As I write on Thursday afternoon of Holy week, there’s a cool spring breeze gently rocking the white azalea and dogwood blossoms at the end of our driveway. The powder blue, cloudless sky beautifully contrasts the tender tree buds, bursting alive from winter’s hold. Other than the sound of a wren chirping in the red tips to my right and the occasional gust of wind swaying the trees, the day is quiet. This seems fitting on this Maundy Thursday when the Lord Jesus celebrated the Passover feast with His disciples the night before He was crucified.
Our friends Jeremey and Karen, who have Messianic Jewish backgrounds, led us through a Seder feast a few days ago. It marked the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday. Performed from a Christian perspective, the Seder gave a richer appreciation of how the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery foreshadowed our deliverance from the power of the evil one by the death of Jesus the Messiah.
How intricately Sovereign God set His story of redemption in motion. How beautifully woven the details He employs to invoke our senses into the experience of His deliverance.
The Feast
We placed an eight-foot table for the ten adults in our living room. The adjacent breakfast room table was designated as the kid’s table. There were nine children ranging from a few months to thirteen years old. Though having so many kids added a bit of noise and confusion, hearing their questions and watching them take it all in was a highlight of the evening.
After all, telling of the Passover story was meant as a reminder of God’s faithfulness throughout the generations. God commanded the Jewish people to celebrate the Lord’s Passover.[1] And the Lord Jesus gave us the Lord’s supper to commemorate His fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice forever. My wife and I were pleased that among the celebrants were two of our children and three of our grandchildren.
A Seder plate, presented to Karen on her thirteenth birthday, was used to serve the elements of the Passover story. It had pictures of the different plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians leading up to the night of Passover, the slaying of the their first born.
Among the items on our plate were:
Parsley – New Growth, also used as the hyssop for painting blood (juice) on the door posts (fashioned in Matzah bread).
Dandelion – Bitter Herbs, bitterness of sin, of slavery and the cup Jesus drank for us.[2]
Charoset (paste of fruit and nuts) – Hope/Sweetness, mortar for the bricks in Egypt, Hope for us because of Christ’s victory in the midst of sin.
Lamb (small lamb bone) – Purity, lamb without blemish, Jesus the Lamb of God.
Matzah (unleavened bread, striped with puncture holes) – Without sin, baked quickly as they left in haste, Jesus’ body, pierced and striped.
Salt Water – Tears of Israel under slavery.
My son in law thought what was on the platter was all we’d have to eat for the evening. With gusto he painted the juice on the Matzah with the parsley and munched the bread. He cut his hunger with dandelion “sandwiches”. It delighted him when, after the Seder, we brought out roasted lamb, potatoes, green-beans and salad.
Shalom
After our meal, we celebrated the Lord’s supper. Our celebration of the Jewish Passover we had just experienced brought new richness to the sacrament Jesus gave us.
As a gift for the evening, we gave each family a wooden dove in scripted with “Shalom.”
I’ve always thought the word meant “peace,” but I’m learning it’s deeper meaning. “Shalom” is be in a state of complete satisfaction, to be finished, to be perfected.
On the cross, when Jesus said, “It is finished,”[3] our complete peace was purchased. His life completed our forgiveness, our value, and our eternal right standing with God. Though our lives may contain sickness, pain, and brokenness, the peace Jesus died for does not change. Ever.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful (John 14:27 NASB).
Prayer
Dear Lord, I’m appreciating more than ever the significance of Your redemption story. Ranging from Your words to the serpent in the garden, through the deliverance of your people from slavery, to the giving up of your Son on our behalf, You have desired to redeem us from the power of sin. You’ve provided a way for us to be able to commune with You forever. We are complete in You. You have given us a deep peace which can not be altered by anything in the world. The “peace” of “Shalom” flows from our completeness in You. It is finished!
[1] Leviticus 23
[2] Exodus 12, Leviticus 23
[3] John 19:30
Other posts in our series In The Moments:
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