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The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a Picture of Sanctification

20 Saturday Jul 2013

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Hag HaMatza – The Feast of Unleavened Bread

Today, Jews consider Pesach (Passover) as an eight day holiday (outside the Land of Israel). The last two days are Yomim Tovim – Festivals. These festivals are called Shevi’i shel Pesach (The Seventh Day of the Passover) and Acharon shel Pesach (the last day of the Passover)

After the destruction of the Second Temple (the temple rebuilt by Zerubbabel after the Babylonian captivity and expanded upon by King Herod), Jews were unable to continue with the sacrificial system and were not allowed to own land in the Diaspora. Judaism no longer could be practiced as biblical Judaism. For the last nineteen centuries Jews have been practicing rabbinical Judaism. Modern religious practice is based upon interpretation by the revered scholars. For example, since no atonement offering can be made upon the altar of the Temple, Jews offer up the praise of their lips (sacrifice of praise), and money given to the poor (zed dacha), studying the Law (Torah) and mitzvoth (good works.

A great rescue plan developed to save the Jewish nation and enable it to survive in the lands of exile until such time as God decided to bring it home. A new way of life was shaped, based on an entire legal-halachic system (rabbinic interpretation of the Torah), designed to bring the Jew into a framework of distinct behavior that would separate him or her from outside society by a kind of invisible wall. The Jew was to remember at all times that he or she was not a full part of his/her neighbors’ world; that the neighbors’ concept of God and God’s world was different from that of the Jews; and that the Jew was not at home in the neighbors’ land. On the contrary, the Jew had another land, which was never to be forgotten – the Jew must always remember the reality of Galut (living outside of the Promised Land.

It was at this point and for this reason that the rabbinic authorities, who became the architects of Jewish national existence, built this idea into Jewish life in such a way that it would be accepted and not forgotten by all Jews throughout the world.

  • Jews would face Jerusalem in prayer. 

In those prayers Jews would regularly remind themselves of their state of Galut (exile) and would pray to God to end the exile and to bring the exiles back home.

  • Traditions, both domestic and communal would be developed to confront the Jew with constant reminders of the unnatural situation. Glasses would be broken at weddings, walls would be left unplastered and songs would be sung – all to remind the Jew of the Land left behind. 
  • On each festival, ritual elements were added to remind the Jews of the Land and the Temple that had been lost – but would be theirs again. Rituals formerly observed at the site of the Temple in the previous era were now relocated and woven into home and community life around the world. 

All these acts connected the Jew in with Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel). Jews could live at all four corners of the earth, but ritually they lived in the land of Israel, tied in through the details of ritual to a calendar and a reality that existed in the land they called their home.

Jews celebrate Passover as an eight day festival outside of Israel in an effort to both keep the Law and remember the Promised Land. The notion is to observe the seventh day as a Sabbath as the Law of Moses directs and also enable Jews, living on the other side of the International Date Line, to celebrate on the same day as if they lived in Jerusalem.

The Bible commands that the Passover be celebrated as a one day observance followed by a seven-day festival known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The single day of Passover emphasizes that redemption is a once for all time event:

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; Hebrews 9:27-28a

“This is the covenant I will make with them after that time,says the LORD.I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 10:16-18

The Passover is a picture of the redemption of the believer. The Lamb of God is God’s provision for salvation. In a single night, after 400 years of bondage in Egypt, the LORD provided both a redeemer (Moses) and a covering of lamb’s blood (atonement) so that his chosen people would escape slavery and death of the first born. Fifty days later, God gave his people the Law written on tablets of stone. In the fullness of time, God provided Christ the Redeemer who offered up his atoning blood to free us from the bondage of sin. By the indwelling presence of the Holy spirit, God has written his law on our hearts and minds.

“Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning.” Deuteronomy 16:4“Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.”  Exodus 12:10

While the Passover typifies redemption, the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread is a type or picture of a life in which sin has been removed (the process of sanctification of the believer).

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied.”

And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.”

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”  Mark 8:14-21

Herod was the son of the King of Judea, Herod the Great, who tried to kill the infant Jesus. Herod was the Tetrarch of the Galilee who arrested and beheaded John the Baptist. His sins the yeast of Herod) were a hunger for power, pursuit of worldly riches and fleshly lusts.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Luke 18:9-14

The leaven of the Pharisees was pride, hypocrisy and legalism.

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  Matthew 16:8-12

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?

Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising–have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” Mark 12:18-27

The Sadducees denied the spiritual realm and the resurrection. The Sadducees were the aristocrats – persons of wealth and rank. They only affirmed what was written in the Law of Moses. Their leaven was they did not know the Scriptures or the power of God. They are much like the “rich and famous” of today. They, like modern day evolutionists, deny the spirit realm, the truth of the Bible and the power of God as Creator and Lord. 

 

Passover Portraits of the Messiah

20 Saturday Jul 2013

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The commanded regulations as well as the Hebrew traditions associated with the Passover are beautiful and insightful prophetic pictures of Messiah Yeshua – Jesus Christ.

BEDIKAT CHAMETZ
 “Search for Leaven”

 “Chametz” is the Hebrew word for leavened grain products. Leaven is an agent, such as yeast, that causes batter or dough to rise, especially by fermentation. It is written in the Torah (the “Five Books of Moses” or Pentateuch) that during the week of Passover (the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread coincides with the day of Passover) that the Israelites should –

Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders.   Exodus 13:7

The “Search for Leaven” which takes place the night before the Passover Seder contains some beautiful traditions. After bread and other leavened products are removed from the family’s food cabinets and pantry, a candle is lit and there is a search for any leftover crumbs. The crumbs are whisked by a feather into a wooden spoon and collected into a linen napkin. The leaven is then burned.

Leaven is a symbol of pride (self being puffed up). The lit candle is a picture of the Word of God which is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105). The feather symbolizes the Holy Spirit who came upon Jesus as a dove (John 1:32). The wooden spoon symbolizes the cross and the crucifixion of Jesus. The linen is a picture of the burial shroud of Jesus. The collected leaven that is burned is a picture of the punishment for sin – eternal hell fire.

The tradition of the Search for Leaven when viewed with spiritual insight and understanding is a picture of:

  • The Word of God revealing sin in our lives
  • The ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring us to Jesus
  • The finished work of Jesus on the cross

 THE SEDER PLATE

All of Israel was commanded to eat the Passover lamb along with matzos (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs:  They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  Numbers 9:11b

Since the destruction of the Second Temple, there have been a number of items that have been added to the commanded elements of lamb (“Zeroa” or lamb shankbone), unleavened bread (“Matzos”) and bitter herbs (“Maror”) that now comprise the traditional Seder plate:

The “Baytzah” is a hard boiled egg which is placed on the plate to symbolize the regular festival temple sacrifice.

“Charoset” is a mixture of apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon or other spices to represent the mortar that the Hebrews used when they were slaves in Egypt.

 “Chazeret” meaning a bitter vegetable (lettuce or celery) is a reminder of the bitterness of the lives of the Hebrews in bondage.

“Karpas” is a vegetable, parsley or potato, which is dipped in salt water to represent tears.

Although there have been additions, the centerpiece of the Seder plate remains the lamb shankbone. The commandments in regards to the preparation of the Pesach (Pascal lamb) are very specific:

That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire-head, legs and inner parts.  Exodus 12:8-9

 “It must be eaten in one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.”  Exodus 12:46

The lamb was to be roasted and not eaten raw or boiled. None of the bones of the sacrificed Passover lamb were to be broken.

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.  John 19:31-34

The thigh bones of the two men who were crucified along with Jesus were broken. This was done in order to hasten their death. Unable to push up, they would soon die of suffocation. Jesus, having already died, was pierced in his side.

John the Baptist seeing Jesus approaching proclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b). Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed and his bones were not broken, instead He had been pierced. In his death, Jesus fulfilled the messianic prophecies of Psalm 34:20 and Zechariah 12:10.

These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”  John 19:36-37

The Zeroa (an unbroken lamb shankbone), is a portrait of Jesus, the sacrificed Lamb of God.

THE AFIKOMAN
The Middle Matzah

Orthodox Jews claim that the term afikoman means “dessert” in Aramaic. Aramaic was the common spoken language of the Jews after their return from the Babylonian captivity. Messianic Jews (those who believe that Yeshua [Jesus] is the Messiah [the Christ]), and Christians who have studied Greek, say that the term afikoman means “He came.”  Whatever the derivation of the term, the afikoman is another “Passover Portrait of the Messiah.”

At the beginning of the Seder, there are three pieces of matzah that are presented in napkins or in a “Matzah Tosh” (matzah bag). The middle piece of matzah is broken. The largest piece is wrapped in a linen napkin and hidden. The children have an opportunity to search for the afikoman. At the end of the Seder, the person leading the service will offer a reward to the child who finds it. For the unsaved Jew, the hunt for the afikoman serves to keep the children involved and awake during the long service. But, if you have the spiritual eyes to see, there is a much more important significance to the hunt for the middle matzah.

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.  John 6:33-35

Not only is Yeshua (Jesus) the perfect lamb without blemish, He is also the unleavened (sinless) bread who came down from heaven. The three matzos are a picture of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. The second person of the Godhead is represented by the middle matzah (afikoman). The ritual of breaking the middle piece of unleavened bread and placing it into a linen napkin is symbolic of the body of Messiah being broken and wrapped in a linen shroud.

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19

 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.  Luke 23:50-53

Jesus instituted the New Covenant in His own blood at the Passover. When He took bread and broke it, it was unleavened bread. In the much the same way that the other elements of the Passover symbolized historical events related to the Exodus, the breaking of the unleavened bread symbolized the immediate future breaking of His body. The ceremony of hiding a broken piece of matzah in a linen napkin and then recovering it at the end of the meal is a picture of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.