"The Celebration Of The New Covenant”

In advance, Jesus had arranged a colt to be ready for His ride into Jerusalem on the first day of the week; and here we see that all His arrangements had been made long beforehand. (READ TEXT) The disciples wanted to know where they’d eat Passover, so Jesus sent them to Jerusalem saying to look for a man carrying a pitcher of water. They were to follow, and he’d lead them to a house with a guest room made ready for them to observe Passover. It was there the disciples were to make preparations for the Passover observance.

It was on this occasion that Jesus instituted one of the ordinances of the church - “The Lord’s Supper.” Today, as we observe this ordinance together, I want to consider what all was involved in the Passover and notice what changes Jesus made in it. Changes which Jesus has told us to observe in memory of what He has done for us.

1. The arrangements for the Passover - vs. 12-17

Passover commemorated Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Preparation took place Thursday before 6 PM, which, according to Jewish time, was the start of Friday. What did they have to get ready?

A. The lamb - The lamb was to be sacrificed at the temple and its blood dashed upon the altar by a priest. Its carcass was returned to the worshiper, who then roasted the entire lamb over an open fire.

B. Three loaves of unleavened bread.

C. A bowl of salt water.

D. A collection of bitter herbs - horse radish, chicory, endive, lettuce, and horehound.

E. Charosheth - a mixture of apples, dates, pomegranates and nuts, and cinnamon sticks.

F. Four cups of wine - The cups contained about a half a pint of wine, with one part wine being mixed with two parts of water, so it was a diluted mixture. The four cups, which were drunk at different parts of the meal, were to remind them of the four promises in Exodus 6:6-7:

1) “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

2) “I will rid you of their bondage.”

3) “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.”

4) "I will take you to me for a people, and I will be your God.”

This was what the disciples had to do to prepare for the observance of the Passover. It was at that feast that the One who would liberate the world from sin was to sit at His last meal with His disciples.

2. The observance of the Passover - vs. 18-26

Several centuries before Christ, a traditionalized Passover service emerged, called the Seder, from the Hebrew word meaning “order.” It prescribed the order of the Scripture readings, prayers, symbolic foods and songs. This is the order:

A. The first cup - The leader drinks the first cup and recites the Kiddush, a prayer of sanctification. Jesus, would have said the Kiddush: “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks” (Luke 22:17).

B. First hand washing - Everyone washed their hands, following strict ceremonial guidelines. They first held their hands with fingers pointing upward as water was poured over them. They would then rub each hand with the fist of the other. They would held their hands with the fingers pointing downward as water was poured over them. It’s here that Jesus “got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the

towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:4-5). He had come to be the suffering servant, who’d provide for their cleansing (Isaiah 53).

C. The dipping of the karpas (green vegetable) - Lettuce or parsley is dipped into the bowl of salt water, symbolizing tears shed in Egypt and the deliverance through the Red Sea. What is dipped is a reminder of hyssop used to smear door posts with the blood of the Passover lamb.

D. The breaking of bread - The three pieces of unleavened bread are on the table. The leader removes the middle one to break it in half. Half is put back and half is wrapped in a linen napkin and hidden away in the house while the children cover their eyes.

E. The four questions - The youngest asks: “On all other nights we eat either leavened or unleavened bread; why on this night only unleavened bread? On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs; why on this night only bitter herbs? On all other nights we need not dip our herbs even once; why on this night must we dip them twice? On all other nights we eat either sitting up or reclining; why on this night do we all recline?” Often they recline on the leader. John reclined on Jesus at their Passover: “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him” (John 13:23). John sat to the right of Jesus and was the youngest, so he asked the questions that night.