Points for Passover

I want to share some beginner points to Passover. I love studying the feast of God and how very symbolic His teachings are. It’s important that we believe the whole Bible as God’s word and not just the parts we agree with.

Matthew 5:18  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

As always I encourage you to read the book of Exodus for the facts of this God-appointed feast and the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt.

Believers in Jesus the Messiah, Yeshua His Hebrew name, have the freedom to celebrate the feast of God, and it’s time once again to take part in the remembrance of Passover.  However, we must observe it in accordance with the New and Old Covenant.  All of the Levitical laws must be fulfilled as we look forward to His second coming.  Passover is a powerful foreshadowing of Yeshua’s sacrificial death, burial and resurrection. Taking part in the Passover feast is a great way to teach our children their heritage and serve as a testimony to Jewish friends we are trying to reach.

Let’s look at the Old Covenant and New Covenant requirements together.

Exodus 13:7  Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.

Under the Old Covenant the Jewish people ate unleavened bread to remember how hastily the Exodus was for their ancestors.

Exodus 12:39 39With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

New Covenant

1 Corinthians 5:8  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.

(Leaven was yeast, yeast in the New Testament represents sin.)

Yeshua celebrated all God commanded feast, He was without sin.  At Passover, Jesus told His disciples: 

Luke 22:15  And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

During the meal He took the elements of the Passover, unleavened bread and the cup, and said they symbolized His sinless body and blood. He was referring to His death.

Passover is a seven-day celebration.

Leviticus 23:4-8 “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight,[a] is the Lord's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 8 But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”

Passover begins with the removal of leaven, again representing sin. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The meal shared during Passover is called the Seder, a ceremonial dinner that commemorates the Exodus from Egypt and includes the reading of the Haggadah and the eating of symbolic foods.

Below are some, not all of the traditions I have been a part of while celebrating with other believers.

Washing of Hands. A ceremonial cleansing that Yeshua also took part in but rather than wash just His hands, He got up from the table and washed the feet of His disciples, giving a profound lesson in humility. (John 13:2-17)

The family gathers around the table and the father tells the Haggadah. The Haggadah means “the telling” it is the telling of the story of Passover, the Exodus from Egypt.

Four Cups:

The First Cup. The seder begins with a blessing over the 4 cups, Jesus also blessed the first cup. Luke 22:17  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.

The 2nd Cup is to remind us of the Ten Plagues and the suffering of the Egyptians. In order not to rejoice over others suffering you spill a drop of the fruit of the vine, which is a symbol of joy.  

Proverbs 24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,

The seder meal is all symbolic. Karpas or parsley which symbolizes life is dipped in saltwater as a symbol of tears to remind us that life for our ancestors was immersed in tears.

Bitter herb usually horseradish is eaten with matzah to bring tears to your eyes in order to recognize we were once slaves to sin.

Charoset (chopped apples, nuts, honey) is a symbol of morta that Jews used to build bricks in the land of Egypt. It shows that even the bitterest of labor can be sweet when redemption draws near. It is a reminder to us that even when life is bitter we know our Lord is coming near one day.

Shankbone of a lamb. In Exodus, Jewish firstborns were spared from the angel of death by applying the blood of a spotless, innocent lamb to the doorpost of their homes. Today we believe Yeshua is the perfect Passover Lamb! When we apply His blood to the doorpost of our heart we too go from death into life, to being a redeemed child of God!

Third Cup. This cup is taken after the meal. It is the cup of redemption to serve as a reminder of the shed blood of the innocent Lamb. Jesus took the Third Cup:

Luke 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:25  In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Fourth Cup: Cup of Hallel. Hallel in Hebrew means “praise.” Yeshua had praise on His lips as He went to His death.

John 17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

4th Elijah’s Cup: A place setting remains empty for Elijah the prophet, an honored guest at every Passover table. The Jewish people expect Elijah to come at Passover and announce the coming of the Messiah.

Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes."

Those of us who believe in Yeshua know that He is the one the prophets spoke of. He is the spotless, unblemished Passover Lamb, whose body was broken for us and whose blood was shed, and who now LIVES in all who apply His blood on the doorpost of our hearts as we pass from death into His eternal life.

Matthew 26:29 "I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

I look forward to drinking that 4th cup with Yeshua when he returns!

Of course in Jesus' time a number of the traditional observances were not a part of the celebration. But the 3 major component parts were in place: the lamb, the unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs. The washing and cups of wine were a part of the seder and the dipping of the bitter herbs in a bowl of saltwater.

Matthew 26:23 He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.”

It will be a sweet intimate time with my Lord as I honor God's command to celebrate the feast. I encourage you to do the same. When did it happen?

John 19:31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.

The Passover lamb was slain at twilight Wednesday as Thursday was beginning. Jewish days go from sunset to sunset. Thursday was the preparation for the Passover and that evening (the beginning of Friday) the Passover was eaten - including the Passover meal eaten by Yeshua and His disciples. Gethsemane was later that night. The arrest, trial by Annas and Caiphas went on late into the night.

The rooster crowd during Peter’s denial pointing out it was early in the morning, it was now Friday morning, still the day of Passover when Yeshua was taken to Pilate. 

Matthew 27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

Jesus was taken to be crucified, and was dead and buried before the weekly Sabbath (Friday evening to Saturday sunset).

Again following the Laws of God as the perfect sacrifice..  

Exodus 125 Your [i]lamb shall be an unblemished male 

Jesus still fulfilled the law from Leviticus when He too was examined before the High Official before sacrifice. 

Leviticus 22:17 Adonai spoke to Moses saying: 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all Bnei-Yisrael, and say to them: Whoever is from the house of Israel, or one of the outsiders in Israel who brings his offering, whether it be any of their vows or any of their freewill offerings that they present to Adonai for a burnt offering— 19 for you to be accepted—you are to offer a male without blemish, from the bulls, the sheep or the goats. 20 But whatever has a blemish you are not to present, for it will not be acceptable on your behalf. [a] 21 Whoever brings a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to Adonai to fulfill a vow or for a freewill offering, either from the herd or the flock, it must be unblemished to be accepted—there must be no defect on it.

(note or one of the outsiders above. Many non jews confessed Yahweh as the one true God and left with the Jewish people)

Luke 23:14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him.

Jesus was to be dead three days and three nights.

Matthew 12:40  For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus spoke of rising from the dead on the 3rd day.

Luke 24:45  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

THE IMPORTANT THING IS, HE  IS RISEN!

Exodus 12:14 This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

Either we believe the whole book or we don’t.

 

Comfort Slap

 

The Lord has been reminding me about the need for us to comfort one another. People around me seem to be going through really hard times, not just financially but with health and family issues. There seems to be this unsettledness in my spirit and with people in general. We all need to hear encouraging words and to know that someone is not only listening but cares about us. 

On the other hand sometimes I'm so focused on others I forget to make sure my own family is getting the comfort they may be needing. I'm trying to make that a priority right now.

My grandson Anthony plays soccer. I remember when he was 4 and just started playing my kids and I were at his game and of course cheering for Anthony and his team. When we weren't yelling for him personally we would be yelling “GO GREEN” cause that was his teams color that day. 

As the game went on Green starting scoring quite a few goals and the black team had none. The children on the black team were getting discouraged and needed some comforting so my daughter and I started cheering for them too.

My grandson heard us yell “GO BLACK” and he stopped playing, turned and looked at me with a very stern look and stormed off the field over to where we sat. He looked at me and said “Nanna what are you doing!?" 

We are Green stop saying go black!” We laughed, behind his back of course, because he was dead serious and he let us know we were not to cheer for the wrong team. 

He's 7 now so when I'm going to encourage or comfort the other team I yell the number on the jersey so he won't know what I'm up to. 

Sometimes being an encourager for the “wrong team” is not what I feel like doing. Let me explain. The other night I wanted to beat up a homeless woman. Yea you read that right but hear me out.

I was helping to feed the homeless like any other Tuesday night making sure everyone has enough food and drink and helping the moms with small children. There was a woman with her son about 4 years old sitting at a table in front of me. Like most 4 year olds he was squirming around and ended up sliding off his chair. Without missing a beat the mom grabbed him before he totally hit the ground. I thought to myself nice save. 

I wasn't prepared for what happened next. She pretty much threw the child into the chair and started slapping him. She was yelling at him in Spanish so I didn't know what she was saying but I could tell by the look on her face it was mean. At first I just kind of froze in my spot, then I started walking toward her. By now the boy was trying to lay his head on her lap and she kept pushing him off her in disgust. 

Four times he tried to lay on her and she pushed him away. 

It all happened really quick and I remember saying “Lord do something cause I'm gonna pounce on her.” I was ready for a fight and made my way through the tables toward her. Just as I got behind her and reached my arm out she got up and walked away. I'm telling you it was God because only His timing could be that exact.

I looked down at the little boy and asked if he was OK. Seriously Gems this boy had the face of an angel with a head full of curly red locks. His face was swollen from crying and he looked like he hadn't bathed in a while. I just wanted to pick him up and take him home. I comforted him and asked again if he was OK and he shook his head yes. I then did what any mom would do, I asked if he wanted a cookie.

I talked to him for a few minutes and then the strangest thing happened. The Lord told me to go find his mom and comfort her.

Are you kidding me! I want to slap her not comfort her. The Lord reminded me that if I got in her face she would only take her anger out on the boy. If she behaved that way in public how much worse would it be in private. I took a deep breath and walked toward her. I came up behind her, grabbed a bat, just kidding, and touched her arm. I asked her if I could give her some fruit and cookies for her son. She said he already had a cookie but I handed her the bag anyway. 

Then because of my obedience the grace of God came through. I told her that I was proud of her for making sure she and her son were there to have a hot meal. I went on to say I know how hard it is to raise a child and the challenges of doing it alone. I followed her back to her chair and asked her if she wanted me to pray for her. Her whole demeanor changed from an angry woman to someone in need of comfort. I prayed for her and just talked for a few minutes, hugged them both and walked away. 

Gems it was easy for me to be judgmental toward this woman and I'm not condoning her behavior but I know what it's like to be a mom on the edge and go off on my kids. 

The Lord wanted me to comfort her with the same comfort He gave me. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 

This woman was so focused on her circumstances she was forgetting to comfort her team or in this case her son. Maybe if we obeyed this verse more often people would be less stressed and be kinder to one another. 

The King James Bible uses some form of the word comfort 119 times. It started in 

Genesis 5:29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.”

Obviously God knew we were going to need comfort. 

Definition of Comfort - to soothe, console, or reassure; bring cheer to. 

Many times we relate giving comfort to someone who just had a loss or is dealing with sickness but if we look at what Webster says it also means to reassure or bring cheer to. We need comfort when we are stressed or concerned about something in our life that are out of our control or just new to us. 

This week as we prepare for Thanksgiving I challenge you Gems to ask your family members if they need comfort in any area of their life. I also challenge you to reach out to someone you may want to slap and offer comfort to them as well. 

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

 Isaiah 49:13 Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. 

Isaiah 66:13As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” 

Jeremiah 31:13Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort!

I wish you all A Very Happy and Comforting Thanksgiving!!

I Miss Funerals

 

I know that's a weird title and not something I ever thought I would say, so let me explain.

I was raised in a large Italian Catholic family from New York, so needless to say funerals were part of my culture. I grew up in a time when community still existed. My mother was one of 12 children and my grandmother one of thirteen. My uncles all owned businesses in town and the fire department was pretty much all bloodline family. It was common to stop by my uncle Franky’s shop in the early morning and see the men gathered around drinking coffee and shootin the breeze. If I was in town I would definitely run into at least 6 people I was related to.

It went without saying that all funerals were held at Robertaccio funeral home in Patchogue, no other information was needed for the family everyone knew where it was the and the agenda.

My own parents' funeral was there even though they had not been residents of New York for many  years. 

The arrangements consisted of the expected 3 days of viewing then the funeral the next day. An automatic 3 to 5 days of bereavement was given by your job with no questions asked so everyone could come together to honor the passing of a loved one and support the family.

As a kid I always found it weird that you would meet in a room with a bunch of people talking while there was a dead body in a box in the front of the room. No one around me seemed to find it strange so I kept my thoughts to myself. I would watch as the people would go to the casket, if it were open some would caress or kiss the person, the prayer bench  was there for those who wanted to say a prayer, then there were those like me who stood a few feet away to pay our respects and the final group who didn't go near the dead person for whatever their issues were with death. 

 

The room would be full of conversations of memories of the person who had passed, some from family and friends, stories you had heard a thousand times then the new ones from individuals you were just meeting who brought yet another side of the person you thought you knew everything about. It was common for family to randomly take your hand and give it a little squeeze or kiss on your face where a tear just laid. It was chaotic and endearing at the same time.

The burial was next and then the festivities really began. The entourage would meet at a family members home or if the group was too big at the fire department. Catering was unheard of as Grandma Sophie, Aunt Tessie and too many names to list showed up with hot meals they prepared themselves. Recipes that could never be recreated to taste the same as grandma's.

There were enough desserts to open a bakery and love and laughter would fill the room along with the tears and sorrow. They were family reunions where we reminded each other that we still mattered. If there were disputes they were laid aside. Let bygones be bygones was the sentiment.

So much has changed in such a short time. Now because families are spread so far apart and funerals are such an expense the custom has been altered drastically. Most people you do life with now have never even met your extended family.

I recently  attended a funeral and experienced some of the memories I had as a child. I noticed a man across the room sitting alone, a long time friend of the one who passed, he was  crying inconsolably and it was obvious he was there by himself. I walked over and placed my hand on his back, he didn’t look up but I could tell he was comforted by the touch. It was a moving moment of grief sharing that can’t be explained. Human touch will  never be replaced, I think it’s why Yeshua (Jesus) made it a point of touching everyone including  lepers.

My youngest brother died a week ago. Along with the normal feelings of grief, a new sting of death has pricked my heart. It’s the unfamiliar process I am grieving in. As I shared, family is so spread out and friends don’t have a relationship with your loved one so the reaching out is almost nonexistent. I had 2 dear friends stop by for a much needed hug with flowers and a much needed meal but other than that I have been on my own. When my family who is nearby call I can’t bring myself to answer the phone. What should bring comfort  instead brings a feeling of hollowness.

I realized they have no idea how losing a loved one, and not having family physically with me has impacted my emotions. I long for a hug! They have not grown up with my "normal" so they respond with theirs.

I took off from work the day I got the call, I work from home so that helps, but the next day it was back on the phone like nothing happened. Life goes on theory. There's no bereavement time so I  take breaks and just lay on the floor and cry to Yeshua then pull myself together and get back on the phone.

I have had this feeling of abandonment and loneliness that has been as difficult as dealing with my  loss. Perhaps some of you can relate to what I'm sharing.

I have felt anger instead of any kind of comfort and I ask the Holy Spirit each day “what’s wrong with me?”

And then it came to me.... As I laid in bed at O Dark Thirty this morning, the answer came to me

“I MISS FUNERALS …..”