Passover is the oldest continually
celebrated holiday, ordained of God, on the face of this earth. It was
instituted before the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai, as a means of redemption
for God's people. The original emblems on the Passover table were: Roasted lamb,
bitter herbs and unleavened bread. According to God, this was a very important
Holy Day. The scriptures say, any person who did not celebrate the Passover was
to be cut off from Israel forever. Each succeeding celebration of this Holy Day
was to be memorial to the original Passover. The fact that the Death Angel of
the Lord passed over certain homes in Egypt that fateful night, was only because
those homes were protected by the blood of perfect sacrificial lambs.
When we celebrate Passover today, it is still a memorial to the first Passover.
There are some additional elements on the Passover (Seder) Table when we
celebrate it today. The egg; symbolic of the festival offering, is to depict
regeneration and newness of life. The sprig of green vegetable; is to remind us
of the hyssop that was used to sprinkle the lintel and doorposts with the blood
of the sacrificial lamb. The Charoset is to remind us of the mortar used to make
bricks for Pharaoh's treasure cities. The bitter herbs and unleavened bread were
on the original Passover table. The bitter herbs are to remind us of the
wretched state of a person bound in slavery whether physical, spiritual, or
both. There are three Matzah on a plate, covered with cloth and separated into
three compartments. One Matzah is put into each compartment. During the Passover
service part of the middle Matzah is broken and hidden away to be claimed later.
The Rabbis say this is the Afokomen, or dessert, and is the last thing eaten.
Everyone, from the youngest to the eldest, must eat some of it. But you see, the
word Afokomen, is not Hebrew but Greek; it doesn't mean dessert, it's meaning is
"I came". While everyone partakes of this emblem, they are testifying
to the fact, (whether they know it or not), that He (Messiah Yeshua), came.
While many teach that the three Matzah represent the triunity of the Jewish
people, namely Priests, Levites, and Israelites, that is impossible; the Priests
and Levites are of the same tribe and in Exodus 19:6 all Israel is in fact
called the Kingdom of Priests. Actually; I would suggest to you that the three
Matzah represent: 1. God the Father. 2 God the Son (Messiah, the Branch). 3. The
Spirit of God. These three are separate and distinct yet they are completely and
irrevocably one, as all Israel is one.
The wine glass is filled and consumed four times during the Passover Service to
remind us of the four-fold promise of God in Exodus 6:6&7. 1. "I will
bring you out..." 2. "I will rid you out of their bondage." 3.
"I will redeem you." 4. "I will take you to me."
When the Lord Yeshua celebrated his last Passover, He instituted his Supper out
of the elements on the table, unleavened bread and wine. In the Brit Hadasah, we
read: "He took bread and gave thanks and brake it and gave unto them
saying, this is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me.
Likewise also the cup after supper saying, this cup, the new testament (Brit
Hadasah) in my blood, which is shed for you."
When the Lord Yeshua says this is my body which is given for you, He is
referring to His body of sinlessness. When He refers to the cup, (the third cup
of wine, the cup of redemption) and says, It is the new testament; He is
referring to the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31 and following. The
blood of the perfect lamb saved our ancestors in Egypt from their physical
bondage. Messiah instituted His Supper looking forward to His sacrifice on the
same sign as the sign of salvation in Egypt. He gave His people a new covenant
before His sacrifice so at no time were they without a path of redemption.
In Egypt, blood was applied to the lintel and doorposts and when the Angel of
Death saw this sign he passed over that house during the death plague. Our
ancestors received physical freedom in Egypt and now you have a chance to
receive spiritual freedom.
Remember the Lord's hand is still outstretched and he is full of mercy and not
willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. It is
written in the scriptures "be not deceived, God is not mocked, whatsoever a
man soweth that also shall he reap" and again, "for I am the Lord your
God who brings you out of the land of Egypt to be your God therefore, be thou
Holy even as I am Holy." And again "If my people, which are called by
my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and forgive their sin." and
again, "but your iniquities have separated between you and your God and
your sins have hid His face from you and He will not hear." And again,
"all our righteousness is as filthy rags." And again, "thus saith
the Lord of hosts the Holy One of Israel go tell this people hear ye indeed and
understand not, see you indeed but perceive not." And again, "believe
in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and thou shalt be saved." And again,
"there is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Messiah Yeshua
who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit." Numbers 9:13 says if
you don't sacrifice the lamb, you bare your own sins.
The Talmud clearly states in tractate Yoma 39:b that God's Sheckinah Glory
departed from the temple 40 years before it was destroyed. This was made
manifest by the following: 1. The lot for the Yom Kippur goat ceased to be
supernatural, the red cord of wool that used to change to white (as a symbol of
God's forgiveness) now remained red and would never again become white at the
Yom Kippur sacrifice, right up to the end of sacrifice when the temple was
destroyed. 2. The western candle in the candlestick in the sanctuary refused to
burn continually. (Formerly it was always the first one lit, and would always
burn to the last after the others went out). 3. The doors of the Holy Temple
would open all by themselves.
Don't lose heart, there is hope. The Lord Yeshua was sacrificed on Calvary's
cross 40 years before the Temple was destroyed and He said: "I am the way
the truth and the life, no man cometh to the father but by me."
Remember, there is no lamb on the table for the lamb of God has come; the
Afikomen proves he came and was buried (hidden away) and was resurrected and
rose to be with the Father for His glory and our justification. The bitter herbs
and charoset shows His bitter suffering on the cross that leads to the sweetness
of our redemption. |