Note: There is no right or wrong way to celebrate this feast with your family. Just celebrate.
Food For Passover In Exodus 12:8 God instructed the Israelites to eat 3 foods ~ Roasted Lamb (Pesah), to be eaten with bitter herbs (Maror) and unleavened bread, or bread made without yeast (Matzah).
Below are the Passover foods and the explanations of the meanings from the Old Testament Exodus story
*Three whole Matzos (unleavened bread).
A reminder that the Israelites did not have time to wait for the yeast bread to rise because they had to be ready to move when God said. A piece of the middle one is hidden for a child to find.
(New Testament represents the Body of Jesus Christ broken for our sins. As Christians it is a reminder to live so that we are always “ready to go” when Jesus returns. Also yeast sometimes represents the evil in the world. God wants His people to be pure.)
*A roasted lamb~ placed to the host’s right ~
in memory of the lamb sacrificed by Israelites the night before their flight from Egypt.
(Jesus is our final perfect Lamb sacrificed for us.)
*A roasted egg~ to the left ~
in mourning for destroyed temple.
(Symbol of the free-will offering that was given with the lamb. This represents giving more to God than just what is demanded. This is a gift of love. Jesus is God’s ultimate gift. God’s law demanded justice, but with the gift of Jesus, God gives us more than justice; He gives us mercy, love and forgiveness.)
* Maror(bitter herbs) ~ placed in the middle
A reminder of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.
(As Christians we remember that many suffered so that we may know the joy of the good news of Jesus.)
*Charoseth (chopped almonds, apple, wine, sugar and cinnamon)~
Symbolizes the mortar which the Jews had to mix in making bricks for the king of Egypt.
*Salt water ~
to signify the Red Sea which miraculously parted to let the Israelites across.
(Represents the tears of all of God’s Saints)
* Karpar(celery, parsley, greens)-
The Hebrew word means 600,000 the recorded number who left Egypt.
(These plants stay green all year and represent the everlasting life because of Jesus Christ’s Ressurection.)
*Wine or grape juice ~ Wine represents JOY.
As the service proceeds, as each plaque is mentioned, each person sips a little of the wine. This means that until we were totally free and out of bondange, joy was incomplete.
(At the Last Supper Jesus said that the wine represented His own life’s blood, poured out for us. He had to die so that we could know the total joy of freedom and forgiveness.)
*Elijah’s cup ~ usually a treasured one filled with wine ~
is placed on the table to await the arrival of the Messiah.
(Jesus said in Matthew 11:14 that John the Baptist was the promised Elijah who was to announce the Messiah’s coming. For Christians this cup does not remain untouched. It is shared by everyone at the table in the joy that our hope had come true. The Messiah has come to us and is alive to give our lives eternal joy.
Candles lit on the table: Representing Jesus, who is the light of the World
Food on table; Roasted lamb, unleavened bread, boiled egg, bitter herbs (horseradish), Charoseth (a sweet mixture of apples, cinnamon, grape-juice [or wine], and walnuts), salt water, parsley, and wine or grape juice
Children should know this is a special tradition. Inform them ahead of time that the focus will be solely on the Passover and on Christ. After the dinner they can talk about their day’s events and personal interests.
We start by reading Exodus 12:14, “So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations.” This passage is directly discussing the Feast of Passover.
