Passover, Good Friday, Easter…

Passover, Good Friday, Easter-Chispa MagazineEaster stands alone as the most important holiday we celebrate.

1 Corinthians 15:13 says, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.”

Twenty-eight years ago, my husband and I chose to celebrate Passover at Easter. After all, Jesus died right after Passover, and the two events are linked.

Passover is all about redemption. If you recall, Israelites wanted to earn their freedom from Egypt. Each family had to kill a lamb and brush the blood onto the door posts. When the angel of death saw the blood, it would pass over the house, which represents our redemption. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, his blood redeems us from sin so that God’s wrath no longer falls on us.

The Seder plate is supposed to have a lamb bone but we chose not to have the lamb bone. Jesus was the lamb that year that Jesus died.

At that time, twenty-eight years ago, I had just given birth to my second son. My husband kept saying we had to have a matzah bag, which had three compartments. In those three compartments we placed on piece of matzah. Matzo is striped and pierced, just like Jesus.

Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

The leader removes the middle matzah and breaks it, which becomes the afikomen. The word, afikommen means he came. And it’s the only Greek word in the Seder ceremony. Most Jews don’t understand why it’s included.  The leader wraps the afikommen in linen and hides it.

After the meal, one of the children finds it, and leader redeems it, for a gift. Immediately, we have the cup of redemption. This is the place where Jesus stood before his disciples and said, “This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

The leader pours the cup of redemption next. “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

The good news is that Jesus didn’t stay dead. On Sunday morning, he rose, leaving bloody grave clothes behind. “…Because he abides forever, he holds the priesthood permanently and is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him,  because he always lives to make intercession for them,” Hebrews 7:24-25.

Photo by Aaron Burden

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Cynthia L. Simmons

Cynthia L. Simmons

www.CLSimmons.com
Cynthia L. Simmons is a Bible teacher, speaker, author, former homeschool mom, and host of Heart of the Matter Radio. She reaches out to women who seek the elegance of God’s wisdom. Cynthia fills her presentations with delightful vignettes from history and her experiences raising five children.
Cynthia L. Simmons
Cynthia L. Simmons

Latest posts by Cynthia L. Simmons (see all)

Cynthia L. Simmons

Cynthia L. Simmons is a Bible teacher, speaker, author, former homeschool mom, and host of Heart of the Matter Radio. She reaches out to women who seek the elegance of God’s wisdom. Cynthia fills her presentations with delightful vignettes from history and her experiences raising five children.