Pesach ve Chag HaMatzah
Nisan 14-22, 5784
Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread 22-30 April, 2024
Chag Pesach Sameach! - Happy Passover Holiday!
Historical Background
“‘These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: The LORD’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the LORD’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast.
On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to the LORD by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’” Leviticus 23:4-8 (NIV) |
Pesach (say pay sarkh) – The Hebrew word “pesach” means “to spring, jump or pass over” something, and this is where the English word “Passover” comes from. It is an historical reference to God’s miraculous deliverance of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt (Mizraim) as recorded in the Book of Exodus. Chapter 12 sets out the instructions for pesach (passover) and these were to be a ‘lasting ordinance’ for the Israelites and their descendents. God instructed the Israelites to continue to observe this ceremony when they came to the promised land and to tell their children (verses 27-28) “…It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians.” Because of an increasing hardness of Pharaoh's heart, God sent 10 plagues to persuade him to let Israel go. However, his resolve hardened and he refused to let Israel go even after the first 9 devastating plagues had affected his people. However the 10th and most devastating plague finally convinced him to allow them to go.
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In the final judgement against Egypt, God declared He would send the Angel of Death over the land of Egypt to kill the first born son of every household. However, with this judgement, God made provision for a way of escape. Any household that put the blood of the sacrificial lamb on their lintels and doorposts (Mezuzot) was given the promise (verse 13): “ The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”
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Israel had dwelt in Egypt for 430 years although at the time of Joseph’s family they were not slaves. However after Joseph’s death they prospered and multiplied greatly, until a new Pharaoh came to power and did not recognise the privileged position afforded them by previous rulers, it was under this Pharaoh that they suffered cruel hardship and slavery and their cries ascended to God who heard them and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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Passover clearly typifies redemption in a very dramatic way. Yet it also holds a greater prophetic picture of God’s plan for the redemption of the whole world.
There are numerous references to Passover in the Brit Hadashah (New Testament). Passover is recorded in the following Gospel accounts; Luke 2:41 and John 5:1, 6:4; and also in Acts 12:3-4. The most well known being the account of the last Passover celebrated by Jesus and his disciples in an upper room on Mount Zion (see Matthew 26 and Luke 22). |
Over the centuries since that first ‘pesach’, a set order for keeping the Passover has developed. Much of the ‘Seder’ (order of service) was implemented during the period of the Second Temple around 537-19 BC. The present day Passover service is celebrated much in the same way as it was at the time of Jesus, so the present day observance can allow us to reflect on the events at the Last Supper (the Passover Meal) that Jesus ate with His disciples before his trial and subsequent crucifixion.
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Passover Symbols
Because Jesus was an observant Jew, Passover was part of His life. In His early years we read in Luke 2:41: ‘Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.’ And again in verse 43 when he was 12 years old: ‘After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.’ Just as in His early days, Passover also played an important role in His last days |
We read in Luke 22:7-13: Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.” They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
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Pesach/Passover lasts eight days and during this time no leavened foods are to be eaten. The Torah says that the people are to remove any leavened products from their homes (Exodus 12:15). This was a reminder that when they fled Egypt there wasn't time for the bread to rise, so every springtime in Jewish homes, the house is cleaned from top to bottom and any food products containing leaven (wheat, barley, rye, spelt, or oats, yeast, baking powder, baking soda etc) is removed before Pesach/Passover begins.
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After the house is thoroughly cleaned, preparations begin for the Passover Seder (Seder means 'order') meal. In Exodus 12 God told the Israelites that the evening was to be commemorated by eating three things, lamb, matzah (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs (maror). Rabbis later added more elements including green vegetables, a roasted egg, Charoset (fruit/nut mix), salt water and four cups of wine. These are arranged on a ceremonial seder plate and the wine is sipped from a ceremonial kiddush cup (wine goblet).
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The Rabbis included a fifth cup called the ‘Cup of Elijah’ with the understanding and hope that Elijah would attend the celebration and announce that the Messiah (Moshiach) has come (Malachi 4:5). The ceremonial foods featured at the seder are a reminder that from a Jewish perspective, theology is not only taught, it is also eaten! Jews and Gentiles, adults and children can learn so much from celebrating the ‘appointed times’ (Mo’edim) of the Bible.
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A mysterious element of the seder meal that the rabbis introduced, concerns the‘matzah tash’. This is a linen pouch with three pockets. A piece of matzah is placed within each pocket, set apart yet united in one container!
During the first part of the seder the middle piece of matzah is taken out and broken in half. One half of this matzah is placed back in the matzah tash, the other half is wrapped in a napkin and hidden somewhere in the room by the leader of the seder. The hidden matzah is called the ‘afikomen’ which is Greek meaning ‘that which comes last.’ The Rabbis say it is because it is the last thing eaten at the seder, a dessert. Another translation is ‘he will come again!’ To the Messianic believer this pictures the resurrection and return of the Messiah. |
The Haggadah is a booklet which tells the history and significance of Pesach. The Passover ceremonial meal is centred around reading the Haggadah.
Haggadah means 'the telling' and to celebrate the 'Seder' each participant reads from a Passover Haggadah. The Seder refers to the ‘order of service’ and the whole celebration is referred to as the Pesach or Passover Seder. During the Seder, the ‘Hallel’ (‘Psalms of ascent’ 113-118) are sung. Through symbolism and celebration, Jewish families are reminded of the great redemption of the first Passover. |
New Testament ObservanceThe passover celebrated by Jesus (Yeshua) and His disciples in the upper room teaches us about redemption through the shed blood of a spotless lamb, Jesus became our Pesach Lamb (John 1:29). The bitter herbs (maror) speaks of bondage to an oppressor. It was into the bowl of bitter herbs that Judas dipped his matzah. The washings of hands and feet symbolising the need for cleansing before approaching Almighty God.
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The four cups of wine (or grape juice) teaches us the following according to Exodus 6:6-7:
1st cup: I Am the Lord and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptian. 2nd cup: I will free you from being slaves to them. 3rd cup: I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. 4th cup: I will take you as my own people and I will be your God. |
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV)
“The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbours, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
Jeremiah reveals the Good News of the Jewish Messiah who will bring about a New Covenant through His shed blood. The Torah reveals the sinful nature of all mankind and God’s unmerited Grace to forgive and redeem.
The Passover Service (Seder) teaches us by recounting the story of the deliverance of the Israelites by the Hand and Grace of God that deliverance is not only out of the physical land of Egypt (Mizraim), but also from the wages of sin. The Lamb of God, Jesus the Messiah (Seh HaElohim, Yeshua Ha Mashiach) is the God given Passover Lamb sacrificed to make atonement once and for all, for all mankind. |
When God sees His blood applied to the doorposts of our hearts, the Angel of Death passes over us, we are cleansed, made whole and reconciled to God, grafted into the house of Israel, …neither Jew nor Gentile as is recorded in Galatians 3:28-30 “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”
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Therefore, should we celebrate Passover?
By all means Let Us Keep the Feast and look forward to the time we celebrate it anew with Jesus in heaven. “Next Year In Jerusalem!” “L’Shanah HaBa’ah B’Yerushalayim” |
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God’s Appointed Times - Deliverance
The date of Jesus resurrection was Nisan 17, the day of “First Fruits” - Yom HaBikkurim speaks of the earliest harvest that takes place in Israel, the barley harvest. It was the first harvest of the spring, and a time to thank God for His provision.
Other important events that took place on Nisan 17 are:
Noah’s Ark rested on Mount Ararat – Genesis 8:4
Moses and the Israelites left Egypt after 430 years – Exodus 12:40-41.
Moses led Israel through the Red Sea – Exodus 12:17
The day of First Fruits (Yom HaBikkurim) when Israel entered the Promised Land and tasted the fruit. Joshua 5:10-12
The Cleansing of the Temple by King Hezekiah, 800 years after entering the Promised Land – 2Chronicles 29:1-36.
Queen Esther delivered her people – Esther 3:12; 5:1.
Resurrection of Jesus the Christ. (Yeshua HaMashiach) – Matthew:28.
Other important events that took place on Nisan 17 are:
Noah’s Ark rested on Mount Ararat – Genesis 8:4
Moses and the Israelites left Egypt after 430 years – Exodus 12:40-41.
Moses led Israel through the Red Sea – Exodus 12:17
The day of First Fruits (Yom HaBikkurim) when Israel entered the Promised Land and tasted the fruit. Joshua 5:10-12
The Cleansing of the Temple by King Hezekiah, 800 years after entering the Promised Land – 2Chronicles 29:1-36.
Queen Esther delivered her people – Esther 3:12; 5:1.
Resurrection of Jesus the Christ. (Yeshua HaMashiach) – Matthew:28.
Online Resources
http://www.chosenpeople.com/main/index.php/holidays-and-festivals/236-frequently-asked-questions-about-passover Excellent information regarding Passover including why Easter and Passover occur at the times and dates they do. http://servantofmessiah.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/09/Haggadah-Congregation.pdf This link will allow you to access a copy of a Messianic Haggadah (Passover Guide for Christians) in pdf format. You will need an Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this, the following link is for a free reader: http://get.adobe.com/reader/ I have also compiled a concise Passover Haggadah for Christians which can be found by scrolling under the "Home" page on this site. |
Recommended Reading
Kasdan, Barney. (1993). “God’s Appointed Times.”Lederer Books, Baltimore, USA Irving, Valerie. (1990). “Let Us Keep The Feast.” ANZEA Books, NSW, Australia. Chumney, Edward. (1994). “The Seven Festivals Of The Messiah.” Treasure House, Shippensburg, PA, USA. Pastor Michael Smith & Rabbi Rami Shapiro (2005). “Let Us Break Bread Together: A Passover Haggadah for Christians.” Paraclete Press, Brewster, Mass. USA Lipis, Joan R. (1993). Celebrate Passover Haggadah - A Christian Presentation of the Traditional Jewish Festival." Purple Pomegranate Productions, San Francisco, USA. |
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