Celebrating a Messianic Passover Seder
For the past several years, my husband and I have joined with friends in celebrating a Messianic Seder meal during Passover. As Christians we commemorate the first Passover through the lens of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This time helps us better see and understand how God’s plan for salvation unfolds throughout both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
“For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
What was the first Passover?
We first see the Passover ordinance mentioned in Exodus 12, with God preparing to lead the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. God’s chosen people were to paint the blood of a sacrificed lamb on the door frames of their homes to save their firstborn sons from being killed as the tenth plague was unleashed.
It was not until I started celebrating a Messianic Passover Seder that I realized there was something distinctive about the first Passover: Exodus 12:11 (ESV) tells us, “In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover.” The lamb was to be eaten quickly! This was the night the Egyptians would lose their firstborn sons, the Israelites’ sons would be spared, and the Israelites would be set free. As Christians, this passage reminds us that when Christ frees us from the slavery of our sin, we are to immediately leave it behind.
In conjunction with the first Passover, we see the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During both celebrations, the Israelites were to only have unleavened bread (no yeast) in their homes. This originally served as yet another reminder of how hastily they had to leave Egypt, as unleavened bread was much quicker to prepare.
Christ’s Fulfillment as the Passover Lamb
As Christians, we see that the Bible often references leavening as a metaphor for sin. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (ESV) says, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
“The first Passover meal was to be eaten quickly, while standing, as the Israelites were preparing to flee from slavery. As Christians, we are to flee the slavery of our sin when we find salvation in Jesus Christ. ”
Each Gospel has references to Jesus sharing a Passover meal with his disciples his last night just prior to his crucifixion. It is during this meal when we see Jesus ordain the Lord’s Supper. He breaks the unleavened bread to represent his broken body and passes the cup of the fruit of the vine to represent his blood being shed for our sins. In Luke 6:19b (ESV), Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
How is the Passover Seder celebrated today?
Many elements of the present-day Passover have their origins in various Jewish traditions. Jesus and the Jewish Festivals by Gary M. Burge provides an introduction to various terms used at Passover: Seder in Hebrew means “order” or “ordering,” which tells us that the Passover meal is to follow a certain order. During the meal, the Haggadah (or “telling”) of the Exodus from Egypt is read. Prayers, and the Hallel (Praise) Psalms 113-118 are often incorporated. Christian-based (Messianic) Haggadot (books or scripts used to tell the Biblical story of the Israelite escape) will point to Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
While they are too numerous to mention here, Burge also details the elements that are commonly included in Seder meals. One such element, the maror - “bitter herbs” (Exodus 12:8) are believed to point the Israelites to the bitterness of their slavery (Exodus 1:14).
As a Christian, the bitterness of sin is washed away by the blood of the Lamb! Jesus gives us assurance in Matthew 26:28 (ESV): “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Let us rejoice in our salvation!
If you're interested in more resources to learn about Passover, catch me after service or send me an email and I can help point you in the right direction.