The Last Supper and our Passover

Last year I wrote an article titled "The Last
Supper Seder", which was based on the belief that the Last Supper was a Passover Seder meal. However, after a lengthy study, I have now come to a different understanding of what happened at the Last Supper.

In this post, I want to examine the instructions about Passover in the Torah, and the fulfillment of Passover by the Messiah, as well as examine the Last Supper that Yeshua ate with his disciples.

Hope in times of Tribulation

I was asked by a friend why I have so much hope about the Tribulation, and this was my response to him. I thought that it might also give other people encouragement as well, so I decided to share it. I know tribulation is a difficult thing for people to understand. Just the thought of  "end times", "last days", "tribulation", etc. can all be very overwhelming and scary. This is where faith really becomes important.

The Last Supper Seder

I celebrated Passover with my family for the first time this year. I have been spending a lot of time studying the Last Supper Seder that Yeshua ate with his disciples. Popular Christian teaching calls this the "Last Supper", disconnecting it from its Hebrew context of  "Passover". Many preachers also say that Yeshua [Jesus] instituted "communion" at the "last supper", and that "communion" is what he was speaking about when he said, "do this in remembrance of me".  Yet, when we look at the scriptures that deal with this last meal that Yeshua ate with his disciples before his death, we can see that it wasn't just any supper that he ate with them, but it was the Passover seder that eagerly wanted to eat with them.

Ignorance isn't bliss

Yeshua (Jesus) answered them, "You go astray because you are ignorant of both the Tanakh and the power of God. (Matthew 22:29)

The "Tanakh" is what we call the "Old Testament". Anytime the "New Testament" writers refer to the "Scriptures", they are referring to the Tanakh. Remember, they did not have the New Testament when they said and wrote those things. What we know as the New Testament canon did not form until 364AD at the Council of Laodicea.

Yeshua said that we go astray (error, make mistakes, fail, misunderstand, etc) because we do not know the Tanakh (Matt 22:29). We make errors because we do not understand the "Old Testament". We fail because we have failed to learn the Scriptures. Wow. We could stop right there and just meditate on that for a while.

Righteousness that Surpasses the Pharisees

This is a scripture that has been on my mind for a while now. “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) It keeps coming back to my mind. What did Jesus mean when he said that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees? The Pharisees were considered the most holy and most righteous people of their day. These Pharisees were known to have the entire Tanak (Old Testament) memorized, and were also considered to have been the people with the most accurate interpretations of the Scriptures. Jesus himself even said to do what they teach. So, what does it mean for us to be more righteous than the Pharisees?

In the Name of Jesus (Authority)

What does it mean to do something “in the name of Jesus”? It is a phrase that we hear and say often in our prayers, but do we really understand what it means? Are we truly speaking and acting in Jesus Name, or are we simply giving lip service?