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| Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! Luke 2:14 |
Passover is mentioned twenty-eight times Pesach (Passover).
Meaning of Passover: a major Jewish spring festival which commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, lasting seven or eight days from the 15th day of Nisan.
Passover hmm, in my life I have heard of Passover so many times but to my dismay, I never had the interest until now to understand its significance, traditions, and its symbolism. I grew up in a predominately Jewish neighborhood and had the opportunity to have the knowledge but did not seem to have the interest.
My interest has grown with my spiritual walk and interest in Jesus Christ. God the Father introduced me to Him many months ago. Sadly, I knew of Jesus, but did I really know Him? I knew His story at a high level but to truly understand the beauty of His life I needed to look deeper. So, with my quest to know about The Man, The Son of God, The Savior of the world, and the one who has significantly touched my heart with an amazing LOVE. I began to study Him one word, one scripture, one day at a time.
Let me start with my thought on today’s word “Passover”.
If I break it down, I see the word Pass meaning to go by and over to skip by something? So, then I start to study the basics. Passover is a celebration over the Israelites redemption from slavery in Egypt. Jews are descendants of two of the Israelite tribes: Judah and Benjamin, plus a considerable part of a third, the priestly tribe of Levi.
Passover is a month of joy and one of the four traditional beginnings of the Jewish calendar year. Jesus was an Israelite because of his earthly parents, His Mother Mary, and his adoptive father Joseph. He grew up with these Jewish traditions as part of his earthly heritage. There is a vast amount of information and history to understand. However, I will attempt to simplify my thoughts for the reason of my readers.
The Seder is based on many biblical scriptures that can be found in Exodus 12:3-11 describes the meal of lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs which the Israelites ate just prior to the Exodus. In addition, three separate passages in Exodus (12:26-27, 13:8, and 13:14) and one in Deuteronomy (6:20-21) it’s the duty of parents to tell the story of the Exodus to their children.
The Seder is a focal point of this Jewish tradition and the first two nights of the Passover. The word Seder literally means “order,” and the Passover Seder has 15 separate steps in its traditional order. The Seder’s Ritual Objects are:
matzah, the zeroa (shank bone), egg, bitter herbs, charoset paste, and karpas vegetable. There are also traditional songs, prayers, and worship. Each item has its own function and symbolic meaning.
Although this tradition was filled with symbolism my mind tries to understand how it relates to Jesus. It is part of His heritage. However, like many things in the Bible, everything amazingly ties together, and everything points to Jesus. Passover is no different. In the Seder, there are several strong symbols of Christ. I could study this to eternity and never really know everything. But when we truly LOVE someone, we try to learn about them by spending time with them. We study their nature, their history, their likes, and dislikes.
So, I urge you do not “Passover” any opportunity to know Him. all of Him. He will open your heart to a world of wonder that you will find hard to contain.
It’s Him, It’s always Him!!
I stand in awe.
“You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’”
Exodus 13:8 NASB
Photography, Design & Written by Lori Garner
Bible Collaboration - Joann Turnbull
Inspiring Music: YouTube
