Passover is a beautiful example of how God established and invited His people to a table to not only remember His deliverance, but to also look ahead to the advent of a Deliverer (the Messiah).

If you were to come to my house, you would walk through the front door and see a long table in the dining room to your right. It’s a walnut, mid-century modern wonder that my Jewish grandparents brought back to the states from a visit to Sweden. My earliest memories as a child include this table, and it’s a privilege to now have it in my home.

The thing I find truly remarkable about this table is not how beautiful it is … It’s the reality that it has hosted hundreds of Shabbat dinners and what we believe to be about 50+ Passover seders. My grasp not only of my ethnic heritage but also of my spiritual inheritance was formed by my experiences at that table over time.

The table is actually a critical environment in the big story of Scripture, and it often served as the setting for where God’s people would remember and celebrate the provision, promises, and presence of God. This is because, not only was the table central to the culture of ancient Israel, but also God established His appointed times in such a way that feasting and fellowship were part of HOW they would remember Him and His story.

Passover is a beautiful example of how God established and invited His people to a table to not only remember His deliverance, but to also look ahead to the advent of a Deliverer (the Messiah). The Seder table, as I tell my kids every year, is like a time machine. It takes us back to our deliverance from Egypt and forward to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world all in one evening.

God intentionally designed this feast as a time for His people to revive their memory, to ignite their curiosity, to deepen their relationship to Him and each other, and to draw their children into the truth about God’s plan for redemption in a way that they can literally taste it.

You may be wondering, wait, what is a seder? And am I invited to this table? Does this have significance for me as a Christian? The answer to these questions, I believe, can transform your discipleship journey into a very real and thrilling faith adventure.

Wonder Ink’s 3-year, 52-week children’s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God’s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.

What is Seder?

The word Seder (say-der) is literally translated from Hebrew to English as “order.” Essentially, a Seder meal is the liturgy of the biblical feast of Passover. Passover recalls the true story of how God delivered His people, Israel, from slavery in Egypt some 3,500 years ago. This feast not only provides a clear picture of the salvation of Israel from Egypt, but also foreshadows the deliverance Messiah Jesus would accomplish for the entire world in His sacrifice and resurrection.

God established Passover in Exodus as one of His appointed times forever by saying, “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.”

To keep this lasting ordinance across time, through exiles, with Temples built, and Temples destroyed, the Jewish people have centered the remembrance of Passover around the table, Scripture-rich liturgy, and sensory elements that ignite memory of what God did. It is communal because that is how God designed it and it is the ancient Eastern way of seeing how God is at work—in us and for us, not just in me and for me.

It is experiential because it’s real and can be known … not just in our minds and hearts, but in our bodies, too. It is intergenerational because faith is to be passed from one generation to the next and we all have a part in that. It is futuristic because it reveals not only what God did in the past, but also what He is doing to redeem creation now and in the future.

Sounds like a pretty incredible meal, right? It is. Life changing even.

You might be wondering—are you, a Christian who is likely not Jewish … invited to participate in Passover?

It is experiential because it’s real and can be known … not just in our minds and hearts, but in our bodies, too. It is intergenerational because faith is to be passed from one generation to the next and we all have a part in that. It is futuristic because it reveals not only what God did in the past, but also what He is doing to redeem creation now and in the future.

Photo by Nils Stahl on Unsplash

Are Christians invited to the table?

YES.

You are not obligated, but you are certainly invited. It is your own personal decision to decide if you want to pull your chair up. It is meaningful to participate in a seder led by Jewish families – especially Messianic Jewish families (Messianic Jewish means they are a Jewish person who has put their faith in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah). Many churches will host Passover Seder events, as well, that help Christians connect the Seder experience to the redemptive work of God then and now.

As someone passionate about the discipleship of kids and families, the Passover table’s Seder experience is the perfect environment to pass on faith and the truth of who God is to our children. Seders are designed to invite the questions of children—literally, the liturgy actually includes portions where kids are supposed to ask questions. In addition to the sensory aspects of the Passover storytelling making it come alive for kids, it really is the intergenerational inclusion that makes this the most fruitful environment for helping kids understand redemption in a very real way. 

This feast was designed by God and it holds wisdom and clues that help us grasp His character and His plans, and it reveals the Messiah. As disciples of Messiah Jesus, we are to be followers of His way and pattern our life after how He walked and what He said. He celebrated the Passover year after year during His life here, and it was on the Passover prior to his crucifixion that He revealed deeper meaning to the Passover elements (you might recognize this as the practice of communion).

According to what we see in the Gospels, Jesus observed Passover with His disciples in a way consistent with what the sages had determined for that time. The primary elements of the Seder were established prior to Yeshua’s time on earth, and it would have been the pattern He followed during His life and at the Last Supper with His disciples.

Believers are not bound to any kind of ritual or practice for their salvation, but are free to imitate Jesus’ life and practices. Celebrating Passover is a meaningful way to follow in His footsteps and understand the depth of God’s redemptive heart in a transformative way.

From the preparation of the meal, to the storytelling centered on the Scriptures, to the elements that help us taste the story, and to the way everyone at the table is included in the journey… no one walks away from the Seder without the opportunity to taste and see that the Lord is better than they ever knew.

I’ve been hosting Seders at our table now for almost 15 years on my own. It continues to change me, my family, and the people we share it with. I’ve seen people come to faith at that table, and we’ve seen whole families go on to get baptized and walk in the way of Jesus because they tasted redemption there. I pray you will accept the invitation that has always been here for you to join yourself to the table Jesus eagerly came to Himself.

May you and those at your table grow in wonder, trust, and love of the God who delivers His people and brings us home!

Discover Wonder Ink’s Around the Table: A Taste of Passover Event

Connected Easter is a digital and fully-customizable Easter Sunday school lesson series that includes the Connected Easter Lessons and the Around the Table: A Taste of Passover Event. This series takes kids and families on a journey through the Easter season and allows them to experience a “taste” of a traditional Jewish Passover meal that points throughout to Jesus. Learn more here!