Passover (Pesach) Prep – Part 1

I absolutely love the Passover time of year. The weather is getting warmer, the grass is greening and the flowers are beginning to bloom. What better time of year to remember and celebrate the love of God when He brought us out of the darkness and bondage of sin?  This is a special time of year for the family to remember together….for the older ones to teach the younger ones about God’s rich, lavish affection for His people.  He will stop at nothing to communicate this. He will move heaven and earth to have a remnant of voluntary lovers who put Him above all the riches this world offers.  He REALLY loves us! That is what Passover (“Pesach” in Hebrew) is all about.

This year Passover starts on Monday evening, March 29th.  I’ve already started preparations for our Seder which is ten days from today. The first step in preparation is to read the Exodus story again. Remember how God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Chapters 1-13 in Exodus tells the story. Also Deuteronomy 6:20-25 tells of how we are to tell the story to our children.

That brings up another point that I feel very passionately about. Romans 11:13-36 says that we, as Gentiles, were wild olive branches grafted in to the cultivated olive tree of Israel. We share in the rich Root of our Jewish brothers and sisters. We cannot boast that we are better than the cultivated olive branches. We were grafted in because of the vast love of our Abba God. The Root sustains us….we don’t sustain the Root.  We owe EVERYTHING to that olive tree. That is why our family celebrates the Feasts of the Lord. They aren’t feasts just for Jews. They are for Gentiles as well. Foreigners observed the feasts as well as the Israelites. It is for us as grafted-in branches!

Leviticus 23:4 says, “…the Feasts of the Lord, which you shall declare to be holy convocations…these are My feasts.” Also, II Chronicles says, “…on the set feasts of the Lord. This is an ordinance for Israel forever.” Did Yeshua observe Passover?  Yes! Read Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22. If He celebrated this Feast (actually He observed them all), then don’t you think there is something in it for us?!

The second step in preparing for Pesach is making sure you have all the necessary supplies and food for the seder.  I started buying a few things yesterday. 

The matzah balls aren’t actually necessary, but they are traditional for us.  We love matzah ball soup! I still need to buy a lamb shank bone, horseradish, parsley, charoset ingredients, wine, and grape juice. And of course, the ingredients for the actual dinner….maybe roast chicken with potatoes and green beans.  We haven’t really decided yet.

If you have never attended a Passover seder, I would definitely encourage you to look for a Messianic congregation in your area that is having one.  It is normally about three hours long, so go with the mindset of spending your whole evening. It’s an event!

Part 2 in Passover Prep is soon to follow…..