TheShiningLight

Passover at Home


Visitors to TheShiningLight come from all across the world. Most of them are standing alone or are in small groups.  Many also attend larger groups which do not observe Passover according to the Biblical Calendar (see the Biblical Calendar page) or use unacceptable symbols (see Passover page) for the occasion.  This article is intended to present a Biblically based Passover Service, to assist God's people. This is not an explanation of the Passover. It would be very helpful to review our page on The New Covenant Passover  before taking Passover.
                                                                                                                                              
Only those who have made a commitment to keep all the commandments of God and who have been circumcised in the spiritual sense by making a baptismal commitment; may participate in the taking of the BREAD and WINE Ex 12:48, 1 Cor 11:27.  Other interested parties may only observe.  I wish to emphasize here that baptism without proper repentance and OBEDIENCE to God's commandments is not acceptable. 

We MUST; STOP SINNING: to come under the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  ONLY the REPENTANT should take Passover.  Those who feel that they have a right to ignore God's commandments and decide for themselves what is right or wrong are SELF-RIGHTEOUS and will not be covered by the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
                                                                                                                                             
Baptism is about REPENTANCE and turning AWAY from sin, which is the TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW 1 Joh 3:4. It is about making a commitment to turn away, from past sins.  The Passover is about the application of the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God to repentant people 1 Cor 5:7.  The Passover is observed in memory of His sacrifice and is observed with Self-examination and Repentance.
                                                                                                                                               
The symbols of Unleavened Bread and Wine are representations of Jesus Christ, His sufferings and His Sacrifice. The Unleavened Bread taken at PASSOVER is a representation of our Lord Jesus Christ the Bread of life.  It should be a fitting symbol of the perfection that is Christ.  Absolutely NO leavening agent of any kind should be used.  It should be noted here that the bread and wine taken at PASSOVER represent Christ, the true LAMB of God.  This is true not only of the PASSOVER service but of the entire seven days of unleavened bread.  This festival pictures not only the putting out of the leaven of sin, it also pictures the taking into ourselves the perfect nature of Jesus Christ. Therefore great care should be taken in ensuring that the bread and wine used are fitting symbols.                                                                                                                                                  

The commercially available; kosher for passover labeled, white flour matzoth lacking nutritional value and devoid of salt Lev 2:13 and made without oil is DEFINITELY NOT a fitting symbol for the wholesomeness and purity and perfection that is Christ.  Unleavened bread should be made with the best available stone ground whole wheat flour, seasoned with salt and made with extra virgin olive oil and the purest possible water.  One should avoid using regular table salt which is iodized and filled with anti caking agents,  use only pure salt.  You are the salt of the earth Mat 5:13.  It is because of your   REPENTANCE and the INDWELLING of CHRIST that you may be accounted righteous and enabled to keep God's commandments.  This makes you very special and your presence on the earth makes the earth worth saving.   The olive oil pictures the Holy Spirit, the water, the living waters and the whole wheat,  the wholesomeness and purity of Jesus Christ.
                                                                                                                                                  
If pure stone ground whole grain flour is not available at your market, it can usually be purchased at your local HEALTH store.  They will often have the whole grains on hand and will grind it for you, right on the premises. If you live in a part of the world where a harvest is taking place, be careful that the flour is not from the new harvest.  The reason will become clear as we begin the Pentecost study.

This bread is simple to make. RECIPE:  Take about 1 cup of flour and add about 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste (sea salt is purest).  Then add pure water until you have a dough like a pie dough.  Roll it out like pie crust and bake at about 375 degrees for ten or fifteen minutes until done.  Make in different size pieces as it suites you and experiment a few times to adjust the salt, oil ect to your liking.  If you have not done this before, do not leave it until the last minute.  Try it out and practice beforehand until you get a good result.

Why stone ground flour?  When flour is milled the germ and bran are removed. The heat of the milling process also destroys many of the nutrients.  Milled flour that is called whole wheat flour, simply has these ingredients added back into the flour.  If you try to sift such flour you will find that the bran will not pass through your sifter.  While this type of milled flour is called whole wheat, many of it's nutrients have been damaged during this process.  When flour is stone ground, all parts of the grain are ground down into the SAME SIZE, meaning that it can be sifted.  Nothing is removed and then added back, so that the proper proportion of all nutrients remains, just as God intended.  No damage is done to the nutrients and the bran and germ are ground down into the same fine size as the other parts of the grain.

The wine, which is representing blood should be red and of a good quality.  It should be a grape wine and not some fruit or ethanol based product and with as few added chemicals as possible.

An appropriate amount of bread and number of wine glasses should be made ready in advance of the service.  You need not use the whole bottle of wine or the whole batch of bread.  Only that portion that is blessed is sanctified for the service.

 
THE SERVICE
                                                                                                                                                
The meeting should be called to order; and 1 Cor 11:23-30, Luk 22:7-15 and Joh 13:1-17 should be read.
                                                                                                                                                
After this reading and remembering the solemnity of the occasion, the participants should wash one another's feet.  Participants should have previously washed, so that the need to wash is small.  This is an act of HUMILITY and SERVICE.  Recalling to mind that we should always maintain a humble Christ-like attitude and that we should follow the example of Jesus Christ in SERVING God and humanity. 
                                                                                                                                               
After order is restored the following scripture should be read:  Isaiah 53 whole chapter, which is a prophecy of Christ and His sacrifice for our sins.  
                                                                                                                                              
THE BREAD and WINE: John 6:32-58, Mat 23:26-28 and Mark 14:22-23. The Bread represents Christ's body broken for us and when eaten represents taking the very nature of Christ into ourselves.  The Wine represents His death for us and how we are guilty of sin and the necessity of His sacrifice for us. As Jesus blessed and ate the Bread first and then the Wine, it is appropriate that we do likewise.A short prayer acknowledging sin and asking for the application of the sacrifice of Christ upon the participants; and expressing gratitude for the Love of God and of Jesus Christ John 3:16 should be made over the Bread and Wine. The offerer should also ask that God should grant to us a good and proper understanding of His Word and His ways and that He should help us to submit to Christ allowing Christ to dwell within us, empowering us to overcome and conquer sin Gal 2:20.  Asking God to fill us up with His Spirit.
                                                                                                                                                
After the Bread and Wine the last words of Christ to His disciples at this Passover should be read. Starting in John 13:18 through to the end of John 17.  These words should be considered and thought about and taken to heart.  This is a lengthy passage and it would be appropiate to have more than one reader taking turns.
                                                                                                                                                
After these things the service is usually ended with the singing of a Psalm.
                                                                                                                                              
Passover is not a High Holy Day upon which no work of any kind (servile work) may be done. At sunset ending Passover (the fourteenth day), the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins, this is a High Holy Day upon which no work of any kind (servile work) may be done Lev 23:6-7.

Passover may be spent in completeing the job of removing all leavening from our dwellings and preparing for the evening beginning the ULB Festival.  This particular evening is called an evening to be Much Observed Ex 12:42.  After the firstborn of Egypt were killed at midnight on the 14th, the day was spent preparing to leave and the people went out from Egypt the next evening.  It is to be "much observed" as the time that Israel left Egypt.
                                                                                                                                            
Repentance and baptism are things that we do.  The Passover pictures what God has done in delivering us from sin and Israel from Egypt.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread shows God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt; and God working to remove the leaven of sin from His called out firstfruits.  We celebrate this First Evening with Feasting together and rejoicing over God's Wondrous Deliverance.
 
A study through all of the Holy Days would be very enlightening, especially for those with a COG background.  There is now much NEW material available on these subjects.  After completing the study at this site, please see our Festivals of God site for even more.