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Explore the significance of the Passover, the seder meal, and communion in this Easter series. Discover the deeper meaning behind the four cups, the washing of feet, the broken matzah, the bitter herbs, and the charoseth. Reflect on the innocent lamb and the shed blood that saved the people of Israel, and consider another innocent individual who offered salvation through their blood. Learn about the third cup and its connection to Jesus' body and blood. Find out why the fourth cup is left unfinished and how it symbolizes the completion of a heavenly meal in Jesus' kingdom. Anticipate His return as you partake in communion and remember His death while looking forward to a future without sin, sickness, and death.
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5IVE DAYS AN EASTER SERIES
THURSDAY The Passover, a seder meal and communion
The four cups represent these four statements of God: "I shall take you out...", "I shall rescue you...", "I shall redeem you..." and "I shall bring you...".
“[Jesus] got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him, saying … those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you … When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place ... Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:1-17)
THE THREE MATZOTH • The second matzah is broken – half given to eat and half hidden for later in the seder meal.
The Bitter Herbs and the Charoseth • The bitter herbs were usually romaine lettuce dipped in salt water and covered in horseradish and were eaten to help remind the Israelites of the bitter, difficult years spent in slavery in Egypt. • Charoseth is a sweet mixture of apples, nuts, raisins and cinnamon eaten to remind them of the sweetness of the freedom that God had given them.
Through the Passover, an innocent lamb gave its life and through it’s blood saved the people of Israel from impending doom. • Can any of you think of another innocent individual through whose shed blood people were saved from impending doom?
THE THIRD CUP • “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:19-20)
What about the fourth cup? • The fourth cup isn’t emptied because the meal Jesus hosted wasn’t quite finished.
Jesus invites each one of us into this story by asking us to participate in communion in remembrance of Him, once we’ve trusted Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin and believed that He’s risen from the dead, offering to us new and eternal life in Him. • The meal Jesus began on a Thursday so long ago, will one day be completed in His heavenly kingdom. So, when we participate in communion, we do so remembering Jesus’ death, but also looking forward to a day when we’ll be a part of another meal in eternity, where sin, sickness and death can never touch us again.
