The wine and the bread...

In yesterday's post, we saw the account of the supper Jesus shared with His apostles in which He said the wine was His blood and the bread was His body, soon to be broken.  Even though they were celebrating Passover, believers in Jesus still practice communion using the wine (grape juice for most) and bread (communion crackers) to remember Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for our sins. 

Remembering...it's very important for Jews and it is very important for Christians today.  The Passover celebration is a reminder of how God saved the Jews from slavery in Egypt.  When Jesus died on the cross, Passover took on a complete meaning.  He died to free us from the slavery of sin.  Let's look at the meaning of the wine and the bread. 

A couple of years ago, I was privileged to meet Clive Berkman, a famous chef who is also a Jewish believer.  He loves to put on Seder meals (Passover meals) for people to explain how Jesus completed Passover.  At the time, I was our pastor's assistant and was in charge of putting together a Seder for our congregation so we could learn about Passover.  Through some research, I found Clive on the Internet.  Interestingly enough, he attends the same church in Houston where our youngest daughter was on staff. 

I put together a team of women and Clive taught us how to prepare a Seder meal.  It was fun working in the kitchen with him - he is quite a character with lots of great stories!  But the thing I will always remember is how, as we went through the Seder service, he explained how Jesus fulfilled the Passover.  It made me so much more thankful for Jesus' sacrifice for me!

Now for the bread and the wine - Clive prepared booklets for us so we could follow along in the Seder service.  The following quotes are taken from this booklet:

Bread

"We have first the three matzohs (crackers), which commemorate the unleavened bread that our forefathers ate in their hasty departure, unleavened because there was no time for the dough to rise.  Also, leaven is a symbol of evil, and in God's salvation, we are purged of evil through His work.

There are three matzohs, Rabbis say, to symbolize the three groupings of the Jewish people - Kohens (priests), Levites, and Israelites - all unified together.  We see also in the tradition that the first Jewish believers in the Messiah celebrated the love of God through three matzoh, the middle one representing the Son who is broken for us.

In the ceremony of breaking, I break the middle matzoh in two removing one-half and setting half aside.  Half I will hide.  This portion is the afikomen or our dessert.  We remember that the middle person of the Godhead was broken for us at Passover time.  We place half of it under a pillow, remembering His burial."

From Zola Levitt's book, The Seven Feasts of Israel, we read, "The unleavened bread in the New Testament is, of course, the body of our Lord.  He is described as 'the Bread of Life'.  He was born in Bethlehem, in Hebrew 'House of Bread'.  The Passover ceremony of breaking and burying and then resurrecting a piece of this bread (the middle piece, as the Son in the Trinity) very obviously presents the Gospel in the midst of the modern Jewish Passover celebration.

God performed this exact ceremony with the burial of Jesus, our precious piece of unleavened bread, and more importantly, He performed it on the exact day of the feast.  Once again, the required feast was fulfilled in a remarkable and unmistakable way."

Wine

There are four cups of wine at the Passover table.  "The four cups of wine we drink remind us of the four-part promise:  'I will bring you forth,' 'I will deliver you,' 'I will redeem you,' and 'I will take you.'  This is the testimony of all who put their trust in the Messiah."  C.B.

Going back to Zola Levitt, "The Christian celebrates Passover, in effect, by participating in the sacrifice of the Lord.  Back in Egypt the Jew marked his house with the blood of the lamb.  Today, the Christian marks his house - his body, 'the house of the spirit' - with the blood of Christ.  The Angel of Death will pass over each Christian as surely as he passed over each Israelite in Egypt.

Passover, then, represents our salvation.  We do not keep the feast in remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, since that was the mere shadow of the greater redemption to come.  The Lord Himself instructed us to 'Do this in remembrance of Me.'  We do take communion, a part of the original Passover feast, in remembrance of the Lord."

Isn't that awesome!  And this year, Passover and Good Friday occur on the same day, just as they did that day that our Savior gave His life for us as the ultimate Passover Lamb.  Have a wonderful thankful Easter!

I will not be blogging tomorrow as planned - my granddaughter will be here in the morning and I must give her all my attention!
 

Recipe - Fruit Chick

I know there is lots of candy at our house on Easter, so I thought I would include this healthy but fun recipe for the kiddos from Family Fun.

Body - one thin round slice of apple (remove core and seeds)
Feathers - pineapple tidbits
Eyes - blueberries
Comb - sliced strawberry
Beak/ Feet - dried apricots

It would be extra yummy if you dry the apple slice with a paper towel, then spread a thin layer of peanut butter or cream cheese on the apple before putting on the pineapple tidbits.  Cute and nutritious!  Fill their tummies with this, then let them eat their candy!