Maundy Thursday Passover Meal
To be used to learn a bit of symbolism about the Passover, not to be exactly correct
Things you will need:
- Father has a scarf around neck and to represent a prayer shawl
- (can wear something to look like ayamikaif you want- the Jewish small cap)
- Mother has a scarf she can put up on her head as a head covering
- Spoon and feather
- Table cloth if you want
- Set table for your meal (placesetting for each family member plus one more Elijah placesetting)
- Your evening meal to eat during this Passover simile
- Candles, candleholders, matches
- Pitcher of water, basin and towel (for washing hands)
- Grape juiceor whatever you have(to represent wine)
- Matzo bread, could use tortillas(three pieces in a “unity”- in a matzo sack)
- Linen napkin
- Parsley(use what you have or a substitute to represent parsley)
- Horseradish(use what you have or a substitute to represent horseradish, do what it a bit bitter)
- Charosets(apple sauce with some nuts will work)
- Salt water
- Lamb bone(or something to represent a lambs bone)
- A small prize- couple coins
Note: Simplify this for young children
Narrator (parents or children that can read, can take turns)
The Hebrew word for “feasts” is translated as “to dance”! And there’s one thing for sure- the Jewish people know how to celebrate and dance at feast times.
The feasts are not holidays set by a government at a citizen’s request like our “Mother’s Day” or even our “Thanksgiving”.
The feasts were carefully laid out by God Himself and given to Moses as part of the Mosaic Laws written down by Moses and found at the beginning of the Old Testament in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
The feasts were nestled in the rhythm of the agricultural calendar. The agricultural calendar of seasons, of planting and harvesting were in turn set by the rhythm of the moon which werecreated and placed in the heavens for this very reason on the third day of the creation.
For you see, with God, nothing is arbitrary- all is part of an unfoldingDivine plan established even before creation.
These feasts were given to the Israelite people to remember God’s faithfulness in the past, to desire His presence in their daily lives, and to see His prophetic messages for their Messiah and King of the future. The feasts held special cluesto help them identify this Messiah and King and although they studied these clues as well as the messages of the later prophets, most of them did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah when He walked among them.
God established seven main feasts. On the calendar three of the feasts are grouped together in the Spring, one is about 2 months later and the last three are in a group in the fall. The clues in the first three spring feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits tell of the first coming of Jesus and His Death, Burial and Resurrection.
The Feast of Pentecost, 50 days after First Fruits holds clues that tell us of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
In the continuation of this pattern, the clues in the three fall feasts of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Tabernacles hold clues that tell us of the second coming of Christ. These three feasts involve the blowing of trumpets, the judgement and the time of dwelling together.
All of the feasts are rich with clues and meanings about the Messiah, Jesus, but tonight we will look at only one of those feasts, the Feast of Passover.
The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, it follows the waxing and waning of the moon and all of the feasts are set by the timing of the moon. Passover is celebrated on the 14thof Aviv, the first month of the Jewish religious calendar and it falls on a full moon. This is in our calendar, a solar calendar, around March or April. Traditionally Passover is to remember and retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt, of God’s redemption of Israel, when He brought them out of slavery and into freedom.
Jesus, in keeping with Jewish tradition kept the Passover on the night He was betrayed. During the Last Supper He showed the disciples how He would fulfill the prophetic meaning of the feast.
Today, we spiritually celebrate the Passover and participate in the communion meal in remembrance of Jesus redeeming and bringing us out of slavery to sin and into spiritual freedom.
Tonight we will pretend to be a family celebrating the Passover meal, much simplified, and search for the clues that point us to Jesus as the prophecied Messiah. We’ll also see its significance as backdrop as Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, a Passover Meal, with His disciples over 2000 years ago.
The other feasts were celebrated in the temple, but the Passover was celebrated in the home.
So in Exodus we read, “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord, a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from Israel.”
(Mother hands the father a spoon and a feather, the family follows him around the room as he “cleans” up crumbs with a spoon and a feather. Then they all sit at the table.)
Narrator: So the evening before the Passover meal, the father of each Jewish family led them from room to room with a wooden spoon and a feather to clean up small piles of bread crumbs left in various places in the house after it is carefully cleaned.
This symbolized confession of sin, called leaven or yeast in the Scriptures. There would be no leaven, symbolizing sin, in the home during Passover.
For we as Christians the housecleaning remains a symbol of heart cleansing, the forgiveness of sin, a new life in Christ, the getting rid of anything that would hinder our spiritual growth. We are to examine ourselves and confess our sin before we eat of the bread and drink of the cup at communion.
Listen now to the traditional prayer of the mother in the Jewish family as she lights the candles of the Menorah to signify the beginning of the family Passover meal:
(Mother puts on head dressing, stands and lights the candles, reads blessing, circles hands over the candles.)
Mother: “Blessed art You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Who sanctified us by Your commandments and has commanded us to kindle the festival lights. May our home be consecrated, O God, by the light of Your countenance, shining upon us in blessing and bringing us peace.”
Narrator: In Luke Jesus told His disciples, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
No one is to eat Passover alone which is a perfect picture of Christ’s invitation for all to “Come and eat” with Him.
Every food used in the Passover meal has a special meaning and is blessed before it’s eaten. The father gives the Kiddush- a special blessing as he drinks from the cup of wine.
We will drink four times from the cup of juice during the Passover or Seder meal and each drinking from the cup has a name and meaning.
The first cup is called the Cup of Blessing. This cup represents the first “I will” promise of God to the Israelites, “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”.
(Father lifts up his cup full of juice as he prays)
Father:“Blessed art You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the world, Who chose us out of all people, and made us holy through Your commandments. Lovingly, O Lord our God, you have given us seasons for gladness, holy days, and times for rejoicing, this feast of Passover as the anniversary of our freedom, a memorial to the Exodus from Egypt.”
All: “Blessed art You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.” (All drink a little from their cup of juice)
Narrator: We who are Christians see the first Cup of Blessing in the Last Supper when in the Gospel of Luke it is written: “After taking the cup, he (Jesus) gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you, for I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’
(The father takes a basin, pitcher, and towel and will wash his hands while praying. He pours water over the hishands into the basin, father drys with towel, then set downthe basin, pitcher and towel.)
You can all take turns doing this if you want.
Father: “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, who sancitfied us with your commandments and who gives us cleansing both outwardly and inwardly.”
Narrator: The washing of hands during the Passover meal symbolized the interior heart cleansing necessary before eating. It was customary for a servant to come and do this task.
Judas had already been tempted to betray Jesus and the disciples were in a disagreement about which of them was the greatest.
Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and return to His Father. So He got up from the meal, took off his robe, took the towel and basin and, as a servant, washed His disciples feet.
Jesus said to them, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that youknow these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
Next the family dips the parsley into the salt water two times and eats it.
Family:“Blessed art You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruits of the earth.” (All pick up parsley, dip it in salt water two times and then eat the parsley)
Narrator: Green herbs represent the hyssop which was used to spread the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts and the lintel of the Israelites.
The parsley is dipped two times in salt water as a reminder of tears and sorrow.
The first dip refers to the tears shed in slavery by the Israelites, the second dip refers to the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea and the miraculous deliverance of the nation of Israel as a result. (Ex 14:13-31)
Jesus shed tears of sorrow over the city of Jerusalem.
Narrator: Unleavened bread was eaten for eight days through the group of spring feasts to commemorate the flight from Egypt when there was no time to allow the bread to rise.
The unleavened bread has no yeast in it, symbolic of no sin, and it is pricked or pierced to keep it from puffing up when baked. (Hold up Matza bread)
The tool used to do this today leaves it looking pierced and striped. There are three pieces of unleavened bread, also called matzo. The three pieces are called a unity, and the Jews have differing explanations for this tradition.
But for Christians it is a beautiful picture of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
(Father takes the matza bread and holds it up in his hands.)
Father:This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat, let all who are in distress come and celebrate the Passover. At present we delebrate it here, but next year we hope to celebrate it as free men in the land of Israel.”
(Father puts the bread down- it is NOT eaten now)
(Father breaks middle matza piece, wraps it in napkin and hides it this during the narration)
Narrator:At this point in the seder, the father takes the MIDDLE piece, the Jesus piece, and breaks it in half. He puts one half back and after wrapping the other half in linen, has the family close their eyes while he hides it anywhere he wants in the room.
This is called the Afikomen, and the children will look for the hidden piece later. For believers in Jesus, this is a picture of Jesus being broken and hidden away in the grave.
Child: Why is this night different from all other nights?
Father:I am glad that you ask this question. Why is this night different from all other nights? Once we were slaves in Egypt, but now we are free, and we set aside this night each year to remember the great things God did for us.
Narrator:The youngest person present then asks a series of four more questions that lead the oldest person present to retell the story of how God redeemed His people, the Israelites, out of slavery in Egypt as it is written in the book of Exodus.
God redeemed them, or saved them from physical death, by the shedding of the blood of the Passover lamb that they spread over their doorposts in the shape of a cross (imitate cross).
During the retelling of the 10 plagues the family dips their finger in their cup and place 10 drops of red wine on their plate, symbolizing the blood shed at Passover.
(Father can tell that story, and your family can dip fingers in the juice and put 10 drops on the plate or can skip this part.)
Narrator:We as Christians see the Gospel message here for there is no forgiveness of spiritual sin without the shedding of the blood of Jesus, the perfect Passover lamb. Like the lamb’s blood was sprinkled on the doorposts in the shape of a cross, the blood of Jesus was sprinkled on His cross and judgement passes over us who believe in Him and look to Him for redemption.
As Moses led the people out of slavery, so Christ has redeemed us from our slavery to sin: In Romans we read; “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holines and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Father lifts up the lamb shankbone and shows it to the family)
Father: At God’s command in Egypt, each Jewish family took an unblemished lamb, sacrificed it, cooked and ate it, and sprinkled its blood on the doorpost and lintel of their home. And on that night seeing the blood, the Lord’s death angel passed over them- smiting the Egyptians and sparing the Israelites.
Narrator: Followers of Christ know that Christ himself is our perfect Lamb, sacrificed for us. It is written: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! The Scriptures also say: He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Father: Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore.
All: “Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord.
Narrator:Next all take a second drink from the cup of wine – this is called the cup judgement and it represents the second “I will” from God when He said to the Israelites, “I will bring you out of bondage.”
(Family takes a small drink)
Narrator:Likewise, we, who by faith have experienced the Lord’s Passover have been redeemed from the bondage of sin. “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
(Father picks up the package of three pieces of matzo bread)
Father: Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth.
(All break a piece off the matzo bread that’s on their plate and eat it.)
Narrator: On this night when Jesus gave bread to his disciples He added new meaning for us as Paul writes in Corinthians: “And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”
(Father lifts up the Maror, bitter herb/horseradish)
Father:Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the eating of bitter herbs.
(All break a piece of matzo bread, dip it in horseradish and eat)
Narrator: Maror is the word for bitter herbs. They are eaten because the Egyptians embittered the lives of the Israelites with hard labor. As this horseradish brings tears to the eyes, so, also, did the great suffering of the people bring tears to their eyes.
Today Christians remember Jesus’ bitter passion and death which brings tears to our eyes.
Father: As the bitter herb is a symbol of suffering, the salt water a symbol of tears, the greens a symbol of hyssop, the wine a symbol of blood, so the charoseth (huh-row-seth), a sweet jam, is a symbol of mortar, representing the clay bricks which were made by our people in Egypt.
We dip the matza into the charoses as the Jews did of old, as a sign of hope. Our fathers were able to withstand the bitterness of slavery because it was sweetened by the hope of freedom.
(All break a piece of matzo bread and dip in the charoseth and eat it)
Narrator: Sometimes during the passover meal, the father would take a piece of matzo bread with the sweet charoseth and give it to one of the guests as a sign of affection. This gives special meaning to John’s gospel telling of the last supper.
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.
One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.
Judas left at that point to betray Jesus to the chief priests & elders without finishing the Seder meal.
Jesus experienced the bitterness of betrayal along with the sweet hope of salvation which would be made available to all men through His death on the cross.
(The family now goes ahead and eats their actual meal together)
Narrator:At this time the family enjoys a family dinner together with all of their favorite traditional foods. Because there is no longer a temple to sacrifice a lamb according to Mosaic law, many Jewish families serve other meats for their meal instead of lamb.
A symbolic lamb bone is kept to place on their traditional seder plate if that is the case.
After they finish dinner the Seder meal is resumed and completed.
Father: I have a prize for whoever finds the Afikomen!
(the children hunt for the hidden matzo)
Narrator:The hidden matza is called the Afikomen, a Greek word which when loosely translated means, “after dinner, or dessert”. The Afikomen is like a substitute for the Passover Lamb which in days of old was the final food of the Seder feast.
Whoever finds the Afikomen gets a small gift or reward, traditionally a silver coin. When found, the Afikomen is broken and shared as part of the dessert.
As Christians we see the reward of a silver coin as a reminder of the silver coins that Judas received for betraying Jesus and the finding of the Afikomen as a picture of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.
Father:Let us bless the Lord of whose gifts we have eaten.
All: Blessed be the name of the Lord from now unto eternity.
(Father breaks the Afikomen and gives to all. All eat the matzo)
Narrator:It was significant that the Afikomen was the second piece of matzo bread, the piece representing Jesus, broken, pierced and striped, wrapped in linen and hidden away as if in a grave. It was likely that at this moment during the Last Supper, Jesus took the bread, blessed, broke, and gave it saying,
“This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
(Father lifts cup of wine)
Father:This cup represents the third “I will” of God to His people. “I will redeem you,” I will buy you back.
(All drink a little from their cup)
Narrator:This is the cup of Redemption. Redemption means to buy out of slavery. The lamb offered on Passover was the price to deliver the nation of Israel. This third cup is what Jesus drank with His disciples as a symbol of His blood. The Bible says:
“In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'”
Narrator:The Passover ceremony was performed, as instructed by God , in just the same manner for hundreds of years by the time of Christ.
This is why it was so shocking for the disciples when Jesus veered from the ceremony and inserted new words and actions into the Seder meal.
Later, after Jesus resurrection, Jesus Himself would teach the disciples the meaning of His words and actions and the Seder meal was replaced with Communion- for we recognize there is no longer a need for sacrifice.
It is finished, in the shedding of Jesus blood as the perfect sacrifice there is forgiveness of sin, once for all.
Father:Elijah’s place is set. Go and check at the door, is Elijah here?
Child: (Goes and peeks out the door)“No, he is not here.”
Father;“Maybe next year Elijah will come!”
Narrator:The Jewish people believe, according to what is written in Malachi, that Elijah will prepare the way for the Messiah.
Jesus told His disciples that John the Baptist was the awaited Elijah and John prepared the way for Him.
The Jewish people set an extra place at the Passover table. They are looking for Elijah to come and prepare the way for the Messiah year after year, not recognizing that He, Jesus, has already come.
(Father lifts the cup of wine)
Father:The Lord has remembered us, He will bless us, He will bless the house of Israel. We will bless the Lord from henceforth until evermore. Hallelujah!
All:Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Father:Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.
(All drink from their cups)
Narrator:This is the fourth and last drink from the cup called the cup of Praise. It represents the fourth “I will”of God. “I will take you to Me for a people.”
The Jewish nation looks forward to a golden age where everyone will be at peace.
We, as believers in the Lord Jesus, eagerly wait for His return to fulfill the last three of the Jewish feasts. Only then will Jesus will rule in peace for all of eternity in the New Jerusalem.
Until that day we celebrate together with the bread and wine of communion, remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross until the day He comes again. We are grateful for the New Covenant made available to us through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and obedience to His Word.
Through Him, we, too, are redeemed, brought out of slavery to sin into the freedom of new life in Christ.
Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.
Family: May end with a song if you wish.
