Thursday
Passover, Last Supper, Gethsemane, Betrayal
Today is the day with the most material to cover and we are going to be spending almost 3 hours this evening at soccer games. So we are making due. Before we leave for games we are going to learn about the Passover. We have been reading the Old Testament together as a family so the kids all know when and why the Passover was instituted. We are going to try some of the foods that are eaten during the Seder Service. We are not doing an actual Seder because: We aren't Jewish and don't want to offend anyone who is, I don't have the time to gather and prepare everything and re-educate myself (I took Hebrew for 2 years in High School and attended Seders and learned all of this at one time but hey, that was over 20 years ago). So I'm keepin' it real, with some fun and learning mixed in.
Preparation for the Passover: Matthew 26:17-20
You can find information for the Seder at the end of this post. I totally wasn't going to do it because I thought it would take too much time and I don't have a lot of that right now. But I came up with a simplified plan I like to call Keepin' it Real. I've included that along with the other info.
I would have loved to have a big Jewish meal after this, but we will be eating dinner picnic style between soccer games. After we get home tonight we will continue:
Click here to watch a video (I'm loving using all these videos that my church has put out) of the Passover Feast/Last Supper.
-Notice how Jesus washed his disciples feet. How would you feel if Jesus washed your feet?
-Notice the exchange between Christ and Judas, and then Judas' sudden departure.
-At this time Christ teaches the disciples about the sacrament (Matt. 26:26-28)
After the last supper Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him. He also offered an intercessory prayer. Click here to watch a video of these events.
He and his Disciples then sang a hymn (judging from my family's mood at the time we might sing a hymn together) and then entered the Garden of Gethsemane. Click here for a video depicting the events in the Garden.
"I think it is understood by many that the great suffering of Jesus Christ came through the driving of nails in His hands and in His feet, and in being suspended upon a cross, until death mercifully released Him. That is not the case. As excruciating, as severe as was that punishment, coming from the driving of nails through His hands and through His feet, and being suspended, until relieved by death, yet still greater was the suffering which He endured in carrying the burden of the sins of the world—my sins, and your sins, and the sins of every living creature. This suffering came before He ever got to the cross, and it caused the blood to come forth from the pores of his body, so great was that anguish of His soul, the torment of His spirit that He was called upon to undergo. Are we not indebted? Yes. Are we ungrateful? Yes, unless we are willing to abide by every word that comes from the mouth of God, unless we are obedient, unless our hearts are broken, in the scriptural sense, unless our spirits are contrite, unless within our soul is the spirit of humility and faith and obedience." -Joseph Fielding Smith
After leaving the Garden Christ was taken and questioned by Annas, then he was taken before Caiaphas where he was taunted, struck spit upon and mocked. Judas was present and when he saw that the accusers were really going to put Christ on trial for his life before Pilate, he was filled with remorse. He offered them 30 pieces of silver saying that Christ was innocent. They would not take it. While at Caiaphas's house, Peter was recognized by some who said he was with Jesus. He denied this, and just as he denied it the third time, he heard the cock crow. Click here for a video.
If you are interested in the Seder, here is some information, and how we will be learning about it at our house.
Seder (Passover) info largely taken from the book A Christ Centered Easter:
During the Seder they drink 4 cups of wine. We will be drinking one of grape juice. this represents 4 promises made by God:
Sanctification (bringing out of Israel)
Deliverance (from Egyptian Slavery)
Redemption ( through God's power)
Restoration (As God's chosen people)
Zeroa (roasted lamb shankbone) (Keepin' it real: we had rotisserie chicken for dinner last night and I saved the bones)- represents the sacrificial lamb on the eve of their sudden release of bondage in Egypt. We know that this was done in similitude of Jesus Christ's sacrifice. To insure the destroying angel of God would "pass over" their homes, the Israelites were told not only to properly select, sacrifice, and eat the Passover lamb, but also collect its blood and paint it on their doorposts. Jesus' atonement grants salvation to all mankind. Exaltation, however, comes not from christ's sacrifice alone, but from our voluntary acceptance of it. As we wholeheartedly accept Jesus as our Savior and follow him, then we can be "justified by hi s blood and saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9) today Jews use a roasted shank-bone or zeroa to remind them of the Paschal lamb, which is no longer sacrificed and eaten.
Beitzah (BAY-tzah) (roasted egg) (Keepin' it real: I'm boiling mine along with our eggs we will be coloring)- symbolic of the roasted offereing Israelite pilgrims sacrificed at the temple during the 3 annual Feasts that were held before the temple's destruction. By association, it is a symbol of the temple itself and of mourning for its loss.
Maror (mah-ROR) (bitter herb: most commonly used is horseradish but can also be romain lettuce-that's easy enough) -Symbolic of the Israelites' suffering under the hands of the Egyptians. These bitter herbs are initally mild but have a pungnet aftertaste. Israel was at first welcomed to Egypt, when a new Pharoah came to power and enslaved them life became miserable. Sin often appears sweet or mild at first but all too soon, all that remains are its bitter and over powering consequences.
Haroset (char-RO-set) (chopped apple, crushed almonds, cinnamon and a little bit of wine/grape juice) - Symbolic of the building material used by Isralite slaves as they worked in Egypt. Apple and nut-clay of the brick, cimmamon-straw added to mortar, wine-blood of slaves. Its sweetness promises a better world to come.
Karpas (parsley or celery which is dipped into a dish of salt water before being eaten)- the vegetable symbolizes different things according to different sources: Israelites' new life of freedom, their lowly beginings, the luxury of a free person to eat an appitizer before the meal. The salt water represents the tears shed as a result of slavery. When you shake the salt water off the parsley, it resembles tears.
Matzah (unleavened bread) (keepin' it real- we are using the tortillas you buy at Sam's and cook yourself)- a form of unleavened bread that represents Israel's abrupt and swift escape from Egypt- a flight so sudden that they could not wait for their bread to rise but had to bake it flat. This is broken in half before it is eaten to symbolize the parting of the Red Sea.
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