Four Departures Jesus made from the regular Passover at the Last Supper
CHCC: April 3, 2011
Mark 14:12-26
INTRODUCTION:
Can you think of a day in your life that changed everything?
I remember a day that changed my life forever. It was Sunday afternoon in late August, 1968. I was 18 and had graduated from high school. I was over at a friend’s house. My parents called me and asked me to come home. (Something they had never done before.) All the way home, I wondered if something was wrong. When I got home my parents were sitting in the living room on the couch. They asked me to sit down. This all seemed very weird. The first words out of my dad’s mouth were, “Son, you’re leaving home.”
I said, “Uh … am I in some kind of trouble?”
Dad smiled and said, “No, but you’re about to leave home. You said you want to go to Bible College … so we’ve decided to send you to Ozark Bible College.”
I said, “Okay. Cool! I’ll let my friends know.”
Dad said, “No, you don’t understand. Your clothes are in the dryer. When they’re dry, you’ll pack your car and head off to Missouri. School starts Tuesday and it’s 1,200 miles away. You’d better get on your way.”
About 90 minutes later I was on the road to Joplin.
Everything about my life changed from that day onward. That one day set up my career, my future (lovely) wife, where I would live my adult life … everything!
If we look in History, we can name some days that changed the world: Naturally, December 7, 1941 with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Assassination of President Kennedy, the day we landed on the moon, Nine-Eleven. All of these days were history-making days.
But the day that marked the death of Jesus Christ stands as the biggest history-changing day on planet Earth.
Today and for the next 3 Sundays we will focus on the events of Jesus final day and His brutal murder on a Roman cross. We’re going to walk with Jesus through those 24 earth-shattering hours … starting the evening of a night when Jesus would get no sleep.
This is the evening when Jesus and his disciples celebrated what we’ve come to call The Last Supper. That’s not what they called it that night. To Jesus disciples, this was one more Passover celebration … an event they had observed every year since they were children.
Without going into a lot of detail about the Passover let me just mention that the Passover had been celebrated for 1,500 years at that time … ever since the day God sent the final plague on Egypt so that Pharaoh would set the slaves free. That night the death angel passed-over Egypt and every firstborn child died … all except those protected by the blood of a sacrificed lamb that was posted on the door post of Jewish homes. Jews still observe Passover today, in remembrance of the day the Death Angel Passed Over each home that was covered by the blood of a sacrificial lamb.
When Jesus and his Disciples arrived at the upper room, they reclined around a low table which had been prepared for the Passover Seder. There would have been one or two large platters of food in the center of the table. The dinner guests back then didn’t have individual plates or utensils. They ate with their hands around a communal platter and dipped in a common bowl. And they also shared one cup that would be passed around the table.
• The Passover Table would be set with the Seder Plate containing:
• Karpas – a green vegetable (usually parsley) dipped in salt water near the beginning of the meal symbolizing spring and rebirth
• Haroset – a mixture of chopped apples, nuts, wine, and spices symbolizing the mortar the slaves had to make for the bricks in Egypt
• Maror – the bitter herbs (usually horseradish) to symbolize the bitterness of slavery
• Beitzah – roasted eggs to symbolize the festival of sacrifice
• Zeroa – a roasted bone, usually a shank bone to represent the roasted lamb
• Salt Water as a symbol of the tears of slavery
• Beside the Seder plate would be Matzot: three pieces of unleavened bread in a Matzah Cover with 3 compartments.
• Also on the table would be a wine skin containing kosher wine, and a Cup which would be passed around the table four different times
Jesus put on a special White Robe worn by the leader at Passover, and they started with hand washings and blessings, called Ur-hatz. During the Passover celebration that night, Jesus broke with tradition four times. The first break probably happened at this point.
1. Foot-washing
Normal protocol would be for a servant to wash the dust off their feet. But it became obvious that no servant had been provided. I have a theory that the Disciples were indulging in one of their favorite pastimes … who would be the greatest in Jesus’ Kingdom. I picture them sort of making it into a joke even though they were really serious about it. Jesus was tired of it. While the disciples were looking around at each other, waiting for someone-else to offer to get the foot washing basin, Jesus took off his special White Robe, put on a towel and started washing their feet.
This was unheard of! A Rabbi officiating at a Seder never took off his robe. But Jesus told his men, that this was the way it would be in His Kingdom. Anyone who wants to be great in the Kingdom of God must become a servant of all. I have a feeling this break from tradition set an entirely new tone for the rest of the Passover when Jesus put the White Robe back on and proceeded …
o With the Karpas … in which they each dipped a vegetable in salt water, representing the tears of slavery
o Next Jesus took the middle matzah and broke it in two. He set the larger piece aside in a linen napkin. This is called the afikomon. He then placed the smaller middle piece back in the middle compartment. This is called the bread of affliction.
o Now it was time for the heart of the Seder … the lengthiest part of Passover … called the Maggid. Jesus recited the story of the Exodus when God set His people free from slavery in Egypt. This part of the Passover contains 12 different activities including passing the 1st and the 2nd cups of wine.
2. One of you will betray me
At some point, Jesus made his second departure from Passover tradition when he announced to his men, “One of you will betray me.” This was very upsetting to everyone. The men knew that by coming to Jerusalem, Jesus had put his life in danger. They had already determined that they would fight for him if necessary. Some had declared they were ready to die for him. They were horrified to hear that one of them could betray him.
One after another asked him, “Lord, am I the one?” Jesus answered, “It is the one who dips bread in the bowl with me” --- and that man was Judas. Then Jesus told Judas, “Go quickly and do what you will do.” We don’t know exactly when this happened, but at that point, Judas Iscariot left the room and was not present for the rest of the Passover.
So why did Jesus make this departure from the normal Passover ritual? I believe it was because he wanted his men to know that Jesus already knew everything that was about to happen to himself this night and the next day. He already knew one of his men would betray him, another would deny him, and all of them would forsake him. Still, he wanted nothing more than to spend his last time before his suffering with these very men. He loved them all, no matter what they would soon do to him.
o After the Maggid, Jesus led them men in Rohtzah which is more hand washing and recitation of blessings.
o Then Jesus took the three pieces of bread in the Matzot. He recited two blessings and passed the top two loaves for all to eat. (Remember that the afikomon … the larger piece broken from the middle … was still set aside in the linen napkin.)
o After this came the Maror where they took the bitter herbs, dipped them in haroset, recited a blessing, and ate them.
o Next came the Koreikh – The third matzah was used to make a sandwich with bitter herbs … this was passed around for all to eat
o And finally it was time for Shulhan Oreikh – which means it was finally time to eat the festival meal. They start this meal by eating the eggs dipped in salt water, then continue a delicious meal of roast lamb, vegetables, and unleavened bread.
(We participated in a Passover celebration a few years ago … we didn’t know it would be 8:30 pm before we got to eat anything except bitter herbs!)
We read about Jesus’ Last Supper in all 4 Gospels, (Mt. 26, Mk.14, Lk 22) but John gives the most detail. In fact, John fills 5 chapters with the things Jesus said that evening (John 13-17.)
If you had been able to sit at that table that night, here are some of the things you would have heard Jesus say on his last night on earth:
• He commanded His followers to love each other (13:34)
• He comforted his disciples … even while telling them he was going away … He reiterated his oneness with the Father, and He promised to send them the Holy Spirit (ch. 14)
• He spoke about the vine and branches, and warned his men that the world would hate them because of him (ch. 15)
• He talked about the work of the Holy Spirit, and talked again about his upcoming death and resurrection (ch. 16)
• Then Jesus prayed for for his disciples; and He prayed for us --- that believers would be one just as He and his Father are One. (ch.17)
Now we focus on the part of the Passover Seder where Jesus broke with tradition for the third time. In fact, He gave an entirely new meaning to the Passover feast with the third and fourth departures.
3. The Bread
Remember the three pieces of Matza bread. Earlier in the Passover service, the middle piece was broken. The larger piece (the afikomon) was set aside. By this time, the other three pieces have all been eaten, but that one piece is still wrapped in a linen napkin.
All through the years, no one ever knew WHY this piece of bread was set aside and wrapped in a napkin to be brought back later. All the other parts of the ceremony had been assigned a meaning that related to the Exodus, but this part remained a mystery.
Jesus revealed the hidden meaning when … He took the afikomon and gave thanks, then he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Mark 14:22
For 1,500 years Jews didn’t know the meaning behind the afikomon … this bread that was broken, wrapped in linen, then brought back and eaten. Now we see that the 3 pieces of bread represent the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Son came to earth. He died and was buried, wrapped in linen. Then He rose again to give us life through His body.
When we take Communion together we are retelling the true meaning behind the afikomon --- the bread broken, buried, and brought back to be eaten at the end of the Passover meal. Jesus is our afikomon. His body was broken for us.
I also found out another interesting tidbit about the word "afikomon." I found out it is the only word in the Seder that is not Hebrew. This is a Greek word which some have concluded to mean "He came" although others assume it to refer to what is to come after the meal (dessert). Either way, it is odd indeed for a Hebrew ceremony to incorporate the use of a Greek word into the heart of a traditional ceremony. I believe that the meaning of Afikomon is tied to the fact that Messiah has already come. Jesus was holding the Afikomen when he said that this was his flesh, and that they were all to eat from it.
4. The Cup
Then Jesus took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. Mark 14:23-24
This was the third cup of the traditional Passover. Each cup is related to a statement of redemption found in Exodus 6:6-7.
o When passing the 1st cup the people recite – “I am the Lord, I will FREE you from the burdens of the Egyptians.”
o The 2nd cup - “I will DELIVER you from bondage.”
o The 3rd cup (after supper) – “I will REDEEM you with an outstretched arm.”
In a traditional Passover, the Jews drank this third cup, thinking of Jehovah REDEEMING them from slavery with outstretched arm. Now we know the full meaning of this 3rd cup: that Jesus stretched out his arms on the cross and redeemed us by his shed blood.
This third cup, the one after supper, represents the blood of the new covenant. Jesus is the final and eternal sacrifice for sin. No further sacrifice is needed. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is our Passover lamb.
CONCLUSION:
After Jesus and the disciples drank the third cup of Passover wine, Jesus made this surprising statement. He said, “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.” Mark 14:25
The Passover would normally end with a 4th Cup of Wine. With the 3rd cup, they recited “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.” With the 4th they concluded: “… and I will TAKE you to be my people.”
Jesus declared that He will drink that 4th cup with us one day --- when we drink it new together in the Kingdom of God. That will be the final completion of the full meaning of Passover … when God TAKES all His people to be with him forever.
This Passover that we call The Last Supper ended with that 3rd cup.
Verse 26 says, when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:26
We actually know the hymn they sang. Traditionally the Passover Feast ends with The Great Hallel – which is Psalm 136. The Psalm begins with these verses:
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
4 To him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
We’re going to end our service today singing one of our songs that is based on Psalm 136. Stand and pray with me:
Closing Song: “Forever”
