Between
Passover and Easter
suemccarysargis – updated 2011
WHY DO THEY COINCIDE?
PASSOVER: The time in history when God brought salvation to Israel by the blood of the sacrificial lamb. As the death angel came through Egypt to kill the firstborn child in each Egyptian family, the Israelites were safe in their homes whose doorposts had been sprinkled with the blood of an unblemished lamb.
EASTER: The time in history when God made salvation possible for all mankind through His Son, Jesus Christ -- “The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29)
BOTH SIGNIFY THE SETTING FREE OF GOD’S PEOPLE
PASSOVER: Israelites from slavery in Egypt (physical bondage).
(Exodus 12:31-37)
EASTER: Sinners from slavery to sin (spiritual bondage).
(Luke 4:18-19; Luke 24:46-47; Col. 1:12-14)
BOTH REQUIRED AN "UNBLEMISHED" SACRIFICE
PASSOVER: Unblemished young male lamb
(Exodus 12:5)
EASTER: Christ, the sinless Son of God - the “Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:18-19)
BOTH REQUIRED A "BLOOD" SACRIFICE
PASSOVER: Israelites slaughtered a lamb and sprinkled the blood on the sides and top of their doorframes. (Ex. 12:7; 27)
EASTER: The Cross represents the doorframe and it was Christ’s Blood that dripped from His thorn-crowned head and Nail-pierced hands and feet. Christ is the door through which we pass into eternal security. Just as the Israelites passed into their homes to the safety and protection from the angel Of death, so we pass from death to life through the blood Of Jesus Christ. (Rev. 3:20; John 5:25)
BOTH REQUIRED THE DIRECT INTERVENTION OF GOD
PASSOVER: God sent Moses to redeem the Israelites. The Passover Lamb represents a sacrifice for the sins and salvation of God’s people that must be repeated every year. (Ex. 3:7-10)
EASTER: God sent His Son Jesus, that “whoever believes in Him might be saved.” (John 3:16)
Christ is THE Passover Lamb, and His sacrifice for our sins and salvation was done once for all. There is no need for any other sacrifice. Jesus paid it all. (Hebrews 9:12-14)
Today when Passover is observed, the meal consists of items that remind the children of Israel how God rescued them from the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. The items in the Seder (Passover Feast) also remind us of our own salvation through Jesus Christ:
THE CANDLE: Before the Passover meal (Seder) can begin, the father goes throughout the house with a candle, looking for any trace of unleavened bread. Once he is satisfied there is none, the meal can begin. This is tradition, not scriptural mandate.
As Christians we know that Jesus came as Light into this world.
- John 1:5 says: "In Him was life, and that life was the light of men."
- John 8:12 Jesus says: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."
- And in John 3:19-21 Jesus declares: "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
Shining a candle into every corner of one’s house is symbolic of us allowing the truth (Light) of God’s Word to shine in very part of our life. Just as the Jewish father looks for any trace of leaven, so we are to allow our Father the privilege of looking for any trace of sin in our lives. As we allow His Light to expose our sin and as we confess our sin, His Word says "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
Satisfied that this has been done, we may now enter into the celebration of Passover, for "If we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purifies us from all sin.
(1 John 1:7)
LAMB BONE: A requirement of the Israelites when they prepared for the Feast of Passover was to make sure not one bone of the sacrificial lamb was broken. (Exodus 12:46)
“Now it was the day of Preparation and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs . . . These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of His bones will be broken.’” (John 19:31-36)
BITTER HERBS: Israelites were required to eat bitter herbs along with the meat of the lamb. Eating them would recall the bitter years of slavery in Egypt.
For believers, this is symbolic of mankind’s slavery to sin before coming to believe in Jesus Christ. “Thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the teachings entrusted to you. You have been set free from sin and are now slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:17-18)
The “teachings entrusted” to us is the good news that Jesus Christ came to be our Redeemer. Being a “slave to righteousness” is not bondage. It is a choice that brings total freedom through Christ into our lives.
HAROSET: A mixture of fruit, nuts and wine which symbolize the mortar the Israelites used to make bricks while slaves in Egypt. All they did all day long was make bricks for Pharaoh.
For believers in Jesus this symbolizes the life we lived and the things we did before we accepted Christ as our Redeemer. Those things that use to “hold” our lives together were things that will not last throughout eternity. It is now Christ who holds all things together. (Colossians 1:17; Acts 17:28)
PARSLEY: Greens that represent the newness of spring. At the dinner the family will dip these greens in salt water, representing the Red Se, through which they passed on dry ground -- and in which their enemies were drowned. This is the beginning of their life of freedom from slavery.
For believers in Jesus, this symbolizes our new life in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). The salt water bears witness of Christ’s continuing victory over the enemy on our behalf, even as Israel witnessed their enemy drown in the sea. It also represents the fact that our own sins which use to enslave us, now forgiven through the blood of Jesus our Redeemer King, have been buried in the depths of the sea and we are raised to walk with Him in new life (Romans 6:4; Col 2:12). The fact that it is salt and water combined can be symbolic of the work of Christ through us in this world - the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:17-20). This ministry of reconciliation requires, in the Spiritual sense, the same qualities of salt – purifying, preserving, healing, seasoning; and of water – cleansing, quenching of thirst, the basic necessity for life. The work Christ does in us and through us in the lives of others should bear the same qualities of salt and water. He says we are the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13). He says HE is the living water, and those who believe in Him will be dispensers of His living water (John 7:37-39).
HARD-BOILED EGG: Represents the strength of the Israelites as well as the new life they experienced once they were set free.
As believers we look to the giver of new life, Jesus Christ, and we see His death, burial and resurrection on our behalf. The egg can be a picture of the tomb that was supposed to bury the life of Christ. Instead we know He broke forth from that tomb, leaving it empty and guaranteeing, once and for all, our freedom and new life. It’s also symbolic of the source of our strength: “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Paul had just finished saying that he had learned the secret of contentment in the midst of various circumstances - wealth or poverty, well fed or hungry for it is Christ who gives strength. In Ephesians 3:14-21 Paul prays that we will really know God’s power in our life, the same power that brought Christ forth from the tomb. "I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being....that you may have power...to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ...."
MATZAH: Unleavened bread that was mixed in haste so Israel could leave Egypt just as soon as they were told to pack up and go. They had to be ready so there was no time for the yeast, normally in their bread, to rise. Therefore, God told them to take bread mixed without yeast. (Ex 12:8) Today when Passover is celebrated the Jewish family will spend seven days ridding their homes of any sign of leaven. The Old Testament laws regarding Passover require the death or banishment of anyone in the land who was found with leaven in their homes at the end of those seven days. (Exodus 12:19)
Today yeast is often used to represent sin in our lives. It was the Israelites’ sin against God that took them into slavery in Egypt. Departing Egypt, it might be said that they were being asked to leave their lives of sin behind them, just as we are called to leave our lives of sin and follow Christ (Heb. 12:1-2). In our observances of the Lord’s Supper, or Communion - unleavened bread is used to symbolize the sinless life of Christ, our Redeemer, the “Bread of Life” and the choice we have made to leave our lives of sin behind in exchange for our New Life in Christ Jesus. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the Bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true Bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world . . . I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry.” (John 6:32-35)
At the beginning of the meal when the Matzah is served, there are three pieces of the bread. The middle piece is broken in half, and one half of it is hidden. After the meal is finished the children are sent to look for the hidden piece of Matzah. When it has been found, a great celebration follows and everyone enjoys a piece of the missing Matzah.
• Three pieces of Matzah – the Trinity.
• The broken piece – Christ’s body, which was broken for you.
• The celebration once the hidden piece of Matzah is found – the celebration that takes place in Heaven and on Earth when someone finds and receives Christ as their own Redeemer. What once was lost because of sin (a personal relationship with God) is now found in Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
WINE: Wine is an integral part of the Seder. There are usually four cups of wine, plus a fifth that is not consumed because it awaits the coming prophet who will announce the coming of the Messiah. The first four cups, spaced throughout the Seder, are consumed following times of remembering. The first cup is consumed after remembering God’s creation of the world, and specifically His ordination of the seventh day as the Sabbath. The family affirms that, just as the Sabbath was sanctified (set apart for God), so are God’s people. He has sanctified us to be holy just as He is holy, the same as He did when He declared, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." The second cup of wine is consumed after recalling that while the Israelites were in slavery they multiplied from 70 men to a vast nation of people. (Ex. 1:5; Ex. 12:37) They remembered God’s deliverance from that slavery, the plagues sent to Pharaoh’s people because he would not obey God, the parting of the Red Sea, and recalling other times in history when God’s people were oppressed. Then it is time for the third cup, which follows the recounting of God’s mercies. A prayer of thanksgiving is offered: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Father, Mighty One, Creator, Redeemer, Maker, Shepherd and good King. May You continue to grant us Your grace, kindness, mercy, deliverance, success, blessing, redemption, comfort, support, sustenance, compassion, life and peace." -- and then the third cup is consumed.
The fourth cup follows, once again, a time of remembering and giving thanks. "For the thousands and then thousands of blessings You offered our ancestors and ourselves. You redeemed us, took us out of bondage, fed us, sustained us, saved us, helped us, cured us, and were always there when we needed You. Your grace is with us, Your compassion did not abandon us. And so we all thank You, exalt You, glorify You, and honor and sanctify Your name, our Lord."
As believers we mirror this part of the Seder when we join together in Communion.
"The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ The same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (1 Cor. 11:23-25)
As we partake of the bread and the wine in Communion with our God, we too recall and remember that He has set us apart to be holy as He is holy; we remember the time He rescued us from the dominions of darkness and bestowed upon us Eternal Life through the precious blood of His Son, Jesus Christ; we recall other times in our lives when He was our very present help in times of trouble; we remember His miraculous hand of deliverance; and we rejoice in His continued mercy and grace. We do this, In remembrance of Him. The fifth cup, the one saved for the prophet who will usher in Christ’s coming, cannot be consumed in the Seder. But believers will join Jesus in drinking that fifth cup at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9). Until then, Jesus says: "I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom." (Matthew 26:27-29)
There are actually three feasts celebrated in conjunction with Passover: The Feast of Passover (14th day of the first month); the Feast of Unleavened Bread (15-21st days of the first month); and the Feast of First Fruits (16th day of the first month).
Three feasts are reflected in the three days of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection:
The Feast of Passover points us to Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God, through whose blood we receive forgiveness of sins. “....without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us of the sinless Son of God who died to take away the sins of the world. “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21)
The Feast of First Fruits reminds us that Jesus rose victoriously from the grave. Because of His resurrection we are assured when we die that we too will rise again to live eternally with our Father. “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through one man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him.” (1 Cor. 15:20-23). Christ’s resurrection is our assurance that the entire harvest is God’s and belongs to Him. Christ, who has been raised from the dead, is the guarantee of the resurrection of all God’s redeemed people.
At Easter we remember the sacrifice of Christ for the sake of our own Redemption. We remember what life was like before we knew Him or accepted Him as our Savior. We celebrate His resurrection from the empty tomb, and our New Life in Him. We celebrate the work of the fullness of Christ in our lives, as the Holy Spirit continues to work the works of righteousness in and through us. We celebrate the greatest of all joys - Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have Eternal Life. God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him, might be saved. John 3:16-17
Note: Because there are many traditions surrounding the symbolisms of each item in the Seder, the ones used may differ from those found in various books and family practices. Three books used in compiling this material are: Festival of Freedom by Maida Silvermann, @1988 Simon & Schuster; A Passover Haggadah by Elie Wiesel, @1993 Elirion Associates, Inc. & Mark Podwal; and The Story of the Passover, A Coloring Book with Crafts by Barbara Soloff-Levy, @1989 Watermill Press. Many of the ideas are personal applications in light of the Biblical accounts and Scriptures of both Old and New Testaments
suemccarysargis – 3/18/97edited 3/21/2005
edited again 3/9/3011
