In The Footsteps Of The Master: The Life and Times of Jesus Christ Jewish Background of the Passover June 17,

Introduction The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are two very important events in Jewish religion and culture –Passover celebrates the Lord’s protection of the Jewish people during the tenth plague –The Feast of Unleavened Bread remembers the haste with which the Jews left Egypt One follows the other in the Jewish calendar 2

The Passover Exodus 12:1-4a – 1 Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; 3

The Passover Exodus 12:4b-7 – 4b ‘according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. 7 Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 4

The Passover Exodus 12:8-11a – 8 ‘They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 ‘Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. 10 ‘And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. 11 ‘Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; 5

The Passover Exodus 12:11b-13 – 11b ‘and you shall eat it in haste—it is the LORD’S Passover. 12 For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 6

For Discussion The Passover was a specific event that led to the release of the Jews from captivity The Passover lamb was sacrificed and eaten before the event itself –Roasted –Eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread –No bones were broken (Num 9:12) –None left until morning Served as the starting point for the Jewish calendar 7

Hebrew Calendar First month generally begins with the new moon after the vernal equinox Days are marked from sunset to sunset Any portion of a day counts as a day Passover is on 14 Nisan (the first Hebrew month) –Also Aviv or Abib The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on 15 Nisan and runs through 21 Nisan 8

Feast of Unleavened Bread Exodus 12:14-15 –“‘ 14 Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 9

Feast of Unleavened Bread Exodus 12:16-17 – 16 On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. 10

Feast of Unleavened Bread Exodus 12:18-20 – 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. 20 You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’” 11

A Lasting Memorial Exodus 12:21-22 – 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. 22 You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. 12

A Lasting Memorial Exodus 12:23-25 – 23 “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. 24 And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. 25 When you enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. 13

A Lasting Memorial Exodus 12:26-28 – 26 “And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’” And the people bowed low and worshiped. 28 Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 14

Reiterating the Command Leviticus 23:5-8 – 5 “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD’S Passover. 6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there 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 laborious work. 8 But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’” 15

Reiterating the Command Deuteronomy 16:1-3a – 1 “Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 You shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to establish His name. 3 You shall not eat leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction 16

Reiterating the Command Deuteronomy 16:3b-5 – 3b (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), so that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 For seven days no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall remain overnight until morning. 5 You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your towns which the LORD your God is giving you; 17

Reiterating the Command Deuteronomy 16:6-8 – 6 but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time that you came out of Egypt. 7 You shall cook and eat it in the place which the LORD your God chooses. In the morning you are to return to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God; you shall do no work on it.” 18

For Discussion Passover celebrated only in Jerusalem No leaven to be found during the Feast of Unleavened Bread –Yeast –Any leftover bread products Purpose was to celebrate and remember what was done for Israel 19

The Feast Evolved Removal of leaven from the house –An elaborate process Celebration of the Seder, the Passover meal The four (no, five) questions Place reserved for Elijah Seven days of unleavened bread (matzo) 20

The Seder Plate Karpas – greens –Usually parsley, dipped in salt water, a symbol of tears Beitzah – egg –The egg is roasted as a symbol of the burnt offerings Maror - bitter herb –Usually ground horseradish, eaten (with Motza) to bring a tear to the eye Charoset – sweet paste –Apples, nuts, cinnamon; reminder of the mortar used in Egypt Lamb Shankbone –Reminder of Passover sacrifice 21

The Seder Meal Kadeish - recital of Kiddush blessing and drinking of the first cup of wine Urchat - the washing of the hands Karpas - dipping of the karpas in salt water Yachatz - breaking the middle matzo; the larger piece becomes the afikoman Maggid - retelling the Passover story, including the recital of "the four questions" and drinking of the second cup of wine Rachtzah - second washing of the hands 22

The Seder Meal Motzi Matzo - blessing before eating matzo, and Maror - eating of the maror, Koreich - eating of a sandwich made of matzo and maror Shulchan oreich - the serving of the meal Tzafun - eating of the afikoman Bareich - blessing after the meal and drinking of the third cup of wine Hallel - recital of the Hallel, traditionally recited on festivals; drinking of the fourth cup of wine Nirtzah - say "See you in Jerusalem again!" 23

The Four Cups of Wine The Seder begins with the first cup and a blessing The second remembers the ten plagues; a drop is spilled for each one The third cup is taken after the meal and is the cup of redemption The fourth cup is the Cup of Hallel, which in Hebrew means “praise” –Elijah’s cup is poured out 24

The Questions Why is this night different from all other nights? Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either leavened bread or matza, but on this night we eat only matza? –We eat only matzah because our ancestors could not wait for their breads to rise when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt, and so they were flat when they came out of the oven. 25

The Questions Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs? –We eat only Maror, a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured while in Egypt. Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip [our food] even once, but on this night we dip them twice? –The first dip, green vegetables in salt water, symbolizes the replacing of our tears with gratefulness, and the second dip, Maror in Charoses, symbolizes the sweetening of our burden of bitterness and suffering. 26

The Questions Why is it that on all other nights we dine either sitting upright or reclining, but on this night we all recline? –We recline at the Seder table because in ancient times, a person who reclined at a meal was a free person, while slaves and servants stood. Why is it that on all other nights we eat meat either roasted, marinated, or cooked, but on this night it is entirely roasted? –We eat only roasted meat because that is how the Pesach/Passover lamb is prepared during sacrifice in the Temple at Jerusalem. 27

In Closing The Passover was established to remind the Jews about the salvation that came from the Lord –It was about remembering what God had done for them and what He rescued them from The emblems were designed to bring about specific remembrances for those who participated 28

29 Next Week The Institution of the Lord’s Supper