The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that commemorates the story of the Exodus, when God delivered the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. It is full of rich symbolism that not only recalls God’s salvation of His people Israel but also points to the coming of the Messiah.
Christians see the Passover Seder as foreshadowing the redemption that would come through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Jesus himself observed the Passover, and during the Last Supper he imbued its traditional elements with new meaning. The various foods, prayers, and ceremonies of the Seder all contain parallels to the identity and work of Jesus as the Lamb of God.
The Passover Lamb
The central symbol of the Passover Seder is the lamb. Each family slaughters an unblemished male lamb and uses its blood to mark their doorposts so that the Angel of Death will pass over their homes. The lamb is then roasted and eaten, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, as the main course of the Seder feast (Exodus 12:1-14).
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul directly connects Christ to the Passover lamb: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as the blood of the lamb delivered the Israelites from death, so does the blood of Christ deliver believers from spiritual death. Jesus’ crucifixion occurred at the time that lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover feast.
As John the Baptist declared when he first saw Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that atones for sin once and for all. While the Passover lamb had to be slaughtered year after year, Christ’s sacrifice is complete and eternal. He is the ultimate Passover Lamb.
Unleavened Bread
As part of the Passover preparations, the Israelites were commanded to remove all leaven (yeast) from their homes and eat unleavened bread during the feast (Exodus 12:15). Leaven was a symbol of sin and corruption. Just as leaven puffs up dough, sin corrupts and puffs up the human heart with pride and hypocrisy.
The unleavened matzo bread represents the sinless Christ and the new life he offers. As Paul writes, “Get rid of the old leaven, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). When believers put their faith in Christ, the “old leaven” of their sinful nature is removed and they become a “new unleavened batch” spiritually.
During the Last Supper, Jesus broke unleavened bread with his disciples, saying “This is my body given for you” (Luke 22:19). Christ’s body remained pure and unleavened by sin, making him the perfect sacrificial offering.
Bitter Herbs
Bitter herbs like horseradish are eaten during the Seder to symbolize the bitterness and hardship of slavery in Egypt. This recalls the cruel oppression that the Israelites endured, as well as the bitterness of our own slavery to sin.
Christ took all of this bitterness and suffering upon himself when he died for our sins. Although he was perfect and blameless, Christ endured blow after blow, was beaten and mocked, and died an excruciating death on the cross. He willingly accepted the bitter cup of God’s wrath so that we could be set free from sin and death (Isaiah 53:4-6).
The Passover herbs foreshadow the bitterness of Christ’s sorrow as he became the perfect sacrificial lamb.
The Four Cups
Another central part of the Seder is drinking four cups of wine. These represent the four promises of deliverance mentioned in Exodus 6:6-7:
- “I will bring you out.”
- “I will deliver you.”
- “I will redeem you.”
- “I will take you as my own people.”
These cups symbolically look forward to the coming of the Messiah who would fulfill these promises as the Redeemer of Israel. Jesus himself shared the cup at the Last Supper, saying “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20). Christ’s death established the new covenant between God and his people, fulfilling his promise of redemption.
Afikomen
Afikomen is a piece of matzo that is hidden away and brought back later in the Seder. After the meal, it is ransomed, recovered, and then shared among all the participants. At the Last Supper, Jesus took this matzo, gave thanks, and broke it, saying “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).
The afikomen ritual echoes Christ’s sacrificial death, burial, resurrection, and spiritual nourishing of his people. Just as the Passover cannot be completed without the afikomen, so salvation cannot be accomplished without Christ’s death and resurrection.
Elijah’s Cup
The Passover Seder includes a cup for Elijah the prophet, traditionally left untouched, in anticipation of his return. At the culmination of history, it was foretold that Elijah would come again to herald the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5).
When John the Baptist, in the spirit of Elijah (Matthew 17:12-13), declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God, he figuratively drank from the cup reserved for Elijah. Christ fulfills the coming of the Anointed One that Elijah foretold.
The Hallel
The Passover Seder concludes with singing praise from Psalms 113-118, a section known as the Hallel. These joyful hymns of thanksgiving extol God for his loving salvation. As Jesus and the disciples sang the Hallel at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:30), it was deeply symbolic of the redemption Jesus would accomplish.
The final psalm in the Hallel, Psalm 118, contains messianic prophecies that find their fulfillment in Christ: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22). As the hymn says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).
The Date
According to the calendar God established, the Passover feast occurs on the 14th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish religious year (Leviticus 23:5). Astoundingly, Jesus was crucified on Passover. He is the true Passover Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
The incredible timing of Passover coinciding with Good Friday confirms that God planned the sacrifice of his Son from eternity past to fulfill the promises of redemption in the Old Testament feasts.
TheROLE OF Moses
As Israel’s deliverer who led the Israelites out of bondage, Moses is a key figure at the Passover Seder. Participants sing “Dayenu” about each of God’s gracious acts toward Israel, remembering how Moses mediated God’s covenant at Sinai after the Exodus.
This foreshadows Jesus as the prophet and mediator of the new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel” (Jeremiah 31:31). As Moses delivered God’s Law, Christ delivers the Gospel of grace.
The Passover Setting
The Passover Seder is a communal meal shared in family units. This setting reflects God’s instruction to celebrate redemption as families and reflects the covenantal aspect of salvation. Just as God redeemed whole households through the blood of the lamb, so does the new covenant extend to believers and their children (Acts 16:31).
The communal celebration of the Passover also looks forward to the wedding supper of the Lamb, when the family of God will unite around Christ’s table in the new heavens and new earth.
REDEMPTION from Bondage
The Passover celebrates how God mightily delivered the Israelites from brutal enslavement in Egypt. This powerful redemption is commemorated and re-lived during the Seder.
The Exodus story reminds participants that they too were slaves, and through Christ have been liberated from the bondage of sin. The Passover Seder reflects themes of leaving darkness behind to walk in God’s light and being freed from spiritual slavery into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Galatians 4:3-7).
Pictures of Salvation
Each element of the Passover Seder vividly pictures key aspects of Christ’s redemption. God purposefully designed the feast as an illustration of salvation and a tool for teaching his redemptive plan. It is packed with sensory object lessons.
Tasting the bitterness of herbs and sweetness of honey remind participants of the sorrow and joy in following God. Eating salt water and dipped vegetables commemorate the tears and sweat of oppression and the new life won through water baptism in Christ.
The visual elements of the Seder imprint the Gospel message on the hearts of all who celebrate it. The red juice looks ahead to Christ’s blood poured out. The bruised afikomen hidden in linen and brought back mirrors Christ buried and resurrected. The unity of sharing one cup and one loaf of bread reflects the oneness of all believers in Christ.
God’s Presence and Protection
A key part of remembering the Exodus during the Seder is recognizing how God powerfully delivered and protected his people, leading them safely out of Egypt and through the wilderness.
The Passover highlights how God preserves and champions his children, covering them with the blood of the Lamb. It points to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who protects his flock and leads them through death to eternal life by the power of his resurrection.
As believers partake of Christ by faith, his blood covers their sins, his body nourishes their souls, and his Spirit guides them all the days of their lives as they follow him to the Promised Land of heaven.
New Meaning for the Symbols
While the symbols of the Passover Seder carry fresh significance in light of Christ’s fulfillment, the symbols themselves still remain. Jesus did not do away with the different elements of the Passover ritual but infused them with new meaning.
Modern day Christians can celebrate the Passover Seder much as Jesus did, experiencing the richness of its sensory illustrations. They can taste the bitter herbs knowing Christ absorbed evil’s bitter curse. They can eat the afikomen bread honoring Christ’s broken body. The footsteps of the Gospel can be traced in the traditional Passover celebration.
The Passover Lamb Interpreted by Christ
A key aspect of how the Passover points to Jesus is Christ’s own teaching of the feast. After his resurrection, Jesus explained to his disciples how the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms all foretold his death and resurrection (Luke 24:44-49).
No doubt this included explaining the Passover symbolism that foreshadowed the coming of the Lamb of God. Jesus opened the disciples’ minds to understand the Scriptures, including the rich messianic meaning of the Passover.
The disciples then saw the Old Testament feasts with new eyes, astounded at how they predicted Christ’s sacrifice. All believers can interpret the Passover similarly in light of the Savior.
Participation in Christ
Believers partake of Christ – his body, blood, new life – through participating by faith in the Lord’s Supper, where the Passover is fulfilled again and again. As Christians celebrate Communion remembering Jesus’ death on the cross for their salvation, they join the long tradition of the Passover ritual.
Just as taking the bread and cup symbolized identifying with God’s family and covenant promises in the Old Testament, so does Communion represent sealing one’s identity and union with Christ in the new covenant (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). The observances change form but continue the same redemptive meaning.
The Passover Lamb is for All People
The Passover was only the beginning of how God would bless all the nations through Israel. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be a light to the Gentiles, God’s salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). Simeon recognized the infant Christ as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32).
Jesus commanded his disciples to take the Gospel message to Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The redemption pictured in the Passover extends beyond Israel to all people through faith in the Messiah who fulfilled it, Jesus Christ.
A Lasting Memorial
Before the final plague, Moses declared that the Passover feast was to be a lasting memorial for God’s people: “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.” (Exodus 12:14).
Twelve centuries later, Jesus celebrated that same memorial supper with his disciples. Another two millennia later, Christians continue to reenact the Passover ritual in the Lord’s Supper, proclaiming Christ’s death until he comes again. The echoes of the Exodus reverberate through the ages testifying to God’s eternal redemption.
Conclusion
The Passover Seder is rich with symbolic meaning and deep spiritual truths. Each individual element vividly depicts part of the story of redemptive history culminating in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. God purposefully designed the Seder as a metaphor to teach his people about the coming redemption through the promised Messiah.
As believers celebrate the Lord’s Supper remembering Christ’s death and resurrection, they follow Jesus in fulfilling the Passover feast. The traditional Seder elements pioneer the same spiritual truths found in Communion. The redemptive themes resound unchanged throughout Scripture’s grand narrative of salvation.
The Passover ritual points to the paradoxical irony at the heart of redemption – that victory comes through suffering, life springs from death, freedom is found in service, and the Creator God identifies with his creatures in taking all darkness and evil upon himself. As Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
This sacrificial offering of the perfect Lamb of God brings eternal deliverance. The Passover vividly symbolizes this miraculous work of atonement that God planned before the foundation of the world to redeem a people for his own possession.