Walking the path

At sunset on April 5th this year, Jews worldwide will celebrate Passover. On that night during the Passover meal, they will be demonstrating the gospel without realizing it. One of the things that stood out to me most prominently was the bread.

At the Last Supper, during a Passover Seder, Jesus instituted what we now know as the Lord’s Supper or Communion. For hundreds of years, Jews celebrated this feast beginning with a stack of three matzahs, unleavened loaves of bread. At some point in history, a matzah tash was added to many household celebrations; this bag has three compartments for the matzah. Towards the beginning of the dinner, the middle matzah would be broken, with the smaller portion being put back in between the other two matzahs and the large portion wrapped in a linen cloth and then buried under a pillow. This buried matzah was saved until the meal’s end and served as the afikomen (dessert). Rabbinic law requires that a small portion of the afikomen be broken off and eaten by each person at the table.

At the Last Supper, it was this piece of matzah, the afikomen, that Jesus raised up and said, “this is my body.” Each person at the table received a small piece of the afikomen. Since the Jews came out of Egypt, the Passover meal has been a testimony of what Jesus would do. From the three loaves (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the Son was broken, wrapped in linen, and buried. All those at his table receive him.