Key Verse: "Is
not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the
blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body
of Christ?"
1 Corinthians
10:16
Now that the
celebratory meal is over, the liturgy resumes for the final two acts of the
Seder meal. Both Paul and Luke make it very clear that what happens next takes
place around the third cup of the Seder, the cup of redemption. "After
supper He took the cup saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood;’"
(1 Cor. 11:25B & Luke 22:20) For Jesus, this is the pinnacle of the meal between
him and His disciples and the Church.
First of all,
we need to go back to before the main meal itself to the matzo that was dipped
in the bitter herbs. Before that happens, the leader breaks off another piece
of matzo, wraps it in a linen cloth and then hides it. This piece of unleavened
bread is called the "afikoman." If there are children present at the
meal, after dinner, a game of hide and seek takes place in which the children
are told to find the hidden matzo. When it is found, a ransom type game is
played to redeem the matzo for the meal.
No one exactly knows why this became a
part of the Seder meal, but the symbolism is clearly of Jesus’ death, burial in
linen and resurrection. When the bread is restored to the table, the leader
takes the bread, breaks it and shares it among the others. This is the bread of
which Jesus said, "This is my body given for you." (Luke 22:19B)
It is often
explained during communion that this cup, the cup of redemption replaces the Old
Covenant of blood on the doorposts to protect the first born and is now the New
Covenant of Christ's blood on the door of our hearts. "By calling this covenant “new,” he has
made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon
disappear." (Heb.
8:13) However, there is more to
it than that. This cup also represents Jesus as the bridegroom proposing
marriage to the church His bride.
We began
describing the marriage and betrothal practices of Jesus’ day during the
Parable of the Ten Virgins. We said then that the potential groom, along with his parents would
come to the intended's home to talk with her parents, especially the father. In
this way, the marriage arrangements would take on a more formal contract
appearance rather than our notion of going down on one knee and presenting a
ring.
The parents
of the groom, and the groom would make the request while the parents of the
intended would state their price, or bride price. If all was acceptable on all
sides, the groom would offer his intended a glass of wine and make his pledge.
If she accepted the cup, they were betrothed and the bride and groom drank the
cup together. The price that Jesus offered for His bride was His own blood. He
offered this gift to His bride, the disciples that night, urging them to drink
of it with Him.
Finally, have
you noticed how Jesus gives thanks for all of the elements as the meal
progresses? This is actually a part of the Seder as well. Before bread is
broken or wine is drunk for any of the cups, a blessing is pronounced in
recognition of the gifts that God has bestowed on His people. "Baruch atah Adonai, elohaynu melech haolam,
boray p'ree hagafen." Or, "Blessed are You, O Lord our King, King
of the universe, who makes the fruit of the vine."
The Seder is a meal of
thanksgiving. Communion for us is also a meal of thanksgiving for what has been
paid for us. We weren't just set free from Egypt and slavery of man. We were
set free from our slavery to sin. Christ, our groom, paid the price for our
freedom and then invited us into the most intimate relationship known to man,
that of marriage. The next time you participate in communion, imagine Jesus
Himself, offering you the cup and asking, "Will you marry Me?"
At the Lamb's High Feast for the beauty!
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