{the candles are lit…for He is the light of the world…and the blessing begins from the mother’s heart…} Blessed are you, O Lord my God, King of the universe, who sanctifies…
As she prays…hearts are prepared.
The father brings out the Seder plate and introduces each element’s meaning. Three of the foods God tells us to eat on this night…the others were added by men to help us remember Passover. He explains the four cups…two we will drink from before dinner and two after. The four cups at the Seder represent the four expressions of redemption – bring (Cup of Sanctification), deliver (Cup of Judgement), redeem (Cup of Redemption) and take (Cup of the Kingdom).
It is time for the first cup…
The leader explains this cup…(the Kiddush cup-“the first blessing”)
…To be sanctified means to be set apart…we set apart this time to honor the Lord…and to remind us to be set apart for His purposes…we remember how God set apart His people in Eqypt…we drink from this cup while we lean to remember that we were set free from bondage as the Israelites were set free…
It is now time for the washing of the hands…the father washes his hands in a basin and explains…
We wash our hands to express our desire to live clean lives for the Almighty God…we remember how Jesus humbled himself the night of Passover and washed the feet of His disciples…help us Lord to serve as you served…to love as you loved…
The children watch…taking it all in…
Hearts are renewed…
And worship begins.
This…is truly understanding Passover.
Eating of the Karpas…the father dips the parsley in salt water and passes them around the table for all to share…This symbolizes the lowly origin of the people and the tears that were shed in Eqypt…help us Lord to also remember the tears that were shed on the cross over us…for our sake…so we might know you and live through you…
Three Pieces of Matzah…are wrapped sacredly up and await on the table. The bread is flat without yeast…yeast symbolizing sin and this bread—symbolizing being without sin. The three pieces symbolize the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
This was also the type of bread that the Hebrews had to take with them when they left Egypt…it was the only bread that could pack to take with them on their journey. But this bread is also a picture of Christ…He is the bread of life…He explains in John 6:48-51 that our fathers ate manna in the wilderness but that he is the living bread…
The center bread is taken out and the father breaks it in half.
He was broken for us.
And then the father wraps the broken matzah in a white cloth.
He was wrapped in linen…prepared for burial…and laid in the tomb…
The other half of the matzah is put back with the other two pieces…and the wrapped up matzah is hidden for the children to later find. If you ask a Rabi why they do this tradition, he will say it’s to entertain the children. But why do I think God allowed an element to be broken, wrapped and hidden for a time? I do believe my God had a purpose. And how He LONGS for His chosen people to see it and understand.
Open our eyes Lord to more of You. Help us to not miss you in this life. Help us to see you at our table. Meet with us Father…we praise you for Your Son…His brokenness…but we also praise you today that He did not just stay in the tomb…
Now we ask the little children to close their eyes while the other half of the broken matzah is hidden…called the “Afikoman” (Greek for “that which comes after”). Whoever finds this later…will receive a reward!
And He who finds Christ…the risen Savior…will, too, receive a reward…life eternal…worshipping Him with joy…and knowing Him and enjoying Him forever…
What a beautiful picture…that for the believer in Christ is so easy to see…yet some have not seen…some don’t understand…and this is what we pray for…that His chosen people will understand and see Christ for who He really is. In Isaiah we see Jesus so clearly…and in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—all that was prophesied comes to past. A miracle indeed! As Christ rode on the donkey on Palm Sunday…this was the day that had been awaited! This was the day that had been prophesied for centuries. And they shouted in “Hosanna!” as he came through town. Oh that our hearts would shout this this Holy Week. Hosanna…in Hebrew meaning “save, I pray!”…may all your people seek truth and find it as they come with open hearts to know You.
Exodus 12:25-27 “And it shall come to pass, when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, “What does this service mean?” That you shall say, “It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Eqypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.”
And the littlest child at the table now has the honor to ask the questions that the Lord said they would ask…
Even they are remembered at His table.
And He longs for them to know Him deeply too.
Join us tomorrow for Part 3 of the Passover…where the children will have their questions answered…the Passover story is told…and at our Passover…the Lamb of God will be present…for He is the beginning and the end…and in Him all things hold together and begin to make sense…
by admin