Accounts of the Passover

I'm going to turn to the Old Testament, and I'm going to read a number of passages tonight. And so we're going to turn first back again to the book of Exodus and chapter 12. Just a brief reading here.

We have read this before. Exodus chapter 12. I will just read the first two or three verses of the chapter as an introduction here.

Exodus chapter 12 and verse 1. And the chapter is familiar to us, so we'll not read any more there. But I have read that for this purpose tonight, that that is the first recorded Passover in the Word of God. I think I might have mentioned that there are eight Passovers that are recorded.

We're going to notice them very briefly tonight. And we're not referring so much to a reference to the Passover, but to a time when the Passover was observed, and there are some details that are given to us. Now you will be aware of something as we look at these very quickly.

I'm just going to read the scriptures, make a few comments. That every time that the Passover is revived, we're going to notice that there were often years and years passed, and they never kept the Passover. But we'll notice when the Passover is revived, there is a time of recovery.

Or the Passover is revived in difficult times. And so there is a background to each of these passages that we're going to read, relative to the reviving and the remembrance of the Passover. Now they never kept the Passover faithfully.

There were years and years that passed. We're going to notice that tonight. It's going to be rather startling in a way.

But there were years that passed, and there was no Passover. And under some of Israel's greatest kings, they never kept the Passover. And so we're going to turn to the book of Numbers.

Sorry, yes, the book of Numbers, chapter 9. The book of Numbers and chapter 9. And we'll read from verse 1. Numbers chapter 9 and verse 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. Now notice the time, the first month of the second year, after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, So one year has passed. Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at his appointed season.

And Moses spake unto the children of Israel that they shall keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, that even in the wilderness of Sinai, according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. One year after they left the land of Egypt, in the wilderness, they are now reminded by God, you'll notice that God reminded them, that now is the time that they should keep the Passover.

You will notice that it says, according to all that the Lord commanded. And so this Passover was kept when they were fresh out of Egypt. And everyone who kept this Passover would have recollection of the Passover in the land of Egypt.

And so their thoughts would go back to the mighty workings of God, and to the miracle of God that brought them out of the land of Egypt. In the following verses, there are some men whose consciences were defiled, because they had touched the dead. And those who had touched the dead with defiled consciences were not allowed to keep the Passover.

But God in his grace allowed them time to be cured or purified from that defilement. And then they too later were allowed to keep the Passover. And so this is the second Passover that is recorded in the word of God, that took place one year after they had left the land of Egypt.

Now I'm going to turn with you to the book of Joshua chapter 5. This will be the third Passover. Joshua chapter 5. And we'll read verse 10. Joshua chapter 5 and verse 10.

And so there was reference here made to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now that introduces a question immediately. What happened for the 39 years in the wilderness? There is no record of a Passover having been kept for 39 years.

You might ask why? And I think the word of God would emphasize why. Because the children of Israel were grumblers. And they complained.

And they spoke against God. And they spoke against Moses. They challenged the high priestly work of Aaron.

They bowed before a golden calf. And they danced before the calf. They said that they longed for the leeks, onions, and garlics of Egypt.

And there was a moment when they had the thought of returning to Egypt. You can imagine that. To the taskmaster and to the slavery that they had experienced in the land of Egypt.

They said there was no water, but there was water. None of them died of thirst. Even the mercy of God to them, their shoes never grew old.

They wore the same shoes when they crossed the Jordan that they had on their feet when they crossed the Red Sea. God was merciful to them. And in spite of all their grumbling, God provided for them to meet their need.

There were rivers of water in the desert. I had thought at one time that when Moses smoked the rock, there was a little trickle of water that came out of the rock. I thought there was far more than that.

When Moses smoked that rock, there was a river in the desert. They needed water for their cattle. They needed water for themselves.

And so the question would be, how could a people like that keep the Passover? How could they remember their God when they were far, far, far away from God? And so the Passover was never kept when they were in the wilderness except for that one time. One year after they had left the land of Egypt. And so now the third Passover here is after they have crossed Jordan.

The wilderness journey is over. And they have crossed Jordan. They are at Gilgal and they are in the plains of Jericho.

And throughout the wilderness journey, the rite of circumcision had never been carried out. That in itself would prohibit them from keeping the Passover. And so if you were to read the verses before we started to read, the rite of circumcision had to be renewed.

And they had to be in a right condition so that they would be able to keep this Passover. And so this was a very special Passover. After the past and after all of the experiences in the wilderness, they have now come to the point where they are going to keep the Passover.

I would have the sense that perhaps the lad of 12 who had remembered the Passover in the land of Egypt would have passed through the wilderness. I would gather it was the older ones that were slain in the wilderness or lost their life in the wilderness. And so there may have been some after they crossed the Jordan.

And now they are at Gilgal in the plains of Jordan. There may have been some who could look back to the two previous Passovers, the one in Egypt and the one in the wilderness. And so now they are in a condition to keep the Passover as instructed on the 14th day of the first month.

That is the third Passover. Now, here's a remarkable thing. We're going to notice that in the days of judges, there was no Passover.

You shouldn't be surprised at that. Because in the days of the judges, it was recorded, the last verse in the book of Judges, that every man did that which was right in their own eyes. And so someone who is doing what is right in their eyes is not concerned about the mind of God, not concerned about obeying God.

They're only concerned about doing what pleases them. And that characterized the days of the judges. No Passover in the days of the judges.

Interesting to notice that there's no recorded Passover in the days of David. And we're going to read the record of the word of God about that in just a moment. And sometimes we do wonder.

And yet at the same time, David had a difficult time. When Saul was going to take his life and then his own son usurped the kingdom from him. David didn't have an easy pathway.

But there was no Passover in the days of David. When you come to Solomon, son of David, there's no recorded Passover in the days of Solomon. That may seem rather surprising.

You would think of all the kings of Israel, Solomon, in all of his wisdom, and in all of his writings, never kept the Passover. That is, it is not recorded that he kept the Passover. One brother said to me that Solomon's greatest mistake was simply this, that he never read his own writings.

And so he failed. And the very thing that his writings would indicate a strength in, Solomon never kept the Passover. So we will turn then to the fourth Passover in 2 Chronicles chapter 30.

In 2 Chronicles chapter 30, and we'll just read verse 13. We'll read a couple more verses. 2 Chronicles chapter 30, back to verse 12.

Also Judah, also in Judah, the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king. And of the princes, by the word of the Lord. And there assembled at Jerusalem much people.

Now, here they are to go to Jerusalem. That was required of God. One of the times that they were to make their way up to Jerusalem, and so now we see that there are much people in Jerusalem to keep the Passover, or to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month of very great congregation.

And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem. Now I made the comment that there was recovery. And so you'll notice that the first thing that happened here was the burden that they had to obey the word of the Lord.

And they removed the altars of idolatry from Jerusalem. Then you'll notice the same verse 14. And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem.

And all the altars for incense they took away. That was incense that was burned to the idol. So the children of Israel had drifted into idolatry.

Now they're putting all of that away. Verse 15. Then they killed the Passover on the 14th day of the second month.

Now notice that. Did you notice that? This is the second month. The Passover was to be observed on the first month.

On the 14th day of the first month. But with this particular Passover, it was the 14th day of the second month. Up until that, in the intervening few months, or few weeks, few days, they were busy putting away what should have been put away.

And so by the time that the second month came, God accepted here this Passover. And this Passover was under King Hezekiah. So Hezekiah kept the Passover.

Then you'll notice the fifth Passover. And this is a beautiful one. In 2 Kings chapter 23.

2 Kings chapter 23. And we will read from verse 23 and verse 21. Now this is King Josiah.

One of Israel's good kings. One of Judah's good kings. Not Israel, but Judah.

And the king commanded all the people saying, keep the Passover on to the Lord your God. As it is written in the book of this covenant, surely there was not hold in such a Passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, encompassing David, Solomon, nor the kings of Judah, but in the 18th year of King Josiah, wherein this Passover was holding to the Lord in Jerusalem. Under King Josiah, there was a remarkable recovery.

That in itself is a beautiful study. And so as this recovery is taking place, the burden is placed upon King Josiah, that they are going to keep the Passover. You'll notice in the last two incidents that we read, it is emphasized that that Passover was to be kept at Jerusalem.

We will notice later as well that the lamb was to be slain in Jerusalem. And so they had come to Jerusalem again. And under King Josiah, they are keeping this Passover.

So that is the fifth recorded Passover. We'll just read briefly the sixth one in Ezra chapter 6. Ezra chapter 6 and we'll read verse 19. Ezra chapter 6 and verse 19.

Go back to verse 18. And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses. So there is a bit of recovery here for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem and is written in the book of Moses.

And the children of the captivity kept the Passover from the 14th day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites were purified together. So again, a recovery.

All of them were pure and killed the Passover for all the children of the captivity and for their brethren, the priests, and for themselves. And there are other details that are given. Now just pause for a moment with this Passover.

It says the children of the captivity. But they were not in captivity here. They had been taken down to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

I might have referred to that the other day. Probably we'll make another reference to that later. And so all of Judah and Benjamin had been taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar.

But the Babylonian empire has fallen and the Medieval Persian empire has risen to power. That Medieval Persian empire is under two men, Darius and Cyrus. Darius has issued a decree.

And the decree of Darius has allowed certain of the tribe of Judah and of the tribe of Benjamin and certain of the Levites to return to Jerusalem. Darius has also allowed them to take the vessels of the temple, the temple that has been destroyed, to take those vessels. They are placed into the hands of a very small company of Jewish people and to come back to the city of Jerusalem.

And so when it says of the captivity, they are children of the captivity, but they have returned to Jerusalem. And now under Ezra and Nehemiah, they commence to rebuild the temple and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. But one of the first things that they do, they never kept the Passover, 70 years in captivity in Babylon.

If they had read the words of Jeremiah, they would have known that it would be 70 years and some of them would be released from that captivity. Now they have come back. In Babylon, they could not sing the Lord's song.

They're in a strange land. And now they have been allowed to come back and now they are rejoicing. Now they are keeping the Passover.

That is the post-captivity Passover. That is the sixth Passover. I'm going to take you to the New Testament and we're going to look at the seventh Passover.

But we're going to draw a little bit here. And so we'll come to the New Testament, to the gospel of Luke, and we're going to read in chapter 1. These verses, I'm sure, are familiar to all of us here, but there are some precious truths in this passage of Scripture. Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him, for they feared the people. Then entered Satan into Judas, surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and the captains how he might betray him unto them.

And they were glad and covenant to give him money. And he promised and saw opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed.

And he, the Lord Jesus, sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare for us the Passover that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water. That's an unusual statement.

Follow him into the house where he entereth in. And he shall say unto the good man of the house, The master saith unto thee, Where is the guest chamber where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished. There make ready.

And they went and found as he said unto them, And they made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup and gave thanks and said, Take ye, take this and divide it among yourselves. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come.

And in your thinking you shall draw a line under verse 17. And we'll indicate that at some moment. And he took bread and gave thanks and break it and gave unto them saying, This is my body which is given for you.

He never said that about the cup in verse 17. This do in remembrance of me. Or what he said in verse 20, he never said about the cup in verse 17.

And likewise also the cup after supper saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood which is said for you. But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goeth as it was determined, but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed.

And they begin to inquire among themselves which of them it should be. We're going to go back for a few moments to the Gospel of John chapter 13. The Gospel of John chapter 13.

And we'll read verse 1. Now therefore the peace of the Passover when Jesus knew his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father having loved his own which were in the world he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son to betray him Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hand that he was come from God and went to God he rises from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself. And after he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Then cometh he to Simon Peter and Peter saith unto him, Lord dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him what I do thou knowest not now but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him if I wash thee not thou hast no part with me.

Simon Peter saith unto him Lord not my feet only but also my hands and my feet. Jesus saith unto him he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet but he is clean every whit and ye are clean but not all for he knew who should betray him therefore he said ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet and had taken his garments and was sat down again he said unto them know ye what I have done unto you.

I want to pick up a few other thoughts in that but we'll just leave it there for the present moment. This was the 7th Passover. Now I didn't read about the 8th Passover because that takes place in the Millennial reign of Christ.

And you have that Passover recorded in Ezekiel chapter 45. And in Ezekiel chapter 45 we have entered into the Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so really on the chart here that is this period of time.

The Passover will be revived. Some of these feasts will not be. For example the Feast of Weeks here will never be revived.

It is a feast that will occur only once. And that one time once it will take place and it will never take place again. But the Passover will be.

The Passover in the Millennial reign of Christ may well be much like the Lord's Supper is to us. And so the Lord's Supper to us is a looking back to the cross and to the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Passover in the Millennial reign of Christ while they will have Christ with them and yet they will look back as we look back to the sufferings of Christ for the Passover in the Millennial reign of Christ will remind them of his sufferings.

So there will be the looking back during the Millennial reign of Christ. But what I have read here in Luke chapter 22 and also in John chapter 13 and I asked the question the other night when the Lord sent Peter and John to find the room and to prepare the Passover and then the question was what would they do what would Peter and John do when they were prepared for the Passover? I'm going to suggest a number of things that they would have to do. We may not cover them all just tonight but we'll touch some of them tonight and pick it up for a few moments tomorrow night.

And so you'll notice where we have read here that in that upper room there were 12 disciples plus the Lord who entered into the upper room. They are reclining at the Passover table and I'm going to suggest to you that momentarily the Lord was waiting. Now you might say to me why would you suggest that? I'll tell you why in just a moment.

You'll maybe get this little picture. The Lord was waiting at the table for a few moments. We have read in John chapter 13 in verse 2 Supper being ended.

Now there are all kinds of Bibles available today. Some are good, some are not so good. But I recommend to my younger brethren back home get a Newberry Bible and learn the symbols of the Newberry Bible because they are tremendous help.

And so when you come to this expression in John chapter 13 in verse 2 Supper being ended is not the end of the Passover Supper. It gives you that idea, the rendering that we have but Mr. Newberry will point out something different which is accurate. And so Mr. Newberry will point out Supper having come.

And so it hasn't ended. Supper has come. And they have entered into that upper room and they are reclining at the table.

And so the events that are recorded in John chapter 13 are about to take place before the Passover is remembered by those in the upper room. And so I have said the Lord is waiting. It was a custom at the Passover for the feet to be washed.

That's not practiced today. That's not an ordinance that is carried out today. We don't keep the Passover today.

And there's no record in the book of the Acts or the epistles of the New Testament that that was ever continued. But it was a custom at the Passover. Because of the open sandals that they wore and the dusty streets the feet were washed before the Passover.

That was the responsibility of a servant or in some cases, in a larger Jewish home, a slave. A menial task carried out by what was considered to be a lower person. And so I have suggested that the Lord is waiting.

He was waiting for one of those men to rise from the table and to wash the feet of those other men. Now I have a reason for saying that. And the Lord waited and none of those men volunteered to do that.

That seems like to them a little bit below their dignity. That was the responsibility of a lower person, of a servant. So they were waiting.

And the Lord was waiting. And none of those men volunteered to rise from the table and to wash the feet of the others. The Lord rose.

And he got a pitcher of water. It might have been the pitcher that was on the head of the man that led them to that room. In the upper room there had to be a pitcher of water.

That's one of the things that Peter and John would make certain was in the upper room. That was part of the preparation for the Passover. There had to be a pitcher of water.

There had to be a basin. You'll notice the scripture says that he poured the water into the basin. There had to be a basin in the room for the purpose of washing feet.

There had to be a towel. Peter and John would have to make certain that there was a towel in that upper room. And so when the Lord rose and laid aside his own garments that would be his outer garments and he girded himself with a towel poured the water into the basin.

It was at the feet of those men. What a lesson for them. What a tremendous moment.

We might repeat the expression over and over because it would certainly impress us to see the Lord. The omnipotent Lord Jesus Christ. At the feet of those earthly men with a basin of water and he has commenced to wash their feet and then to dry their feet with a towel.

Remember he said I am meek and lowly of heart. In all of the lowliness and in all of the beauty of the character of the meek and lowly Christ who is the creator the omnipotent one now bending at the feet of earthly men and he is washing their feet. That ought to touch all of our hearts to think of the Lord Jesus at that moment.

And so he commences to wash their feet and then he comes to Peter. Why did Peter immediately say now my feet? Why did Peter say that the Lord was never going to wash his feet? Well I think you've got the answer if you're thinking for a moment. Peter could have done that.

And Peter didn't do it. And now Peter's conscience is likely bothering him. That's why I suggested that the Lord waited for a moment to give those men the opportunity to perform that little service to their fellow men.

And they refused to do that. And now Peter's troubled. No, never wash my feet Lord.

Then when the Lord very meekly says to Peter, if I don't wash you Peter you have no part of this. And Peter being Peter and sometimes I think we all love to read about Peter because when we read about Peter it's almost as if we're standing in a mirror and we're seeing a reflection of ourselves. And so Peter very quickly when he realized that if the Lord didn't wash his feet then he was going to come out the loser.

Well then wash me all Lord. So Peter goes from one extreme to the other. So often in the character of Simon Peter.

You see what happened? Those men missed a golden opportunity. They missed an opportunity not only to wash the feet of their fellow disciples but listen they missed the opportunity, the privilege of washing the feet of the Lord himself. They missed that.

You'll remember that the Lord Jesus took those three disciples when he was going into the Garden of Gethsemane and he said to them watch and pray. But they fell asleep. They missed an opportunity to watch and pray when the Lord was in the Garden.

I get a lesson from that for my own soul. And the lesson is simply this how many opportunities do I miss that come my way? That come my way to a little service a little help to my brethren and sisters in some little way and I decline that opportunity. These men here had a golden opportunity and they passed it by but I think that the greatest opportunity that they missed was to wash the feet of the Lord.

Had they have got up, one of them and they got that basin and had have knelt at the feet of the Lord they could have washed his feet. He would have accepted that. That's what he was waiting for.

But they didn't do that. And so the Lord himself washed their feet. I want to take you then again to the upper room.

So we have noticed at least three things that had to be in an upper room. Picture water, a basin, a towel. But there had to be other things as well.

And so the lamb had to be slain. Generally the head of a Jewish house would kill the lamb, would catch the blood in a basin and the blood was taken to the priest and it was thrown upon the altar. Now we don't know for certain whether Peter and John killed the lamb and whether they took the blood to the priest, but we do would suggest that Peter and John were now responsible to make certain that there was a lamb on the Passover table.

That would be one of the greatest things that they would have to prepare. A lamb for the Passover. And so in that upper room Peter and John would have had the lamb.

I'm going to take you for a moment to a Passover that would be celebrated in a Jewish home in the year 2015. Now I'm not certain when the Passover is this year or when it has passed. I know that it was on the 4th of April last year.

I'm not certain when it is this year. But in the United States and Canada, around the world, Jewish people will go through the formality of keeping the Passover. But there's something missing.

There's something lacking. They have no lamb. The lamb can only be sacrificed in Jerusalem.

The book of Deuteronomy and the 16th chapter of Deuteronomy, the first seven verses of that chapter make it absolutely clear. And they recognize that the lamb can only be slain in Jerusalem to the place that the Lord has chosen. And so today they have no lamb.

They miss the lamb. They miss what John the Baptist said when he said, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. They don't understand that what Peter said, a lamb without spot and without blemish.

They can't grasp the truth that we indicated last night. Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. They miss that.

They have no lamb. Isaiah chapter 53 cannot be their Messiah. Their Messiah could never have been crucified.

And so Isaiah chapter 53 is a non-part of the Bible as far as the Jew is concerned. The Messiah never died. They have missed the lamb.

I had in one of my classes a Jewish girl and her father was a rabbi, Rabbi Lerner. There are some things that I have learned over the years since I had the Jewish girl and that conversation with Rabbi Lerner that I would love to go back and talk to Rabbi Lerner now. I would love to challenge him on a few things.

I might indicate some of those things later in these meetings. So what did they do? There's no lamb on the table. So they put a chicken on the table.

A chicken replaces a lamb. Or in some instances, they put a bone on the table. You see, they don't even understand this, that no bone of him was to be broken.

So they just take a bone and they put it on the table. And so on the Passover table, you would see a chicken or you see a bone but no lamb. Let me just say this again tonight.

I hope everyone here has a lamb. You think of the multitudes of Jewish people in this world. Some of them saved, a few of them, but not many of them compared to the hundreds of thousands of them and they have no lamb.

I hope everybody here has a lamb. I hope there has been a moment when you have trusted Christ and the lamb of God is your lamb. They don't have that.

What I'm going to do for a few moments tonight and the meeting is nearly over. I'll continue a little bit on this tomorrow night. I want you to notice that table today.

I'm going to mention a few things that are on that table. This is kind of interesting. On the Passover table today, there is what is known as a Haggadah.

I'll spell these words. I don't have a piece of paper with them on. H-A-G-G-A-D-A H-A-G-G-A-D-A Haggadah The Haggadah is a little book.

It's on the Passover table today. The Haggadah is a book that tells the story of the exodus from the land of Egypt. At the commencement of every Passover today, the account of their exodus from Egypt is told around the Passover table.

Another Jewish girl that was in my class was leaving one day. She said, I will not be at school tomorrow. I knew why.

Sometimes you play a little dumb. I asked her, why will you not be at school tomorrow? She said, it's our Passover. This is my opportunity now.

I said, what is your Passover? She thought for a few seconds. She couldn't come up with a better answer. She said to me, it's something like your Thanksgiving.

Well, I suppose there's some sense or some truth to that. There's far more to the Passover than something like Thanksgiving, but that's all she could tell me. Even though she has likely heard the account of the exodus a number of times.

On the Passover table today, there are bitter herbs that are made of endive and chicory. Exodus chapter 12 and verse 8, Peter and John would prepare the bitter herbs. The bitter herbs were to be on the Passover table.

And the bitter herbs reminded them of the bondage of Egypt. Peter and John prepared that. We know in Exodus 12 again that that was part of the Passover.

On the Passover table today, there is what is called the Matzo. M-A-T-Z-O M-A-T-Z-O, Matzo. The Matzo is three loaves of unleavened bread.

Those three loaves of unleavened bread are piled one on top of the other. One, two, three on top of each other. During the Passover, the head of the table will take the middle loaf out.

If you were to ask the rabbi, this is one of the questions I would like to ask Rabbi Lerner if I had the opportunity, that what is the significance of those three loaves? And some rabbis would say, well, it speaks of the priests, the Levites and the people. Others would say that it speaks of the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And of course, that's only coming out of the top of their head.

Mr. Paisley has a better answer. Mr. Paisley will tell you, and there is perhaps a little reason for this. Mr. Paisley would tell you that it speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

The middle loaf is removed. So he would suggest that the middle loaf speaks of Christ. Of course, this is not in the Bible, but this is what they practice in the Passover today.

And this is how he applied it, Mr. Paisley. But there is something significant about this middle loaf that is taken out. It is broken in half.

One half of that loaf is placed under a cushion. The other half is broken open and passed around the table. And every member of the Jewish family breaks a little piece from that loaf as it is passed around the table.

The loaf that is hidden under the cushion at some point in time is taken out. And then it is used in part of the Passover as well. And so Mr. Paisley might have a point that the loaf that is hid, speaking of Christ, is hid from them.

They don't understand. They don't recognize the Lord Jesus as the Messiah. But when we come to the great day of atonement on this chart, they will recognize him.

And so that part of the loaf that is hid and now is taken out and passed around the table might indicate something like the recognition of Christ in a future day. The point is that that is on the table. There is a bowl of salt water and beside it a sprig of parsley.

And they dip the parsley into the salt water and then they take from it. That is a reminder of the waters of the Red Sea. They sing.

They sing today. The Halal. The Halal, H-A-L-A-L-E-L, that's in your Bible by the way, are songs of praise.

Psalm 113 to Psalm 118. They sing this today. And it's interesting what is in Psalm 118.

Read Psalm 118, you'll read these words. The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. They sing that.

They sing this is the Lord's doing. This is marvelous in our sight. They sing that at the Passover table today.

The songs of praise of Halal. My time is up. But I think I'm going to mention this.

I'll just take a second. I didn't read further in the Gospel of John. But the Lord Jesus said that He would identify the one who would betray Him by passing a sop to that one.

I think you'll read three times in John chapter 13 about the sop. What is a sop? The sop is a piece of unleavened bread and it's wrapped around a piece of the Passover lamb. And the Lord Jesus said He would dip that.

What would He dip it in? He would dip it in a sauce like material. And today they have that on the Passover table. It's called the cherry of Seth.

On your computer you get all kinds of remedies and receipts or whatever for the cherry of Seth. You might not want to try it. It might be a rather strange concoction.

And so Peter and John would have that sauce on the table. And the moment came when the Lord Jesus took that little piece of the of the unleavened bread wrapped it around a piece of the Passover lamb, dipped it in this sauce that was on the table and then handed it to Judas. And John chapter 13 will record that when Judas received the sop, he went out into the night betrayed the Lord Jesus.

And the book of Acts, when they are choosing a replacement for Judas, they are reminded that he went to his own place. Betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. The sop in the cherry of Seth.

I indicated when I read this, and I'm not going to say anything about this now, but in Luke chapter 20 20 In Luke chapter 22 where we're reading I said to draw a line after verse 17 Just notice this, and I'm going to touch this tomorrow night, because I'm going to touch a little on the Lord's Supper tomorrow night. Because the Lord's Supper was introduced in that upper room. And so in verse 17 that cup is the Passover cup.

And so I said to draw a little line after verse 18 because in verse 19 the cup and the bread is when the Lord Jesus introduced the Lord's Supper. I'll touch a little bit on that tomorrow night, and then as well, move on to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We'll pray.