What is the Passover Seder About?
The first time I celebrated Easter by sharing a Seder meal was extremely special. There is some controversy over whether Christians should celebrate it or not, but for me it was a deeply moving worship experience. Here are extracts from the documents we used to guide us through the meal:
“Passover is the oldest and most important of Jewish religious festivals, commemorating God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and his creation of the Israelite people." 1 “It memorializes the night when the faithful were protected by the blood of the lamb – a picture of the sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn 1:29).” 2 “It is based on the rituals of ancient Israel preserved primarily in Exodus 12-14 in which Israelites celebrated their deliverance by God from slavery in Egypt.” 3
"Retelling and remembering the great story of the redemption from Egypt is central to the holiday of Passover. Messianic believers further understand Passover to portray the universal deliverance given to the world through Jesus the Messiah. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb caused the physical plague of death to "pass over" the homes of the Israelites who trusted in God’s redemption, so the blood of Jesus the Messiah the great "Lamb of God" causes the spiritual plague of death to pass over the homes of all those who likewise put their trust in Him.” 4
“While this is a traditional Jewish celebration... Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that it was at a Passover meal that Jesus inaugurated what became known to Christians as the Lord’s Supper or Communion.” 5
A Seder is “not just a retelling of an ancient story, it is an invitation to experience the bitterness of oppression and the sweetness of deliverance so that we may glorify what God has done for us through the Messiah.” 6
By Ansie van der Merwe
References
4,6 www.beafunmum.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SEDER.pdf
1,3,5 www.crivoice.org/haggadah.html
2 www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Spring_Holidays/Pesach/H4C_Passover_Seder.pdf
