Since we are in the Easter Season that started with the vernal equinox on March 20 that was followed by the new moon on March 26, for the past several weeks we have been studying the Jewish Calendar and Holy Days that are Regulated by the Moon and Stars that are used to determine the time of our Lord's crucifixion, burial, and our Lord's resurrection that we celebrate on Easter that is more accurately known as Resurrection Sunday.
We have seen that the Spring Feasts that relate to the First Advent of TLJC are:
Passover (Pesach): Nisan 14, This year is on Wednesday (April 8, 2009) (the crucifixion of TLJC)
Unleavened Bread: Nisan 15. This year is on Thursday (April 9, 2009)
First Fruits: Nisan 18. This year is on Sunday (April 12, 2009) (the celebration of the resurrection of TLJC)
Pentecost (Shabuoth): Sivan 6, This year on Sunday (May 31, 2009) (The Holy Spirit was sent, beginning the Church age)
Picking up where we left off last time where we were discussing the events of the Last Supper that are replicated in the modern Jewish Passover Seder observance.
The second event at the Seder is the "washing of the hands." A family member brings a bowl, a pitcher of water, and a towel to the table for the father to wash his hands. It is a symbolic act of purification for the one who is to handle the food.
At the last Supper, the Lord did something similar but critically different. What He did was controversial at the time and remains so today, unless one understands the doctrines that he was teaching to the disciples.
The account is found in the Gospel of John in what is described as the Upper Room Discourse that established the ritual of the Lord's table the evening before our Lord was crucified.
John 13:1; Now before the Passover festival, Jesus, fully cognizant that the hour ( of his crucifixion ) had come, that He ( His true humanity ) should depart from this cosmos to be face to face with the Father, having loved His own ( the disciples ) who were in the cosmos to the fullest extent.
v 3 Jesus, fully aware that the Father had given all things into His keeping and that He had proceeded forth from the Father and was going back to the Father,
v 4 Got up from supper and having disrobed ( took off His robe ), took a towel and tied it around Himself ( the actions of a servant ).
John 13:5; He poured water into a basin. He started to wash the disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel that he had tied around Himself.
In the first century, most private residences were not equipped with bathtubs or showers that are necessary for bathing. Communities such as Jerusalem had public baths available to its citizens.
When a person went to a public bath and bathed, their entire body and was cleansed. but, while returning to their home their feet would become defiled by walking with sandals in the dusty streets of the city.
Because of this, when they arrived at home, if they had a servant, the servant would bring out a basin filled with water, wash the person's feet, and then towel them off.
It ordinary homes the host furnished the water but the guests washed their own feet at the door.
The fact that Jesus Christ would take on this servant's duty was confusing to the disciples and a shock to Peter, but, by doing this, the Lord was teaching the doctrines of eternal security and confession of known sin for experiential sanctification.
The complete bath at the public facility is analogous to salvation by grace through faith alone, the forgiveness of all presalvational sins, and the imputation of +R and eternal life that results in eternal security.
But as believers move through life they sin and need a method for their sins to be washed away in the same way that someone walking away from the public bath and got their feet dirty required a foot washing upon arrival home.
This foot washing therefore is analogous to confession alone to God alone per 1John 1:9;
In the typology, the bath represents faith alone in TLJC alone that results in regeneration and the foot washing represents acknowledgement of sin results in purification.
John 13:6; So He came to Simon Peter and Peter said to him. "Lord, are You washing my feet?"
v 7 Jesus answered and said to him, "You do not understand the full meaning of what I am doing yet. But you will understand after some events take place ( the crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and the corresponding doctrines that are revealed in them ).
v 8 Peter said to Him, "You will never wash my feet!" Jesus answered Peter like this, "If I do not wash you ( through acknowledging sin ), you are having no part in Me ( or no part in My inheritance )."
v. 9 Simon Peter said, "Lord, not only my feet but also my hands and my head."
Peter wants the Lord to know that it is entirely improper for him to be washing everyone's feet since that is the job of a servant.
While the other disciples are permitting the Lord to wash their feet, Peter takes a stand in protest against what he thinks is a demeaning activity for the Lord.
Peter has an emotional desire to be seen as the all submissive disciple and in his emotional state fails to discern the lesson the Lord is teaching.
If the believer does not accept the problem-solving device of confession to God alone made possible by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, then they cannot have fellowship with God and cannot execute the Christian way of life of the PPOG.
And if the believer through personal sin cannot execute the Christian way of life then they cannot advance to spiritual maturity in the PPOG and receive the imputation of their inheritance at the Evaluation Seat of Christ after the exit resurrection.
In order to make his point, Peter insists that if the Lord is going to wash his feet then He might as well give him a bath and The Lord has to correct him.
John 13:10; Jesus said to him, "He who has fully bathed ( perfect passive participle of "louo": representing spiritual regeneration ) only needs to wash ("nipto" confess known sin) his feet "nipto" in order to be completely clean ("katharos" purify; this is the same word used in 1John 1:9; where is it translated "cleanse" in the NASB).
TLJC goes on to say that several of you are cleansed (are current on confession of sins ), but not every one of you.
In the analogy, bathing, or the washing of the entire body is an illustration of regeneration of the soul at salvation. Cleansing, or the washing of the feet only and an illustration of confession of sin and recovery of fellowship for the believer who has had a change of thinking decision.
In the historical environment of the time in which these events occurred, a guest could not have fellowship with their host if they had dirt on their feet and refused to cleanse them on the way in the house to visit.
Likewise, believers cannot have fellowship with God with unconfessed sin in their life. Such a person moves into reversionism if they refuse God's provision for temporal fellowship.
All sins are forgivable when the believer simply acknowledges them because Jesus Christ died on the cross as a substitute for all sins. 1John 2:2;
John 13:11; For He knew the one who was betraying Him. This is why He said, "Not all of you are cleansed."
v 12 When He had washed their feet and put His garments back on and was reclining at the table again, He said to them, "Do you realize what I have done with reference to you?
v 13 "You call Me the Teacher and Lord-and rightly because I am.
v 14 "Therefore, if I washed your feet as Teacher and Lord, then you must also wash each other's feet.
v 15 "For I gave you an example ( the Greek word "hupodeiknumi" to teach by showing an illustration ) in order that as I have done to you, you may do for one another."
An illustration is not an ordinance for the church There are some who take this passage and interpret it as a mandate for a ritual of foot washing in the New Testament church.
This is not a ritual ordained by the Lord. There are no imperative moods in verses 14 and 15. He clearly tells them that he has given them an "example" in verse 15.
And what is the example? That the believer, by acknowledging sin may cleanse their soul of unconfessed sins because of the substitutionary spiritual death of Jesus Christ who was judged for those sins.
In the same way that Jesus Christ forgives the sins of the believer who has sinned when they are acknowledged, the believer should forgive those who sin against them. Eph 4:32;
The doctrines taught by our Lord using the illustration of washing His disciples feet include regeneration by grace through faith alone in TLJC alone, forgiveness of acknowledged sin, and church unity that is established by mutual forgiveness.
At the Jewish Seder, the washing of the hands by the father is symbolic of the idea of confession of sin as taught by the Lord at the Last Supper. However, the Jewish interpretation is physical rather than spiritual.
That very evening Jesus would become the substitutionary sacrifice that would result in the sins of the whole world being imputed to His body and judged.
This is the message of the next phase of the Jewish Passover Seder.
On the Seder table is a linen bag called a "matzo tash" that contains three pockets into which are inserted three matzos or cakes of unleavened bread.
The father removes the matzo from the middle pocket, breaks it in half, replaces one half back into the pocket and then wraps the other half in a linen napkin.
As the children at the table cover their eyes, the father hides the linen napkin containing the broken matzo somewhere in the house. This matzo is called the "aphikomen" and its significance comes up later in the meal.
At this point the youngest child who is seated to the right of the father is called upon to recite traditional questions in order to fulfill the mandate found in Exodus 12:26; "It will come about when your children say to you, 'What does this rite mean to you?'
v 27 that you shall say, 'It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians but spared our homes.'"
The child of a Jewish home, having been well rehearsed, will ask his father:
"Why is this night different from all other nights? On all other nights, we eat either leavened or unleavened bread, but on this night, only unleavened bread? On all other nights, we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night, only bitter herbs? On all other nights, we do not dip even once, but on this night, we dip twice? On all other nights, we eat sitting or reclining, but on this night, we eat reclining?"
These questions allow the father to retell the story of the Exodus that introduce the second cup of wine.
This second cup of the four that are drunk during the Seder cannot be specifically identified in Scripture nor can the fourth. Only the first and third are found.
The first is found in Luke 22 where Luke makes a clear distinction between comments made by our Lord during the Passover and those made by Him in the institution of the Lord's Supper.
As we have already seen, The first cup begins the Passover meal:
Luke 22:17; And when He had taken the cup ( #1 ) and given thanks ( eucharisteo ), He said, "Take this and share it among yourselves."
The second cup cannot be identified in the Gospel accounts of the last Passover.
The third cup can be found in accounts of the Lord's Supper in the first three Gospels:
Matt 26:27; And when He had taken a cup ( #3 ) and given thanks (eucharisteo), He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you;
v 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins."
Mark 14:23; And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them and they all drank from it.
v 24 And He said to them, "This is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many."
Luke 22:20; He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant of My blood."
The physical death of Christ cannot be the penalty for sin. He did not literally bleed for our sins, but instead He "bore our sins in His own body on the cross." "He who knew no sin was made sin as a substitute for us."
Blood refers to His efficacious spiritual death, his bearing of our sins and becoming our substitute.
The fourth cup is not mentioned in Scripture either.
Whether or not the disciples in the Upper Room drank four cups is not known for certain. However, it seems certain that first century Christians did incorporate four cups in their Eucharist and we know for certain that the Jews did.
A question that arises is why did the Jewish Passover Seder take on so many of the aspects of the Christian Eucharist?
We must remember that the Christian community of the first century was initially made up almost exclusively of Jews and they did not borrow elements of the Passover to institute the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper.
The Lord Himself, as we have just seen, founded the Lord's Supper, on the night of the last Passover.
On the other hand, the Jews apparently developed their Seder from the elements of the Lord's Supper, but why would they do that?
In his book "The Mystery in the Passover Seder." Solomon Bitnmaum attempts to answer this.
Nowhere in the writings of Moses, nor in those of the Rabbis, during the fifteen centuries that followed the days of Moses, is there any mention made of wine being necessary for the keeping of the Passover.
Only three things were essential: Pesach (the Passover lamb), Matzo (the Unleavened Bread), and Moror (the Bitter Herbs). Yet today, the four cups of wine for the celebration of the Passover, or Seder, are mandatory. The Shulchan Aruch, the most influential handbook in Jewish religious life, indicates that the wine used at the Seder should be red.
It is no longer the Passover Lamb, commanded by Moses, which constitutes the main feature of the Jewish Passover, but the bread (Matzo) and the wine.
This is a radical departure from the feast initiated by Moses. What was the cause of this departure? Who substituted the matzo for the Passover Lamb? Who made the Wine an essential part of the Seder? Why should it be red like blood?
Throughout the Incarnation of TLJC the Levitical Priesthood continued to officiate at the various feast days as they appeared in their seasons and on their dates every year. In fact since the Lord was bound to keep the Law the Gospels reveal His attendance at some of these festivals.
The first occasion noted in Scripture was when he was a young man of 12. His parents, Joseph and Mary took him down from Nazareth to Jerusalem to observe Passover:
Luke 2:41; And His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
v 42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast.
The feast of Passover is also the occasion on which the Lord cleared the Temple of the moneychangers:
John 2:13; And the Passover of the Jews was at hand ( c. a.d. 26 ) and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
v 14 And He found in the Temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves and the moneychangers seated.
John mentions what appears to be a second Passover in chapter 5. The feast is not mentioned but the chronology of the book seems to strongly infer that this feast was also the Passover.
John 5:1; After these things there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem ( c. a.d. 27 ).
The feeding of the 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish occurred on the arrival of a Passover in:
John 6:4; Now the Passover ( c. a.d. 28 ), the feast of the Jews was at hand.
On another occasion the Lord attended the feast of Tabernacles, or Booths, called "Sukkoth" in the Hebrew. Since the Jews had plotted to kill him, the Lord attended this feast alone and in secret.
John 7:2; Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was at hand.
John 7:10; But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus Himself also went up, not publicly but, as it were, in secret.
By the time of the following Passover the Pharisees were involved in seeking to seize Jesus. This was the Last Passover.
John 12:1; Jesus therefore, six days before the Passover ( c. a.d. 29 ), came to Bethany
John 12:12-13; On the next day the great multitude who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem took the branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him and began to shout Hosanna Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord even the King of Israel.
John 10:22; records that the Lord attended the Feast of Lights, or Hanukkah that at the time took place at Jerusalem.
All of these feasts required the bringing of certain sacrificial animal that were taken to the Temple where rituals were carried out by the Levitical priesthood.
But without the Temple, the sacrifices could not be properly executed according to the instructions in the Mosaic Law.
Thus a sequence of events occurred which led to the development of the Jewish Seder that is observed down to the present day.
Since the Jewish people rejected Jesus as the Messiah when he was presented to them, the nation of Judah came under the fifth cycle of discipline. The overthrow of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 saw the destruction not only of the nation but also its capital city including the Temple, that was the center of the Jew's religious life.
Without the Temple there was no place for the people to bring their animals and no place for the priesthood to sacrifice them according to the Mosaic Law.
However, first-century believers had been observing what was called the Christian Passover for 40 years, a practice that became quite familiar to the religious leadership of the Jews.
When they were unable to observe the Passover in the orthodox manner required by the Mosaic Law they chose to improvise, and as a result incorporated many facets of the Christian Eucharist into their revised Passover Seder.
Remember that following the washing of the hands the Jewish father removes the middle matzo from the linen bag and breaks it in half. One half is replaced into the middle pocket of the linen bag while the other is hidden in the house.
This procedure occurred after the first cup and the washing of the hands. Then the middle matzo process occurs followed by the child's interrogation.
At this point the second cup is taken followed by the father's answers to the questions asked. The father's answers outline a brief history of the Jewish people beginning with Abram in Ur and concluding with the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.
We see that the Jewish Seder that was developed after the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70, borrows ideas from the last Passover documented in John 13.
Following the second cup the matzo tash is again opened. The first matzo and the remaining half of the second matzo, called the "aphikomen" , are removed, broken into pieces and passed around to all at the table. Each person at the table takes his piece of matzo and dips it into the horseradish, the bitter herb, or moror, and also a sauce called charoset.
Charoset is a mixture of fruits and nuts. The Mishna's recipe recommends nuts and fruits pounded together and mixed with vinegar. Later alterations specify chopped apples, walnuts, cinnamon, and ginger moistened with wine. The bitter herbs are intended to remind the participants of their ancestors' "bitter slavery" in Egypt while the charoset is to remind of the "sweetness" of God's redemption through the blood of the lamb.
The development of this aspect of the Passover Seder finds it origin in the Christian Eucharist that was instituted by our Lord in the Gospels.
Remember that the youngest person at the Seder sits to the immediate right of the host while the guest of honor sits to his immediate left. With this in mind we now will look at a portion of the last Passover when our Lord broke the matzo and dipped it into the bitter herbs:
John 13:21; Having explained these things, Jesus Christ became disquieted with grief with reference to the Spirit. ( The Holy Spirit has revealed to Jesus the treachery of Judas Iscariot causing our Lord to become somber and saddened at the news. ) And bearing deposition ( as legal witness ), He said, "I am telling you an absolute truth that one of you will betray Me." ( Jesus Christ protected the privacy of Judas Iscariot by not revealing his name).
John 13:22; The disciples were looking at each other at a loss as to whom He was referring.
v 23 There had been, during the course of these things, a disciple, one of the twelve (John was the youngest disciple and is referred to in Scripture as the "one whom Jesus loved"), reclining on Jesus' chest, for whom Jesus Christ had a special regard.
v 24 So Simon Peter nodded to John to ask which one He is talking about.
v 25 Leaning back on Jesus' chest, John said to Jesus, "Who is it?"
v 26 And then Jesus answered, "The one whom I offer this piece of bread after I dip it." Therefore, having dunked the bread, He handed the morsel to Judas Iscariot.
Judas Iscariot was the guest of honor at Jesus' left. It was the custom for the host to dip the matzo, or unleavened bread, into the bitter herb and offer it first to the honored guest. The Lord was about to be dipped into the judgment of the cross which Judas Iscariot's betrayal would facilitate that very evening.
John 13:27; And with the morsel, Satan entered into Judas. (Judas had given mental assent to demonism and the Lord allows Satan himself to obtain maximum influence over him Judas's thinking is now under the complete domination of the prince of darkness. Judas has become not only a witness for the defense, but also its bounty hunter.) Then Jesus said to him, "Do what you have to do quickly."
Jesus Christ does not sanction Judas's betrayal but the Lord understands the divine decrees. The Lord's forefather, David, prophesied in Psalm 41 that Messiah would be betrayed by a friend:
Psalm 41:9; Even My close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate My bread, has lifted up his heel against Me.
This passage must be interpreted under the hermeneutical principle of "double reference" that identifies certain Old Testament passages as having a "near and a far" meaning.
The book entitled Protestant Biblical Interpretation: A Textbook of Hermeneutics. By Bernard Ramm on pages 247; 251; 253 discusses this principle:
Much of the prophetic description of the future is in the language of past, historical events. Past persons and events are used as forms for future persons and events.
The interpreter must search the New Testament to see whether the passage is cited there as fulfilled. If the passage is cited in the New Testament then a careful study must be made of both the Old and New Testament passages.
Deeply buried in the events, persons, and words of the Old Testament are references to events, persons, and words of the New Testament. The presupposition that the Old is profoundly typical of the New is called "compenetration"( that means mutual penetration; or to pervade; or permeate).
In an Old Testament Passage the near meaning and the far meaning for the New Testament so compenetrate that the passage at the same time and in the same words refers to the near and the remote New Testament meaning.
David's near reference is to the participation by his friend, Ahithophel, in the revolution fomented against David by his son, Absalom. We learn from 2Sam 15:12 that Ahithophel was David's National Security Advisor.
Ahithophel was also Bathsheba's grandfather and he may have been angry with David because of his mistreatment of her because he had forced her to have sex with him and then killed her husband Uriah in an attempt to hide it.
In 2Sam 15:31; David is informed that his friend and chief advisor has joined the revolution begun by Absalom and has become his son's chief advisor.
Both Absalom and Ahithophel conspire to kill David and seize the throne of Israel.
It is this treachery to which David refers in Psa 41:9. However, this near application has a prophetic application in its remote meaning.
Confirmation of this "far meaning" must be verified by a New Testament quotation that relates a New Testament person or event to an Old Testament person or event.
We can correlate David with Christ and Ahithophel with Judas Iscariot. Judas ate the last Passover with the Lord, betrayed him to the Sanhedrin, and, as the Lord's friend, identified him to the Jewish and Roman officers.
Matt 26:47; And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, accompanied by a great multitude with swords and clubs from the chief priests and elders of the people.
v48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, "Whomever I shall kiss, He is the one; seize Him!"
v49 And immediately he went to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.
v 50 And Jesus said to Him, "Friend, do what you have come for." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.
Judas was paid thirty pieces of silver for this dirty deed. Following the Lord's arrest Judas was struck with remorse and guilt to such a great degree that he committed suicide.
Matt 27:3; Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
v 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!"
v 5 And Judas threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed and he went away and hanged himself.
This was the similar fate of Judas's Old Testament counterpart, Ahithophel that is described in 2 Sam 17:23; Now when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed (by Absalom), he saddled his donkey and arose and went to his home, to his city, and set his house in order and strangled himself.
It is interesting to observe the mental attitudes of the protagonists in these two accounts. Both David and Jesus had unconditional love for men who had at one time served them loyally. They did not bear a grudge but rather showed grace to their adversaries.
Before his death David chose to recognize those who had served him during his reign as king of Israel. In 2Sam 23:8-39 we find the Roll Call of David's Mighty Men. Listed among them is Ahithophel in 2Sam 23:34.
Likewise, even when Judas Iscariot was in the process of betraying Jesus, our Lord referred to him in Matt 26:50; as His "friend."
Psa 41:9; Even My close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate My bread, has lifted up his heel against Me.
In John 13:21; Jesus is saddened by the knowledge that Judas will betray Him but the Lord does not bear a grudge. He views the sins of Judas as no worse than those of any other person's sin for which He is about to become as substitutionary sacrifice.
John 13:27; And with the morsel, Satan entered into Judas
v 28 But no one at the table knew for what reason Jesus said this to Judas.
v 29 For they were assuming that since Judas Iscariot held the moneybag, he should pay expenses, that he should give something to the poor.
Jesus Christ did not seek to override Judas's free will but permitted him to follow through on the inevitability of his actions.
Our Lord was obviously well aware of Psa 41:9. In eternity past the omniscience of God knew all about the thoughts decisions and actions of Judas Iscariot and decreed them to be certainly future.
Allowing this to occur is the permissive will of God, not His directive will. But knowing about it the Father allowed the deed to go forward.
John 13:30; Then having received the piece of bread, Judas Iscariot went immediately out and it was night.
There is no harmony between light and darkness. In the environment of spiritual darkness, Judas Iscariot turned his back the Light of the World and entered into the darkness of the devil's world in order to perform his cosmic deed.
Judas had eaten the Lord's bread, the matzo dipped in the bitter herbs at the last Passover. This was made a part of the original Passover so that it would bring to the mind of the participant the bitterness of Egyptian slavery, which was compared theologically to the bitterness of slavery to the sinful nature.
There was also an additional application of this portion of the Passover. The unleavened matzo represented the impeccability of Messiah Who would, as a substitutionary sacrifice, be "dipped" into the bitter sins of the world and be judged for them.
The dipping of the matzo into the bitter herb is an illustration of the baptism of the cross. The unleavened bread or matzo continues to be used in the Christian Eucharist which was instituted by our Lord.
Luke 22:19; And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."