Read

Seder

Leviticus 23:5-8

The Passover Seder is still observed by Jewish people each spring across the globe, although not all celebrate it in the same way. But the basic patterns are deeply ingrained in the Jewish community; this is a rich part of their heritage. The word Seder means "[done] in order." The liturgy for the Seder is found in a booklet called the Hagaddah—the "recitation." In a Jewish home before Passover night, there might be a ritual search for leaven; crumbs that are found are swept up and might even be burned—suggesting that Passover is a most special evening in which no leaven is to be found in the home. The family and friends sit at the dinner table with a sense of expectation. This is the night when they commemorate how the Lord delivered their ancestors from Egypt. The mother lights the Passover candle, prays, and the celebration begins.

Several special items are found at the table. There will be a ceremonial Seder plate with samples of foods that symbolize the night: (1) a bone from the lamb, (2) a cooked egg, (3) a spring green such as parsley, (4) a "bitter herb" such as horseradish, (5) a sweet mixture of chopped apples, raisins, honey, cinnamon, and some sweet wine called haroseth.

The lamb bone reminds the people of the lambs and young goats slain at the first Passover. The egg is a symbol of life. The spring green ties the celebration to the season of the year. The bitter herb is a reminder of the bitterness of slavery. The haroseth is a sweet mixture that speaks of opportunities for pleasure even when one is in slavery.

There will be a display of matsa, unleavened bread. And there will be a glass of wine for each participant. There are special bowls used for dipping one's fingers as a symbol of washing, and other bowls with salted water used for dipping the parsley. Four times during the observance, all drink from their wine glass at the same time: (1) at the beginning, the cup of sanctification; (2) just before the festive meal, the cup of remembrance; (3) shortly after the meal, the cup of salvation; (4) at the end of the meal, the cup of the kingdom. Christians are particularly drawn to the third of the four cups of wine, the cup of salvation (Ps. 116:13), which, along with the eating of the after-dinner matza, forms the basis for the Lord's Table in Christian celebration.

Before the festive dinner, the Hagaddah is read, leading the family through the story of the Lord's deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt. Then, two psalms chosen specially for the occasion, Psalms 113 and 114, are read or sung. After the meal, there are readings from the Hagaddah that point to future blessings from the Lord, particularly in the coming of Messiah. The heart of these readings is found in a group of psalms that become increasingly clear in messianic hope—Psalms 115—118.

At the time of Jesus, some Jews would eat the Passover feast at a Roman-style triclinium, a U-shaped table set close to the floor. People would recline on their left sides on cushions around the periphery of the tables so that service could be done from the inside of the U. Jewish people today replicate a bit of the reclining pattern of the past by leaning well to the left when they drink together from their wine glasses.

The bread and wine are immensely important. The bread has to be unleavened matsa to remind people that in the first Passover, there was no time to prepare dough for the baking of bread. There is nothing "evil" in yeast; the issue was one of time. The wine used in the Passover Seder is a symbol of joy—joy that they are the people delivered from Egypt by the mighty hand of the Lord.

Jesus took these two elements—unleavened bread and wine—and invested them with a new layer of meaning. Now the matsa not only pointed back to the Lord's great work in the Exodus but would point to God's greater work in the death of Christ. The breaking of the bread became the first symbol of Christ's death. Today, the wine not only points back to the joy of redemption from Egypt but points to the death of the Savior. The red wine became the second symbol of His death, its color suggesting blood. 

Back to Leviticus