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THE LORD’S PASSOVER Dear Brothers and Sisters in Messiah, God's covenants of promise are from everlasting to everlasting, and He has established appointed times for us to observe them. The Passover is God’s appointed time for commemorating His salvation and deliverance for all those who put their trust in Him. This feast is so important to the LORD (Yahweh) that He instructs His people to celebrate it forever: 13
“And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.” (Exodus 12:13-14) When gentile believers receive Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah, they become partakers of the commonwealth of Israel and are no longer strangers to the covenants of promise (Ephesians 2:1-19). As a result, they too are called by God to observe His Passover. This is what the Apostle Paul was referring to in his first letter to believers at Corinth when he said, "For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Let us [New Covenant believers] therefore celebrate the feast [Passover], not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (I Corinthians 5:7-8). Yeshua (Jesus) himself kept the Passover every year and declared that He would eat it again in His Father's Kingdom upon His return (Luke 22:16). If God commands His people to celebrate the Passover forever, and Jesus plans to continue celebrating it when His Kingdom comes, then we must conclude that the Feast of Passover is to be observed by New Testament believers today. Clearly, God has given both Jew and gentile His Passover to keep as a memorial of how He not only delivered Israel out of Egyptian bondage, but how He has also delivered us from the bondage of sin and death through Yeshua, "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). It is important to remember that there is no set way to observe the Passover; only a general guideline which most people follow. Therefore, different groups have varying traditions regarding the order and meaning of the symbols within the Seder. We have fashioned this Haggadah to be a truly prophetic Seder that speaks about our past, our present and our future in Messiah. As you grow in your understanding regarding the symbols of Passover, let me encourage you to incorporate that understanding into your observance, thereby making it your own personal Passover Seder. I pray that your Pesach celebration is filled with a joy and gladness that brings you into a deeper understand of the Lord’s Passover. In God’s Love,
Norm Franz A Messenger of the Covenant
http://www.servantofmessiah.org