how did jesus celebrate passover

When Jesus held up the cup after supper and said that from now on it would symbolize the new covenant in his blood, he was foretelling his role as the new, second, and better “lamb of God who [would take] away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus bore the afflictions and the punishment of sin we rightfully deserved, securing our forgiveness and freedom. In Mishnah Pesachim, the oral teachings of various rabbis – including Rabbi Gamaliel (teacher of the apostle Paul) and Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai (contemporaries of Jesus) – are recorded in writing. Unleavened Bread traditionally was eaten from Nisan 14 (Passover) through Nisan 20 (2nd to last day of Feast of Unleavened Bread.). Jesus and His disciples kept the Christian Passover, in commemoration of Jesus’ suffering and death. In addition, according to the Gospel accounts, the disciples of Jesus killed the Passover lamb for Jesus and the disciples – which was registered to Jesus and the disciples according to Jewish law – on Nisan 12 (late Tuesday) and ate it that Tuesday night (after the start of the Jewish day of Nisan 13) as part of Jesus’ Passover seder (the “Last Supper”). But what do we do when pain and loss have slammed into us, when our lives and hearts are a chaotic mess? … This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Jesus never ate that Passover meal. Suzy Silk is the Teaching Pastor at Church of the City NYC. Several times, the Lord gave the Israelites specific instructions on how to commemorate their miraculous exodus from Egypt—by recounting the Exodus and Passover story over a shared meal of unleavened bread, wine, bitter herbs, and roasted lamb on the 14th day of the month of Aviv. Why that particular cup? Central to the Jewish feast of Passover is an evening meal to celebrate the Exodus from Egypt. 10:16–17.) Why Did Jesus Want to Eat That Last Supper? Jesus celebrated the Passover meal as a Last Supper with His disciples. It was Jesus’ Passover. (See Matt. She is the co-author of Kingdom Vision and Kingdom Values, and the upcoming God You Long For. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread was the first festival God commanded the Israelites to celebrate. Maybe they didn’t celebrate a “Seder like today” in Jesus’ time but He did celebrate The Passover Meal on the evening of the 14th.” Jesus is now our forever “lamb of God” who has forever freed us from slavery to sin and brought us into a new and eternal covenant with God. Why during that particular ceremonial moment, when he dipped his bread into the bitter herbs? 113–118], The New Testament accounts of the Last Supper obviously fit into the above structure. All donations are tax deductible in full or in part. Some Christians observe a form of the Jewish holiday of Passover. And although there are many other ways in which the Passover meal helps us understand Jesus’s many words that night, let’s begin with the four required items on the Passover table: unleavened bread, bitter herbs, wine, and a roasted lamb. Passover was the first holiday ever given by God to the Jewish people. His teachings rose in crescendo to the final act of blessing the bread and wine in remembrance of his new work for man. ). 12] Technical questions of the Passover meal’s development do not concern us if we seek to envision the feast that Jesus and his apostles kept. During Passover, God commanded the Israelites to eat only unleavened bread (i.e., bread without yeast) for seven days. His Passover Sacrifice is a one-and-for-all act of redemption that is celebrated again and again by the people he has saved. During that evening, Jesus used the various items on the Passover table as prophetic signs of what he was about to do in the following 24 hours, explaining his mission and purpose to his disciples. But would it surprise you to learn that this wasn’t an ordinary dinner Jesus was having with his disciples, and this wasn’t normal bread he broke? 26:30, Mark 14:26.) Technical questions of the Passover meal’s development do not concern us if we seek to envision the feast that Jesus and his apostles kept. The Passover meal itself was eaten Thursday night, at sundown, as the 15th of Nisan began. The Jewish Passover meal is described in part in Exodus 12, with its early symbolism of God’s salvation to Israel in her trials and departure from Egypt. So Passover, traditionally celebrated on Nisan 14, was now (in Jesus’ time) celebrated on Nisan 15. Jesus held up the pierced, striped, yeast-less bread on the Passover table—which symbolized affliction and freedom at the same time—and compared it to his body. Then, he broke it and divided it among his disciples. Matthew and Mark relate how all sang the hymn before leaving their room. [Ex. They help us know what to expect, giving us concrete handles ... Read more posts about: Understanding Scripture, Biblical Context. Just days before he was crucified and died, Jesus traveled to Jerusalem with his apostles to celebrate the Passover. At the Last Supper Jesus commemorated the traditional Passover meal but also dramatically transformed it. These traditionally were 2 separate feasts, then combined into 1 at the time of Jesus’ death. Jesus' last meal was Wednesday night, and he was crucified on Thursday, the 14th of the Hebrew month Nisan. The Jewish Passover meal is described in part in Exodus 12, with its early symbolism of God’s salvation to Israel in her trials and departure from Egypt. Eating bread or wafers and drinking grape juice or wine, they recount Jesus’s words: “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. The ritual near their time appears quite clearly in the Passover section of the Mishnah, the early law written at the end of … During the meal proper Jesus taught much, as hinted at by Luke and as recorded in detail by John. Each time we eat of the communion bread and drink of the cup, let’s once again rejoice in the profound work Jesus has done on our behalf. Sign up to receive Bible-reading tips, tools and resources. 12. Wednesday On the way to Jerusalem, the disciples saw the withered fig tree, and Jesus taught them the importance of their faith ( Matthew 21:21 )—an especially timely lesson, as he was going to leave them. Hence, Jesus and His disciples were among those who ate the Passover on Thursday. Thanks to the support of our faithful financial partners, American Bible Society has been engaging people with the life-changing message of God’s Word for more than 200 years. It is often linked to the Christian holiday and festival of Easter. Answers bring clarity and structure to our lives. Jesus understood that to purchase our freedom from slavery to sin he would have to endure the bitterness of being wrongfully arrested, mocked and spat upon, beaten, and then hung to die on a cross. Shouldn’t it also be a “sin” to overeat? Understanding the Passover feast of Jesus, Allow an Encounter with God to Speak to Your Questions. Jesus is specifically mentioned attending the following Passover feasts after his baptism: John 2:13; John 5:1 - There are three feasts that all Jewish men are required to attend: the Passover or Feast of Unleaven Bread, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:16). To learn the origins of Easter, get our book, "Easter" The Untold Story" for free: https://bit.ly/3e6hRRl How is this free? The point was to have an annual reminder of how they left Egypt in a hurry. As we see above the Jews ate the lamb, biter herbs, and unleavened bread on the evening of the 14th per Exodus 12:18. 11:23–25.) Who will join me? Another clear indication that Jesus observed the biblical holidays is the fact that all four gospels record His last Passover. In three of the gospel accounts, the authors tell us that after breaking the bread, Jesus picked up a cup of wine and proclaimed this cup to be the new covenant in his blood. The High Priest and leaders of Israel took Jesus to Pilate and wanted Jesus killed before the Passover and were cautious to not make themselves unclean or they would not be able to celebrate the Passover. However, while the Synoptic Gospels present the Last Supper as a Passover meal , the Gospel of John makes no explicit mention that the Last Supper was a Passover meal and presents the official Jewish Passover feast as beginning in the evening a few hours after the death of Jesus . We now know that is one day off. “Joy in Every Minute”: An Interview with Sister Barbara B. Smith, Personal Interview Procedure Strengthens Priesthood Home Teaching, Primary: Meeting the Needs of Handicapped Children, Six General Authorities to Reside outside the United States, The South American Area General Conferences, President Kimball Rededicates Arizona Temple, President Kimball Interviewed for Australian Radio, “Did Jesus celebrate the Jewish passover at the last supper?” Ensign, June 1975, 20–21, Richard L. Anderson, Professor of ancient scripture, Brigham Young University. (Isnt a certain degree of maturity required for facing those evil monkeys?) The Passover is the meal that Moses commanded Israel to celebrate, and Jewish tradition continued this feast every year even to the time of Jesus (who was a devout Jew). First, the Lord promised the disciples that he would “keep the passover” (Mt. Jesus celebrated Passover on the evening of the 14th. Jesus was a Jew. For through remembering Jesus’ past sacrifice, we promise to transform our own lives in preparation for an eternal future with him. When we consider the Jewish practices related to the four cups of wine that were being taught and celebrated at the time of Jesus, Luke's and Paul’s reference that Jesus held up the “cup after supper” begins to make more sense. 101 North Independence Mall East FL8 What began with Moses in Egypt culminated with Christ in Jerusalem. The practice is found among Assemblies of Yahweh, Messianic Jews, and some congregations of the Church of God. God required the Jewish people to eat bitter herbs during their Passover meal (Numbers 9:11). Luke relates how Jesus opened the feast with a first cup of wine, blessing it and stating that this would be his last Passover with the apostles before his death. The prophet Isaiah foretells that the Messiah, though righteous and blameless (i.e., without sin), would be “pierced for our transgressions” and that “by his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). As we learned from the cup after supper, Jesus was telling his disciples that he would be the Passover lamb slaughtered for their redemption and freedom. Jesus, being a new son of the covenant, was asked to recount the origin of the Passover, and this he well did, but he somewhat disconcerted his parents by the inclusion of numerous remarks mildly reflecting the impressions made on his youthful but thoughtful mind by the … 11:25.). Passover, both past and present, is a time of earthly and heavenly excitement, especially in the Land of Israel. This was one of three festivals that were meant to bring all of Israel together to celebrate … Jesus was crucified at 9:00 AM on Thursday, the fourteenth of Nisan. But Luke 22 narrates Jesus’ distribution of wine, then bread, and then wine again (Luke 22:15–20), a source of some confusion. From the Passover service he selected bread and wine, and consecrated them as symbols of his body and blood. Did Jesus celebrate Passover at the Last Supper? Yet the vitality of that act is its power today. Making the Bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so all people may experience its life-changing message. As a result, no lamb is eaten at Passover anymore. When Jesus actually celebrated the Passover, he did it in the traditional way of the Pharisees. [Ps. After the Passover (Thursday) came the Day of Preparation (Friday) on which Jesus was killed. The Foot Washing We understand that the Seder observed by Jesus and His disciples would have been more primitive and not as well The Passover meal included a sacrificed lamb and unleavened bread: “Every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb…That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread” (Exodus 12:3, 8). As followers of Jesus, this lack of a Passover lamb reminds us each year that our need for a Passover lamb has ceased. Many times they are easily given: What time is dinner? To receive Bible-reading tips, tools and resources. There are traditional prayers and the story of the Exodus that is told every year in obedience to God’s command to remember to teach it. But He had given Himself, and thus He had truly celebrated the Passover with them. In Pesachim 10:1, Jewish people are instructed to drink four glasses of wine during the Passover in order to remember the four promises God made to the Jewish people while they were still slaves: Two cups, representing the first two promises, “I will bring you out” and “I will free you,” were intended to be drunk before dinner. During that evening, Jesus used the various items on the Passover table as prophetic signs of what he was about to do in the following 24 hours, explaining his mission and purpose to his disciples. This pierced, striped, and holy bread was a perfect symbol for what would be done to Jesus. 26; Mark 14] (See 1 Cor. How shall I read the parables of preparation in Matthew 25 in the context of the last days? He really did not have a choice to do it at the regular time. The third cup, representing the promise “I will redeem you,” was to be drunk after dinner (after eating the Passover lamb) when consuming the broken matzah (specifically the piece of matzah that had been wrapped in a napkin and hidden away during the dinner). 14:14). 3 Passover lambs were slain between noon and 3 p.m. on Nisan 14 (recall that there were three hours of darkness, from approximately noon to 3 p.m., when Jesus was on the cross [Mark 15:33]. 26:18), which is the equivalent of “eat the passover” (Mk. Just as the first lamb’s blood would serve as a price to redeem the people of Israel from slavery and enable them to enter into a covenant with God at Mount Sinai, so too Jesus’s blood would be the payment to redeem his disciples (both then and now) from slavery to sin and enable them to enter a new covenant with God (see Jeremiah 31:31). , tools and resources reminds us each year that our need for a different.... 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