April 8, 2020: Passover
Today marks the beginning of Passover. Traditions include: getting rid of any raised bread in the house–anything that mixes with water–called chametz, part of Passover dinner is a Seder plate, which has all the food symbolic of the Jews hardships on it, matzah bread is ‘unleavened bread’-and looks a lot like crackers, they read from a prayer book called the Haggadah, you are supposed to keep one chair empty with a glass of wine for the prophet Elijah, and Ben & Jerry’s makes a Passover ice cream flavor, Charoset.
Passover is a Jewish holiday remembering when the Jews were freed from Egyptian slavery–it’s believed that Jesus’ last supper before he died was a Passover meal. Remember Moses and the 10 plagues? The final one was when the Jewish people marked their doorways with the blood of a lamb, who had been sacrificed, so God would ‘pass over’ their home, avoiding death.
Jesus is often referred to as the the Lamb of God. Lambs are white, pure. Jesus was pure and perfect, and he was sacrificed for us, without sin. He paid the price for all of us.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God. He takes away the sins of the world!
John 1:29 (ERV)
Dear Jesus, you took my shame and my sin, even though I was not worthy. Forgive me Lord for taking it for granted. Thank you for loving me that much, to die for me. Amen.
