Welcome: Good
Evening, We gather tonight to remember 2 Stories. Not only do we remember, but
I invite you to live into these stories – if only in your imaginations.
·
Israel was held
as slaves in Egypt (Exodus)
o God rose up Moses and Aaron
o Ordinary People
o Confronted Pharaoh – Said NO!
o God gave Moses power of 10 Plagues
§ 1st 9 Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart
·
Last plague was
most drastic
o Death of First Born
o Preserved in Scripture and Ritual – Passover Supper
o Tonight we reenact and hear about this in both ways
§ Don’t let it be an empty ritual
·
When Jesus had
his Last supper on this night – It was the Ritual of the 1st Jewish Passover
Meal
·
Also the
beginning of a new Ritual
o The Actual Lamb of God would be slain the next day
·
Very First
Passover
o Way God chose to free the Chosen People – Israel
o Our Jewish Brothers and Sisters still celebrate this
today with Passover meals called Seders
·
Modern Seder:
o Roasted
Lamb – The sacrifice to God
§ In Christian times, this was fulfilled in Jesus
o Wine
or Grape Juice
o Unleavened
Bread – symbol of having no
time to let bread rise
o Roasted
Egg – symbol of new birth
o Bitter
Herb (usually horseradish)
– bitterness of slavery in Egypt
o Green
Vegetable (often parsley) dipped
in Salt Water – symbol of growth and renewal coming through tears and
pain
o Apple/Nut/Honey
Mixture – symbol of
clay/mortar mix Israelites used in Egypt AND sweetness of freedom
·
Seder not just a
meal – It is a family worship service
o When Jesus celebrated, probably not as many foods,
but still same sense of tradition
o Would have had lamb and bread and wine
·
Seder begins
when one of the youngest children asks this question:
o “Why is this night different from every other
night?”
·
In Jesus’ Last
Supper, the youngest disciple would have asked that same question
o The ritual then begins as people reenact the story
and the story of the first Passover is read
Exodus 12:1-14
12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land
of Egypt:
12:2 This month shall mark for you the beginning
of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.
12:3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that
on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for
each household.
12:4 If a household is too small for a whole
lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be
divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it.
12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a
year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
12:6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day
of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter
it at twilight.
12:7 They shall take some of the blood and put it
on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.
12:8 They shall eat the lamb that same night;
they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12:9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water,
but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs.
12:10 You shall let none of it remain until the
morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.
12:11 This is how you shall eat it: your loins
girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall
eat it hurriedly. It is the Passover of the LORD.
12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt
that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both
human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I
am the LORD.
12:13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the
houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no
plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
12:14 This day shall be a day of remembrance for
you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your
generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
God gave freedom to His people Israel in the
First Passover
But God is the God of All people, not just the
God of Israel.
·
Wanted to be known by all – Jews and
Gentiles
·
Sent Jesus – God in the Flesh
On Passover, Jesus ate his Last Supper before
giving his life and defeating the powers of this world and the powers of death
so that we may have eternal live and all have the chance to live into creation
as God first intended it.
Luke
22:1-27
Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover,
was near. 2The chief priests and the scribes were looking
for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. 3Then Satan entered into
Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; 4he went away and
conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he
might betray him to them. 5They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him
money. 6So he consented and began to look for an
opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.
7Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which
the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8So Jesus sent Peter and
John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.” 9They asked him, “Where do
you want us to make preparations for it?” 10“Listen,” he said to
them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet
you; follow him into the house he enters 11and say to the owner of
the house, ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the
Passover with my disciples?”’ 12He will show you a large
room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.” 13So they went and found
everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. 14When the hour came, he
took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15He said to them, “I have
eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16for I tell you, I will
not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17Then he took a cup, and
after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18for I tell you that from
now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God
comes.” 19Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had
given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which
is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20And he did the same with
the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new
covenant in my blood.
21But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and
his hand is on the table. 22For the Son of Man is going as it has been
determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” 23Then they began to ask
one another, which one of them it could be who would do this. 24A dispute also arose
among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25But he said to them, “The
kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are
called benefactors. 26But not so with you; rather the greatest
among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27For who is greater, the
one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table?
But I am among you as one who serves.
Jesus
came to save all people from bondage and slavery
· Not in the way they
expected it
· Not with force
· Not in the sense of
Kingdom they expected
What
is Christ’s Kingdom?
o Most say Heaven – They are right, but that’s not all
o Service – The King serves the followers, the followers serve the lost in the
King’s name
o Peace – not freedom from conflict but assurance that God is with you
o Love – ability to grow in love of God and neighbor and even love of enemy
o Joy
– not giddiness, but knowing God loves you
o Fellowship with God’s people and with God
o Fruit – Seeing the Kingdom grow in miraculous ways
§ We discount miracles in
modern times
§ We can all name people
who belong to Christ who have no business being there if it weren’t for a
miracle
§ What God does through us
– not what we do
We
reenact this Last Supper in the form of Holy Communion
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