Sader

Evertime this part of the year rolls around, two things are remembered.

One is the Easter Basket string that was connected to my bedpost or doorhandle as a kid. We would follow it around the house, balling it up as we went behind pictures, over fans, under tables, outside and back in again to reach the other end connected to our Easter basket.

The second is Sader, the Jewish Passover. When I close my eyes, I can still see my family and friends surrounding a huge table (with one open spot for Elijah, the prophet and forrunner of the Messiah's coming). If you ever have a chance, I would highly suggest taking a part in a Christian Sader because it is all about remembering how God saved the Israelites from Egypt and delivered them from their oppressors. It is a scripted dinner that explores the reasons for traditions behind the Passover and it is amazing.

The entire Exodus is a beautiful picture of what Christ is going to do when He comes again. And it is through the Sader that I am reminded how amazing our God is. For me the Sader, and not the Easter Service, is the perfect reminder of what Christ has done to save us.

For instance, one of the traditions, or important symbols, is a plate with a with white napkin on it. There are three pieces of unleaven bread in the folds. This unleaven bread is made especially for this meal. It is flat, with no yeast, symbolizing the sinlessness needed to have fellowship with God. It has rows and holes in it symbolizing Isaiah 53 which says Christ "will be pierced for our transgressions" and that "with His stripes we are healed." During the first part of the meal, the Father breaks the middle piece into two and hides one part of the afikomen (Jewish word that I don't think I spelled right). After the dinner section of the meal is over, the children of the house search for it and ransom it back from the Father who then holds it up and says it is a picture of what Messiah will go through. He will be sinless, with piercings and stripes, and will be hidden away from our eyes for a while.

The entire meal is one huge picture of God. If you have never studied the Jewish religion, and all its traditions, let me recommend the study of it to you. God structured the laws and religion to point to Christ, one of the reasons Jesus could tell the two men on the road after His resurrection how everything in Scripture pointed to the Messiah.

Anyway, Easter is the Sader for me. Christ is not done yet. He is alive and working for our deliverance. And like the Jews say at the end of the Sader, may we see each other next year in the New Jerusalem.