If you've ever been to a real live genuine Jewish Passover Seder, just a few of you. If you're Jewish, you don't count because you had to go. So this is a sophisticated group. And I mean, how many cities are on touch points of three states? So, I mean, you know, you guys are very special and unique. And so I assume there are some art historians and art critics in the group. And so just imagine that beautiful painting or tapestry by Da Vinci of The Last Supper. OK, you got it. You see it. OK, now look carefully. Don't worry, I'm not doing spooky visualizing. OK, that's when I pulled my kids out of school. But but just just think about it for a moment. OK, now, what were they eating for dinner at the last supper? Just call it out. Bread. All right. Wine. OK, that's not the main. What was the main course? Ham. Who said that? That is unfair. OK, no, not lamb or ham. Come on. Someone can do it. Close. It was fish. Now you'll all run back and look and you'll say it was fish. And the reason was Da Vinci felt Jesus and the disciples were good Catholics and ate fish on Friday night. It's true. Then you notice those big fluffy loaves of white bread. Right. I don't know what's going to be on the communion plate, so this is risky. But Jewish people did not eat fluffy loaves of white bread on Passover. We eat matzah, the bread of affliction, unleavened bread, because God said we'd have to leave Egypt so quickly we wouldn't have time for our bread to rise. And so we eat unleavened bread to remember the haste with which we left Egypt. Also in the book of Leviticus in chapter 23, when it lists the seven great festivals of Israel, it talks about Passover and then seven days is the feast of unleavened bread. And so for seven days, we eat this bread of affliction. And if you had to eat it for seven days, you would know why it's called the bread of affliction. And so we eat the bread of affliction for seven days to commemorate the fact that we had to get out of Egypt quickly. And so Da Vinci was a great artist. But unfortunately, Da Vinci, like many within the church for many, many centuries, has forgotten one small item, and that is Jesus was Jewish and the gospel grew in Jewish soil. You can't understand Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, without understanding what it was like to be a Jewish person. And being Jewish impacted the way he spoke, the way he told a story, the truths that he told, and the way that he told them. And it certainly influenced the way he sat with his disciples on the night before he was betrayed in order to present to them in prophetic symbols exactly what would happen the next day in his death and resurrection. You can't understand communion without understanding the Passover. So this morning I hope you'll have a deeper understanding of the Passover and how it relates to communion and then we're going to take communion. Is that great or what? Okay, so that's going to be wonderful. All right, now I have to tell you that Jewish people We are the people of the books. Not everybody says Jewish people are the people of the book. That's not quite true. We have quite a library. And so a lot of Jewish celebrations are based on the Bible, but also are informed by other books, Jewish writings. And it's almost as if every holiday has its own book and every holiday even has its own foods. You know, the statement about Jewish history, if you want to summarize it, they tried to kill us. We beat them. So we ate. Okay. And we opened the book. And so every holiday has its own book. And the book for Passover is called the Haggadah. You want to say that? Haggadah. Okay. I want you to learn Hebrew when Jesus comes back. You know, he's not speaking English. Okay. Okay. So Haggadah. So Haggadah in Hebrew means the telling. And that's a really great hint as to what we're about to do. It is the telling of a story, the story of Exodus, the story of how God delivered the Jews from the Egyptian bondage. And the rabbis realizing that this story needed to be passed on from generation to generation knew that there had to be a way of telling the story that would keep the kids interested. And so the rabbis developed a way to tell the story in this Haggadah, which is usually about anywhere between 40 and 100 pages, depending on what you keep in there and how much artwork you use. Some of them are really beautiful, beautiful pieces of Jewish art. And so the Haggadah actually drives the presentation and drives the story. And so you have two parts of the Haggadah, and it's divided by the meal. which is the most important part of Passover. So you have it's the Jewish answer to Thanksgiving. And so you have the first part of the Passover Seder, which tells part of the story. Then you celebrate and you eat the meal and then you have the second part of the story. We're going to do an abbreviated part one and an abbreviated part two and we're going to kill the meal. OK, so no chopped liver for you today. Now, it's interesting that one of the gospel writers who is usually associated with being a Gentile, St. Luke, of course, is a Jewish person. I never knew Jewish, never knew that St. was a first name. But, you know, I mean, you actually grew up when I first saw my first copy of the New Testament, I was actually looking for St. Patrick. I mean, I did not know who these people were growing up in a New York Jewish home. But St. Luke, or Luke, who a lot of people believe was a Gentile. Do you believe he was a Gentile? Do you? Yeah, most of you? Yeah, what did he do for a living? Still think he was a Gentile? Just reflect on it for a while. See what you come up with. Okay. So, but Luke, Luke was an accurate historian. And so Luke did a lot of research. and inspired by by God, by the Holy Spirit, was able to put together his gospel. And in the Gospel of Luke. chapter 22, we actually have Jesus and the disciples sitting down and celebrating a Passover Seder. And there's enough of an ancient Haggadah in Luke 22 for almost every Jewish person who reads it to say, wow, that's exactly what I did growing up. That's exactly what I'm going to do next week in my sister's home, where I now lead all the Seders. And so Luke has an accurate but abbreviated Haggadah. And that's the Haggadah upon which the Lord's Supper is based. You will not find this order of service in the Old Testament. It's Jewish tradition. So am I telling you that God actually used Jewish tradition to make one of the most major points in the gospel? Yes. Yes, if you have a problem with that, talk to him. But God uses human instruments, which means he can even use you and me. We won't end up inerrant and perfect like what we have in the Bible, but he still uses us. That's the good news. So if you have your Bibles, because I assume you do not have your Haggadahs, Then open up to Luke 22, and let's sit down with Jesus and the disciples and celebrate Passover. And we'll see how Jesus institutes the fulfillment of Passover. Now in verses 1 through 7 of Luke 22, you will see that there's a brief introduction, and you see the role of Satan and Judas. But we know from verse 1, obviously, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. So clearly, Luke sets the context. This is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Then in verses 7 through 13, I wish I could go through that more slowly. But in verses 7 through 13, it's actually a very interesting little passage. He sends Peter and John to find a man carrying a pitcher of water, which was a woman's job, so he would have stuck out. And he says, follow this man to the upper room where you will prepare the Passover. And he uses the word prepare over and over and over again in just a few verses, four or five times. Now, does that mean they were supposed to go out shopping, buy the lamb, get the horseradish? No, not really. That word is sort of like make it kosher. And really what they were to do in the upper room was, of course, to get everything ready. But the most important thing they were to do was to prepare it for Passover, which means they were to cleanse the room of all leaven. Every Jew knows that. So the seven days before we sit down to the first Passover is a time of cleansing the home from leaven. And so there are two ways to cleanse the home from leaven. Number one, you get all of your bagels and Cheerios and cake mixes and pick it all up and throw it in the garbage. Or you can get all of your Levin products, put it in a box, seal it nicely, and sell it to a Gentile. You can do that. Or in Brooklyn, what they do, which is very interesting, we have the largest kosher supermarket in the world, I think, And they open up the it's not like a suburban parking lot, but there is a little bit of parking. And they open this up and they build bonfires. And all the people who live in this building, all the people who live in this building, Religious Jewish men take their boxes of leaven stuff, bring it down to the bonfire, and everybody throws it in the bonfire. And so the whole neighborhood smells of burning bread and other things. It's really quite moving, actually. I mean, you know we're preparing for Passover all week. You know that. And but in a traditional Jewish home, the last thing that happens because it's the woman's job to clean the house of all the leaven. And so dad has a job. He comes home that night and mom hid a token piece of leaven somewhere in the house. And dad takes the traditional elements of feather and a spoon because he cannot touch the leaven with his hands where he becomes defiled. And so he goes searching through the home to find the missing piece of leaven. When he finds it, he puts it on the spoon and then he wraps it up. And then he takes it and goes down to the bonfire and throws it in. And again, purges the leaven. Then he raises his hand, pronounces the house clean, wipes the sweat off his brow after all that work, and then sits down to the Passover table. And so I don't know how much of this Jesus and his disciples did, but I know they did some of it. because you have to remove the leaven, because leaven is a symbol of sin. It's the festival of unleavened bread. And we must have purity before we can have worship. And so the home is now cleansed. We sit down to the Seder. And whoever is leading the Seder, whether that be grandpa or dad, wears a ceremonial robe, which is worn only on Passover. Now, we actually take the seven days of unleavened bread and the one day of Passover, which you'll see in Leviticus chapter 23. We actually take it and just kind of wrap it up into one holiday and call it Passover for the most part. And it's only on the first two nights that we have official seders, although people tend to have seders sometimes on the last night, sometimes on some other nights. When Christians get hold of this, they have it every night, you know, sometimes, you know, but traditionally in Judaism, we just have it on the first two nights. And grandpa wears a ceremonial robe and the robe is white, obviously, and it is a reminder. that he should be pure as the home is pure because grandpa is now transformed into a priest who stands between man and God. To prove that, he also wears a hat called a mitre. Now, don't I look like a priest? You probably feel like the Pope has come all the way from Argentina and Rome to Port Jervis. The symbols are really extraordinary, though, when you understand them. So we now have a purified home. We now have a priest. We have a set table, which is akin to a sanctuary. And then we have one more element. Mom comes and lights the Passover candles. Wait a minute. We have a Jewish believer standing up. Come on up. Yeah, come on. You know, it's weird for a guy to do this. Yeah, it's just, it's awkward, you know. I know, I know, I know. But, you know, that's what makes life so interesting. The surprises of life. Shall I, do you want to say the prayers or should I do it? You can do it. You want to do it together? Yes. We'll do a duet. Okay. I need something. Yeah, I know. I know. Here. Take that. Okay. So when I was growing up, it was a little lace cat. And I couldn't wait to be old enough to do it. I would watch my mom do it. So this looks a little funny. Not to them. Not next to you with this. That's true. Okay. You got it. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech haolam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu l'hadlikner shel Pesach. Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who commanded us to light the candles of Passover. Was that nice or what? It's now a fashion statement. Well, the beauty of it, of course, is that it's a way of honoring the Jewish mother because she worked so hard to prepare for the Passover. And it's also a reminder of the Shekinah glory coming to rest in the Jewish home. So we have a sanctuary, a table set, we have a priest, we have purity, and we have the presence of God. Now we're ready to go. And so during Passover, we actually take four cups of older grape juice. Two before the meal and two cups after the meal. Every cup has its own name and its own symbol. And so the first cup that we take is called the cup of blessing. And with this cup, we bless or sanctify, set apart this evening. We carve it out of our everyday lives and we set it apart for God's special purposes. And so we sanctify the evening. And so we raise our cups and we say the traditional prayer. And it goes like this, but listen carefully because I have a part in here in Hebrew for you. I'm doing you a favor again. You'll be able to talk to the Lord when he comes. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech haolam. Mbore perihagafen. Now your part. Ready? Amen. I know it's difficult. Try it with me. Ready? Amen. You did it. Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who created the fruit of the vine. Jesus, or I'll call him by his Hebrew name, Yeshua, talks about the first cup in Luke 22, 14. And when the hour had come, he reclined at the table. We recline on pillows because that's the way we ate in those days. And we are redeemed people. So we are royalty and rejoicing. And so that's why we do it. And the apostles with him. And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And when he had taken a cup and given thanks, he said, take this and share it among yourselves. For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes. That is cup number one, not number two, not number three, cup number one. Very important which cup it is. Cup number two is not listed in Luke. And I don't know why, because it's my favorite cup. If I was Luke, I would have written it out. And so but cup number two, we raise in our left hand, take out our right pinky. And then we dip our pinky into the wine and drop a drop onto our plate. We do it 10 times. And every time we do it, we recite one of the 10 plagues with great dramatic enthusiasm. OK, so it's really fun. It's designed to scare the daylights out of children. OK, so so it goes like this blood. Now, I can't do this by myself, so I need all of you to take out your imaginary cup. Please raise it. It's in the pew in front of you. Kids, help the adults next to you. They are really bad with imagination, okay? All right, take out your right pinky. Yeah, right, good. Okay, now, just practice. You'll see how it's not so easy being Jewish. Ready? Dip, drop. Dip, drop. You got it. Now, I want you to dip and drop and say the plague after me with the same level of volume. All right? Blood! Frogs! Vermin! Mixture! Boils! Hell! Locusts! Gnats! Yuck! It's the one part of the Seder no Jewish kid ever forgets. And the lesson is the simplest lesson in all of Passover. And that is when you sin and harden your heart, God judges you. I mean, it's just plain as day. So don't ever let a Jewish person say, yeah, well, we're Jewish. We don't really believe in sin the same way you Christians do. Oh, really? You know, what about, you know? And so it's a very clear lesson. Everybody And every sin gets judged. There's always a penalty for sin. It's just a matter of whether or not you bear the penalty or someone else does. Praise God someone's done that for us. All right, now we sing one of the many Passover songs now. It's called Dayenu. Can you say it? Dayenu. Perfect. It means it is enough. And there's about 102 verses. And it goes through, really, it goes through the entire history of Israel. And actually, you do that in about three or four songs. And so one of the reasons a traditional Seder at my home, because we were raised Orthodox Jews, lasted about five hours, was not because the meal was so long, it's because the songs took so long. OK. And so I'm just going to sing three verses. If he would have delivered us from Egypt. Dayenu. OK. If he would have just. given us the Messiah. OK, I'll stick to two, OK? But it goes through the whole history of Israel. If you would have given us, if you would have delivered us from Egypt, if you would have just given us the law, if you would have just given us the Sabbath, and if you would have just conquered the Egyptians, if you would have just conquered the Babylonians. I mean, over and over. It's a miracle, not a drops filled. Boy, that was exciting for me. Thank you, Tom. OK. All right. So here's the song. Now, usually Jewish music is kind of in a minor key, but this one's country Western. So so try it. It goes like this. Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, Die, die, ain't no Die, die, ain't no Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Ilu, Ilu, Hotzianu, Hotzianu, Mimitzrayim, Hotzianu, Mimitzrayim, Dayeinu, together. Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Dayeinu, Dayeinu. Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, Well, that was fun. Now, during Passover, we take items on these plates, which, you know, some of them are still on the plate. And so we take each of these items. Again, they are anything but appetizers. They are symbols. And so the first item we take is parsley, the symbol of life, because Passover is a spring festival. And in order to identify with our ancestors who enjoyed life, but then because of Egyptian bondage, they shed tears. We take the parsley, we dip it in salt water, the symbol of tears, and we eat it to identify with our Jewish ancestors. It's good. Salty. And the reason we do this is because the rabbis sort of engineered this whole ceremony to make us feel like we were in Egypt. We were there. We experienced the bitterness and we experienced the joy of redemption. The second dipping that we take is called kharoset. I won't make you say that. Kharoset is basically chopped apples, but this is my grandmother's recipe from the old country, Brooklyn. Chop the apples, chop walnuts, honey, cinnamon, a little bit of Manischewitz grape wine, kosher for Passover, stir it up, toss in a dash of imagination, and you've got it. Can you see it? I couldn't either. It reminds us of the mortar used to build the bricks in Egypt, which, when Pharaoh withdrew the straw, became even a more bitter experience. So the kids, the kids are very involved in the Haggadah and very involved in the Passover. And so the rabbis put a question in the mouth of the children during the ceremony. And the kids say, why do we remember such a bitter experience with a mixture so sweet? And grandpa answers on behalf of the sages of Israel to the child and says, when redemption is near, even the bitterness of slavery is sweet. So I love that answer. And as followers of Yeshua, the Messiah, we know that even though life can be bitter at times, it's the nature of life that we can stay sweet because we have a hope that goes beyond all things. Now, what I need is a sweet young person to come up and taste the haroset while everybody else is waiting for. Yes, come on up. I need a girl. I need a young one. We want to be even-handed. OK, come on over here. And your name again, I remember. Liam. Right, Liam. And? Noel. What is it? Noel. Noel, OK. All right. You both like matzo? I don't know what that is. Yeah, good. Good. And do you like chopped apples? Yeah. OK, we're good. So this is a very tasty mixture. And that's yours. And then, Noel, this one's yours. Okay. And go ahead and eat. Just let everybody know how good it is, but don't talk with food in your mouth. Good? Come on, this is good stuff. Yeah, we make enough to last all week because this is like, make ice cream out of it and it's really good. Okay, now that was good. And I'm going to give you something else that is really some people think is better or bitter. I can't remember which one, bitter or better. And this one is called horseradish. And this is the bitter herb. And Liam, we take enough, We take enough to make ourselves cry so that we can feel the bitterness of slavery and feel like we were there. You ready for this? You are a brave guy. And if you would have said no, I would have done it to you, but I just can't do this. OK, so, Liam, I'm going to give you just just a little bit. There's your piece. Hold on a second. And then, Noel, I'm going to give you a... We play favorites with girls here. Unless you don't want me to, I can give you as much as... No, there you go. All right. At the count of three, eat. One, two, three. In the mouth. Pretty good? Now, I have seconds for you. Do you want the kharoset or the horseradish? There's always one, always one. OK, you can go. Thank you. Thank you. Wait till you taste gold's extra hot. No seconds on that one. So again, we don't know which one of these dippings actually in the account of the Last Supper was the one that Judas dipped. And some people say it's called sop and the Greek word doesn't help you either. And so we don't know if it was that or that. And of course, if it was that, Preaches much better, really, you know, but we'll have to ask Jesus because I'm not sure Judas will be there. Okay. So now lifting up the next item is the egg. This should be hard-boiled. Okay, and the egg actually packs a wallop. There's a lot of meaning to the egg. The egg, most importantly, was added to the Seder plate after 70 AD, after the destruction of the temple. This is the one item we know for sure that was not on the Seder plate of Jesus. It would not have been there. And so the egg is hard-boiled, roasted brown, because it's supposed to symbolize the missing daily sacrifices in the temple. And the rabbi said, let's remember the temple and mourn the temple on Passover. I'll explain why. So we roast an egg. Again, reminds us of the daily. Eggs are laid daily. Sacrifices were offered daily. It's roasted. We take a piece of the egg. We dip it in salt water, the symbol of tears, and we eat it. And this tempers our joy. So in this time of sweetness, thinking about our redemption from Egypt, Jewish people realized that even though we've been redeemed from Egyptian bondage, we're not fully redeemed yet. And we will not be redeemed until the day God gathers the Jewish people, brings us back to the land of Israel, establishes his kingdom, rebuilds the temple, and reinstitutes the sacrifices. And that is the traditional hope of religious Jews. And so why do we dip it in salt water? Because we're not there yet. It's the same rationale for why people call the last standing Western Wall of Herod's Temple the Wailing Wall. Because we wail, because the most significant event in Jewish life that, if you can believe it, at least traditionally and historically, is almost more significant than the Holocaust, was the destruction of the temple. And so Jewish people wait in hope. And here's the rationale. If God could deliver us from Egypt, then God could bring us back to the land and rebuild our temple. And so that's the egg, a lot of punch to the egg. And it's interesting that after the egg, we take the shank bone. And traditionally, in Jewish homes, we actually, particularly in most certain kinds of Jewish homes, the more Polish, Germanic, Eastern European Jewish homes, which is my home, we do not eat lamb. Absolutely, nor ham, but we absolutely do not eat lamb. And the reason we don't eat lamb is because it's again a reminder of the fact that we don't have an altar to make a sacrifice. So no lambs because those lambs were offered on the altar. And so we don't eat lamb. We have a stripped down shank bone of a lamb. We raise it and we tell the story of Exodus 12 as we just read. And we reflect upon God's command to the Jewish people to take a spotless, unblemished, young, the Hebrew word is young lamb, from the flock, and to watch it, make sure it's perfect. Then on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, to slay the lamb, pour its blood into a basin, and then with hyssop leaves to place the blood on the door frames and the top of the house. And then God himself would pass through the land of Egypt and pass over every home that was protected by the blood of that perfect little lamb. Now, the judgment would have been upon the firstborn male. So how many firstborn males do we have here? Just raise your hand. OK, yeah, you would have been dead just so you know. Significant judgment when it's you, isn't it? Me too. But God spared the firstborn male. And as a result, actually, Pharaoh changed his domestic policy and allowed the Jews to go free. And so this shank bone of the lamb is really important in Jewish tradition. I remember when I became a believer. And, you know, as your usual testimony around here, you're all used to the same testimony. You know, nice Jewish guy, nice Gentile, becomes a hippie, deals drugs, gets saved, becomes a pastor. You know, and, you know, it's just, you know, it's just, it's just the, it's the old story, you know. Or a missionary. And so I got saved in California and came back to break the good news to my parents. They were, of course, thrilled. And and we were approaching Passover. And so we all went to Brooklyn to my grandparents, Orthodox Jewish grandparents home to sit around with 40 other relatives to celebrate the Passover. And of course, I was under pain of death for opening my mouth about anything. OK, not a word, you know. And and I have been such a bad son. I had a lot of repenting to do. And so I would have said yes to almost anything and thought about what I said yes to later on. But at that point, I said, of course, I won't say anything. And then my grandfather raised the shank bone of the lamb. And all I wanted to do is jump up and say, it's Jesus. It's Jesus. But I didn't do it. I told them later and they never talked to me again. Unfortunately, never. But it is Jesus. It was a prophetic portrait of the Lamb of God who was to come. And when Jew or Gentile, boy or girl, man or woman, when by faith we apply the blood of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God to the doorposts of our hearts, then the wrath of God passes over us and we pass from death into life. That's why I love what Rabbi Saul, also known as the Apostle Paul, when he said, even Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us. Let us celebrate. That's the joy. The joy is knowing that God has done for us what no other human being, including yourself or your most cherished loved one, nobody could do what needed to be done. only God could do it for you. Last night I had the joy of You know, children, they can go, you know, many different ways and and they do. And and, you know, but, you know, sometimes by the time they're 30, they settle down nicely, you know. And and so my daughter lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It's going to shock you. She's a Jewish lawyer. And so she lives on on the Upper West Side. And she has a real ministry of hospitality and has Bible studies in her home and all sorts of things. And so last night, we created a special event for younger people, younger Jewish believers and unbelievers if they wanted to come. And there's a woman we've been getting to know and so on. Anyway, she's a Jewish woman. She's 86 years old. So she the average age of everybody else was 26. So, you know, she was Rose was 86 and and Rose has been getting closer and closer to the Lord. She's read the book. I wrote on Isaiah 53 explained twice and and dialogues with me in it. She's going to redeem a Presbyterian Church now for a year. you know, in two home groups. She's not a believer, wasn't a believer yet until last night. And last night as we were sitting around and talking, We talked about the different views between Messianic Jews, which is, it's okay if you call me a Christian, I really don't mind, okay? But among Messianic Jews and traditional Judaism, and we talked about a number of areas, but one of the key areas was on the issue of atonement. Because you understand Jewish people traditionally do not believe in the sinfulness of man. They believe man can make a choice towards a good or evil inclination, And most of Jewish interpretation is that man is innately good, not innately sinful. And therefore, a once-for-all sacrifice is not necessary because man can always turn and repent and obey God. And as long as he stays that way, then he can enjoy a relationship with God. So people think. And last night, we really honed in on that difference. And that's really difficult for traditional Jewish people. And Rose is one of them. Really difficult for people to understand. But you know, sometimes the Holy Spirit's working. A lot has gone into it and Keller probably preached 12 sermons on it. But she finally got it last night and she understood that God sent his son to do what no one else could do because she had a problem. She was a sinner and she recognized it and she came out for the Lord last night. And it was a beautiful, beautiful thing. Can you imagine that in front of all these young people seeing an 86 year old Jewish woman come to faith? And so we need to continue to pray for our Jewish friends and understand that there's a really big chasm Christianity's done a lot of harm to Jewish people, quote-unquote Christianity. There's a big gulf of beliefs. For example, I was talking about some of the differences between Judaism and Christianity. I said, well, there are two or three kind of big ones. There's a lot of similarities, particularly for more religious Jews, same Old Testament base. So, I mean, it's got to be a lot of similarities. And, you know, we should sometimes really play up the similarities because we do share a lot in common, there's no doubt. But I said, you know, one of the really, really big ones is we believe in a triune God. We believe that God became flesh and dwelt among men. There's no way the Jewish religion can embrace this. I said, and then secondly, even though we might have a high regard for the Bible, you have to understand that as Messianic Jews, we believe in the old and the New Testament. And that's a really big difference. It's why our seminary education sometimes takes longer. We have two books. And then the other difference is on the view of sinfulness. And so it was a wonderful, wonderful night. But I hope that you'll be patient because In sharing the gospel with your Jewish friends, it really does take time. And if you're patient and you're showing them the love that overcomes thousands of years of a bad rep of Christianity among Jewish people, then I think that God could really work in the hearts and lives of your Jewish friends. We usually take about three or four times as long to come to faith, you know, as your average lapsed Gentile. And so it really takes time for us to get this. And so keep praying and pray for Rose that she'll grow in her faith. Now, would you take out the brochure just for a moment? And, you know, do a wave offering. So I see you have it, you know, just you got it. All right. There we go. All right. We're going to unfurl the brochure. Got it, Tom. OK, we're going to unfurl it and you'll see there's a perforation. So fold it along the perforation. Now, listen. Don't do anything because this is one of the traditions. It's not a tradition of Passover. It's just a glazer tradition. So just fold it back and forth. At the count of three in Hebrew, we're all going to rip at the same time to demonstrate our unity in the Messiah. OK, so here we go. All right. I'm going to count in Hebrew. Echad, shtayim, shalosh, rip. It goes to show any unity we have is supernatural. OK, so just hold on to the large part. Take the small part. And if you could begin filling this in, we'll be collecting the these as you leave this morning somehow that Tom will figure out how to do that. But we want to collect these from you because every month the entire Chosen People staff is going to be coming to your home for dinner. OK, so a couple hundred of us and 16 countries. And don't worry about the language, just worry about the food. And so no pork chops, but we'll be coming. And no, we want to send you the newsletter. We want to send you snail mail and also some emails. We do different kinds of things to keep things in balance. And you'll want to get our mailing so that you can pray for us. Some of you have continued to pray for the building in Brooklyn. It is done Thanks in part to Marty. Okay, it's done It's paid for Yeah, which is I didn't realize, but I feel like I just have so much more time. So it's done, it's paid for, and a lot of the inspections are done. And we're expecting that somewhere in the next four to eight weeks that we will move in. We all want it to be faster, but as I've told some people, we don't really care. I mean, we're still doing our ministry there and we'll get in there and then we're not leaving until Yeshua comes back. So, you know, it's either he returns and we're out of a job or, you know, we'll die trying. And so we'll be there. One of the best things about getting a building like this in the middle of an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood is neighborhood stability. They will never leave. They would have to shut down educational institutions for about 100,000 boys and girls. I mean, orthodox neighborhoods don't change. And so we will be there until the Lord returns. And so we're grateful for your prayers. Beautiful facility, done beautifully. And it will be a real beacon of light for the Messiah in the middle of mostly a religious Jewish area. So pray. All right. That was the meal. This is a matzah tash. And sometimes it's used as a covering. It also has three compartments. And what we do is we have three pieces of matzah. And oftentimes it's exactly like this with that on top and then covered by three pieces. So a lot of discussion as to the meaning of the three pieces yet one pouch, three but one. I do have a response to that, but no rabbi has yet to ask me what I think. And so some say it's Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But actually, the majority say that it refers to God, the priests, and the people, or sometimes the high priest, the Levites, and the people. And so either way, it's usually a mediator. And even in Jewish thinking, as strange as this might sound, Isaac is viewed as a type of the sacrificial system and of the priesthood. You can understand why. And so that middle piece is always viewed as a mediator. between God and man. We take a piece of the mediator. Before the meal, we break it, put part of it back. The other piece we wrap in a napkin. We play a game with the kids, which we will not play. And then Grandpa hides it. At the end of the meal, we send the kids out to look for it. They kill each other and then find it. They all peaked. Then grandpa takes a piece and breaks it up, usually the size, the rabbi say, the size of an olive and gives it to everybody at the meal. So we have the middle piece of matzah, the piece of the priest, broken, wrapped, hidden, brought back, and distributed. You notice something about matzah as well. Traditionally, it's made striped and pierced, Nobody knows why it could be made a lot of different ways. Yeshua, in verse 20, 19. Did something similar. And when he had taken some bread, please read that matzah. And given thanks, he broke it. This is how bread breaks. And he gave it to them, saying, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me, which we're about to do. You see, Jesus was both mediator and sacrifice. And he was broken in death, he was wrapped for burial, he was placed in the tomb, and then he rose from the dead. and his life is given to all who reach out a hand of faith and believe. He's the one Isaiah referred to who would be pierced for our transgressions and by his stripes we would be healed. He is unleavened because he was perfect. It goes on and on and on. You see, the Savior was Jewish. He knew exactly what he was doing. He used that symbol as a fulfillment of a promise and then gives it as a gift. to generations of those who love him and follow him to reflect, remember, and celebrate what he did because he loved us so much. Then we raise the cup after the meal. After the meal has to be this one. It's the third cup called the cup of redemption. Redemption means to be set free from slavery. It involves a price that was paid for your redemption. And so Yeshua raises the cup and chants the prayer. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech haolam borei peri hagafen. You're such a good Levitical choir. Thank you. Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who created the fruit of the vine. But Jesus pours new meaning into the third cup. And in the same way, he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, this cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. No longer was Jesus speaking about a little lamb animal, but he was talking about himself. And no longer was he talking about the blood of an animal. He was talking about his own blood, not shed for Jews alone, but for Jews and Gentiles. And his shed blood does not set us free from Egyptian bondage, but something even worse from the bondage of sin and eternal death. And that is our communion cup. The Jewish Messiah intended it to be that way. The fourth cup is called the Praise the Lord Cup, the Hallel Cup. And in Matthew 26, you see Jesus took that cup, sang hymns, which would have been Psalms, then went out to the garden to suffer with praise on his lips, which I think is beautiful. Then finally, we send the kids to the front door. Would you guys help me out for a second? Would you go to the front door? Just would you open it up? OK, here's what you're looking for. You're looking for Elijah. OK, he's dressed a little bit like me, wearing sandals, long beard. You'll see a chariot parked out front. Just shout, Elijah, you have to shout. Shout, Elijah, louder, louder, louder. He's old. He can't hear well. Oh, louder. OK, now give him a chance. Is he there? Finally! But why the roof? OK. All right, come on back in. All right, let's dig in for another few thousand years, I guess. So every year, Jewish kids go to the front door, invite Elijah to come. We sing a beautiful song, Elijah. Bring with you the Messiah, the Son of David. You see, the hope for Elijah is not just Elijah, it's for the one Elijah would bring. And yet at the end of the meal, since Elijah never seems to come, we pour out his wine and put away his place setting and we start waiting again and again. And you know how we end every Passover? It's interesting. Lashana haba b'Yerushalayim. It's the last words you say. Next year, we will be in Jerusalem. There's always the hope that if not this year, next year. So my people, again this year, will continue to wait and wait and wait and wait. But what are they really waiting for? They're waiting for someone who's already come. John came, Jesus said, in the spirit and power of Elijah. Jesus came, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He's coming back again to reign as king. But Jewish people continue to wait and wait and wait. Maybe they're waiting for us. Maybe they're waiting for Jesus-loving Jewish and Gentile believers. to tell them, just get enough chutzpah, you know, to tell them that actually Christians love Passover because the Jewish, their Jewish Messiah celebrated Passover and we love everything that he did. And that Easter actually, it's not all about eggs and hats. Easter is actually about the Jewish Messiah for all people. who rose from the dead and conquered death and gives hope beyond this life. My prayer is that God will use each and every one of you. Find a Jewish person, pray for them, and ask God for an opportunity to share with them the good news that the Messiah has come. Abba, thank you for your love and mercy. And as we now enter this holiest of times, as we are reminded again of your broken body for our sin, of a raised cup reminding us of your shed blood. Lord, I pray that you would continue to speak to our hearts, give us a sense of your holy presence. Cleanse our souls and help us, Lord, to gain the strength we need to serve you and to share the good news with both Jews and Gentiles. Lord, help us to make proclamation a priority as we live our lives authentically, but we also open our lips to give you praise, to let our friends know of the one who changes and transforms our life. So Lord, bless us now as we enter this time. Beshem shall Yeshua haMashiach. In the name of Jesus, the Messiah. Amen. for this reason many are weak and sick among you and many sleep for if we would judge ourselves we would not be judged but when we are judged we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world again as we say each time communion is extremely serious business and to enter into it in an unworthy manner is to literally court disaster so if you're not absolutely confident that you are a child of the king, or if you first need to be reconciled to your brother or sister before you bring your sacrifice to the altar. When these elements come to you, just pass them by. Nobody's going to look at you strangely. Nobody's going to think you're doing something odd or weird. In fact, they may just think you're being very wise. We also want to point out, on the other hand, you can make the mistake of thinking that unless I'm spotlessly perfect, I'm unworthy to receive communion. And that, too, is a mistake. You see, being a child of the King does not mean that we do not sin and that we never fail. It means that when we do fail, we are aware that we have sinned because God's Spirit is within us, convicting us. And so we grieve as children who know that we have a Father who longs to forgive us and to cleanse us. God says in 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So being a child of a king does not mean that we are without sin. It means that when we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father. First John 2.1, My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. And so because we own Jesus's righteousness and not our own, we are free to eat from his table. So if you love your Lord, don't deny yourself the privilege that Jesus purchased for you with his blood. First Corinthians 11, 23 and 24 says this, For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when 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. Take and eat. Will the elders come forward to begin distributing the cup? And again, Lord, as they do, I just again thank you, Lord, for bearing the cup for us. I thank you for Mitch's presence here. I thank you for him opening up to us again the richness of the symbolism of what it is that you have done for us. Lord, thank you for being our Passover lamb. Thank you for being the one from whose blood comes the protection. That seals us that keeps us from the angel of death and father what a cost to you To lose your precious son for us. I Just praise you and thank you father son and Holy Spirit for this gift First Corinthians, the 11th chapter, the 25th verse says this. 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. So take and drink. Father, again, we just want to thank you and praise you for the gift of your Son. We thank you for that precious blood that has saved us, that has covered us, and that protects us. Father, I thank you again for your gospel that goes out with power. I just want to remember Rose today, Lord. What an incredible encouragement to each of us to realize that at age 86, God is still capable of touching lives, opening hearts, and allowing the blind to have sight. Father, enable that to move us when we start to fear, when we lack the chutzpah, to be able to share the gospel because we feel it's a test that's not doable. Lord, remind us that your Holy Spirit is unstoppable. remind us that we have the privilege of sharing this good news, and we also have that as a responsibility. I pray that you would give us the grace, the peace, the power, and the wisdom that we need to do that task and to do it in a way that brings honor and glory to you. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.