Passover Day 22 nd April 2013 World Christian Fellowship 60, High Worple, Rayners Lane, Harrow Middlesex, HA2 9SZ, United Kingdom Tel: +44 208 429 9292 www.wcflondon.com wcflondon@gmail.com Let us face the truth Jesus was born as a Jew and all the early Christians were Jew. Middle wall of separation is removed Ephesians 2:14, For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, We are the branches of the olive tree (Romans 11: 17-25) so we should not forget that we have been grafted into the tree. Our tree has only Jewish roots so we do as well. 3 Feast every Jewish male over 18 years must be present in Jerusalem. (Deuteronomy 16:16) Passover Pentecost Feast of Tabernacle Passover: Exodus 12:1-14, God performs many miracles and send 10 plagues yet Pharaoh doesn t heed to Gods voice to let the Israelites go. Finally the Lord brings the judgement of killing the entire first born of Egypt. 1
But those who want to avoid the punishments have to kill the lamb and then put the blood on the doorpost sides and on the lintel top which makes a perfect cross. When God sees the bloods then HE will Passover. John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29, The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 2
Jesus came to Jerusalem and stayed there for four days and He was examined by priest and the High Priest and then on the Passover day He was killed on Calvary. Jesus did celebrate the Passover, Matthew 26:17-19, Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover? 18 And He said, Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples. 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. Nisan/Abib is the New Year spiritually for the Jew. 9 th April 2016 is the 1 st of the month of Nisan. 14 th Day is the day of Passover which is 23 rd April 2016. Fri, 22 April 2016 at sundown (15th of Nisan, 5776) Mon, 10 April 2017 at sundown (15th of Nisan, 5777) Fri, 30 March 2018 at sundown (15th of Nisan, 5778) Fri, 19 April 2019 at sundown (15th of Nisan, 5779) Rosh Hashanah: (Hebrew: ה נ ש ה שא ר, literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (Hebrew: ה ור ה ם וי ), literally "day [of] shouting/blasting", sometimes translated as the Feast of Trumpets. 3 rd October 2016 is the Rosh Hashanah. 3
Those who are from Tamil background can understand this easily. Tamil and Sinhala New Year almost fall on the same day. The number of days in a month varies between 29 and 32. The following list compiles the months of the Tamil Calendar. No. Month (Tamil) Month (Translite ration) Sanskrit Name * Gregorian equivalent Calendar 01. ச த த ர Cittirai Chaitrai mid-april to mid-may 02. ர க ச Vaikāsi Vaisākha mid-may to mid-june 03. ஆன Āni Jyaishtha mid-june to mid-july 04. ஆட Āṭi Āshāḍha mid-july to mid-aug 05. ஆ ண Āvaṇi Shrāvaṇa mid-aug to mid-sept 06. ப ட ட ச Puraṭṭāsi 07. ஐப பச Aippasi Bhādrapada/ Prauṣṭhapada Ashwina/Ashv ayuja mid-sept to mid-oct mid-oct to mid-nov 08. க த த ரக Kārttikai Kārttika mid-nov to mid-dec 09. ம கழ Mārkazhi Mārgaṣīrṣa mid-dec to mid-jan 10. ரத Tai Pausha/Taiṣy a mid-jan to mid-feb 11. ம ச Māsi Māgha mid-feb to mid-mar 12. பங க ன Paṅkuni Phalguna mid-mar to mid-april 4
Tamil calendar has 60 years with names and they are on a cycle, this 2016-17 is known as Dhunmuki, which is 30 th in cycle. Tamil calendar year of 1425-26 and Thiruvalluvar Year of 2047. In the book of Exodus the Israelites have been commanded to stand with their belt and sandals on them to show that they are getting ready to leave from Egypt. But now they don t do that they put a cushion behind their back or use recliner to show that they are free, they are no longer slaves. Also in those times the slaves never had the privilege of reclining and eating. When they sit down to eat the Passover meal there are 4 questions asked by the youngest member of the family and the 5
oldest will answer with the entire story. Following are the questions Why is this night different from all other nights? 1. Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzah, but on this night we eat matzah? 2. Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs? 3. Why is it on all other nights we do not dip even once, but on this night we dip twice? 4. Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position? Four cups of wine: 1. The Cup of Sanctification based on God s statement, I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians (Kiddush) 6
2. The Cup of Judgment or Deliverance- based on God s statement, I will deliver you from slavery to them 3. The Cup of Redemption based on God s statement, I will redeem you with an outstretched arm 4. The Cup of Praise or Restoration based on God s statement, I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God Jesus died at 3.00 p.m. on the cross at Calvary, the same time where thousands of Passover lambs were being slaughtered. So Christ is called our Passover lamb, the one who has been sacrificed for us so that the angel of death would pass over those who trust in him. In the 15 th Century people were killed for baptising people in Netherlands. In 1558 in England 288 Protestant Reformers were burned for taking communion of these, 1 was an archbishop, 4 were bishops, 21 were clergymen, 55 were women, and 4 were children. People were ready to give up their life for to keep these two ordinances. 7
Why we partake in the Communion/Passover? There are two ordinances that the Lord Jesus commanded for HIS church to perform. One is baptism, the other the Lord's Supper. "This is my body" (1 Corinthians 11:24) and "This is my blood of the covenant" (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24). Or "This cup is the new covenant in my blood" (1 Corinthians 11:25; see Luke 22:20) A) This is my body When I show the picture of my family the photograph is not my family but it only a representation of my family the same way Jesus said this is my body. It represents as HIS body. It does not become body. John 6:48-63 explains the whole meaning that Jesus was speaking only figuratively. John 6:35, And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. B) This is my blood of the covenant Without the shedding of the blood there is remissions for our sins (Hebrews 9:23) So the blood of Jesus is the one which establish the New Covenant which God promised through the Prophet Jeremiah 31:31-34. 8
John 6:55-56, For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. Significance of Communion: 1. Proclaim the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ until HE comes again. 1 Corinthians 11: 26, For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord s death till He comes. 2. Remembering Jesus 1 Corinthians 11:24, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. Jesus Commanded us to remember this! 3. Promise of the New Covenant 1 Corinthians 11:25, In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. In the Old Covenant it was your sins are only covered but in the New Covenant it s completely taken away. Sin shall not have dominion over you! 9
4. We are part of one body 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. Jesus told when you paying your offering if you have anything against your brother first go and make peace with him then come and then give the offering. Many Christians fail to understand that when we are in a local body we ought to have peace with everyone. You may not agree with everything or with everyone but we can have peace with everyone in spite of our differences. God expects from us Unity not Uniformity, everyone should understand this. 5. We have been called to examine ourselves. This is one of the most misunderstood statements in the Christendom. If you study carefully the following passage it talks about the way in which you take communion. We are all sinner, none of us qualify to be in the presence of God. So here it s not talking about the person but the manner in which you take. Also it commands us to examine our life and acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice the Lord Jesus had done for us. 10
1 Corinthians 11:27-32, Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 11
Why do you allow Children to partake? One of the questions many people ask in our World Christian Fellowship, why do the children partake in the communion? Our communion service is open to all including the children but according the scriptures there are only two conditions. 1. Trusting the Lord Jesus Christ alone for their forgiveness of their sin and the promise of eternal life 2. Has the intention to follow Jesus Christ as their Lord and obey His commandments all the days of their life. Therefore, children are welcome to participate in the communion table: when they can understand its significance; when they are able to give a sincere confession of faith in Christ; when they knowingly intend to follow the Lord in obedience. There is no test they take or class they attend to help establish their readiness. We simply leave it up to parents to decide when their young disciples are ready. 12