Our Jewish Jesus

In a recent blog, I shared several Hebrew scriptures about the birth of the Messiah that were fulfilled by Yeshua, the Hebrew name for Jesus. These are just a few of the more than 300 prophecies that were fulfilled by Yeshua. I also said that many Jewish people are probably surprised to learn that everything about Yeshua was Jewish.

Today’s blog, “Our Jewish Jesus,” is about a holiday, Passover, that Jewish people, worldwide, commemorate during the spring. The Passover story is rich with meaning and deliverance for the Jews from their enemies, which, we know, has even greater significance at this current, perilous time for Israel and Jews throughout the world.

For those unfamiliar, thousands of years ago, the early Jews, then known as the Israelites, lived in Egypt where they were harshly mistreated as slaves. The Egyptian pharaoh ordered that all Israelite male babies be killed because the Israelite population was growing exponentially. God heard the cries of His people and Moses, one of the most prominent men in the Hebrew Bible, entreated the Egyptian pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt so that they could go to Israel (then known as Canaan) to worship the LORD.

Despite awful plagues that came upon the Egyptians, pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. The final plague was the killing of the firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal.

God, however, instructed the Israelites to slaughter a perfect, spotless lamb and to place the blood of the lambs on the sides and tops of the doorframes of their homes. Animal sacrifices were commanded because, according to Jewish law, “ … the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul,” Leviticus chapter 17, verse 11.

In Exodus 12 it says that when God saw the blood upon the Israelites’ doorposts, He would pass over those houses and that the firstborn in those homes would be spared. He commanded His people to commemorate this Passover deliverance forever, which is why Jewish people celebrate Passover every year.

The firstborn has always been an important concept in Judaism. Following their deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites were instructed to consecrate the firstborn son to the Lord.

So, you may be wondering, what does Passover and all of this have to do with Yeshua?

In the book of Luke, in the New Testament, it says, “When Yeshua (Jesus) was born, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord. ‘ ” Luke chapter 2, verses 22 and 23.

Also in the New Testament, we read in the book of John, who was Jewish, “The next day Yochanan (John) was coming toward him (Yeshua) and said, ‘Look! God’s lamb. The one who is taking away the sin of the world,’ ” – John chapter 1, verse 29.

Yeshua had to live a sinless life in order to be the perfect lamb who would be sacrificed for the sins of the world. Peter, a Jewish fisherman who followed Yeshua, said that it was the precious blood of Yeshua, a lamb without blemish or defect, who redeemed people from their sins – 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 19.

It might also surprise you to know that Yeshua celebrated the Passover with his disciples. 

Matthew, who was Jewish, records the following – “On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?’ ‘As you go into the city,’ he told them, ‘you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’ ” So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there,” Matthew chapter 26, verses 17 and 18.

During this Passover meal, Yeshua took some of the unleavened bread and blessed it and instructed his disciples to eat it. He also took a cup of wine (the cup of redemption – the third cup in the Passover meal) and instructed his disciples to drink it.

For those familiar with Christian traditions, this is now known as the Lord’s Supper (communion) which takes place in churches and Messianic synagogues throughout the world.

It is important for both Jews and Christians to understand the significance of this beautiful holiday of Passover which reminds Christians of the Jewish roots of our faith. 

Finally, I’d like to say that there are a growing number of Christians who commemorate Passover with seder meals. In addition to wanting to explore and emulate their Jewish roots, followers of Yeshua are drawn to Passover because they identify with the freedom (from sin and death) that God gave to the Israelites in delivering them from Egypt. Those who follow Yeshua, including me, also believe that the matzah, (unleavened bread) which has stripes, that is eaten during the Passover, represents the 39 stripes that Yeshua received as he was beaten and whipped resulting in stripes upon his body prior to his crucifixion.

We also believe that the blood on the doorposts of the Israelites’ homes was a foreshadowing of the blood that Yeshua, the Perfect Sacrificial Lamb, shed for all mankind for the forgiveness of our sins. And we see this parallel in the lamb bone that is on the plate of every Jewish seder meal. 

There are also other aspects of the seder that clearly point to the Messiah – his death, burial and resurrection. Passover is a prophetic and visual expression of Yeshua, the Messiah. At the end of every seder, these words are said, “Next year in Jerusalem,” which is a prayer of hope for Jews who wish to live safely in their Jewish homeland, Israel, and in God’s most beloved city of Jerusalem. Let it be so, dear Lord, let it be so.