundred years ago, when the Jewish people were about to be delivered by God’s mighty arm from bondage in Egypt, God told them to be ready to move on a moment's notice. That’s why historically we eat only matzah at Passover. Scripture calls it “the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste)”(Deut. 16:3), therefore it is sometimes called “the bread of haste.” 2) The Scriptural reason: Unleavened bread is made without yeast. Scripture consistently uses leaven as a picture of pride, sin, and unbelief. Leaven pictures the natural corruption of the world: Though the loaf is substantially the same size, it is “puffed” by the leaven, even as pride puffs up our soul, but does not edify or bring real growth (see 1 Cor. 8:1). This is why scripturally yeast was not permitted as part of the normal meal offerings in the Tabernacle, and later the Temple (Lev. 2:11). Thus Messiah warns His followers regarding false teachers, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees”(Matt. 16:6). Here we see false teaching as leaven, and has no place among the people of God. Today, in homes where Passover is observed, celebration cannot begin until leaven products are removed. Therefore, just before Passover begins, the head of the house searches for any crumb of leaven in order to purge his home of any defilement. Traditionally the “Papa” would use a feather and a spoon to sweep up any bit of chometz, for he knew that a little leaven is way too much. A little leaven leavens the whole loaf, and Papa wouldn’t want his family to miss out on even one blessing that God has for the home. Preparations in the Heart For sincere believers the preparations are not just for the home, but rather the home is to reflect the heart. In 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 we read these Passover preparation instructions from Paul: “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Paul uses this tradition of cleansing the homes as an illustration of the need for the cleansing of our hearts. So as Yeshua and His disciples approached Jerusalem, the Scripture records that“...they prepared the Passover (Luke 22:13). Yeshua knew, and Paul learned that without proper preparation there couldn’t be full participation in the spiritual blessings that He offers. Why aren’t more believers in Messiah enjoying the new life He brings? Believers today, like the first century Corinthian believers, need to “clean out the old leaven,” the unconfessed sin that hinders intimacy with the Lord. Many find that a worship service lacks blessing. Why? It is not because of the One we worship, He changes not. The problem is in the heart of the worshipper. If there is unconfessed sin, there are obstacles in relating to God (Isaiah 59:2). We may be saved because of His once and for all atonement for sins (Hebrews 10:11-18), but we may not have the joy of our salvation. This joy comes from a close walk with God (1 John 1:6). If this is our situation, we need to confess our sins to the Lord and be thankful for the cleansing we have in Messiah (see 1 John 1:9). Preparing for the Herald There’s one other preparation traditionally recognized at Passover: the preparation for the coming ‘Herald of the Lord’. The head of the house sits opposite an empty seat traditionally left for Elijah the Prophet. Traditionally, Elijah is expected to arrive at Passover preceding and proclaiming the Coming One, that is, the Messiah Himself. Where did such an idea originate? This tradition is taken from the third and fourth chapters of the Prophet Malachi. In Malachi 3:1 we read, “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts. In the New Covenant, John the Immerser (‘Baptizer’) came in the “spirit and power of Elijah.”2 When he saw Messiah coming he heralded to all those with ears to hear, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). But for those that did not accept Yeshua as the Lord, they therefore do not accept John as the Herald of the Lord, and keep a empty chair anticipating his arrival at Passover. Next Year In Jerusalem But every year at the end of the meal it is recognized that Elijah’s seat is still empty, that he will not come this year, and therefore Messiah will not come this year. They must wait another year for Messiah, the Prince of Peace, to bring them to Jerusalem, the city of peace. In some homes that only know tradition and ritual the Seder ends not with praise, but with a lament. The family therefore ends the meal with the saying, “Lashana Haba’ah b’Yerushalaim”, “Next year in Jerusalem”. For those without redemption in Messiah, they must wait another year for their hope to arrive. But for the redeemed who know the Lord, we end our messianic seder with rejoicing and praise. Messiah has come, fulfilled the requirements of the Torah, fulfilled the necessity of the Passover Lamb, and obtained eternal life for all who will believe in Him. Having eternal life now, we look with confidence for Messiah’s return to bring us to the New Jerusalem. Therefore let us go forth as God’s heralds declaring the ultimate Passover message: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” This Passover let us prepare our hearts by appropriating Messiah’s atonement for cleansing all unconfessed sins. Then let us look forward with anticipation to our Blessed Hope and returning King, Yeshua, Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world! Y |
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