Shalom Friends,
“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are
healed.” (Isaiah 53: 5)
Tonight, the Biblical Festival of Passover (Pesach) begins, coinciding
this year with Good Friday.
On Sunday, as Passover continues, Believers will celebrate the resurrection of
Yeshua on Easter.
Friday at sunset, the eight-day celebration of Passover begins.
Jewish people will mark the beginning of this prophetic holiday,
which foreshadows the salvation wrought for all mankind
by Yeshua, with a ceremonial meal called the Seder, in which
the story of deliverance from slavery in Egypt is retold.
Around the world, as the Jewish People commemorate their exodus from slavery in
Egypt, and celebrate the saving power of the God of Israel, Believers in Yeshua
(Jesus)—both Jewish and Gentile—will celebrate freedom from slavery to sin.
This freedom, the salvation of Israel and all mankind, was accomplished through
the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), as the
sacrificial Passover Lamb.
“Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will
appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are
waiting for Him.” (Hebrews 9:8)
Though Yeshua endured an agonizing death to atone for the sin of the world,He rose again on the third day. Because He was completely sinless, deathcould not hold Him. Had He not borne our sins, He wouldn't have died at all.
In fulfillment of Scripture, Yeshua became our guilt offering, paying the price
for sin once and for all.
“…though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring
and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.”
(Isaiah 53:10)
While the guilt offerings on the altar of the Temple could only cover sin,
Yeshua’s death and resurrection actually removed sin for all time.
As Yochanan (John) said when he saw Yeshua coming to him at the Jordan River,
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29)
The Passover Lamb: When being Passed Over is a Miracle
“Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you
really are. For Messiah, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Corinthians 5:7)
Passover is rich in lessons for all Believers in Yeshua.
Were you ever passed over as a child when the sports team was being chosen?For a child, being passed over could be devastating. Likewise, as adults,
being passed over for a promotion, raise, or a prestigious role can be very frustrating.
But being “passed over” during the first Passover was a miracle of deliverance.
During the very first Passover in Egypt, so that God’s judgment of Egypt would
pass over, the children of Israel were required to choose an unblemished lamb,
kill it, and place its blood over the doorposts and lintels of their dwelling places.
The Signs on the Door, by James Tissot
Today, 3500 years later, we are able to celebrate the Passover in all of its’
prophetic fulfillment.
We have the opportunity to place the blood of the perfect, chosen Lamb of God,
Yeshua, over the hearts and homes, so that by faith, we too will be spared from
the Divine judgment due to fall on this world. This too is a miracle of deliverance.
“And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are; and
when I see the blood, I will pass over you [pasachti], and there shall no
plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13)
In Hebrew, the word for I will pass over is pasachti וּפָסַחְתִּי, which comes
from the word pesach, which means to hop, to skip over or spare, and to pass over.
The Angel of Death and the First Passover
Brandy, our salvation was wrought at such a great price.
The Messiah died in our place and paid the price for the sins that we
committed.
And despite celebrating the Passover year after year, so many Jewish
people do not know Yeshua!
Jewish men and women flock to the Western (Wailing) Wall on Pesach (Passover).
Yeshua is Prepared for Burial
“Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus [Yeshua]. …
With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.” (John 19: 38)
On Good Friday, Christians remember the horrific death that Yeshua suffered on
our behalf.
Believers also read how Joseph (Yosef) of Arimathea and Nicodemus
(Nakdimon) came to Pilate to ask for Yeshua’s body.
Because Jewish burial customarily takes place within 24 hours, in keeping with
Jewish practice, they sought to bury Yeshua right away.
They also prepared Yeshua’s body for burial with tahara, ritual purification.
In this ritual, the body is cleansed, and then dried and dressed in takhrikhim,
a simple white shroud (Mark 15:46-47).
“Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
Taking Yeshua’s body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of
linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” (John 19: 39–40)
Although Yosef and Nakdimon carefully prepared
Yeshua's body for burial, when the women came to
the tomb after High Shabbat had ended, it was
empty and the burial linen was left to the side.
Yeshua had already risen from the dead.
When Yosef and Nakdimon performed the mitzvah of preparing Yeshua’s body
for burial, they were performing the duties of the Khevra Kadisha—an
organization that ensures the body is correctly prepared for burial and
protected from desecration.
By wrapping Yeshua in linen, they were practicing the custom of takhrikhim,
providing the proper burial garment for the deceased.
Since the Sabbath was quickly approaching, there was insufficient time to
complete the preparations before the holy day of the Passover began; therefore,
Yeshua was placed in a sealed tomb until the close of the High Sabbath day.
Thus, Yeshua was buried in a rich man’s tomb in fulfillment of the Messianic
prophecy in Isaiah 53:
“He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death,
though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9)
However, more important than how Yeshua was buried is that He rose from the
dead and gained victory over death. Hallelujah!
Both spiritual and physical death has been defeated through Yeshua’s victory,
as Saul of Tarsus (Paul) said:
“But Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits [bikkurim]
of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man [Adam],
the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die,
so in Messiah all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20–22)
This is the ‘Good News’ that we want to share with all Jewish people, so that
they can be sure of their place in the ‘olam habah’ (the world to come).
Please help us reach the Jewish People, such as these ultra-Orthodox
Jewish men in Israel, with the Good News of Yeshua.
If Death is the Result of Sin, How could Yeshua die Sinless?
Since Yeshua’s death, burial and resurrection occurred in a Hebraic context,
examining Jewish customs surrounding death, burial, mourning and resurrection
can further our understanding of Good Friday and Easter.
Originally, God did not create mankind to suffer death.
The first book of the Torah, Bereshit (Genesis), reveals death as the judgment
of God upon mankind for their spiritual fall in the Garden of Eden.
After Adam and Chava (Eve) failed their test of obedience, God said:
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the
ground [adamah], since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you
will return.” (Genesis 3:19)
When Adam and Eve sinned, all of mankind came under the curse of the
broken law. Yeshua redeemed us from that curse.
The name Adam was taken from the word for ground or earth—adamah, since
the man (Adam) was taken from the ground (adamah).
This Hebrew word play reveals a spiritual truth: sin has brought physical death
to all of mankind and with it, a return to the earth (adamah).
Thus ends a person’s physical existence on earth, with the soul separating from
the body.
Yeshua’s death, however, was not due to His own sin, since He was sinless. He
died when He took upon Himself the sins of the world.
“But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him
is no sin.” (1 John 3:5)
The gospels of Mark, Matthew and John report that Yeshua was handed over
to the Roman soldiers, who clothed Him in a ragged scarlet cloak, jammed a
crown of thorns on His head, and mocked Him saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
Resurrection: a Jewish Belief
Traditionally, the rabbis believe that every Jew will be resurrected and
experience spiritual life.
As is written in Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), “The dust returns to the ground it
came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
Chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews describes the great men and women of faith.
Some women received their dead back to life again, while “others were tortured
and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.”
(Hebrews 11:35)
The Tanakh (Old Testament) also describes a resurrection from the dead
and subsequent judgment.
The Hebrew prophet Daniel gives an account of what will happen in the last days:
“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting
life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2)
The empty tomb
Kria: The Jewish custom of Rending the Garments
“Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many
days.” (Genesis 37:34)
In Judaism, there are seven immediate family members who are expected to
observe a seven-day mourning period: the father, mother, daughter, son,
brother, sister, and spouse.
These seven mourners participate in a special tradition.
To symbolize how death rips the fabric of life, their garments are symbolically
ripped just before the funeral.
In this tradition called kria, the parents and children rend the garment on
their left, closest to the heart. Spouses and siblings tear their garments on
the right.
While this may seem like an odd tradition, it dates back to Biblical times
(Genesis 37:34).
In fact, at the moment of Yeshua’s death, the Heavenly Father also seemed to
observed kria in His grief over the death of His son of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.
“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth shook and the rocks split.” (Matthew 27:51)
Thankfully, Yeshua’s death wasn’t the final word.
Just as He promised, death couldn’t hold Him (John 2:18–22; Matthew 26:31–32).
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our
justification.” (Romans 4:25)
The sting of death is sin (1 Corinthians 15:56), and in Yeshua, death has lost
its sting!
Therefore, we can live confidently without any fear of death or dying, as we
know that when we pass from this life, our lives continue eternally with our
loving Father in Heaven.
Your gifts will make a difference for eternity.
