Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: The Lord's Table (Part 2 of 2)
From: <NU169273@NDSUVM1.BITNET>
Date: Monday, 27 Jul 1992 09:13:38 CDT
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computer Network

           The Lord's Table -- In the Light of the Passover
           ================================================


[This is Part 2.  Please read Part 1 first.]

                       Why additional Elements?
                       ------------------------
  A roasted egg and wine are new elements on the table.  The Passover
lamb, no longer present, is replaced by the shankbone of a lamb.  The
unleavened bread is still on the table, but arranged differently and
has taken on new meaning.
  The rabbis suggest that the roasted egg commemorates the sacrifice
that in Temple times was offered on each festival.  There is, however,
no justification for that identification.  Rather, in many heathen
religions the 'pasche' egg was used to symbolize resurrection -- life
from out of the dead.  From this heathen practice, the egg found its
way into the Easter holiday and onto the Jewish Passover table.  It
speaks clearly and uncompromisingly of the resurrected Passover lamb.

                          Drama Of The Matzo
                          ------------------
  Perhaps the most dramatic spectacle on the Jewish Passover table
involves the unleavened bread.  Three pieces of matzo are placed one
on top of the other, separated by special napkins.  The center, or
second piece of matzo is broken, wrapped and hidden away.  After
drinking the third glass of wine, called the 'cup of blessing,' the
children are sent out to locate the hidden piece of matzo.  When it is
found, a reward is given, there is much rejoicing, and everyone at the
table 'must eat' from the broken piece of matzo.  Jewish authorities
       ^^^^^^^^
are hard pressed to explain the significance of this drama.
  The broken piece of matzo is called the 'afikomen.'  Jewish
scholarship suggests, 'This word may be connected with a Greek term
having something to do with aftermeal entertainment or dessert.'
Factually, to rabbinic consternation, the three pieces of matzo speak
of the triune God -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The center piece
depicts the Messiah (Christ).  This piece of matzo is taken out from
between the other two pieces -- 'broken' because His body was
broken -- 'wrapped' because His body was wrapped in preparation for
the grave -- 'hidden' from view because He lay three days unseen in
the tomb.  The 'afikomen' is always brought forth after the third
glass of wine because He arose on the third day.  The broken piece of
matzo then takes the place of the Passover lamb, and everyone must
partake of it.  Inexplicably, 'afikomen' is the only Greek word in the
Seder ceremony.  It simply means -- 'I came' (second aorist of the
verb 'ikneomai').
  Interestingly enough, a great many traditions have evolved
concerning the 'afikomen,' almost all suggesting a supernatural
element.  Worthy of note is the fact that presently Moroccan Jews save
a piece of the 'afikomen' throughout the year.  When taking a sea
voyage, they carry it aboard ship, convinced that throwing a piece of
the 'afikomen' into a storm will still the waters.  It is not
difficult to see the source of such a tradition.  Jesus spoke and
stilled the waters on the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee.

                          Christ Protrayed In
                          -------------------
                          The Jewish Passover
                          -------------------
  'How,' it may be questioned, 'did so much which points to Christ
find its way into the Passover observance?'  The answer is really not
complex.  With the destruction of the Temple and the cessation of the
priesthood, it was no longer possible for Jews to observe the Passover
as they had for more than 1,400 years.  Not only was their Temple
destroyed and their priesthood temporarily terminated, but they were
scattered throughout the world.  Among these scattered Jews were some
who were Hebrew Christians; men and women who had seen in Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, their Messiah -- the One who alone fulfilled the Old
Testament messianic prophecy.

                      The Lord's Table Instituted
                      ---------------------------
  These early Hebrew Christians introduced New Testament truth into
the Jewish Passover.  The penetrating words of the Lord during the
last Passover could never be erased from their minds and hearts.

  "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and
   brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat:  this
   is my body."  (Matthew 26:26)

This is precisely what the Jews do with the 'afikomen.'  According to
the rabbis, that broken piece of matzo takes the place of the Passover
lamb, and must be eaten by everyone present.

  "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
   Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament,
   which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
   (Matthew 26:27-28)

  The wine on the Passover table was used as a symbol of His blood
soon to be shed.  It is for this reason that the rabbis unknowingly
insist there must be wine and this it must be red.  This was the New
Covenant, and convenants were always confirmed with blood.

  "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of
   the vine, until ... I drink it new with you in my Father's
   kingdom."  (Matthew 26:29)

  Four cups of wine are consumed during the Jewish Passover.  The
fourth cup is the 'cup of anticipation.'  Jesus was saying that He
would not drink it then (He had been rejected), but would drink it
when He comes back again to establish His kingdom at the end of the
Tribulation when He will be warmly received (Zechariah 12:10).

  "And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of
   Olives."  (Matthew 26:30)

  The hymn which the disciples sang, and Jews continue to sing at
Passover even to this day is the 'Hallel,' which is composed of
Psalms 113-118, with special emphasis placed on Psalm 118:22-24 where,
referring to Christ and Israel, the Psalmist says,

  "The stone [Christ] which the builders [Israel] refused is become
   the head of the corner."  (Psalm 118:22)

But perhaps even more amazingly, referring to His imminent
crucifixion, Jesus sang,

  "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be
   glad in it."  (Psalms 118:24)

  Israel celebrated the Passover, but she experiences no redemption.
She has on her Passover table the shankbone of a lamb, but no lamb.
For nineteen centuries the 'afikomen' has yearly cried out, 'I came.'
What greater irony and tragedy than this -- religious Jews continue to
await the coming of Him who already came.  The words of the Saviour
echo through the corridors of time to the twentieth century:

  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest
   them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
   children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
   wings, and ye would not!  Behold, your house is left unto you
   desolate.  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till
   ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
   (Matthew 23:37-39)

  It was from the Jewish Passover that Jesus instituted the Lord's
Table, and in the observance of the Table, the Passover finds its
perfect consummation.  The simplistic words of John the Baptist are
the most sublime ever uttered.  Referring to Jesus, he said,

  " ... Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world."
   (John 1:29)

Christ died once and for all -- the just for the unjust.  Men of
faith, both Jew and Gentile, find in Him alone the wellspring of
eternal life.


K. Paulson                  (Have you been washed in His BLOOD for)
Bible college student       (the forgiveness of all your sins?    )
1109 16th Street North #1
Fargo, ND  58102
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