Lent Day 38

Setup
On a plate before each person is a dish of salt-water, the bitter herb (radish), and wine (juice).

Instructions 

• Everyone should participate 
• 1 Bottle of grape juice per table to be consumed throughout the meal. Pour the Cup – Don’t drink it all too fast! 
• Bowls with a small piece of lamb, salt water, and bitter herb (horseradish or any bitter herb), non-bitter herbs (apple and parsley) to be used as instructed. 
• Matzo (unleavened bread) 

A Traditional Prayer and Blessing
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe
Who chose us above all peoples, and exalted us above all nations, and has made us holy.
In love you gave us, O Lord our God, seasons for gladness, holy days, and times for rejoicing, this day of the feast of Passover, the time of our freedom, an assembly day of holiness, a memorial to the Exodus from Egypt, and of Christ.
You chose us and sanctified us above all peoples, and given us your sacred seasons for our inheritance.
Blessed are you, O Lord, who sanctifies your people, through our celebration.

ALL REPEAT:
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe. (All Drink)

Bitter Herbs:
They worked the Israelites ruthlessly and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. (Exodus 1:13–14)

They are to eat the meat...along with...bitter herbs. (Exodus 12:8)

What is the bitter herb for? The bitter herbs represent the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.

Dip the bitter herb in salt water before eating it (as instructed below). The salt water represents the tears of Israel under Egyptian oppression.

What is the non-bitter herb (apple) for?

The non-bitter herb, traditionally an apple and spice mixture, remembers the hardships of the Israelites building with bricks and mortar in Egypt.

The other non-bitter herbs (parsley) represent hope and renewal, to contrast with the bitter herbs.

ALL REPEAT and the EAT

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who created the fruit of the soil.

How does the church remember our past enslavement? 

The church remembers enslavement to sin through repentance and confession.

Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7–8)

Leavening is symbol of sin, not as in the Passover bread, just as we should repent, cleaning out sin from our lives.

NOTE: At Palmdale Church, our celebration of the Lord’s Supper is the entire church service, beginning with Adoration of God's holiness (like the Passover blessing), Confession (bitter herb, remembering the former life), and Thanksgiving for Christ's sacrifice (formal celebration of the Lord’s Supper, celebrating our deliverance from the old life to the new life – our Exodus).

READ: The Story of the Passover (Exodus 12:1–30)

Note the following details: 

• 10th Plague 
• Lamb per family 
• Blood on the doorpost 
• Destroyer passes over the house (Passover event)

Jesus as the Passover Lamb

The Apostle Paul said, "Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

How is Jesus our Passover Lamb?

• Jesus is like the lamb who was slain
• Jesus is pure and spotless/sinless 
• The blood of Jesus covers over our sins 
• The blood of Jesus frees us from God's wrath 

Passover Lamb\Blood

You must have an unblemished animal...They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire...Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire. (Exodus 12:5–9)

This is about the Israelites remembering the Passover Event.

Seder (The Sacrifices)

• Roasted Lamb:  Represents the Passover Lamb.
• Cup: Wine/grape juice to be drank throughout the Seder meal. 

Remembering Jesus

• Jesus commanded his disciples to eat the Passover sacrifice to remember him, "Do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19)
• They also drank the cup: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:20)

EAT A PIECE OF LAMB AND SIP THE CUP

Unleavened Bread

Eat the meat...along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs...Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover. (Exodus 12:8–11)

Three Matzos

The matzo is symbolic of the Priests, Levites, and Israelites who were liberated from Egyptian bondage. They also commemorate the three measures of fine flour that Abraham told Sarah to bake into matzah when they were visited by the three angels. According to tradition, the angels' visit was on Passover. They also represent our Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you." (Luke 22:19)

“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again. (John 6:35)

For the death he died, he died to sin once and for all time. (Romans 6:10)

EAT A PIECE OF THE MATZO AND SIP THE CUP

Eating Together

Eat the meat...along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. (Exodus 12:8)

Symbolism: You can’t have atonement (bread, cup, remembrance) without bitter herbs (confession/repentance).

Close with your own prayer and the following benediction:

“May the LORD bless you and protect you; may the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD look with favor on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24–26)