Our Passover Seder is tomorrow evening.  I am SO looking forward to it!

I remember the very first Seder I attended a few years ago.  It brought the Bible to life for me - to realize, really for the first time, that the "Last Supper" I had heard about for most of my life was really a Passover Seder!  The significance of Jesus' words took on a much deeper meaning for me than I had ever realized before.

In Jewish homes in preparation for Passover, all items containing leaven are removed.  This includes all breads and cakes containing yeast.  Leaven in the Bible represents sin.  Consequently, as believers, we want to make sure we have no unconfessed sin in our lives.

'Now he LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.  Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying:  'On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.  And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb.  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.  You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.   Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.  (Ex. 12:1-6a)

Notice, they were to take the lamb on the 10th of the month and keep it until the 14th.  Now imagine:  each family took this cute little lamb, and lived with it for four days.  It was like a pet in the house.  They inspected it to make sure it was without blemish.  Imagine the kids in the home, playing and frolicking with this little lamb.  Imagine them getting quite attached to it.

Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight."  (Ex. 12:6b)  I would imagine it would have been very difficult, especially for the children, to have that little lamb killed, after playing with it for four days.

'And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.  Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.'  (vv. 7-8)

'And thus shall you eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand.  So you shall eat it in haste.  It is the LORD'S Passover.  For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment:  I am the LORD.'  (vv.11-12)

'Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are.  And when I see the blood, I will pass over you;  and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.'   (v. 13)


The Angel of Death did not visit the houses that had the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintels.  The blood saved them.

In the same way, Jesus is our 'Sacrifice Lamb', and those who believe He is Who He said He was are saved from eternal death, forever separated from Him, by applying His shed blood to our hearts.

Growing up, I had heard about the 'Last Supper', where Jesus said, "This is My body" and "This is My blood."   That became 'Communion' in the church.  However, the Passover Seder provides much more detail and insight.

The Seder begins with the lighting of candles by a woman.  Jesus is the Light of the World, and came into the world through a woman, His mother Mary, which was promised in Genesis 3:15 as 'the seed of a woman'.

There are four cups of wine, each with its own significance.  The first is the Cup of Sanctification.  When Jesus shared the Passover Seder with His disciples, He said to them:  "Take this and divide it among you.  For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."       (Luke 22:17-18)

The second cup is the Cup of the Plagues.  The king of Egypt, Pharaoh, would not let the people go, so God sent a series of ten plagues, each one worse than the one before it.  Pharaoh did not want to give in!  First God sent a plague of blood, turning all the water, the rivers, to blood.  There followed plagues of frogs, lice, flies, cattle disease, boils, hail, locusts, darkness .... and finally, death to the firstborn.  When Pharaoh discovered his son dead, he finally gave in!

Besides the cups of wine, there are other elements of significance as part of the Seder.  There is the hand (and sometimes foot) washing.  I have been to seders where each person had his/her feet washed by the person ahead of him/her, and then did the same for the person behind.  I can testify that it is a very humbling experience.  Imagine if it was Jesus washing your feet, as He did for His disciples!

Another element of the meal is the parsley, which represents life, created and sustained by God.  There is also, of course the matzah, the unleavened bread.  At the original Passover, they didn't have time to let dough rise.  They had 'flat' bread,  And as I mentioned earlier, leaven (that which makes the dough rise) represents sin.

If anyone has seen genuine matzah, you will notice that it is pierced with little holes.  Zechariah 12:10 says:  "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son...."  Jesus was pierced by the crown of thorns, as well as by the spear in his side.

The tiny holes made by these piercings on the matzah make a striped pattern.  Isaiah 53:5 says:  'But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and by His stripes we are healed.'

There are three pieces of matzah used at the Seder, which are wrapped together in a napkin.  Rabbis call these three pieces of matzah a 'Unity' - perhaps of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  However, as believers in Yeshua (Jesus) we can see the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

During the ceremony, the leader takes the center piece of matzah, this 'bread of affliction',  and breaks it in half.  So too, our Messiah, Jesus, was 'broken' and afflicted.  This half now is called the afikomen.  It is wrapped in a white cloth and hidden (just as Jesus' body was wrapped and 'hidden' in the tomb.)  Later, the children present will try to find the hidden piece.

Another element of the seder is the bitter herbs (maror), which is horseradish, signifying the bitter life the Israelites had in Egypt for forty years.  Next, the kharoset, which is a mixture of chopped apples, honey and juice.  This is to remind us of the bricks of clay, sometimes mixed with straw, that the Israelites toiled over daily for forty years.

The original Passover meal consisted of the little lamb.  However, since the Temple in Jerusalem is no longer standing, the Passover plate contains a shank bone to remind us of the sacrificed lamb.  As well, a roasted egg has been added to the Passover meal.  It is called the khagigah.  It signifies mourning for the destruction of the second Temple.  Some view it as noting new birth and eternal life.

I encourage you, if you have the opportunity to take part in a Passover Seder, do so.  It gives much greater understanding, not only of this season, but also a deeper understanding of Scripture, especially with regard to the 'Last Supper'.

Hag Sameach!