Covenants of the Passover

​When the Easter season begins in the U.S., there are both religious and spiritual elements present from both Judaism and Christianity.  I say Christianity because its foundations lay in Judaism and the institution set forth by Yeshua (Jesus); the Church (universal Body of Christ). Furthermore, with this season, we also have the Judaic festivals of Purim, Unleavened Bread, and Passover.  In addition, there are several important days for Christianity: Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter (Resurrection) Sunday; all of which give object reference to the person of Yeshua as the Messiah. Although this selection is not in a formal academic format, much research has been done through established Jewish and Christian organizations, books, and articles.

​A Messianic Seder Meal Experience

Last year, I read and learned about the festival of Unleavened Bread and Passover that is practiced by many Jewish congregations.  In fact, I had the opportunity to partake of a community Passover Seder meal with a Messianic congregation in San Antonio, TX.  I attended the festival with the company of a friend and partook of the elements as the Passover Seder meal was led through a Messianic Haggadah (liturgy used to lead a Passover Seder meal). I learned about the meaning set forth in the Torah (books of law in the Bible), but also about how after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, modifications were done by Judaic leads to the order and elements used in future Passover Seder meals. Nonetheless, this Messianic congregation stretched my knowledge in regards to the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies fulfilled by the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), as the "Lamb of God", but also the last Passover sacrifice that satisfied the criteria set forth by YHWH (I AM, the name of God) to take away "the sin of the world". More importantly, how this fulfillment is acknowledged in the Messianic Passover Seder meal.

This Year's Easter Season

This year, as the Easter season has approached its due dates. I have spent much time reading over the original Passover meal and the addendum made to future Passover Seder meals. I have also read many arguments that exist in both favor and denial for partaking of a Passover Seder meal.  In addition, I have read about the participation or non-participation of Christians in partaking of a Passover Seder meal. Furthermore, I have found myself studying the diverse food elements that are used in a Passover Seder meal, as well as their ascribed meaning.  Some of the ascribed meanings have changed over the years, but not by much. However, many substitutes have been made for the food elements for either lack of access to the original elements, not being certain of the modern day name of the element or changes in physical health of people over the years; they cannot consume a certain element.  In the process of my research, I have looked into the "Lord's Supper", that was initiated by Yeshua; with the elements of unleavened bread and red wine.

The Significance and Practice

The significance and practice of the original Passover meal was to remember what YHWH did in acknowledging the consecration (setting apart) of the People of Israel, His nation, and His power to deliver them from the bondage and hardship they experienced by both the Rulers and nation of Egypt.  

In the original Passover meal, there were three principal food elements: Pesach Lamb, Matzah, and Maror, (Exodus 12:8).  

• Pesach Lamb (Passover Lamb), is the sacrifice lamb that was killed, some blood collected, and roasted without the removal of its "head, lower parts of its legs, and inner organs”, (Exodus 12:9). Furthermore, the sacrifice lamb was to be eaten in its entirety, if there were any leftover portions, they were to be burned-up completely, (Exodus 12:10).  The collected blood was to be "smeared" on the door frames (top and both sides) with hyssop (plant that has been often used for spiritual cleansing), (Exodus 12:7). This was to be a sign for the Lord to "pass over" the marked house and its inhabitants were not to be killed; especially the first born men and animals, (Exodus 12:12-13). Furthermore, the Pesach Lamb was not to be eaten alone; it needed to be eaten with Matzah and Maror, (Exodus 12:8). After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the People of Israel could no longer conduct the original Passover meal.  Hence, religious leaders began to make directives to carry out this festival in private homes.  In addition, a substitution was made for the whole Pesach Lamb, with a "Zeroa", the shank bone or shoulder bone of a lamb; this can be observed in some modern Passover Seder meals. 

 

• Matzah (Unleavened bread), it is bread made without (Hametz) an agent that causes bread dough to rise, (Exodus 12:20). The Mishnah has noted certain food agents as acceptable for making matzah: wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and oats. The matzah has been an element of the original Passover meal that has remained the same through dedicated kosher Jewish standards. In modern days, the dough can be bought and then heated-up for use or it can be bought ready to eat; it often resembles a large cracker with dark brown stripes and small pin holes (made to keep the bread from rising). Its significance is that of "bread of affliction", (Deuteronomy 16:3); YHWH was moving things quickly to prepare the way for the People of Israel to exit the nation of Egypt, (Exodus 12:39); there was not enough time to let it rise to its fullness.

 

• Maror (consists of bitter herbs), there is much argument as to what were these herbs.  However, some Bible reference books list the following: endive, common chicory, garden lettuce, water cress, sorrel, and dandelion.  Other books refer to the Mishnah, and list: wild lettuce, chicory, pepperwort, snakewort, and dandelion.  Yet other books, also refer to the Mishnah, but list: lettuce, endives, horeseradish, and harbabinah.  As to the certainty of which ere the actual herbs used at that time, it is suggested that people research the herbs that were present in that time and area of Egypt. However, there is not guarantee that they will be a hundred percent certain. In modern day Passover Seder meals, horseradish (grated root) and romaine lettuce have been used.  Furthermore, these elements have been used in modification as a horseradish mixture wrapped by romaine lettuce leaf. Its significance is that the bitterness of the herbs is a reminder of the bitterness that the People of Israel bared in hard labor work afflicted upon them by both the rulers and the nation of Egypt, (Exodus 1:11-14). 

Over the years, other elements were added to the Passover Seder meal, of which I will not bring into discussion into this selection because of the diversity and inconsistency that I found in significance for each of the elements.

The Years of the Messiah Yeshua

In the years in which Yeshua was alive on Earth, He and his earthly family (Luke 2:41-42) would all practice the original Passover meal in Jerusalem along with the Festival of Unleavened Bread. In addition, in the older age of Yeshua continued to practice these festivals, however, with some slight changes leading towards His sacrificial death (Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13, John 2:13, 23; 13:1). The Passover was noted as one of three festivals of pilgrimage for the People of Israel to go into Jerusalem to practice it. In addition, John the Baptist also noted the Messiah Yeshua as "God's Lamb who takes away the sin of the world" on the day that he baptized Him and on another occasion as well, (John 1:29-31; 35-36). It is interesting to note that no longer was the work of the Messiah Yeshua restricted for the People of Israel, but now it included "the world".  

Time after Yeshua's Sacrificial Death, Burial, and Resurrection

In the Book of Acts, The Apostle Luke, acknowledges a parallel with the proclamation of the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 53:7-8) and that of the Messiah Yeshua; He would be "as a lamb to the slaughter". In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul acknowledges the Messiah Yeshua as the "Passover Lamb", (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). For many Messianic and Christian Congregations, the section that notes, “For our Pesah Lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed.”, has been accepted as an anchor for leaving out the actual Passover Lamb from their Passover Seder meal. They have claimed that since Yeshua did not just die as a lamb, but in fact experienced a burial, and body resurrection, it would be inappropriate to eat a lamb that would not do such as thing. In addition, it would make void the last and final sacrifice of atonement made by Yeshua to YHWH.

Relationships and Significance

To further appreciate the Passover Lamb of Yeshua, it is necessary to observe the relationship and significance of bitterness and sin, slavery and sin, and sacrifice and righteousness. In addition, there is the "Last Supper".

• Bitterness and Sin. The People of Israel grew bitter because of the hard labor work that was afflicted upon them, (Exodus 1:11-4). This phenomena can also be observed from people who have gone through a life full of hardship both out and in a personal relationship with Yeshua. The book of Isaiah warned people to be cautious of people who change the meaning of things, such as "bitter to sweet" and "sweet to bitter", (Isiah 5:20). This phenomena can be observed with people who speak without certainty, everything they express is presented with gray areas, and often results in twisted meanings. However, Yeshua once stated, let your "Yes be yes, and your no be no", period (Matthew 5:37, James 5:12). In the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul presented how the outward expression of bitterness, is in fact the control of sin within a person, (Acts 8:23). This phenomena can be observed in many people who brake out in anger outbursts, rage, bullying, and quick escalations of violent acts, to name a few.  Yet, it is through an inner transformation that people can over come this matter (Romans 12:2).  Furthermore, the Apostle Paul encouraged the Ephesians to get rid of bitterness and other emotions that are attributed to it and to be kind and embrace the related emotions thereof, (Ephesians 4:31-32). The Apostle wrote that bitterness cannot be allowed to take its roots because it can contaminate others around it; bitterness needs to be plucked-out, (Hebrews 12:15). There are times where the people that are around us simply present a negative influence on the people around them.  In fact, to a degree, others begin to express the negative attributes of that person.  If the person does not want to accept correction, they need to be removed in order to preserve the others.

 

• Slavery and Sin.  In the book of John, Jesus states that people who practice sin are slaves of sin, (John 8:34). Furthermore, the Apostle Paul presents an explanation of how people can go from being enslaved to sin to being enslaved to righteousness in Yeshua, which leads to eternal life, (Romans 6:17-18; 22-23). Through Yeshua, Paul declares that he is no longer a slave to the law of sin, but now the law of God, (Romans 7:25).  I like to further emphasize that the biggest difference between both laws is that in the later one, we are not at it alone, we do it equally yoked with the Messiah Yeshua. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus, it is through a union with Yeshua (through His blood) that we can be set free from sin, we are forgiven, (Ephesians 1:7-8a). In the book of Mathew, Jesus states that it is through His shed blood that people can have their sins forgiven, (Matthew 26:8).    

 

• Sacrifice and Righteousness.  In both the book of Romans and 1 Peter, it is presented that the "bloody sacrificial death" of Yeshua is what leads to "vindication of God's righteousness" and how we, through Yeshua have now "come to be considered righteous" (Romans 3:25-26; 5:9). Furthermore, it is through Yeshua that we can "trust and hope" in YHWH, (1 Pet. 1:19-21). 

 

• "Last Supper".  In the process of researching the Passover and the way it was practiced by Yeshua before His sacrificial death, I found myself examining a particular phrase, "New Covenant".  Yet in order to learn the significance of New Covenant, I needed to learn what was the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant began with Abrahm, (Genesis 15:5, 18-19) and Abraham, same person, yet renamed by YHWH, (Genesis 17: 7-8, 10). Then we have Issac (son of Abraham) and his wife, Rebekah; by whom the covenant with Abraham would come to begin its fulfillment through their two sons (Genesis 25:21-23; 26: 3-5). Lastly, through Jacob, the younger sibling of Esau, (Genesis 29:13-15). Yet, it is Exodus 2:24; 6:1-5 that YHWH speaks to Moses about remembering the covenant He made with Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

 

• "Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land." And God spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them. I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant." (Exodus 6:1-5).

Yet through out the years that were to follow the People of Israel could not keep their covenant with YHWH, in accordance to His standards.  So through the prophet Jeremiah, YHWH presents that He will put into practice a New Covenant with the People of Israel.
 
New Covenant

"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." (Jeremiah 31:31-33).

Though this New Covenant was presented through the prophet Jeremiah, it would be many years until it was activated by YHWH. In the book of John, it can be observed how Jesus referred to Himself as the "bread of life" (John 6:22-40). However, it was not until the time arrived that Yeshua brought this New Covenant into activation at His "Last Supper" (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20).  In addition, the book of Hebrews (9:1-15) goes on to present how Yeshua's work led Him to become the Mediator of the New Covenant for everyone and anyone who desires to present themselves to YHWH. He did it, once and for all, by meeting the criteria of a perfect sacrifice and willingness to be the sacrificial lamb for the sanctification but also redemption of all sins.

Closure
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It has been many weeks since my work begun. I have put-in many hours into this work.  However, what is important to me is that I understand both in my heart, mind, and soul what Passover is now to me.  In essence, it is Yeshua, providing not just a washing, but continual covering of His blood upon my heart so that I may be able to come before the presence of YHWH. Furthermore, I am no longer a slave to sin, nor heading towards eternal death.  I now have the opportunity to remain in Yeshua and be able to spend my eternal life with Him; my Savior and Lord. In addition, through the Holy Spirit, I am sealed as His.  When Yeshua returns, I will meet Him in the air, and I will be one step closer to sharing with Him the marriage-supper of the Lamb; along with other believers who held-on to Him in faith until the end.

Let Us Pray. God, YHWH, You who are great and grand, I come before You to thank you for this great adventure of the Passover.  Thank You for taking me from the People of Israel, to Yeshua as the Paschal Lamb, and to my salvation on the day that I received Yeshua as my Savior and Lord.  Thank you Yeshua for the work you have done in my life and the presence of the Holy Spirit as well. Now I ask that you may bless this work and use it to draw others to You; bless them Lord. Amen.