“I hope you will remember to include remembering the first redemptive act our heavenly Father performed”
For the past couple of years I have been researching all things Jewish and there are a million and one things I have discovered. While I can't share them all at once, I will share just a few things that those people who wish to equate Passover with Easter should perhaps take the time to think about. I will start with one of the saddest things I learned.
As Christians around the world ready themselves to celebrate the joy of Easter, they should perhaps realize that it is only with this generation that the Jews are learning not to fear this celebration. Not so long ago, as Good Friday fell upon communities, Jews everywhere, but most especially in Eastern Europe and Russia, would avoid walking near churches or just stay home altogether, curtains drawn, trying not to draw any attention to themselves - all to avoid being beaten by Easter celebrants!
Did you know that some sections of Orthodox Judaism identify the lamb of sacrifice (whose blood was used to mark the door posts so the Lord would 'Passover' and not kill the Hebrew first-born children) as an Egyptian deity? Take a moment to think about this - the Lord used the blood of a so-called heathen god to protect His people from death, and which was a part of the process of their redemption. How difficult it must be then for those sections of the Jewish people to understand the Christian's identification with a "Lamb" and the homage they pay Him!
Did you know that during the Jewish Passover (seder), there is a distinct section of the service (Magid) to remember the Egyptians, at whose hands the Hebrew people suffered before the Lord led them from Egypt? This part of the service is an expression of remorse on the part of the Jews, as they remember that their redemption was brought about through the suffering and death of others.
Finally, did you know that of all times of the year it is during Passover that kindness to strangers, orphans, the disenfranchised, the misfits and the downtrodden is to be exercised all the more diligently because the Lord rescued 'strangers' - the Hebrew people - who were 'strangers' in Egypt, by taking them out of that land?
As you get ready to celebrate the redemption of the Gentiles (Easter), I hope you will remember to include remembering the first redemptive act our heavenly Father performed - that which Yeshua/Jesus was remembering the night of His last Passover, and the first night of His redemptive process for us. I hope a prayer for the 'Peace of Jerusalem' will be among your prayers, as you also remember to pray for the 'strangers, orphans, the disenfranchised, the misfits and the downtrodden' among us.
"And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all. [Eph 4:5 - Jewish New Testament, translated by David H. Stern, Clarksville, MD, 1997]"
Blessings and Shalom
Madelaine is a wonderful friend and writer.
Thanks, Maddie, for your unique perspective! — Grant