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For centuries during the Passover seder in Jewish homes, one of three pieces of unleavened bread, matzah, is broken in half, wrapped in a napkin, hidden, and later retrieved to be served as the last morsel of food eaten at the end of the lengthy observance of this ancient Jewish feast. This bit of unleavened bread is called the "afikomen". The middle matzah, the one broken, the one symbolizing the Passover Lamb came about after the Temple services were no more in 70 AD.
It symbolizes the Passover lamb. For Jewish children, the afikomen is used to hold their attention until the end of the seder. In some families the children "steal" the matzah and are paid a ransom in order to get it back to the table. In other families it is hidden and the children search for it and are rewarded. This last piece of matzah, called the afikomen, is substituted for the lamb: it even has to be eaten before midnight, just as Moses commanded,
Ex 12:10 "You shall let none of it remain until morning"
Another curious thing is the word "afikomen" which is a Greek word. Why is this final piece of matzah called the "afikomen"? It is curios to find a Greek work in the middle of a Hebrew feast. Its Greek meaning can be understood as "that which is coming". According to Jewish tradition, Messiah will come at Passover to bring a redemption like unto the redemption brought through Moses. This is why a place is left at the table for Elijah, the forerunner of Messiah.
Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
The Last Supper gathering reflects a traditional prophecy understanding in the Hebrew mind. Yeshua is our hidden manna, our Afikomen "that which is coming", or matzah.
Luke 22:19 "took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, `this is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me'"
The ultimate redemption did come at Passover. It wasn't a redemption from an earthly oppressor and an earthly bondage, as was the first. Our Messiah Yeshua brought a greater deliverance from bondage from Satan, sin, and death.
John 8:36 "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed"
The Passover seder mentions being brought "from darkness to light". We can now give thanks.
Col 1:12 "to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins"
Because of Messiah's body broken as the sacrificed lamb, the wrath of God "passes over" those who trust Him. His resurrection liberates His people to serve God in newness of life. Let us remember these things as we partake of the Lord's supper. The perfect lamb has come.
1 Cor 5:7 "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth"
It symbolizes the Passover lamb. For Jewish children, the afikomen is used to hold their attention until the end of the seder. In some families the children "steal" the matzah and are paid a ransom in order to get it back to the table. In other families it is hidden and the children search for it and are rewarded. This last piece of matzah, called the afikomen, is substituted for the lamb: it even has to be eaten before midnight, just as Moses commanded,
Ex 12:10 "You shall let none of it remain until morning"
Another curious thing is the word "afikomen" which is a Greek word. Why is this final piece of matzah called the "afikomen"? It is curios to find a Greek work in the middle of a Hebrew feast. Its Greek meaning can be understood as "that which is coming". According to Jewish tradition, Messiah will come at Passover to bring a redemption like unto the redemption brought through Moses. This is why a place is left at the table for Elijah, the forerunner of Messiah.
Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
The Last Supper gathering reflects a traditional prophecy understanding in the Hebrew mind. Yeshua is our hidden manna, our Afikomen "that which is coming", or matzah.
Luke 22:19 "took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, `this is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me'"
The ultimate redemption did come at Passover. It wasn't a redemption from an earthly oppressor and an earthly bondage, as was the first. Our Messiah Yeshua brought a greater deliverance from bondage from Satan, sin, and death.
John 8:36 "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed"
The Passover seder mentions being brought "from darkness to light". We can now give thanks.
Col 1:12 "to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins"
Because of Messiah's body broken as the sacrificed lamb, the wrath of God "passes over" those who trust Him. His resurrection liberates His people to serve God in newness of life. Let us remember these things as we partake of the Lord's supper. The perfect lamb has come.
1 Cor 5:7 "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth"
