Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Passover Meal




Hey Everyone!!!
I hope those of you who observe Resurrection day are prepared for the holiday!! Today's post is about the Seder Meal or the last supper. At my church "The Word Church" of God in Christ we have a passover meal every year. If you've never been to one you have to go, it's an awesome experience.

So what is the Seder Meal??



The Seder Meal is a Jewish ritual/feast that is celebrated by Jews and many Christians around the world on the first night of Passover. Family and friends gather around the table to hear the story about how the Israelites were delivered from Pharaoh. During the meal you eat from the Seder Plate and on the plate are different symbolic foods that represent different things about the Exodus.




Maror: Radish, a bitter herb that serves as a reminder of the bitterness and hardship of slavery.

Haroset: A mixture of chopped apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine. The Haroset represents the mortar used by the Hebrew salves in Egypt. This is the good stuff because it's sweet everyone always eats this part up.



Karpas: Is the bitter herb, it represents a sign of gratitude to God for the goodness of earth, for bread and food. The bitter herb is a mixture of Salt Water & parsley, sometimes other veggies are used like celery. This is also symbolic of the bitterness Israel endured in its experience of slavery.




Unleaven bread: Unleavened bread is the bread the Israelites ate in Egypt. The bread was simple for poor Israelites to make because its easy to prepare and has no yeast.




Grape juice: Instead of wine grape juice is used because in Exodus there are four stages by which Israel was delivered from slavery. Grape juice is symbolic of the blood the Hebrews sprinkled on their doorposts so that first-born sons would be passed over. Participants in the meal also recalled the ten plagues on Egypt by sprinkling ten drops of juice on their plates.




Lamb and egg: The Lamb at a seder meal because is a reminder of the lamb and egg that were offered at the Temple of Jerusalem during the Passover festival.



Elijah's cup: A single large cup and an empty chair are left for the arrival of the prophet Elijah, who is seen as a precursor of the Messiah. It serves as a reminder of those who perished at the Pharaoh's hand in Egypt. Christians believe that John the Baptist has already played the role of Elijah, and in the Christian Seder meal, a seat is left open for Jesus to return. In both cases, the empty chair and extra cup symbolize hope in the coming of the kingdom of God.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Dear Mozaic,

PASSOVER MEAL

Do you understand the 4th Cup?

After the supper He took the third cup saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This IS my blood of the NEW and everlasting covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

A hymn was sung, which is a combination of several psalms called The Great Hillel, and they went out to the Mount of Olives.

What happened? The Passover ceremony and ritual was not complete. There was no fourth cup. There was no announcement that it was finished. Could it be that Jesus was so upset with what He knew was about to happen that He forgot? Doubtful!

Not only Jesus, but also the 11 others had participated in the Passover Seder every year of their lives. No, this was done on purpose. The last supper of Jesus was not over.

On the Mount of Olives, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples slept while Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done."

He prayed that three times. Then Jesus was arrested, illegally put on trial by the Sanhedrin, then by Pontius Pilate, sentenced and crucified.

While on the cross He wept. Jesus, who was in excruciating agony, was so merciful that He prayed for the forgiveness of His executioners. He was offered some wine with a pain killer, myrrh, in it. He refused it.

"Later, knowing that all was now complete, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled and the kingdom established, Jesus said, 'I am thirsty.'" A man dipped a sponge into sour wine; he placed it on a hyssop branch and lifted it up to Jesus lips.

He drank. (We recall that it was the hyssop branch which was used to paint lambs blood around the Hebrew's door for the Passover of the angel of death.)

It was then that Jesus said, "It is finished." He then bowed His head and gave up the spirit to His Father.

The fourth cup now represented the lamb’s blood of the first Passover, a saving signal to the angel of death.

The Lamb of God was now sacrificed. The last Passover supper of Jesus Christ was now complete with the fourth cup. It was finished.

The tie in with the Passover is unmistakable.

The Lamb of God was sacrifice and death was about to be passed over come Easter day.

The promise of eternal life for many was about to be fulfilled.

Christ’s Passover was finished, but His mission was not until he rose from the dead.

For more information on Jesus New Covenant and how everything ties together -- Passover Meal -> Manna -> Prophecy of the New Covenant -> Bread of Life Meaning -- go to The 4th Cup.com and watch the video! You can also read along while the video is playing.