Christ @ the Center of the Passover

Did you know that we are rapidly approaching the Passover season? In the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, Spring Cleaning has begun with earnest. The e-mails one can read which detail what needs to be done in order for one’s kitchen to be Kosher for Passover is overwhelming. I am a clean and tidy person, but I would be going insane right about now if I was overwhelmed by the cleaning minutiae involved with being an Orthodox and/or Ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman. No wonder, and I am not joking, that some Jewish homes have two kitchens - one for Passover and one for every other day of the year.

However, I am more concerned about the growing frivolity I see surrounding this most holy of Jewish festivals … and I think there is a reason for this irreverence (will explain later!) First, and to borrow from Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, I believe that Passover has become more about tradition than spiritual meaning. For many Jewish people, they are going through the motions without really understanding what it represents and what it promises. In fact, there is a recent movie — When Do We Eat? — that best exemplifies this apathetic and lackadaisical concern over Passover. For many Jewish people, Passover has become a four-hour meal and not the reality of what Moses and Jesus meant it to be.

Second, Passover sadly has become somewhat of a holiday to mock and not reverence. I have received e-mails about cartoons you can purchase that will keep the kids busy while someone is cleaning for Pesach (Passover). There is a gourmet gefilte fish recipe available for those who are turned off by this Passover traditional side dish. There are tsotchkes (knick-knacks) galore for anyone who wants to “spice” up the Passover holiday — including a Moses action figure or nail decals illustrating the ten plagues. I could write about additional items such as the Elijah’s Cup in which the wine “magically” disappears but I think you get the idea!

Third, the story of Passover itself has become somewhat passé for many Jewish people and the traditional Haggadah (booklet which provides an order and structure to the Passover meal) just doesn’t excite anymore. I have received e-mails from Kabbalists, Jewish mystics, offering to sell me a Haggadah that “decodes” the hidden meaning of Passover as if the Hebrew Scripture was not enough. There is a website (www.haggadot.com) where you can jazz up the old story of Passover with a “Muppets parody” or even capitalize on a big movie craze with a “Lego” Haggadah. You can also “speed-read” the Exodus account for those who are in a hurry and don’t have time to remember what God did for them almost 3500 years ago. The Orthodox Jewish population has even entered the fray with a software program that allows anyone to “create your own Haggadah.”

I believe that all three of the reasons given above are tied to the fact that 99% of all Jewish people do not know the end of the Passover story. An end that began as Jesus lifted the matzah and said this is my body and lifted the cup (of redemption) and said this is my blood. Passover has lost its importance because we as believers in Jesus have forgotten to share with them that Jesus is the Passover Lamb and the prophecy of Malachi 5, stating that Elijah would come as a forerunner of the Messiah, was fulfilled when John the Baptist in John 1 stated — “Behold, the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world.” There is no need for an Elijah’s Cup, a disappearing one or not, because we who believe in Jesus have drank of the cup of redemption and are looking forward to the cup of praise at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb as it is promised in Revelation. We who are Christians and churches have forgotten to tell them about a little used verse of Hebrew Scripture for the Jewish People that goes something like this …

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

Isn’t it time that we brought Passover back to the Jewish people? A Passover that truly only has final and complete meaning through Jesus the Messiah …our Passover Lamb. Therefore, Tzedakah Ministries is excited by the opportunity to share the truth of Jesus in the Passover with Waxahachie Bible Church on April 17 during Resurrection Week. I look forward to seeing you there! Shalom and Chag Pesach Sameach (Happy Passover Holidays)!

Acts 20:24,
Amy Downey -- Tzedakah Ministries
“To Equip His Church to Reach His People”