Option Three: Conduct an Abbreviated Seder Greetings 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. For this, Option Three, we are very honored to have had Dr. Gregg Haag (from our Mountainside Campus) summarize a full Seder for us so that we are able to celebrate the Seder within the time frame of your Group. Dr. Haag likes to remind us that just as we Christians all celebrate Christmas and Easter in different ways, there is no one way to celebrate Passover! So don t worry if you are doing it right, enjoy celebrating God s protection and deliverance of His people. And of course, you and your Group will be so thrilled to see Jesus or references to Him throughout this celebration! Of course it is important that the people in your Group are familiar with the original Passover account from Scripture! Option One has a very detailed lesson on Exodus if you need a refresher! Supplies Needed: One dinner sized plate for each person to hold the following: 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. Bowl with water to be passed around for hand washing. Napkins Candles and matches Grape Juice [representing the fruit of the vine mentioned below] in a wine glass or a regular glass is fine also. 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
2 Passover Summary Gregory Hagg, Ph.D. The annual Feast of Passover (Seder) is celebrated in almost every Jewish home worldwide. Most Christians are well aware that our Communion Service, Eucharist, or the Lord s Table comes from this ancient ritual meal that commemorates the time when Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt. However, most are not aware of how the Passover Meal (Pesach) reveals the Person and Work of Jesus the Messiah. Read Luke 22:7-18 and 1 Corinthians 11:25-26 Many Christians (especially those of Jewish heritage) celebrate the meal every Passover/Easter season in the way they believe the first Century Jewish believers did as they followed the instructions given by Messiah Jesus. Below is an abbreviated guide to show this incredible connection. Many items are excluded, but the primary elements are listed to explain Messiah in the Passover. Leaders of Life Groups who want to Break their Fasts with a Jewish/Christian Seder, can use any or all of the following suggestions. Table Preparations : (best if all can sit around one table) Each table should have a plate for each individual, which contains Parsley (one sprig) Karpas Horseradish (teaspoon) Maror Apple mix (1/4 cup) Haroseth Unleavened Bread (1/2 sheet) Matzah Egg is Optional One cup or wine glass for the fruit of the vine One individual, empty place setting with Cup reserved for Elijah the Prophet Each table should also have: One bowl of water and a towel for the hand washing (Urchatz) One napkin (white cloth preferred) with 3 sheets of matzah folded separately within it One single napkin on top of the napkin that has the 3 sheets of matzah Two candles and matches One cup of salt water for 1 st dipping of the parsley at each plate The Leader s plate should also have a shank bone of a lamb or something resembling this (such as a turkey or chicken drumstick) Order of Service : Lighting the Candles Ask a woman to light the candles and say the following prayer:
3 Blessed art Thou O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us by the commandments and commanded us to light the Festival Light. Blessing over the 1 st Cup (The Cup of Sanctification) The Kiddush All people should be leaning to the left as they are partaking in the meal. As Jesus and His disciples were reclining around the table. Each person pours about 1/3 cup of the fruit of the vine The Leader states that the wine represents the Blood of the Lamb and prays: Blessed art Thou O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, Creator of the Fruit of the Vine. All drink together Washing The Urchatz Pass the bowl of water around the table for washing the fingers. The Leader says, T his may have been when Jesus washed the disciples feet during supper. [Have someone read: Read John 13:1-11] Parsley Karpas Each person dips the parsley in salt water and takes with the Leader. The Leader states, The salt represents the tears of bitter slavery, and the salty Red Sea. The parsley also represents the hyssop used for sprinkling blood on the doorposts. The Leader recites the blessing: Blessed art Thou O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, Creator of the Fruits of the Earth All eat the dipped parsley together This is the 1 st Dipping in the Bowl, which Jesus mentioned during the Passover Read Matthew 26:20-25 Breaking of the Middle Matzah Yachutz The Leader holds up the napkin with 3 sheets of Matzah folded into it He comments that the bag is called the Matzah Tashen or the Echad (Unity Bag) Although divided into 3 compartments it is considered a unity The Leader takes the middle or second Matzah and breaks it in half Half is placed on his plate and half (the Afikomen) is wrapped in the single napkin. The Afikomen is put aside during the meal to be retrieved later, after the meal. The Leader explains, Christians believe that the Three Compartments represent the Trinity. The Matzah of the Second Compartment represents the Son of God. The Broken Matzah is placed in a white linen wrapping and buried away to come again. Retelling the Story The Maggid Each person pours about 1/3 cup of the fruit of the vine The Leader says: This is the 2 nd Cup (The Cup of Plagues or Judgment) Read Exodus 12:1-12
4 The Leader says: At this point in the Seder, The Four Questions are asked! [Leader reads this] A child typically sings (or asks) these questions. There are two dippings on this night. 1. Why do we eat only Matzah or unleavened bread tonight? 2. Why do we eat only Maror or bitter herbs tonight? 3. Why do we dip twice tonight : Karpas (parsley) in saltwater and Maror (bitter herbs) in Haroseth (apple mixture) tonight? 4. Why do we recline at the meal tonight? [These are not answered per se, but more rhetorical in nature.] Three Required Comments The Leader states that the Rabbis say that these three items must be mentioned or the Seder has not been appropriately observed. Egypt. Shank bone Pesach The Leader says, This symbolizes the Lamb of the Passover in For Christians it represents Jesus the Messiah, the Lamb of God Read Isaiah 53:7 and John 1:29 Unleavened Bread Matzah The Leader says, This symbolizes the sudden departure from Egypt. Leader reads this: According to Jewish tradition the matzah also symbolizes the Paschal Lamb. Leaven (yeast) symbolizes sin in the Bible. The Matzah looks striped with dark baking marks and has holes in it -- it is pierced. For Christians the Matzah represents the pierced, bruised, sinless body of Jesus. Have someone read Isaiah 53:5, Zechariah 12:10, and Psalm 22:16 Bitter Herbs Maror The Leader says, This Symbolizes the bitterness of bondage in Egypt. For Christians, the bitterness of sin before knowing forgiveness through Jesus. Blessing over the 2 nd Cup (The Cup of Plagues or Judgment) The Leader (or another participant) recites the following as the cup is raised: We are therefore privileged to thank, praise, adore, glorify, extol, honor, bless, exalt, and reverence him, who wrought all the miracles for our ancestors and for us: for he brought us forth from bondage to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning into holy days, from darkness to great
5 light, and from servitude to redemption: and therefore let us chant unto him a new song, Hallelujah! This is a fitting prayer for Christians who have experienced redemption by the blood. All drink together. Sampling the Elements Bitter Herbs Maror Each person scoops some horseradish with a piece of Matzah (1-2 inch square) The Leader says: All eat together. The tears remind us of slavery under the brutal rule of Egypt The Leader instructs each person to make a Sandwich Korekh Each person scoops Apple Mixture ( Haroseth ) with a piece of Matza h He then takes another piece and scoops up more horseradish Place the two together to form a sandwich The Leader says, Let s all eat together Leader reads this: The Apple Mixture represents the mortar used in building brick walls in Egypt. Haroseth speaks of bitterness replaced by sweetness of deliverance This is the 2 nd Dipping of the morsel, sandwich, or the sop Read John 13:25-27 Elijah s Cup (The Leader should read this) Typically a child will go to the door in a Jewish home to see if Elijah is waiting to enter. In Jewish tradition (and the Bible) Elijah is to introduce the Messiah s Coming. Jesus said that John the Baptizer came in the spirit and power of Elijah. The Messiah has already appeared in the Person of Jesus who was introduced by John Afikomen Typically the child will bring back the Afikomen bag, which was buried away. The Leader breaks a small piece from the Afikomen for each person at the table and reads the following: The word Afikomen means I came when transliterated into Greek. Jesus may have distributed this at the Last Supper and said, I came. The Matzah represents the body of the Passover Lamb. Blessing over the 3 rd Cup (The Cup of Redemption) The Geulah The Leader says nothing about this except to recite the blessing. Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Creator of the Fruit of the Vine.
6 The Leader instructs all to drink together, and reads the following: Geulah means redemption (cf. Boaz was the Geulah for Ruth by paying the price). When Jesus said, This is the new covenant in my blood, he may have raised this cup. The Cup of Redemption speaks of the shed blood of the Passover Lamb. The evening ends with much singing and conversation The Leader reads: The 4 th Cup (The Cup of Blessing) may have been taken by Jesus and the disciples at the very end of the Seder before going to the Mount of Olives. However, since Jesus said, But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father s Kingdom, (Matthew 26:29), many believe that they did not take the 4 th Cup. It awaits the Return of the King. Have your Group recite this phrase at the conclusion of the Seder all those in attendance joyfully say together: NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!