Last Sunday, which began the week of the Jewish holiday, Passover, we got to hear a great message from a Messianic Jew (a man of Jewish heritage who has accepted Jesus as the Messiah) regarding the history of Passover. As a "gentile" - i.e. non-Jewish person, I have never given much thought to the Jewish holidays, but as I listened to His accounts of his people's history, I felt that it added a new spark and dimension of understanding to my own Christian roots, beliefs and traditions.
The passover meal includes multiple dishes and cups, each part of which is eaten or drank to remind the Jews of their slavery in Egypt and their miraculous salvation from that bondage. For example, one of the dishes included in passover are bitter herbs (usually horseradish) which when eaten bring tears to ones eyes and is to serve as a reminder of the tears shed during their bondage; there is another green (usually parsley) that is dipped in salt water, the salt water, once again reminding them of the tears and sweat shed during the enslavement. It really was a fascinating history and story, which I could not possibly repeat it in its entirety and do it justice (and so I would encourage you to consider reading up on it yourself...).
The one part that intrigued me most, and I admit brought tears to my eyes was what I really want to share...
There is this unleavened bread called "matzoh" that is included in the seder. The bread is divided into three pieces and stacked in a covering that is called the unity. No one seems to know why they divide it into three pieces. Some say it represents the three classes of people in ancient Israel: the priests, levites, and Israelites. Another tradition is that it is to symbolize the patriarchs of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These perhaps are the two most common, although there are at least two more theories as to what reason this tradition was started.
What happens with the matzoh is this:
For some reason (unclear to the Jewish people today), the tradition with the matzoh is for the middle piece of unleavened (meaning without yeast - which represents contamination (i.e. sin)) bread ( and which in its baking is striped and pierced) bread to be broken and removed from the pouch in which the three pieces are encompassed (known as the unity). It is wrapped in linen cloth and buried and hidden somewhere in the house. This middle piece is known (by itself) as the "Afikomen", meaning "that which comes later", and some believe it is a derivitive of the Greek word "aphikomenos" - which means "the one who has arrived". After the meal, the children at the Passover seder go in search of the Afikomen and when found it is shared with the table as the "dessert" bread.
So if it represents the patriarchs, why is Isaac taken, broken, buried, and found? If it represents the classes of ancient Israel, why are the Levites taken, broken, buried, and found? Believers in Jesus as the Messiah can see that He explains the mystery of the Matzoh at the last supper with His disciples. The unity symbolizes the unique unity of the trinity, and the three pieces of bread within the unity represent the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit... and the Son is broken, wrapped in linens, buried, and later resurrected. As a matter of fact, it is this bread that Jesus said represented Him. "This is my body which was broken for you..."
There are four cups that are drank from during the seder. Two before the meal, and two at the end of the meal. The four cups represent the four "I will's" that God promised in Exodus 6:6-7. The first cup represents sanctification ("I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians"). The second represents the plagues/judgement ("I will rid you of their bondage"). The third represents redemption ("I will redeem you with an outstretched arm"), and the fourth represents praise ("I will take you as my own people").
It is the third cup which comes after the Afikomen is eaten. It is the third cup, the cup of redemption, which was to represent the hope of God's redemption from slavery. It was this cup that Jesus lifted saying, "This is my blood, which is shed for you."
Understanding the MEANING behind these pieces of the passover meal make Jesus definition of them being His "body" and His "blood" so much more powerful, and thus helps me to value the act of communion more than I ever have before.
Even the timing of Jesus' death - the weekend of the Passover celebration, with Passover being the time of year that the Jews made sacrifices for the atonement of their sins - was a perfect representation of what His sacrifice was to mean. That He was the ultimate sacrifice. That his blood offers us redemption and salvation.
I know that my friends reading this blog are mostly all Christian, and so perhaps none of this is new to you, but being that today IS Easter - the day by which everything else in Christianity revolves around - I thought it was an important topic to address, and perhaps it is as informative and inspiring to you as it was me.
I'll finish with one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis. It kind of sums up my understanding of Jesus and his resurrection... and how we must view it. Happy Easter!
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” - CS Lewis
No comments:
Post a Comment