A Passover Celebration for Christian FamiliesI attended my first Jewish Passover Seder about 12 years ago. My wife and I were invited to
home of Jewish friends to participate with them in this special event. Our friends do not acknowledge Jesus as
Messiah, but it was clear to us what a beautiful picture of Christ’s redemption
Passover Seder is. Since then we have celebrated a “Christian Passover Seder” which emphasizes
correlation between Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and
Believers deliverance from
bonds of sin.
A Brief History
Passover is
oldest and most important religious festival in Judaism, commemorating God’s deliverance of
Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and his creation of
Israelite people. The festival of Passover begins at sunset on
14th of Nisan (usually in March or April) and marks
beginning of seven day celebration that includes
Feast of Unleavened Bread. The focal point of Passover is a communal meal, called
Seder (which means "order," because of
fixed order of service), which is time of rejoicing and celebration at
deliverance for
Hebrews that God accomplished in
exodus.
Passover has traditionally been celebrated in
home with family and friends as they eat meal together. It is customary to invite guests to share
Seder meal, especially newcomers to
community. The actual Seder meal in most Jewish homes is an elaborate feast, with food, games for
children, and plenty of time to tell
story of
Exodus from Egypt. It is not unusual for Seder to last three to four hours.
The Seder involves everyone present since they all share in reading and singing
story. While
father or grandfather is usually
leader of
service, others have roles as well. The mother of
home lights
festival candles that signal
beginning of Passover,
youngest child asks
four questions,
children help eliminate all Chametz, leaven, from
house, search for
hidden Afikomen (symbolic piece of Matzah, unleavened bread) and open
door for Elijah,
parents or
grandparents tell
story of
exodus, and various others are designated to read or lead certain portions of
service.