Old Practice, New Meaning

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This is the third message in a series of sermons given during Lent in which details of the Passover in the Old Testament are compared to the events surrounding the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our salvation. This sermon was given for a regular observance of Communion and discusses the new meaning Jesus gives to the "Third Cup" of the Passover Seder.

Written Excerpts:

Luke 22:17-20

Introduction:

You may have heard about the young lady that was helping her mother prepare the ham for Easter. Before her mom put the ham into the roasting pan, she cut off the end of the ham. The daughter asked her mom why she cut off the end of the ham and the mom said, “I don’t know, my mom always did it.” So, the daughter, determined to find the answer to the mystery, went to the grandmother and asked her why she always cut off the end of the ham before baking it. And the grandmother said, “I don’t know, my mom always did it.”

Well, I don’t recall if the story related whether the great-grandmother was still living, but the granddaughter kept researching and somehow found the answer to her question. The ham was originally cut off because the pan was too small!

Some old practices may need to be eliminated because they no longer serve a necessary or useful purpose, like cutting off the end of the ham! There are other practices, however, that do not need to be eliminated completely. They just need to be adapted to a new purpose with a new meaning.

My wife and I were just recently discussing an article she had read online where someone was denouncing the various celebrations of Easter because the celebration events were supposedly started by the church to coincide with various pagan rituals and practices. Well, if that is true, it was about time the focus was taken from the devil and used for the Lord! 

As we approach the time of Easter, I have been trying to bring messages that point out some of the parallels between the passion of Christ and the Jewish Passover. We have talked about the “Prelude to Passover” in which we discussed the ways that God announced to the Israelites what he was going to do and prepared them for it. Last week we discussed the topic of redemption as it was specifically referred to in the OT regarding the Exodus. We reviewed how that redemption for the Israelites meant “deliverance” from Egyptian bondage. We also learned that the people of Israel were required to redeem their firstborn sons and firstborn animals as a constant reminder of the deliverance God granted for them.

Today’s message is also on the theme of redemption, but we’re going to move ahead to the New Testament and talk about Passover as observed by Jesus. We will probably revisit this topic when we come to the Good Friday service, but for today we’ll focus our minds on some background information about Jewish Passover celebrations and the way Jesus provided new meaning for His disciples. 

I.    Passover Celebration Details

Jewish scholars tell us that the celebration of Passover has evolved somewhat over the centuries. There were specific instructions given to the Israelites for the first observance, but even those were slightly modified later in the book of Deuteronomy. The change seems to imply that Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread were one and the same. Later, there was also a change from each individual family killing and eating the Passover Lamb in their respective homes, to doing it at the Tabernacle / Temple in Jerusalem.

Throughout the history of Israel, when they had a temple or didn’t have a temple; when they were in their homeland or when they were in exile; the practices were apparently adapted to fit the circumstances.

Jewish historical literature seems to indicate that the normal observance of Passover was pretty well established in the time of Jesus. In fact, when Jesus instructs His disciples to go prepare the Passover (Lk. 22:7), it appears that Jesus doesn’t have to give them specific instructions about how to prepare it. They apparently already knew what was needed and expected. 

Today, I want to briefly describe the order of Passover observances for Jews in the 1^st century. This is not an exhaustive description – just hitting most of it. (Not everything I am describing today is mentioned in the accounts of Jesus and the disciples’ celebration of Passover.)

Passover observance is called the Seder, which is a Hebrew word meaning “order” or “service,” and refers to the ceremonial meal to celebrate Passover. The Passover ceremony revolves around a plate called a “Seder plate,” which contains several items that are all part of the order and have symbolic meaning. 

(I borrowed this information from Jewish Christian authors, Larry Feldman, David Sedaca and others. They go into much greater detail how every part of the ceremony can be applied to Jesus and the NT gospel. I won’t spend that much time on them today.)

1. Drinking the 1^st cup – “the fruit of the vine.” (Lk. 2:17) The Cup of Sanctification or Cup of Blessing.

2. Dipping of parsley (Hebrew: karpas). Dipped twice in salt water. 1^st dip – reminder of redeemed from bitterness of slavery. 2^nd dip – reminder of deliverance through red sea. The karpas or parsley is also symbolic of the hyssop that the Israelites dipped in blood to apply to door frame.

3. The Yachatz. A term that literally means “divide.” The Seder table has an embroidered pouch that contains 3 compartments. Each compartment contains a piece of “matzah” (unleavened bread). Yachatz refers to the breaking of the middle piece of matzah. (Lk. 22:19?) This piece of matzah that is broken off is then wrapped up and hidden. 

4. DAYENU (dai-AY-noo) – The singing of a song of thanks to God for all His benefits. Word literally means, “It would have been enough.” 

5. MAKKOT – The Second Cup; The Cup of Judgment or Cup of Plagues. Reciting the judgments against Egypt.

6. ZEROAH (zeh-ROH-ah) – A shankbone of a lamb that is on the Seder plate. Probably added after the Temple was destroyed and Israelites were no longer able to do the sacrifices of lambs, so this lifting of the shankbone symbolized the destruction of the Temple and the previous sacrifices.

7. MATZAH – The leader raises a piece of matzah and describes how the people of Israel were forced to flee Egypt in such haste that they couldn’t wait for the bread to raise.

8. BEITZAH (bay-TZAH) – “Egg.” It is hardboiled or roasted. There is nothing in the Seder “liturgy” to discuss it, but the egg is eaten after being dipped in salt water. Some say it traditionally represented sorrow over the destruction of the Temple.

9. AFIKOMAN (ah-fee-KO-men) – “dessert.” After the meal, the children search for the hidden piece of matzah that we referred to earlier. When it is found, the leader buys it back and breaks it into small pieces for everyone to eat. It is the last food to be eaten after the meal.

10. HAGEULAH – (The Third Cup) The Cup of Redemption. After eating the afikoman, the third cup is filled and shared. It represented the purchase price paid for the release of the people of Israel from Egypt.

11. ELIYAHU – The Cup of Elijah. A place is provided at the table for “Elijah” complete with a cup of wine. Jewish tradition holds that Elijah will announce the coming of the Messiah during the Passover Seder. A child is sent to the door to see if Elijah is coming.

12. HALLEL – (The Fourth Cup) The Cup of Praise. Accompanied by singing and rejoicing over the redemption from bondage.

As I stated earlier, I’ve only described the highlights or main points of the ceremony. There is so much more to understand that we don’t have time to discuss. 

Before we move on to the celebration of communion, I want to emphasize what Jesus did with His disciples.

II.   New Meaning for Old Practice

I mentioned earlier that the Passover meal and ritual that Jesus celebrated with His disciples was probably a lot like what I have just described.

Luke 22:20 tells us that Jesus took the cup after supper…

Most scholars believe that this would have been the Third Cup of the Seder that I described a few minutes ago.

It was called ha-geulah, “the redemption.”

The first cup was mentioned in verse 17. We do not have any mention of the second cup, but it is assumed that they would have already drunk from the second cup before verse 20. The cup mentioned in verse 20 is presumed to be the third cup because of what Jesus says as they share it.

As He prepares to share the cup of wine with His disciples He transforms the meaning away from the redemption God provided centuries earlier and turns it toward Himself.

(David Sedaca) Jesus reaffirms the nature of redemption by telling His disciples that the third cup represents the price paid for our redemption… The earlier lamb was a mere foreshadowing of the Lamb of God to come. Jesus declares that the time of fulfillment has come and He is the One, the Lamb of God for whom the Jewish people had been waiting.

To paraphrase what Jesus says, “This cup represents the price I’m willing to pay to buy you back from a life of slavery to sin to a life of joyous personal fellowship with God.”

Conclusion:

It is clearer to me than ever before how the entire Passover meal and ceremony would have been so rich with meaning for every Jew that celebrated it. Each and every part of it represented wonderful things God had done. Now, their Master, their Lord, and their Jesus is turning the meaning of this cup away from the redemption from Egypt and pointing to Himself as the Redeemer from sin.

The red wine, which represented the blood of the Passover lamb, is now representing the blood of the Savior. The redemption is not just from physical slavery, bondage and hard labor, but it is redemption from the bondage of sin and the condemnation of the law that tells us we are worthy of death!