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Father, I praise You for Your Son, Yeshua the Messiah, who paid the
price for our sins. He was crucified, shed his blood, died, and rose
again. He was the embodiment of the perfect, spotless Passover Lamb.
Only His blood saves us, just as the lamb's blood on the doorposts saved
the Israelites that night in Egypt.
Thank You for saving us when we turn from sin to obey You, and accept
Yeshua as our redemption for that sin. Each year as we do the Passover
seder, we remember Yeshua's blood, and body, and the wonderful story of
redemption portrayed in the seder. Thank You, Father, for Your mercy.
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Dear Gail-Friends, If you have never attended a Passover seder, this is an explanation of what we do:
The Hebrew word "seder" means "order". Each person in attendance has a
haggadah (booklet) which has the readings and scriptures for the seder.
Our haggadah is for a Messianic service and therefore includes readings
from both the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Scriptures.
Hopefully, you will one day have the privilege of attending a Passover
seder, so I've decided not to spoil your fun by explaining every
detail. Suffice it to say that it involves music, dancing, singing, and
of course, eating and drinking!
In Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23, G-d commanded that Passover be observed forever.
Yeshua obeyed that commandment. You may read about it in Luke 22,
Matthew 26, and John 13. He observed the seder just prior to going to
the cross. Knowing this, you will see what is called the last supper
in a whole new light. The entire seder is a picture of our salvation
from sin through Yeshua. His death, burial and resurrection are
portrayed clearly and beautifully in the Passover seder. My prayer and
hope is that you will be blessed to attend a Messianic seder, and that
you, too, will honor G-d by observing the commandment to keep Passover.
The main focus of the seder is the seder plate, which has a variety of
items which are symbolic and beautiful in their interpretation. The
photograph below shows a seder plate. I will explain each element
below:
The parsley (karpas in Hebrew), represents the hyssop which was used to
apply the blood of the Passover lamb to the doorposts and lentils of
each of the Israelites' homes. The karpas is dipped in salt water and
eaten. The salt water represents the tears shed that night in Egypt,
and also the Red Sea through which the Hebrews escaped.
Matzah has been explained in my post
here.
The horseradish (maror in Hebrew, for bitter herbs) are eaten on a piece
of matzah. This represents the sorrow, persecution and suffering of
the people under Pharoah. Just as the bitter herbs bring tears to our
eyes, so did the suffering of our people bring tears to their eyes.
This also represents the sorrow of our lives before we accept Yeshua.
Next the bitter herbs are eaten along with charoset, which a Hebrew word
also. Charoset is a sweet mixture of chopped apples, nuts, and honey.
The charoset represents mortar used to make clay bricks by our people
while slaves in Egypt. Eating the bitter with the sweet represents the
bitterness of Yeshua's death, and the sweetness of his sacrifice to set
us free.
The lamb shank bone represents the Passover lamb (Pesach sey), which is
the symbol of our L-rd and Savior Yeshua. The lamb had to be spotlessly
perfect. Yeshua was also sinless and perfect in obedience to the
Torah and the Father; therefore he could be the Passover lamb for the
whole world.
Some seders include a boiled egg. We do not because of its association
with mystical religious rites of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and
Babylonians. The egg is one of the symbols of the fertility goddess
Ishtar (aka Easter). Father G-d told us not to participate in occult
practice or worship any other gods before Him. It must make him sad
that people honor Ishtar (Easter) instead of Him on Passover.
There is more, so much more, involved in the Passover seder. To tell it
all would be to write a haggadah! So, my desire here is just to whet
your appetite for more. You would be so blessed to attend a Messianic
Passover seder and if you can't do it in person, you can see one online through Youtube.
In Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23, G-d commanded that Passover be observed
forever.
Yeshua obeyed that commandment. You may read about it in Luke 22,
Matthew 26, and John 13. He observed the seder just prior to going to
the cross. Knowing this, you will see what is called the last supper
in a whole new light. The entire seder is a picture of our salvation
from sin through Yeshua. His death, burial and resurrection are
portrayed clearly and beautifully in the Passover seder. My prayer and
hope is that you will be blessed to attend a Messianic seder, and that
you, too, will honor G-d by observing the commandment to keep Passover.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Pesach to you and yours.
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