Tag Archives: Seder

Afikomen: He Came

Shalom dear friends!

This last of eight Passover devotionals falls one day after the end of Passover. For eight days we abstained from leaven and meditated on the the importance of removing sin from our lives; the atonement made for us by Jesus, our perfect Passover Lamb; the significance of “one house” of Jews and Gentiles united spiritually in one Savior; the birth of Israel through the Exodus and new life we have in Jesus; the bitterness of suffering; and the sweetness of God’s grace.

We hope you have been blessed by these articles as much as we have been, and have a fuller understanding of the incredible symbolism that God gave us when He commanded the celebration of this ancient holiday.

I am especially excited to share this final devotional with you by none other than my dad, Ernie Richards.

Next year in Jerusalem!

Another Pesach Seder and Elijah has not come.

The cup remains on the table, untouched. The child has been to the door and returned with no sighting to report. The seder has ended and Elijah has not appeared to herald the coming of One infinitely greater: Mashiach ben David.

Yet something truly wonderful HAS taken place in our very midst. In the Yachatz, the middle matzoh was removed from its abode in the unity bag and lifted up for us to behold.

It is unleavened, of course, as our Lord Jesus was pure, without the slightest trace of the leaven of sin. It bears the stripes of the oven, as our Lord bore the stripes of the whip that lacerated His back. It is pierced, as He was so cruelly pierced by the nails mercilessly driven through ankle and wrist.

The middle matzoh is broken for us, even as our Savior’s body was broken on that Roman cross. Half is returned to its former place.

The other half immediately commands our attention. It is wrapped in linen and hidden away, out of our sight, even as the Son’s body was shrouded in linen cloths and hidden away in a cold earthen tomb.

Later we rejoiced as the broken piece of unleavened bread appeared again, in plain sight of all. The shroud was removed, and we all gladly partook of the middle matzoh, sang our Hallel, and brought our Passover Seder to its conclusion.

Hametz, Kiddush, Urehatz, Zerah. We so enjoy the many Hebrew words we use each Pesach; they add to the authenticity as we celebrate our Jewish heritage!

All the more vividly stands out one uncommon word . . . for it is not Hebrew. The name given to our celebrated middle matzoh IS GREEK – the one and only Greek word in the entire haggadah:

Afikomen.

It means, “He came.”

Yes, another Pesach has come and gone. We sang Dayenu with zest, and Eliahu Ha-Navi with a twinge of melancholy. Elijah’s cup sits in mute, significant stillness – untouched. He has not come.

But Jesus, our Messiah and Lord, has.

And our afikomen eloquently proclaims that wonderful truth at every Seder table in every Jewish home around the world, each and every year.

“It is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners . . .” I Timothy 1:15

Ernie Richards, with his wife, Karen, have served as missionaries with New Tribes Mission for 27 years. Ernie’s passion for studying and teaching the Scripture in it’s true context and Karen’s Jewish heritage are a perfect blend, enriching their ministry at New Tribes Bible Institute, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, of teaching, training and mentoring students to reach unreached tribal groups around the world with the Gospel.

On the Seder Plate: Charoset

A devotional for Passover by Ryan Karp

Most people can’t even say the word. You have to use the back of your throat and the result is a little bit of spit coming out. And no, there is no English translation for it.

The way my Gentile wife described charoset when she first saw it was that it was sort of like the filling for an apple pie. However you relate to the mixture of apples, honey, nuts, juice, and cinnamon, it is DELICIOUS! It is one of my favorite parts of Passover. Every Jewish person knows when it is coming because it follows the awfully bitter horseradish. But the peculiar part is that it is not one of the three parts of the Passover as mandated by the book of Exodus and reiterated by Rabbi Gamaliel in rabbinic literature. So why do we have it?

You can tell by the ingredients that the mixture, which is described as a reminder of the mortar that the Hebrew slaves used, is incredibly sweet.

“The Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.”

Exodus 1:13-14

And more than the mortar explanation, I like the concept of what the sweetness brings to the Passover meal. As a family sits around the Passover dinner table, they partake of parsley and salt water, dry matzah and horseradish. These are not exactly the most enjoyable treats. But while all of these elements remind us of the trials that we suffered in Egypt as slaves, there are very few occasions within the order of the service that remind us that God did indeed deliver us from slavery.

Yet when we take the matzah with the horseradish and then cover it with the sweet charoset so that the bitterness of the horseradish is masked, I love that picture. Yes we suffered, but let’s not forget that all of those ill feelings or thoughts of our tribulations pale in comparison of the sweetness of God’s deliverance. That is why we don’t taste the bitterness, only the sweetness.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Romans 8:18

“For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting. And His faithfulness to all generations.”

Psalm 100:5

Ryan Karp grew up in suburban Maryland with a Jewish father and Gentile mother. His family celebrated the occasional Jewish holidays but other than that, there was no real connection to the Jewish religion except the occasional synagogue visit. When Ryan was eight, his father accepted Jesus as his Messiah after experiencing a Passover presentation by a Chosen People Ministries missionary. After seeing how the Jewish celebration of Passover foreshadows Jesus’ death and resurrection, his father came to faith and the family changed forever.

Ryan came to faith when he was ten years old. While on a tour to Israel with a group of young Jewish people, he shared that he believed that Jesus is the Messiah; the organization, with whom Ryan had traveled to Israel, made him leave the trip. His heart broke for the people on the tour. It was at this time that the Lord placed in him a desire to learn more about the scriptures and to share his faith with his Jewish people.

Ryan is now serving with Chosen People Ministries as Chicago Branch & Ministries Director and National Director of Young Adult Mobilization & Outreach. He enjoys speaking in churches about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and has a deep and sincere desire to share the Gospel with the Jewish people and to share with churches how to do the same.

On the Seder Plate: Maror

A devotional for Pesach by Mara Frisch.

Ever since I was a little kid, I celebrated Passover with my family. I have rich memories of searching for the Afikomen (matzah) with my cousins, singing songs like “Let My People Go” and “Dayenu,” and participating in the traditional Seder meal. The story of Passover has always resonated with me. Each year, we retell the story of our ancestors, who were once slaves in Egypt. God saw their suffering and heard their cries and had compassion on them. Through a dramatic series of events and divine intervention, He delivered them from slavery. As Jewish people, we are implored each year not to simply listen to the retelling as bystanders but to identify with our ancestors as if we were reliving the story. We proclaim, “We were once slaves, and now we are free.” Each year, I consider the awe of this truth.

As a Messianic Jewish believer, I love the mediating on the spiritual truths that are evident throughout the Exodus story. I also recognize that while the Seder meal tells the story of the Israelite’s suffering and deliverance, it also tells the story of Yeshua’s (Jesus) suffering and resurrection. By this truth, we can truly proclaim, “We were once slaves, and now we are free.”

To further explain this, I’ve chosen to take one of the symbols of the Seder meal and discuss its significance. The bitter herbs are one of the most infamous aspects of the Seder meal. We eat the bitter herbs to remind ourselves of the bitter suffering our ancestors endured while they were slaves in Egypt. I always hated this part of the Seder meal because my name in Mara, and in Hebrew, my name means bitter. The Hebrew word for bitter herbs is Maror, with the same root letters as Mara. During this part of the Seder, I’m always reminded of the meaning of my name.

Yet, immediately after eating the bitter herbs on their own, it’s tradition to create a “Hillel sandwich” and put a touch of charoset, a sweet mixture of apples, nuts, honey, and sweet spices, on the matzah along with the bitter herbs. This touch of sweetness is meant to remind us that even in the midst of harsh suffering, there is the promise of redemption.

We see many examples in the Bible of G-d bringing sweetness out of bitterness. In Exodus 15:22, G-d turned the bitter waters sweet so the Israelites could drink from them and be refreshed. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph explains to his brothers that what they intended for evil, G-d used for good. In other words, G-d used the bitterness of Joseph’s situation to bring forth good for the entire land of Egypt and Israel. In Romans 8:28, we are told, “And we know that in all things G-d works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Though my name means Mara, I have experienced enormous blessings that have come out of some of the most bitter moments of my life. Even when I can’t see the blessings, I cling to the promise in Romans and the examples from Scripture where I see that G-d is working even the worst things together for good. It doesn’t mean that the suffering we experience isn’t real or difficult; rather, we are reminded that G-d can and does bring sweetness out of our sorrows. I encourage you during this Passover season to trust G-d with the bitter circumstances of your own life and look for traces of the sweetness that He is already bringing about through it.

Mara Frisch is the full-time Ministries Director of the Young Messianic Jewish Alliance (YMJA). She was raised in a Reform Jewish family in suburban Chicago, IL. At 18, she made a decision to put her faith in Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, which dramatically changed the course of her life. Mara received her bachelor’s degree from Miami University of Ohio, where she double majored in psychology and speech communications. She received her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from University of Cincinnati. Mara is devoted to helping teens grow in their faith and has had the privilege of serving in various roles in Messianic youth ministry for the past 12 years. In addition to serving young people, Mara loves teaching figure skating, flying on trapezes, and spending time with her friends and family in Chicago, IL.

Zeroa: One Lamb for the Family

A devotional for Pesach by Rabbi Glenn Harris.

Rabban Gamliel was accustomed to say, “Anyone who has not said these three things on Pesach has not fulfilled his obligation, and these are them:

the Pesach sacrifice, matza and maror.”

(From the Passover Haggadah)

Passover is a holiday beautifully rich in symbolism, and according to the esteemed rabbi Gamaliel, the first priority is to speak of the ‘Pesach sacrifice’ – meaning, the lamb. Thus, one of the most significant symbolic items on the Seder table is a lamb shank bone [in Hebrew Zeroa].

God’s instructions were very clear to Israel: the lamb was to be a one year-old male, without any blemish or defect (Exodus 12:5). That lamb was to be brought into the home on the 10th of Nisan – four days before Passover (12:3). On the evening of the 14^th of Nisan, the lamb was to be slaughtered, its blood drained into a bowl, and some of the blood of that lamb was to be applied, using hyssop, to the lintel of the doorway and to the two side posts. The lamb was to be roasted and eaten, none of it was to remain until morning, but any leftovers were to be burned. Finally, the commands were given forbidding that any of the lamb’s bones be broken, that it be eaten in one house, and that no meat be taken outside (12:46).

The four days of having the lamb in the home accomplished several things. First of all, it would almost become part of the family (especially to the children). So there is the aspect of identification. The lamb was identified with Israel (versus Egypt), and with the family. Secondly, those four days of observation gave the family more than ample opportunity to examine the quality of the lamb, and if there was any sort of spot or imperfection discovered, the family would be afforded time to locate a flawless lamb in order to comply with God’s command.

We can easily understand why the directive was given that none of the meat be taken outside the house when we remember that that first Passover meal took place the evening of the last and most terrifying of the Ten Plagues – the death of all Egypt’s firstborn. Only those inside a home that had the blood of a flawless, year-old male lamb on the doorposts would be spared the death of their firstborn. And so it made sense that no one was to venture outside the house during that meal.

Furthermore, since that lamb foreshadowed Messiah Yeshua, who Himself died on Passover, all its meat must remain in the house, in other words, identified with Israel. In a sense, taking any of that meat outside the house would be to identify it with Egypt. Salvation was to be found only in the houses belonging to Israel. Yeshua said, “I was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” and again, “Salvation is of the Jews.”

But why the command that no bones of that lamb be broken? For the most part, the rabbis seem to have left that one alone. The main theory is that, unlike people in desperate situations, who might break an animal’s bones while eating out of desperation, God wanted Israel to carry themselves with dignity. There may be some merit to that argument, but to be honest, I find it wanting.

Could it be the rabbis have been unwilling to consider the much more obvious implication? Namely, that this was a foreshadowing of the Suffering Messiah, Yeshua, who would fulfill the type of the Passover Lamb, and in whose death no bones were broken.

During the Roman period, at the time of a crucifixion, if it became necessary to hasten the death, Roman soldiers would break the legs of the condemned to prevent them from being able to push themselves up to get a breath, and suffocation would quickly ensue. To accommodate the Chief Priests of the Jewish people, who needed to attend to Passover, that was what was done to the criminals crucified on either side of Yeshua. And they intended to break His legs, too. But when they came to Him, He was already dead. So they didn’t break his legs, and Yeshua’s beloved disciple, John, who witnessed that scene, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit made the connection between this Passover command to not break any bones of the lamb, and put it together with Psalm 34:20 and wrote, “These things happened so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of His bones will be broken’”.

But concerning the command: It must be eaten inside one house…, it seems to me that this was a hint of the great mystery that lay ahead: that God was going to bring Jews and Gentiles together in one Great Kehilah, one Body, through the Messiah. Rabbi Paul, a student of Gamaliel, wrote in Ephesians 2. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier… and he went on to write, His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace. We who love Yeshua, whether Jew or Gentile, are in one House – one family in Messiah, and He is the one Lamb for the whole family of God. It works out this way:

Nobody (Jew or Gentile)

who remains outside the house experiences redemption

on the other hand…

Everybody (Jew or Gentile)

who remains inside the house experiences redemption

Scripture tells us that Israel left Egypt as “a mixed multitude”. Presumably many Egyptians figured it out: after nine terrible plagues, each one worse than the last, and each one a humiliation to one or another of the Egyptian deities, it became obvious that there was something wrong with the gods they had been worshiping. The God of the Hebrews clearly was in control.

Perhaps many Egyptian families, seeing their Jewish neighbors applying lamb’s blood to their doorposts, and upon learning why, and what was to come, pleaded with them to be allowed to bring their own families into those homes. Their first-born would be saved if they came under the covering of an Israeli home that night.

One lamb for the household.

Yeshua said, “I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one Shepherd” (John 10:14-16).

Glenn Harris was born and raised in a traditional Jewish family in Los Angeles, California. After several fruitless years searching through New Age religions for answers to the big questions of life, Glenn became a believer in Jesus in March of 1981. This happened through the invitation of a co-worker to come to a church presentation to hear the Gospel. Glenn served for ten and a half years with Jews for Jesus and for the past eighteen years has been the Associate Rabbi and Worship Leader at Congregation Shema Yisrael in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan – a community of both Jews and Gentiles who acknowledge Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the World.

Glenn holds his Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Literature from Northeastern Bible College (now Kings College, NY) and Master of Divinity from Moody Theological Seminary – Michigan. He and his wife Alexandra have three children and live in Birmingham, MI. Glenn is a respected Bible teacher, occasional talk-radio host, an outspoken pro-life advocate, cancer survivor, musician and avid motorcyclist. 248-885-7101 | [email protected]

On the Seder Plate: Beitzah

A devotional by Lea Dickinson.

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During the Passover Seder we eat many symbolic foods. Passover is rich in symbolism. One such item that we partake in is the egg, or in Hebrew, beitzah. The egg represents all the lambs that were sacrificed back at the temple in Jerusalem.

One interpretation that I recently read, by Rabbi Yossy Goldman, refers to the egg being a symbol of the beginning of life. Like the egg, Passover represents the beginning of the Jewish people’s freedom from Egypt. Life has stages and so too, does an egg. The egg does not just exist, it has a beginning. The egg first starts out inside of the hen, then the egg is laid and eventually with care, time and warmth, it hatches into a baby chick. When the Jewish people left Egypt, they were just like that egg. They were coming out of 400 years of enslavement and then they were freed from the chains of slavery, but they were not quite born anew. They no longer were under the jurisdiction of the Egyptians. They were like children in need of guidance. God, knowing what the Jewish people needed, eventually brought the Israelites to Mount Sinai where he gave them the Torah. They now had a new life with Godly rules that they were to follow.

From a Messianic standpoint, we know that life comes through Yeshua the Messiah, who is our sacrificial Passover lamb. He was and he is our final sacrifice and he is all that we need. Jesus has given us freedom from the bondage of sin and death and the power of darkness. He is our light in a dark world. We can trust that he will meet our needs and will provide for us, much like how he provided for the Jewish people 5,000 years ago.

Now, during the Passover meal, we dip the egg into salt water and we eat it. This reminds us of the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. and the tears shed because of how sad we are that we can no longer sacrifice bulls, goats and lambs at the temple. So, in another sense, the egg represents mourning because no longer would the sins of the Jewish people be wiped clean, but we know that in Yeshua, we have been made clean once again, and no longer need the sacrifices of animals to atone for our sins! This Passover, let’s be reminded, that we are made new in Yeshua the Messiah. Please pray with me, that my Jewish people would come to this beautiful revelation and that their lives would be made new in Christ.

Lea Dickinson has a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, with a minor in Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies from San Fransisco State University. She and her husband, Mikael, are Jewish believers in Jesus and are passionate about reaching fellow Jewish people with the truth of Jesus the Jewish Messiah. She currently serves as the Evangelistic Coordinator at Shema Yisrael Messianic Congregation in Michigan.

Easter and Passover: Is There a Connection?

Passover was instituted by God in Exodus 12. The Israelites were commanded to choose an unblemished lamb on the 10th of the month of Nisan. They had to watch the lamb until the 14th to ensure no harm came to it. It had to be a pure lamb. When the 14th arrived, the Israelites were to slaughter the lamb. Upon killing it, the Israelites were to take the blood and apply it to the doorposts and lintels of their homes. This act of faith, the application of the lamb’s blood, ensured that God’s judgment would “pass over” any Israelite home. The firstborn males, both people and beasts, would be spared.

Around 1500 years after the Passover event, Jesus arrived on the scene. The divinely ordained parallels between the Messiah and the Passover event are fascinating. Knowledge of the Passover story brings appreciation for Messiah’s story. For example, did you know that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan? Of course, this is the same date that the unblemished lamb had to be chosen by the Israelites in Egypt. Just as the Passover lamb was slain on the 14th of Nisan, so Jesus was slain on the 14th of Nisan. Just as the Passover lamb in Egypt could not have any broken bones, so Jesus did not have any broken bones. None of this is a coincidence.

Aside from dates, there are other ways the Easter event is connected to the Passover event. One way in which the New Testament authors teach is through their use of Passover imagery. For example, in John 1:29 we read about Jesus’ appearance to John the Baptist. John sees Jesus coming towards him and says, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John’s readers were familiar with the Passover. They would have understood the divine weight that John’s words carried.

Another reference to Passover is found in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. Paul admonishes the Corinthians that their “boasting is not good.” He uses leaven as an illustration for their sin. Leaven is like yeast and Israelites were commanded by God to remove all leaven from their home for Passover. One could not keep or eat leaven. Paul used this concept from Passover to illustrate the importance of removing sin.

Just as Israelites in ancient Egypt had to apply the blood of the unblemished lamb to the doorpost and lintels of their homes, so people today must apply the blood of the unblemished Lamb to the doorposts and lintels of their hearts. If a Hebrew slave chose not to listen to Moses’ instructions about applying the blood to their doorposts, they would have suffered the consequences of losing the firstborn. So today, if someone chooses not to apply the blood of the unblemished Lamb, Jesus the Messiah, they will suffer the judgment of God for their sins, namely death and separation from God for eternity. The blood of the lamb was God’s way of escaping judgment back in Egypt. Not much has changed. The blood of the Lamb is still God’s way of escaping judgment. Have you applied the blood of the Lamb, Jesus the Messiah, for the forgiveness of your sins?

Levi H., and his wife Stephanie, live in Chicago where they work as Field Ministry Directors with Life in Messiah and he studies at Moody Theological Seminary. As Gentile followers of our Jewish Messiah, they are passionate about sharing the good news of Yeshua with unbelieving Israel and educating the Church about the rich Jewish foundation of our faith.

My Passover Identity

My favorite holiday is Passover, and no other holiday has shaped me, or continues to do so, more than this one.

Passover first started molding me like a gefilte fish patty (Google it) while sitting around the dining room table in my grandparents home in Skokie, Illinois. I would arrive with my mother and we would join other family members in what is known as the Seder—an interactive ceremony that leverages our taste buds to engage our minds (and hopefully our hearts) with the incredible story of the Israelite exodus 3500 years ago from the bondage and suffering of slavery in Mitzrayim (Egypt). To help us reflect upon our ancestor’s story of deliverance at the hand of a Mighty God, my grandfather led us in reading through a story guide called the hagaddah (we used a free one published by Maxwell House until we eventually graduated to a more sophisticated one with pictures in it).

It was an epic story of bondage and redemption orchestrated by God that was accompanied by an epic meal with beef brisket and matzah ball soup that was orchestrated by my grandmother.

The Passover holiday took on a whole different level of epic in my life when I came to know Jesus as my Messiah and discovered that he also looked forward to Passover. Jesus said to his disciples, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer (Luke 22:15). Although I doubt it was because of the dinner menu.

In the New Testament, most bible translations take the liberty to subtitle the passage that Jesus and disciples shared the Passover together as The Last Supper. While it was certainly the last meal they would share together before his crucifixion, it was far more than that. It was an appointment with God, and this particular evening His Son was about to leverage the table to point to the suffering that he would go through to deliver depraved sinners like you and me.

The most important elements on the table were the unleavened bread and the cup of wine. The bread was known by the name God had given it, the Bread of Affliction, and it is this bread that Jesus took, recited the HaMotzi blessing, broke, and said—This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. The name of the cup that followed the meal is believed to have been known as the Cup of Redemption, which Jesus took, recited the Kiddush blessing, and said—This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you (Luke20:20).

Jesus…afflicted and poured out for me. Why? Because I was a slave to sin and that sin separated me from living the life God had intended for me.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we all have our Mitzrayims that we’re enslaved to. We all have our “Egypts.” What’s yours? Greed? Anger? Jealousy? Bitterness? The inability to control yourself? God sent his Son—The Lamb of God—to pay the ransom to set us free from the penalty and the enslavement that our “Egypt’s” bring.

That is the story of Jesus’ Passover table that his followers are commanded to remember.

But there is more.

The other message Jesus taught at the table that evening is that he is equally as interested in enslaving and molding us into his way of life. He asked a very good question of his disciples—Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? (Luke 22:27).

If your server at a restaurant ever asks you this question, be careful how you answer.

Jesus’ table is not just about remembering the freedom from the eternal consequences that our sin unleashes in our world, but it is an invitation to enter into the life of suffering that Jesus lived through service and sacrifice for others.

This is the story of the Passover table that we must graduate to. Jesus did not just provide a ticket to ride to the other side of Glory, but he invites us into suffering daily with him in his ongoing work of delivering our world from the bondage of sin that entangles and destroys.

Jesus said at the Passover table…You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom (Luke 22:29-30).

Every time we choose to serve and love others, we eat and drink at that table with him. When we choose to be generous, and kind, and forgiving, and gracious, we dine at his table. When we admit that we were wrong, or choose not to blast someone’s character in a social media post, or give someone a second chance, or sit at a table with other sinners like us, we feast at his table.

This is the Passover table that I’m learning to feast at.

Justin Kron, National Ministries Representative and eXperience Israel Program Director with Chosen People Ministries, became a follower of Jesus at a young age and grew up with one foot in the Jewish world and one foot in the Christian world, and has subsequently developed a passion to acquaint Christians with the Jewish roots and heritage of the Christian faith, and to become better equipped and engaged in living an authentic faith among their Jewish friends and neighbors.

Cleansing our Homes & Lives of Leaven

In five days time begins one of the most celebrated festivals of Judaism; that is, Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Easter has come and gone, and perhaps you had the joy of attending a Passover presentation at church, but according to Scripture, the dates of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection coincide with the days of Passover, which on the Jewish calendar falls next weekend. Passover is one of my favorite holidays because the biblical Jewish traditions surrounding it provide so much rich symbolism through which we can learn a great deal about the character of God, how He has chosen to relate to mankind and His incredible plan to redeem us by sending a Savior or Messiah to make the necessary payment for our sin.

As I clean my home of chametz, or leaven, and prepare for Passover to begin, I embrace the tangible reminder to meditate on all that God has done for me and examine my life and heart for areas of sin that also need to be cleansed, as God continues to sanctify me and make my life a clearer reflection of Himself.

Whether you are Jewish or not, I invite you to join me in physically and spiritually removing leaven from your life this Passover. To help us intentionally meditate on the spiritual truths symbolized in Passover, I’ve asked eight respected friends to write a devotional for each day of unleavened bread. Reading them has already blessed my socks off and I’m confident you will enjoy them too! This first wonderful devotional by our coworker, Stephen Arnold, explains the significance of cleansing the home of leaven.

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“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” Exodus 12:15 (ESV)

“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” I Corinthians 5:6-8 (ESV)

The story of Passover is the story of the exodus of the Jewish people out of Egypt. When the Jewish people left Egypt, it says that they left in such haste that their dough didn’t have time to be leavened (Ex. 12:39). Once this unleavened dough was cooked, the result was matzah, which is essentially a large cracker.

While this is the origin of eating matzah on Passover, there is a much deeper significance to why God commanded that no leaven be eaten during Passover. This is because leaven represents sin. The seriousness of this representation is displayed in the punishment for eating leaven during Passover: expulsion from Israel (Ex. 12:15). The person who eats leaven during Passover is essentially saying that he is disregarding the covenant that God has made with His people, and this rebellion has repercussions.

This is why Orthodox Jews go to great lengths to cleanse their homes of leaven. Every corner of their home is cleaned from top to bottom. Even special dishes are used, which are only used during Passover and have never touched leaven. Nothing is left unclean or uninspected. Every book they own is shaken out to ensure that if someone was eating a cookie while reading, no single crumb containing leaven could be found contaminating their home.

This is the point: sin is what separates us from God (Is. 59:2, Rom. 6:23). If sin once completely separated us from God and we have been forgiven through the blood of the Lamb, how can we allow it to continue in our lives once we are cleansed? The act of cleaning out one’s home of symbolic sin should be a huge reminder to clean all sin out of our lives. It may seem strange that some Jewish people go to such extremes to cleanse their homes of leaven, but have we gone to such extremes to cleanse the most spiritually toxic thing from our lives? Have we even taken the time to examine the hidden corners of our lives so we can clean out the filth and be brought closer to our Savior? As Passover is a time of remembering Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection, may this season be a time of introspection and removal of sin so we can partake of the body and blood of our Messiah in a worthy manner (I Cor. 11:27-32).

Stephen Arnold is a Jewish believer in Jesus and a full time missionary with Chosen People Ministries. He currently serves in Argentina, loving, serving and evangelizing to Israeli backpackers. In the future, we will partner with him to open a new outreach to Israelis in Brazil!

Kerstetter Chronicles: March & April

“Ilu natan, natan lanu. Natan lanu et ha Shabbat. Natan lanu et ha Shabbat. Dai-a-nu. Dai-dai-anu. Dai-dai-anu. Dai-dai-anu. Dai-anu! Dai-anu!”

Grins broke across each face around the table as the familiar Hebrew words, sung out in unison, filled the room and affirmed in our hearts the eternal truth, “It really would have been enough.” If God had brought us out of slavery in Egypt and had not split the sea for us; If He had only split the sea for us, but had not brought us through on dry ground; If He had only brought us through on dry ground, but had not provided us manna in the desert for forty years; If He had only fed us with manna, but had not given us the Sabbath. It would have been enough! But God has done so much more for us.

“Dai-anu!” the song finished, and the voices seemed to fade into the memory of songs sung in Passovers gone by. As the head of the house began to explain each element of the Passover service, I thought to myself, “There must be thousands of Jewish people across the world singing this song tonight and praising God for His miraculous provision for Israel. God has done so much for us!” And I ached inside as I thought for the thousandth time, “If only they could see just how much He has done for us. If only they could believe that Jesus is the Messiah that God promised.” And for the thousandth time, God spoke to my heart, “I have not forsaken them. I will open their eyes and they will know that Yeshua is the One they have been waiting for.” And again a passion was ignited in my heart. “We must tell them. We must share the truth that Yeshua is the promised Messiah.”

Will you partner with us, as we continue our ministry preparations and find opportunities here in Chicago to share the truth of Messiah with Jewish people? Your prayer and financial partnership are crucial as we continue studies at Moody Bible Institute and prepare to begin full time work with Chosen People Ministries reaching Israeli backpackers in Brazil in the year 2017.

Please be praying with us:

Praise – A Jewish man from our executive Passover outreach downtown prayed to receive the Lord this week!
Praise – Carissa’s health has continued to improve since treatment in January. Please pray that both BJ and she will soon make complete recoveries.
Praise – God has provided $600 for BJ to get the same Lyme treatment in May. Please pray that He will provide the remaining $2,000 needed.
Praise – We have received commitments of monthly support totaling $345/month. Please pray as we develop a partnership team with the goal of reaching Chosen People Ministry’s requirement of full support, $6,000/month, by January 2017.
Praise – our ministry partner, Stephen (Shmueli) Arnold, just returned from a productive survey trip to Brazil. He has identified three possible locations for our hostel ministry. Please pray that God will give us clear direction as we consider these options.

Finally, please pray for us as we make plans to travel this summer. We are now scheduling dates to speak in churches and present our ministry. If you are interested in partnering with us, or know of someone who would be, please email us! We would love to share our ministry vision with you personally or with your Bible study or small group.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support of us. May God use your connection to this work to richly bless you.

“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.”

Romans 11:11

Love,

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

If you would like to partner with us financially donate to our account with Chosen People Ministries at chosenpeople.com/donation *Please be sure to write “BJ Kerstetter” in the space marked special designation. If you would like to contribute toward BJ’s Lyme treatment, school bill or other expenses, click the button below:

Kerstetter Connection

Inviting you to join with us in serving God's Chosen People