Option Two - Read Passover Passages in the Old and New Testaments, review elements on a Seder plate and receive communion together. Hi group Leaders! As you saw in the video with Pastors Tim and Karen - we want to make the final night of our FAST Group Experience really special. We suggested three options you may want to consider for your group. This Second Option recommends creating one plate of Seder elements and read/discuss their significance. We suggest that you and your Group read Exodus 12 and Luke 22:7-20 first and then talk about the Seder plate so that your group is able to see for themselves the relationships to Jesus. Option One has a very detailed lesson including the explanation and description of the Exodus (you can gauge how much - or how little - your group would benefit from this lesson.) Feel free to customize this special evening as a way to glorify and Praise God for all He has done among us during these precious 40 days. Supplies Needed: Any dinner sized plate (paper is even ok) Egg - hard boiled with a teabag for a brownish appearance. Horseradish - red or white - just a tablespoon is needed. Matzoh Parsley Charoset (recipe below) 1 Small bowl with salt water (to dip the parsley) Roasted Lamb Shankbone - [optional] lots of people don t include this element on the plate - some actually use a dog s nylabone - which looks a little like a shankbone - others use a turkey or chicken bone - some vegans use an avocado pit. Grape Juice Scripture: Exodus 11 and 12 Luke 22:7-20 1 Charoset recipe (1 Apple per 4-5 people) 1 c finely chopped apple (approx 1 apple) 1/4 c finely chopped pecans or walnuts 1 T honey 1/4 t cinnamon 1 T grape juice Let sit to turn brown
Seder plate: The seder plate holds at least six of the ritual items that are talked about during the seder: the shankbone, karpas, chazeret, charoset, maror, and egg. Some homes use a beautiful, ornate, and expensive plate, but you can use any plate. If you have kids, you can get them involved by decorating a paper plate with pictures of the events or things the seder foods symbolize. Seder means "order," and refers both to the service of the Passover festival meal that follows a prescribed order, and to the entire festival meal itself. In the Luke 22, Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with his disciples. The elements of the Passover Seder at Jesus Last Supper became the first Holy Eucharist s elements: bread and wine. Roasted lamb shankbone: One of the most striking symbols of Passover is the roasted lamb shankbone (called zeroah ), which commemorates the paschal (lamb) sacrifice made the night the ancient Hebrews fled Egypt. Some Jewish people say it symbolizes the outstretched arm of God (the Hebrew word zeroah can mean arm ). As followers of Jesus, we know that John the Baptist says this about Jesus in John 1:29: Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Roasted egg: The roasted egg ( baytsah ) is a symbol in many different cultures, usually signifying springtime and renewal. Here it stands in place of one of the sacrificial offerings which was performed in the days of the Second Temple. Another popular interpretation is that the egg is like the Jewish people: the hotter you make it for them, the tougher they get. This egg isn t even eaten during the meal; the shell just needs to look really roasted. Of course it makes us as Christians, we think of Easter. The tradition of Easter eggs can be thought of as new life being brought into the world. Of course, Easter itself, and our celebration of our risen Lord and Savior brings new life to us all. Maror ( bitter herb ): Any bitter herb will work, though horseradish is the most common. This can be red or white. When eaten by itself, it can bring tears to our eyes! Bitter herbs bring tears to the eyes and recall the bitterness of slavery. The Seder refers to the slavery in Egypt, but people are called to look at their own bitter enslavements, whether addiction or habit. Of course, prior to our life with Christ, we are indeed slaves to our sinful nature. (Romans 6:16ff) However, when we know Jesus as Savior, we are free from our fleshly addictions and become slaves to righteousness! But we are set free from sin, and are now slaves to God. Romans 6:22
Charoset: There s nothing further from maror than charoset ( kha-roh-set ), that sweet salad of apples, nuts, wine, and cinnamon that represents the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves to make bricks. Of all the elements of the Seder, charoset alone is sweet, and this is a reminder of the hope of redemption. Of course Jesus is our Redeemer and the one in whom we place all of our HOPE! Karpas: Karpas is a green vegetable, usually parsley (though any spring green will do). This is dipped in salt water to also represent the bitterness of slavery. Our forefathers were able to withstand the bitterness of slavery, because it was sweetened by the hope of freedom. The parsley also represents the hyssop used for sprinkling blood on the doorposts. For us as Christians, hyssop was used to give Jesus a drink of vinegar when He was dying on the Cross. (John 19:29) Salt water: Salt water symbolizes the tears and sweat of enslavement, though paradoxically, it s also a symbol for purity, springtime, and the sea, the mother of all life. Often a single bowl of salt water sits on the table into which each person dips their karpas during the seder. Then, it s traditional to begin the actual seder meal with each person eating a hardboiled egg (not the roasted egg!) dipped in the bowl of salt water. Matzoh: Perhaps the most important symbol on the seder table is a plate that has a stack of three pieces of matzoh (unleavened bread) on it. The matzot (that s plural for matzah ) are typically covered with a cloth. People have come up with numerous interpretations for the three matzot. Some say they represent the Kohen class (the Jewish priests in ancient times), the Levis (who supported the priests), and the Israelites (the rest of the Jews). As followers of Jesus, we would say clearly that there is a connection to the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If you look closely at the Matzoh - it appears to have dark stripes in it from the baking. It also has holes in it throughout. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah when he said: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 Jesus is our bread of life - we celebrate Communion by indicating that the bread represents His
Body, broken for us. By Jesus death we are healed - death no longer has a hold on us - we will be restored and have everlasting life with Him! Wine cups and wine or grape juice: Everyone at the seder has a (usually very small) cup or glass from which they drink four cups of wine. Traditionally, the four cups represent the four biblical promises of redemption: I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments. And I will take you to me for a people... (Exodus 6:6) The four cups of juice represent: 1 st Cup (The Cup of Sanctification) The Kiddush This is the 2 nd Cup (The Cup of Plagues or Judgment) Blessing over the 3 rd Cup (The Cup of Redemption) The Geulah The 4 th Cup (The Cup of Blessing) [Often many Jewish homes do not drink this cup as they are awaiting the Messiah.] We can see clearly that Jesus takes the cup of God s wrath and judgment upon himself and he is our sanctification, redemption and blessing for us, His people. Some of the symbols aren t eaten, such as the roasted lamb shankbone and the roasted egg. However, when it comes time to eat the karpas, the charoset, and the other symbols, different families have different traditions. Much like our Christian celebrations of Easter and Christmas, every family celebrates in their own way. Some eat the symbols from the seder plate; others give each person their own mini-seder plate to eat from; at larger events, these items may be served family style, with large bowls being passed around so that people can serve themselves. Have your Group recite this phrase at the conclusion of the Seder all those in attendance joyfully say together: NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Leaders, once you have gone through the reading of Exodus and Luke, and then discussed the Seder elements, it would be wonderful if you use the Matzoh and Grape Juice and celebrate communion together to end the Fast [Some groups may meet before Good Friday, so the FAST would not be officially over for everyone, but of course everyone should use their discretion here.] The elements of the Passover Seder at Jesus Last Supper became the first Communion s elements: bread and wine. Pray and thank God for His marvelous plan of redemption for His people which we can see from the beginning of scripture in the OT through the NT, fulfilled in Jesus, our Messiah. Communion Instructions: You can celebrate communion in different ways. One way is for everyone to have their own piece of Matzoh and a small cup of grape juice. Or, you could have everyone take a piece of Matzoh and dip it into one cup of grape juice. We discourage using wine to respect those who are in recovery, and we generally dip the matzoh, and do not sip from a communal cup. Leader should read 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 Before taking the bread (matzoh), read: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. [Have everyone eat the bread together - or if using one cup wait and read both passages to receive the elements.]
Then read, In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord s death until he comes. Praise God for His goodness and mercy to all of us. Have your group read 1 Chronicles 16:36 together: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Then all the people said Amen and Praise the Lord. Close in Prayer.