Passover

It’s Almost Spring!

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

The flowers appear on the earth, the of singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle(dove) is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:12

While our year begins in Winter, with the month of January, you might be very surprised to learn that God’s calendar begins with a month called Abib in the Spring and coincided with the barley harvest. Spring was also when the Jewish people celebrated the Passover, their deliverance from Egypt and their beginning as a nation.

But did you know that Abib was also the month when Jesus died?  Just as the Israelites passed through the Red Sea to their freedom, so the death of Jesus on the cross means freedom from the power of sin over us as believers and the beginning of a new life.

So with Easter just two short weeks away, let’s pause and remember that our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead also means the celebration of the beginning of a new life. As we tear off the final page of our calendar every December 31st and put a new calendar on the wall, why not tear off a page this Spring and put a fresh calendar of God’s promises on the wall of your heart. You may just be amazed to watch as He parts the Red Sea and leads you into the freedom of a wonderful new life in Jesus Christ!

God Loves Mundane Details

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They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?”  He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters.   Luke 22:9-10 ESV

In our extended family which includes two grown sons, two daughters in law and seven grandchildren, the location of our family Thanksgiving dinner is a subject of delicate negotiation. In a way the Passover meal was the Jewish Thanksgiving of the first century. Lots of preparation went into planning where to hold it, who to invite and even how the table was to be set up. I confess that instead of enjoying

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a season of thankfulness sometimes I have to work overtime just get along with people. Many of my frustrations come from trying to figure out mundane details which I feel God could not possibly care about.

But after three and a half years of seeing bread multiplied, water changed to wine and storms calmed by a word the disciples decided to just ask Jesus about the details of the feast. No matter what you and I face today, we should take a tip from them and ask Jesus to become our event planner. The same God who formed the universe also counts every hair on our heads. It is not a problem to ask Him to take control of even the mundane details we struggle with. When we do we might be amazed at how delighted He will be to show us exactly what He has in store!

He Took The Cup

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 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you Luke 22:20

 

 

As the disciples gathered at the table they thought they had come with their master to share a traditional Passover meal. Everything was put in place just as it had been since the days of Moses. There was the unleavened bread, the bitter herbs and the four cups reminding then of God’s deliverance from Egypt. But as they sat at the table Jesus began a series of revelations familiar to us but shocking to the disciples.

Jesus began the supper telling them that He already knew that one of them was a traitor. This would have been like sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner and having the head of the household calmly say, “Praise God, I am thankful for this meal but I know one of you is a murderer!” Can you imagine the faces of James, John Matthew and Peter? Then as they sat in shock Jesus took the first cup called  “Kiddush” signifying salvation. As Jesus took that cup He told His disciples to divide it among themselves because He would not drink it again until He drank it in the Kingdom of God. The disciples didn’t understand what He meant but they sensed that something momentous was about to happen.

Then as they sat at the table Jesus took the bread and when he had given thanks he told them, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”  The unleavened bread  reminded them that they were to flee in haste from Egypt but now  Jesus tells them it is His body given for them.  That teaching of the blood and body of Jesus was exactly what had caused many of the early disciples to turn away when Jesus had told them the day after the feeding of the 5,000. Now in stunning fashion Jesus repeats with even greater emphasis that this was not just a passing teaching but was central to being a believer. We must share in His body given for us! It is not an option! Last of all after they had eaten came the fourth “cup – the cup of praise (Hallel)”. This cup represented the flight of the children of Israel through the Red Sea, but now Jesus tells them it is His blood – the blood of a new covenant between God and man. Maybe the disciples were beginning to understand what Jesus was doing because we are told that after that astonishing Passover was finished they had a time of joyful praise.

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  Mark 14:26

Jesus had not drunk from the cups at supper but on the Mount of Olives in a garden called Gethsemane He had a different cup to drink. The first cups He blessed and gave to His disciples and to us. When we receive our cup we must remember that He was given a cup which He prayed in agony not to have to drink. But on this Maundy Thursday as we look back at that night we can thank God that He took His cup filled with pain and bitterness and drank all it so that ours could be a cup filled with joy, salvation and eternal life!