YEAR 2023 SYNOD THEME: AN EXTRACT FROM THE BISHOP'S CHARGE

The Passover Feast
The name occurs only in 1 Cor 11:20 in the New Testament, and the institution by our Lord in connection with the Passover is recorded in Matt 26:19-30; Mark 14:16-26; Luke 22:13-20. The head of the house was usually the leader of the Passover company. They will all recline on the dining couches, and the leader began the feast by a blessing ‘for the day and for the wine,’ over a cup of which he and the others drank. The wine was mixed with water simply because that was how the Jews and the peoples around the Mediterranean Sea drank wine ordinarily. The table was set out with the Passover lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and a sauce of dates, figs, raisins, and vinegar (charoseth), symbolizing their service in mortar in Egypt.

The Jews drank wine four times during the feast from the cup. The four cups were reminders of the four promises of Exodus 6:6-7. Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

Looking very closely at the above passage, these are the four clear promises namely:
1. I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
2. I will free you from being slaves to them.
3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgments.
4. I will take you as my own people and I will be your God.

The first cup is called the Cup of Kiddish meaning separation or sanctification, which separated this meal from all other meals and marked it out as being different. After drinking the first cup, the father would take a bowl of water and towel and pass them round for everyone to wash their hands. Their attention would be drawn to the bitter herbs and the bowl of salt water. The family members would be invited to taste the bitter herbs.

At this stage, the main course of the meal, the roasted lamb will be brought out, not to be eaten now, but to remind them of the lamb that was killed in Egypt for their deliverance. The attention of the family will be drawn to the unleavened bread. Then a second eating of the bitter herbs would take place. A prayer of gratitude will be done.

The drinking of the second cup will follow. This was called the Cup of Haggadah, known as the Cup of Explanation, where several questions were asked and explanations offered. Then came the second act of hand washing, after which the host would prepare a ‘sop’ - a piece of unleavened bread filled with lamb and dipped in the paste. This is closely followed with the eating of the roasted lamb, the main meal and it has to be eaten wholly. Anything left over was to be destroyed.

After the eating of the lamb, then would be the drinking of the third Cup, called the Cup of Thanksgiving, which was served with a piece of unleavened bread. There will be giving of thanks by the family head, and followed by the singing of Psalm 115-118. Then finally the drinking of the fourth cup, which will bring the feast to a close.

The seeming ritualistic nature of the Passover feast has been transferred to the Eucharist. Some authors have contended that there is no need for all the processes that take place from the commencement of the Eucharist to its administration. However, a cursory look at the Passover Feast, from where the Eucharist took root, shows the necessity of those ritualistic practices. The essence is to build up worship in the participants and draw a continuous attention to the celebration. If it is a ‘quick-fix’ affair, the relevance and need would easily be lost.

We can rightly affirm that the Eucharist is a carryover of the Jewish Passover Feast. In both of them, sacrifices were involved. While a lamb with no defects was used in the Passover, with its blood placed on the lintel of each home. On the other hand, the Eucharist was consummated with the sacrifices of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who knew no sin, and his blood, made atonement for sin.