2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I consider myself very blessed come from a rich and colorful heritage. However, it took a long time for me to really appreciate it to the extent that I do today. Like many children raised in Judaism the way it was practiced in North America 40 years ago, I was dutifully taken to the Passover seder at our synagogue each year without ever having really appreciated the spiritual significance of this event. Instead, I focused on how long it took to get through all the prayers and “stuff” before we could eat. I am not proud to admit that some of the children’s comments about the gefilte fish served with beet horseradish were a great deal less than Godly, although the matzo ball soup was always a great favorite. I’ve often heard the comment, “it’s such a shame to waste youth on the young.” If I could only bottle up the energy I had at that age and combine it with creativity for solving problems, wisdom, and faithfulness, what a different place the world could be. So, you might ask, what changed me from the child described here to who I am today?
To answer that question, I must go back to RO 12: 2 without apologies for citing it so often. It’s worth our time as many times as God directs me to write it. “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by the renewal of your mind.” I jump for joy every time I hear those words, because the change in my attitude is living proof that when God goes to work on your mind, you really become “a new creation in Christ.” [2 COR 5: 17]. Yes, Dear Ones, anything is possible with God [MK 10:27]! That is the miracle of faith.
I will stand with the leadership of my Christian congregation in saying that it is entirely appropriate for every believer to celebrate the Passover just as he observes the Lenten season and celebrates Easter. However, I will admit that it came as a huge surprise, and very pleasant one, that our congregation holds a seder every year. Not enough Christian churches do that, in my humble opinion. This series of messages has the intent of allowing all of us to see why the inclusion of this very Jewish practice is so appropriate to a real understanding of the meaning of Christ’s last week on earth, His death, and His resurrection.
Something I read recently made the statement that the OT is just an interesting collection of lyrical and poetic stories, but the real lessons are found in the NT. That acted like a burr in my saddle when I read it, because I disagree so vigorously with it. Here’s why: If my understanding of the Scriptures has any accuracy, the principle of God’s gradual revelation of His secrets (mysteries) is found throughout both the OT and the NT. It is His sovereign right to reveal certain truths as he feels mankind is ready for them. For those of you who are newer readers, let me include a series of citations here which when read in the order given will demonstrate this principle in a very real way. Here they are: DT 29: 29; DN 2: 22; LK 18: 31-34; JN 13: 7; JN 20: 9; AC 1: 6-7; RO 16: 25; 1 COR 15: 1-8; 1 COR 15: 51-54; EPH 3: 3-6; COL 1: 26-27; REV 10: 7. If you’ve never looked these up or haven’t done it for awhile, do so, and you will be blessed with what you learn.
The story of the first Passover is detailed in EX 12. I intend to return to it later in this series of messages, but if you aren’t familiar with the story, you will be blessed by reading it. The book of Leviticus is a detailed account of many rules and regulations that came down as commands from God for the Jews to follow. LV 23: 5-6 deals with the preparations for the Passover. “The Passover is celebrated to honor the Lord. It begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the first month [Nisan-which falls either in late March or early April most years]. On the fifteenth day the festival of the Unleavened Bread begins, and for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast.” This may seem like a rather curious practice to a person without faith, but it makes great sense when we understand the significance to God of this practice. Throughout the Scriptures, yeast has been a symbol of sin. So, what God is asking of his people here is to repent, to rid their lives of sin in this symbolic act.
Another reason for my consternation at the statement that the OT is nothing more than a collection of lyrical and poetic stories is my belief (one shared with many others) that many of its events are a foreshadowing of greater revelations God intended to make. Passover involves the sacrifice of a lamb and the painting of its blood on the door posts and lintels of Jewish homes at the end of their time of slavery in Egypt. By this means, God knows the homes of His people. When the tenth plague is pronounced and carried out on Egypt for Pharaoh’s stubbornness in refusing the let the Jewish slaves leave for freedom, the Lord will pass over these marked homes, thus saving first-born Jewish lads from being killed. God’s practice of requiring a sacrifice involving the shedding of blood providing forgiveness and, in this case protection, for those who obey is being accomplished. Another precedent is being set for exactly what Christ did for our salvation. Now, look at 1 COR 5: 7 and see what I mean. “You must remove the old yeast of sin so that you will be entirely pure. Then, you will be like a new batch of dough without any yeast, as indeed I know you actually are. For our Passover festival is ready, now that Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.”
PRAYER: O Lord, You ask us each year to revisit the events of the first Passover to give us new and deeper appreciation and understanding of the sacrifice of Your Son on the cross. Because You love us so much, You made Christ, a perfect, sufficient, and once forever sacrifice, our Passover Lamb. When Christians understand the Jewish roots of their faith and Jews accept Christ as their personal Savior, we are completed in Your view. That is what You want for us, so that You can reveal Yourself to us, and we can know that the only way to eternal life is through faith in Your Son. We come to You in reverence, humility, and with an attitude of adoration to worship and honor You. We study Your Scriptures with a hunger for them given to us by the Holy Spirit and approach you in prayerful petition that You will give us the courage and diligence to lift up every aspect of our lives to Your glory. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will continue to look at the connections between the Passover and our Passover Lamb. Every word you read in the Scriptures is a precious gift our loving Abba gives us. Know that whenever you are reading them, your love for the Lord grows, and your lives are richly blessed through the Holy Spirit. It is often said that a song of faith is like praying twice. I believe that to also be the case when we obey God by allowing Him to reveal Himself to us through prayer and studying the Scriptures. Your Father in heaven loves you and so do Pete and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn