Messiah in the Passover - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 082544537X ISBN 13: 9780825445378

Publisher: Kregel Publications,U.S., 2017

Synopsis

Messiah in the Passover is for anyone who wants to explore the traditions of the Passover and deepen their understanding of the links between Passover, the Last Supper, and Communion.

This Passover reference book discusses biblical and theological issues, Jewish and church history, and rabbinic tradition. It also includes a messianic family Haggadah (Passover guidebook) as well as Passover recipes and lessons for children. Additional resources and instructional videos for celebrating Passover in the home or congregation are available at messiahinthepassover.com.

Passover has great meaning for followers of Jesus and provides a wonderful opportunity to teach both adults and children the powerful truths of redemption. Believers will be affirmed knowing they worship a God who keeps His promises and remains ever faithful.

About this title

About the Author

Darrell L. Bock is Executive Director of Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. A former president of the Evangelical Theological Society, he is the author of the best-selling Breaking the Da Vinci Code and numerous works in New Testament studies, including Jesus According to Scripture.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Messiah in the Passover

The Staff of Chosen People Ministries

By Darrell L. Bock, Mitch Glaser

Kregel Publications

Copyright © 2017 Chosen People Ministries
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8254-4537-8

Contents

Note to the Reader and Acknowledgments, 9, 
Contributors, 12, 
Foreword by Darrell L. Bock, 18, 
Introduction: Why Study the Passover? Mitch Glaser, 19, 
PART 1: BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS, 
1 Passover in the Torah Robert Walter, 31, 
2 Passover in the Writings Richard H. Flashman, 47, 
3 Passover in the Prophets Gordon Law, 57, 
4 Passover in the Gospel of Luke Darrell L. Bock, 67, 
5 Passover in the Gospel of John Mitch Glaser, 79, 
6 Passover and the Lord's Supper Brian Crawford, 99, 
PART 2: PASSOVER AND CHURCH HISTORY, 
7 Passover, the Temple, and the Early Church Scott P. Nassau, 113, 
8 Passover Controversies in Church History Gregory Hagg, 131, 
9 Passover and Antisemitism Olivier Melnick, 141, 
PART 3: JEWISH TRADITION AND THE PASSOVER, 
10 Passover in Rabbinic Writings Zhava Glaser, 155, 
11 Passover and the Afikoman Daniel Nessim, 169, 
PART 4: COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL THROUGH THE PASSOVER, 
12 Passover and the Atonement Michael Cohen, 183, 
13 The Gospel in the Passover Seder Larry Feldman, 195, 
14 Sermon: "Jesus, the Lamb of God" Richard E. Freeman, 209, 
15 Sermon: "The Third Cup" David Sedaca, 217, 
PART 5: CELEBRATING MESSIAH IN THE PASSOVER, 
16 Passover in Your Home Cathy Wilson, 227, 
17 Passover Lessons for Your Children Rachel Goldstein-Davis, 247, 
18 A Messianic Family Haggadah Chosen People Ministries, 263, 
19 Passover Foods and Recipes Mitch Forman, 275, 
Conclusion: In Honor of the Lamb Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser, 297, 
Appendix 1: The Jewish and Protestant Canons of the Bible, 301, 
Appendix 2: Hebrew Months of the Year, 305, 
Appendix 3: Passover Observances in Biblical History, 307, 
Appendix 4: Five Passover Meals Compared, 311, 
Appendix 5: Last Supper Sayings Compared, 313, 
Appendix 6: The Lamb of God in the New Testament, 317, 
Appendix 7: Map of the Exodus, 320, 
Appendix 8: Map of Jerusalem during Messiah's Final Days (Part 1), 321, 
Appendix 9: Map of Jerusalem during Messiah's Final Days (Part 2), 322, 
Abbreviations, 323, 
Glossary, 325, 
Recommended Reading, 336, 
Bibliography, 339, 
Index of Scripture, 358, 
Index of Ancient and Medieval Writings, 364, 
Index of Rabbinic Writings, 366, 
Index of Names, 368, 
Index of Subjects, 371, 
Index of Hebrew Terms, 380, 
Index of Greek Terms, 381, 

CHAPTER 1

PASSOVER IN THE TORAH

ROBERT WALTER

The earliest chapters of Genesis record God's initial dealings with humanity. He creates Adam and Eve, enjoys close fellowship with them, seeks them out after they had willfully disobeyed in the Garden of Eden, and promises to send a deliverer to redeem humankind and restore creation from chaos to peace. The thread of this promise is woven into all of the earliest events in Genesis, as if the Patriarchs are rehearsing the great deliverance that God will later bring about.

PASSOVER IN GENESIS

In Genesis, Egypt is consistently portrayed as "a place that needs to be gotten out of, by God's help, for the sake of preserving God's people." And His ultimate goal is to bring them into the Promised Land. This has caused some scholars to suggest that Genesis was actually written with Exodus in mind, as a prelude to show God's choosing of Israel as His people and to demonstrate that He is the supreme God, two vital elements in the Exodus account. While there are no specific mentions of the Passover in Genesis, there are allusions to the Exodus. Therefore, as we embark on this study of the Passover in the Torah it's important to examine these Genesis passages to gain a greater understanding of the Passover's Exodus context.

Abram

The first of these occurrences in Genesis is in the account of Abram. God makes a covenant with Abram in Genesis 12:1–3 where He calls him to get up and go. Abram is to follow God to a specific Land and is promised that he will be made into a great nation and receive a great name, and that through him all the families of the earth will be blessed. In Genesis 15, God further establishes the covenant, promising to provide him a son, and giving boundaries for the aforementioned Land. This text also provides the first hint pointing to the Exodus:

God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. ... Then in the fourth generation they will return here. ..." (Gen. 15:13–16)

Perhaps to show His sovereign faithfulness to His promises, or to indicate the troubled future that Abram's descendants would endure, God chooses to reveal to Abram certain details about the Exodus. His descendants will be oppressed and enslaved, strangers in a foreign land for four hundred years. God himself will judge the nation oppressing them. The descendants will leave that foreign land with many possessions and return to the Land of Promise. There is no mention of the Passover, but there is a prediction of national deliverance and return to the Land, two major themes in the Exodus from Egypt.

Joseph

Perhaps the strongest foreshadowing of the Exodus in the Torah is found in the life of Joseph. In Genesis 37–50, we learn that Joseph is beloved by his father, rejected and hated by his brothers, sold into slavery for silver, wrongly accused, and convicted of crimes. Though he is blameless, he enters the depths of suffering in an Egyptian prison. It is from that lowest point that God turns Joseph's situation around, raising him from the pit and exalting him to a position that is answerable to Pharaoh alone.

Later in the account, famine strikes the region and Joseph encounters his brothers face to face, this time possessing the authority and ability to strike them down for what they had done to him. He instead shows mercy. As the brothers stand awestruck and afraid, Joseph comforts them with his understanding of God's sovereign hand at work in all that has happened. Joseph assures them,

Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. ... God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. (Gen. 45:5, 7)

In Joseph's view, God has used his trials for good. He highlights three results of his suffering: (1) the preservation of life, presumably for Egypt and others; (2) the preservation of a remnant, best explained as the Hebrew people; and (3) the coming of a great deliverance, which most likely points to the Exodus from Egypt. Joseph later provides a similar reflection as he gives his brothers final instructions before his death:

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. ... I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. ... God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here. (Gen. 50:20, 24–25)

Here Joseph reiterates God's sovereignty throughout his trials, which has resulted in the preservation of life for many people, both Egyptians and descendants of Jacob. He also begins to prophesy concerning God visiting His people at a future time to bring them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. We again see the redemptive pattern of the Exodus presented to us in Genesis as Joseph appeals to the covenant promises that God made to the Patriarchs.

The Genesis-Exodus Bridge

As the story unfolds in the early chapters of Exodus, it is important to note the ongoing connections between the Genesis and Exodus narratives. There are three particular points that warrant mention, as they tie Joseph's experiences in Egypt and his dying words in Genesis 50 to the Passover and Exodus more than 400 years later. First, the word for "take care of" or "visit" in 50:24–25 is a form of the Hebrew verb, "IjPS paqad. The connotation is that God's presence will be with Israel as He will visit them with the intent to aid and change their fortunes. Moving forward, this same Hebrew word is only used at key points throughout the Exodus narrative to describe God taking action to deliver. It is used in Exodus 3:16 when Moses is commissioned to go to the leaders of Israel and announce that God has remembered His people and taken note of their afflictions. In Exodus 4:29–31, as Moses and Aaron address the elders and proclaim that God has taken note of their afflictions, the people believe, bow low, and worship God. And in Exodus 13:19, as the exhumed bones of Joseph are being carried off with the redeemed nation, Moses quotes Joseph's dying words from Genesis 50:25. It appears that Moses understood that Joseph's prophetic words were coming to pass. We can surmise with a certain level of confidence that the author of Exodus uses [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] paqad, in these key texts to demonstrate the promise-fulfillment relationship and build a bridge between the patriarchal narratives of Genesis and the redemptive Passover event in Exodus.

Next, the word for "to bring up" in Genesis 50:24–25 is the Hebrew verb [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 'alah, which Joseph uses to indicate how God will bring Israel up from Egypt and also how the Israelites will bring Joseph's bones with them at their deliverance. The word is used a number of times in the Exodus narrative to refer to God's intentions to set Israel free and bring His people up to the Land, most notably in Exodus 3:8 as He speaks to Moses from the burning bush.

Lastly, the first biblical mention of the three Patriarchs — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — all together is found in Genesis 50:24. In combining the three, Joseph encapsulates the covenant promises that God has made to them and begins to prophesy how God will fulfill those promises by visiting and transferring Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. Joseph casts the hope of the Patriarchs onto the deliverance from Egypt as he predicts the Exodus (cf Heb. 11:22). Just like the limited use of the word [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], paqad, so also the only mention of the three Patriarchs together is included at the end of Genesis, which later appears at key points in the Exodus narrative (Exod. 2:23–25; 3:6–8, 16–17; 6:1–5, 8).

Words matter and it appears that leading up to the redemption experienced through the Exodus, [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], paqad; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], 'alah; and "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" are used to demonstrate the promise-fulfillment relationship between Joseph's dying words and the redemptive events of the Exodus. It's safe to say that with his dying words, Joseph stands as the covenantal bridge between the family under the leadership of the Patriarchs and the nation under the leadership of Moses. His words set the stage for how God would take redemptive action, visit His people to set them free, and transfer them from a place of bondage to a place of freedom.

Passover in Exodus

The first five chapters of Exodus trace the path toward the great deliverance that will ultimately come at the first Passover. Israel has grown in number while living in Egypt, and their situation takes a turn for the worse when a new Pharaoh arises who knows nothing of Joseph (Exod. 1:8). Great persecution and affliction ensues for Israel, and in the midst of it, Moses is born. God sovereignly chooses and prepares Moses from birth to serve as the redemptive figure through whom He will fulfill His promises. Israel's cries are heard by God and He begins to take covenant action (2:23–25). He speaks with Moses from the burning bush, and gives him a divine mission to go to Pharaoh and the elders of Israel to proclaim Israel's liberty (3:1–22). When the elders hear Moses' report, they immediately believe and worship (4:29–31). Pharaoh, on the other hand, questions the identity, nature, and character of the God of Israel and hard-heartedly refuses to acquiesce to God's bidding (5:2). Under the duress of increased labor, even Israel begins to question Moses' intentions (5:21).

The Four Promises

As the now distressed and confused Moses seeks understanding and insight from God, God answers by pointing to what He is about to do. In Exodus 6:6–7 we read:

Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, "I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." (emphasis added)

The four highlighted promises serve as the basis for the four cups used during the traditional Jewish celebration of the Passover Seder. Jewish sources interpret these four promises as the backbone of the entire Passover experience, each one representing a stage in the progressive unfolding of Israel's redemption. The first two promises, that God will bring Israel out and deliver His people from Egyptian bondage, speak of how He will physically transfer Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, and in the process change the status of His people from slave to free.

The third promise is that God will redeem Israel. The Hebrew verb [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], ga'al, used here can carry the sense of repurchasing something that once belonged to you. It points to a transaction between parties where the purchaser pays a price, and as a result takes ownership and possession of that which is purchased. Likewise, through the Passover, God will pay a price (the Lamb) to repurchase Israel His firstborn (Exod. 4:22) from slavery, taking ownership and possession of His people and bringing them into the Land.

The fourth promise is that God will take Israel to Himself. The Hebrew verb [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], laqach, used here is found over one thousand times in the Old Testament and means "to take, or receive," but often its nuance is determined by the words with which it is used. Here God takes Israel to be His people; He will be their God. This promise ultimately points to the close, special relationship that God and His people will enjoy beyond their redemption. Christian and rabbinic sources view this promise being fulfilled at Sinai when God "takes" Israel, entering into a covenant contract, even a "marriage," with His people as they accept His Torah.

As we keep reading, we see that there are two more promises in Exodus 6:8 that refer directly to God bringing Israel into the Promised Land and giving His people the Land as a possession:

I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord. (emphasis added)

To summarize the six promises in Exodus 6:6–8, the first three (bring you out, deliver you, redeem you) relate to Israel's condition in Egypt before the crossing of the Red Sea, and the fourth promise (take you to Myself), plus the fifth and sixth promises (bring you to the Land, give Land as a possession) relate to Israel's experience beyond the crossing of the Red Sea.

Faithful Obedience and the Promises

When we consider divine promises, it is important to ask a couple of questions: When God makes us a promise, what is our responsibility? What are we to do with that promise? Pause to think about that for a moment. The simple answer is to believe. We are to believe and have faith that God will indeed come through on the promise that He has made. In light of the fact that the redemptive act at Passover is based on God's promises to the Patriarchs, to Moses, and to all Israel, we conclude that faith has always been a key element in redemption. From the moment the promises are mentioned in Exodus 6 through the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14, the faithful obedience of Israel is on display as God faithfully fulfills His promises (see Heb. 11:28–29).

The Passover

The tenth and final plague begins the climb to the Torah's redemptive crescendo. In Exodus 11 God pronounces judgment upon Egypt, namely through the slaying of all firstborns in the land. God then gives the specifics of the final plague to Moses in three sections in chapters 12 and 13. He describes how Israel is to observe the first Passover in Egypt (12:1–13), how His people are to observe it throughout their future generations (12:14–20; 13:1–16), and who is to observe it (12:42–49). Moses then relays God's instructions to Israel (12:21–27), and we see the event unfold as God has described (12:28–41).

The Israelites are to choose a one-year-old, unblemished male lamb, bring it into their homes to examine it from the tenth day to the fourteenth day of the first month. When twilight on the fourteenth comes, each household will sacrifice their lamb, take its blood in a basin, dip hyssop into the blood, and apply the blood to the lintel and two doorposts of their home, remaining inside the home for the remainder of the night. They will roast the entire lamb and eat it in haste, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, burning whatever remains the following morning.

This is Israel's moment of truth. All of the promises of deliverance for God's people are narrowing down to this moment. The blood of the Passover lamb is the hinge upon which their fulfillment turns. They have received the instructions; now the people have to exercise their faith that God will come through. By faith they have to examine and slay the lamb. By faith they have to take its blood and put it on their doors. By faith they have to wait upon the Lord. The blood stands as a testimony to their faith in God's redemptive promise and power.

That night the destroyer slays the firstborn of every human and beast in Egypt. When it comes to the homes marked by the blood of the lamb, God promises to "pass over" ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], pasach) those homes. This verbal form of the noun [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], pesach, where we get the name "Passover," appears only four times with this sense in the Tanakh (Exod. 12:13, 23, 27; Isa. 31:5). Elsewhere, it can be translated as "to have compassion," "to protect," "to skip over," or "to hedge, straddle." Some scholars suggest a more protective nuance in these passages and see God as protecting the entrances of the homes, not allowing the destroyer to enter. A passage like Exodus 12:23 makes more sense then, as it reads:

For when the Lord goes through to smite the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, and the Lord will protect the door and not let the Destroyer enter and smite your home. (emphasis added)

This view ultimately puts God in a more active position as defender. Rather than skipping over and passing homes by, He is instead standing between the plague and the faithful, between the judgment and the redeemed, with the shed blood serving as the basis for His sparing the firstborn males of that home. This is why we believe that the blood of the lamb is a prophetic portrait or type of the "Lamb of God" to come.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Messiah in the Passover by Darrell L. Bock, Mitch Glaser. Copyright © 2017 Chosen People Ministries. Excerpted by permission of Kregel Publications.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Kregel Publications,U.S.
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 082544537X
• ISBN 13: 9780825445378
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384
• Editor: Bock Darrell L, Glaser Mitch