Holy Thursday
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Holy Thursday A Jesus-Centered, Contemporary, Seder Celebration of the Last Supper By Bryce Harcey All Scripture quotations come from the ESV. Portions of this guide are inspired by Ann Voskamp’s writings on a Christian Passover. Introduction On the Thursday before Jesus was crucified, he gathered his disciples in an upper room to share with them what has come to be known as “The Last Supper.” It was a pivotal night for all of history, a night where time slowed down, a night where everything was filled with profound meaning and significance. For the disciples, it would be a commencement celebration and a commissioning from Jesus’ earthly school of discipleship. In a matter of hours, their teacher, their friend, the Messiah Son of God, would be arrested, beaten, and crucified. The activities of this evening served of great importance then as they do today. They serve to renew and restore our life in Christ as the family of God, as servants of Jesus, and now as the church, the people of God living in light of the new covenant dependent on the power of the Spirit. Three scenes unfolded that night: 1. The Passover Meal. It was the day of unleavened bread, the beginning of Passover and as a Jewish tradition Jesus celebrated it, he wanted to celebrate it with his disciples. We read in Luke 22:7-13, “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.” Passover commemorates the Exodus, where the children of God were dramatically and miraculously rescued from 400 years of Egyptian slavery. Jesus shows his disciples how the Passover ultimately points to him and finds its fulfillment in 2 his life, his death (on our behalf so death might pass over us) and his resurrection. 2. The Foot Washing. On that Holy Thursday Jesus, the King of the Universe, chose the role of a servant and washed his disciples’ feet. The time had now come. The disciples were commissioned to love and serve others just as Jesus had taught them. He gave them a new command (“mandatum” is Latin for command and is where we get the word “Maundy” in Maundy Thursday): a command to serve one another and to love one another just as Jesus had loved them. 3. The Lord’s Supper. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. Many have noted that it could really be called “The First Supper” rather than the last! It was the first Lord’s Supper, establishing and inaugurating the new covenant. Even though the realities of the cross hadn’t fully arrived yet, even though the disciples did not fully understand (they soon would), Jesus gave his disciples instructions that as they ate the bread and drank the cup, that it is through his body and blood God has established a new covenant with all of creation. The time of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all God’s people had come, that creation might be reconciled and restored to him, that he might be glorified for all eternity. PREPARATION Passover always begins with a time of preparation, preparing our homes, preparing our hearts. During Passover, all products containing leaven or yeast were prohibited. Houses would be thoroughly cleaned and swept, a Spring Cleaning of sorts, and all items containing yeast were discarded. During this cleaning we remember that the Passover supper in Egypt had to be eaten quickly, and finished before Pharaoh changed his mind again. There was no time for the bread to rise, and no leaven was used. Throughout the Scriptures, yeast or leaven is also a 3 symbol of sin which can get into a person's life, contaminating us entirely. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” As we begin, let us take time to prepare our hearts, for personal examination, let’s quietly confess our sin to the Lord, and ask Him for forgiveness and cleansing according to His Promises, remembering our need for redemption from the slavery and bondage of sin. (pause for silence and prayer) We are going to listen to a powerful song that echoes the cries of the children of Israel. We invite you to listen, reflect and even join in in worship. [SONG OF LAMENT/CONTRITION] [Light Candles] As Christians we recognize that in Christ we have the opportunity to become a part of God’s chosen people, to be adopted into God’s family. The history of Israel becomes our history. Exodus is our story. These are our ancestors. These celebrations are also our celebrations, these promises and purposes---blessed to be a blessing to all nations--are also our promises and purposes. Let’s pray together: “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has chosen us from the beginning of time, exalting us by making us holy thought the Blood of the Lamb of Christ. In love you have given us, Oh Lord our God, Sabbaths for rest, holidays for joy, festivals for gladness…and the Son for our redemption. You give us this feast of unleavened bread to remember the liberation of our forefathers from Egypt and our liberation from sin and its punishment through Jesus. Blessings to our God who saw fit to deliver us!” 4 PASSOVER MEAL At this time we will serve the Passover meal. A few things to keep in mind. First, we are practicing a Christ-centered Seder (seder means “order”) Passover meal. Jesus wanted his disciples to see his ministry and mission in light of Passover. So, this is not a modern Jewish Seder. Jewish Seders began after Jesus’ time and do not recognize Jesus as the messiah and have other elements (attend one with a Jew some time!). Our meal seeks to be reflective of the Old Testament Passover and Jesus’ meal with his disciples. Second, know that these items should be part of a larger meal; there is more to the meal than these ceremonial elements and we actually encourage celebrating, slowly, with a full meal! Third, the cups. their cups would be filled four times (with wine!). We are just going to have one cup, of grape juice, and drink from it four times. The Meal Elements. There are seven elements to our meal: 1. The Matzah. The unleavened bread. 2. The Karpas. The Greens (Parslet sprigs). 3. The Salt Water. Dip the Greens twice in the salt water. 4. The Maror. Bitter herbs. Horseradish. Take a little, or a lot! 5. The Charoset. Sweet, Apples, Raisins, Honey, Nuts. 6. The Lamb. Roasted. 7. The Cup. Drink from 4 times. Let’s begin! 1. The [First] Cup of Sanctification. This cup symbolizes that we have been sanctified, that as the people of God we have been set apart for a purpose. Exodus 6:6-7 reads, “I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians…I will free you from being slaves…I will redeem you with an outstreached arm…I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Let us drink our first cup and remember that we have been set apart unto the Lord. 5 2. The Matzah. Child: “On all other nights we eat normal bread. Why are we eating unleavened bread tonight?” We eat the matzah to remind us of the fact that the Israelites did not have time to wait for yeast to rise because they had to be ready to move when God said. For us as Christians, it reminds us to live lightly, always ready to go when the call comes, to be prepared and always on mission. We also eat Matzah to remember Jesus, for as this bread is without yeast, Jesus is the bread of life. He was without sin. He was pierced for our transgressions and by his stripes we are healed. Break off a piece of the bread and eat. 3. The Karpas. Child: “On all other nights we do not deep our greens, not even once. On this night, why do we dip them twice?” These greens represent life, created and sustained by Almighty God. But life in Egypt for the children of Israel was a life of pain, suffering, and tears, represented by the salt water. As we dip them let us remember that life is sometimes immersed in tears. We dip them a second time because on that first Passover our forefathers also dipped hyssop branches into the blood of the lamb and marked their doorposts. As they wept salty tears for their life of slavery, they painted the door lintels with the blood, so that the Angel of Death might pass over.