But is the bishop, right?

This is absolutely wrong, dear people! Celebrating the Passover is part of our Judeo-Christian heritage and understanding the Hebraic roots of our faith! opined John Parsons, who writes the "Hebrew for Christians" website. He posted the following explanation:

"For Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast." (1 Cor. 5:7-8)

Some well-meaning Christians think that followers of Yeshua have no reason to do a Passover Seder as instructed in the Torah because, in light of the new covenant, all that is now needed is to remember Jesus' crucifixion for our sins and to celebrate his resurrection by partaking in the sacraments. This viewpoint assumes that, despite the instructions in the Torah, the yearly Passover service, or seder, is not intended for Christians. The seder focuses on the Exodus from Egypt and the Jewish people, and the message of the gospel is universal, for every "tongue and tribe." Moreover, since Christians are no longer "under the law," they are not obligated to keep the ordinances of the "Old Testament," especially with regard its ceremonial laws.

"There are some real difficulties when we disregard the Torah's instructions to observe the Passover, however, particularly because Yeshua himself identified his entire ministry as the "Lamb of God" who redeems us from the curse of the law, and he used the message of the Passover to teach his followers this truth. Bear in mind that the idea of the Passover was not enacted at Sinai as part of the Sinai covenant, but predates the giving of the law. In other words, the faithful of Israel obeyed God's instruction to take refuge under the blood of the sacrificed lamb to escape the plague of death delivered upon Egypt, but this was done before Moses ascended Sinai to receive and ratify the covenant of the law.

"Indeed, the theme and message of Passover is timeless for understanding the Bible. The message was delivered in the Garden of Eden when God sacrificed a lamb to cover the shame of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:21); it was prefigured in the lamb that was sacrificed by Abraham in place of Isaac during the Akedah; it was portrayed in the blood of lamb sacrificed in Egypt whose blood was daubed upon the doorposts; it was memorialized every day and night at the Tabernacle (and later at the Temple) as "continual korban," the offering of which was central to the sacrificial ministrations for Israel; it was foretold by the Hebrew prophets (Isa. 9:6; Isa. 53; Psalm 22:16; Prov. 30:4; Zech. 12:10. etc.), and it was fully manifested in the incarnation, mission, and sacrifice of God's beloved Son himself, the promised heir to come who allowed himself to be "caught in the thicket" for our sins, and who was bound upon the altar of the cross to shed his blood for our redemption.

"This was the central meaning of the 'greater exodus' that Yeshua discussed with Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration before his crucifixion (see Luke 9:29-31). Amen, Yeshua as our sacrificial Lamb is heart of the gospel message itself (John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:19; Isa. 53:3-12); it's the "scarlet thread" he showed his followers (Luke 24:27); it's the Metaphor God chose to make his sacrificial love known to us.

The bishop's ban goes against the entire tenor of Scripture!

The Rev. Daniel Juster, author and advocate of Messianic Judaism believes that the direction of the Episcopal Bishop of Missouri is well intended, but simplistic.

"He makes a mistake of only seeing Christians doing Passover Seders as a kind of cultural appropriation. There is more to it than that. Over 50 years ago, I first experienced Louis Goldberg, of Moody Bible Institute, professor of apologetics and Jewish studies, doing a Passover seder demonstration. He called it a demonstration to safeguard the idea that the actual Passover is a Jewish celebration of their identity, but had elements of fulfillment in Jesus that Christians should know."

It is true that Christians can embrace seders as if it is their history and replace the Jewish people as the people of the seder. However, there is a wrong and right way to engage the seder. Here are some suggestions, writes Juster:

* Be aware that Christians are not responsible according to the Torah to do a seder and are not more or less spiritual if they do or don't.
* If the seder is done as a demonstration with Messianic Jews leading, it can be a bridge of understanding and unity.
* Be aware that Christians already embraced the Holy Day but celebrated it as the death of Yeshua, Good Friday, and First Fruits the following Sunday as the resurrection. The weakness in the Christian celebration is that they do not teach on the Jewish roots and background for these celebrations. I was very moved by the Episcopal rector at All Saints Episcopal Church on border of D. C. and Maryland who asked me to share a Good Friday sermon. He noted the roots of the day, the Passover lamb fulfilled in Yeshua, the cups of wine and the bread that are the background for the Eucharist. It was respectful and gave the right rooting.
* Be aware as well that the Jewish leaders will want to say that Messianic Jews change the meaning of the seder to refer to Jesus when it does not do so. This is wrong. Top scholars say that elements of the seder probably go back to the first century Messianic Jews and that the meaning was changed to scrub this meaning out. David Daube, the famous Jewish scholar, argued that the four cups of wine had a Messianic Jewish origin. The famous Messianic Jewish Talmudist, Rachel Frydland, argued with good evidence that the 3 matzoh covered in the special 3 compartment Matzoh cover for Passover, originally referred to the Father, Son and Spirit. Indeed, the middle matzoh, Yeshua, is broken and then hidden away. It is resurrected after the meal and becomes the special desert, the afikoman. It may be rooted in the meaning of "I am coming."

Let us all rejoice in the Passover, Exodus and its fullness in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

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