INTRODUCTION

Passover is a joyous Festival celebrated yearly by many people across the world. It is generally
associated with the Jewish people and Judaism, however Leviticus 23 tells us that it is a Feast of
the LORD! We celebrate Passover because the Father commanded it and, in it we memorialize
our Passover Lamb, Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ). Passover is celebrated on the same date
every year, having not changed in over 3500 years. Its message is always timely for both the
Jew and the Gentile Christian. It is a message about the redemption and deliverance from the
bondage of Egypt, as well as a message about the redemption and deliverance from the bondage
of our sins. There is a celebration in “the telling” (Haggadah), to the Banquet Feast, to the songs
and dance. It truly is a time of joy.

To the Christian: We need to understand and observe the feast of Passover. In it we will see
pictures of the work of Jesus. We will see that the roots of our faith are connected to the Hebrew
Messiah, the True Root of our faith.

To the Jew: Traditional Judaism and Christianity differ over the question of the Messiahship of
Yeshua (Jesus). The message of Passover as presented in the Seder of this generation bridges that
gap. It will enlighten each one of us to God’s promise of redemption and the one true Passover
Lamb.

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 The Seder Plate

Shown above is the traditional assembly for the Seder plate which includes: 1) Roasted Shank
bone of a Lamb; 2) Hard boiled egg (we do not use in our Seder); 3) Bitter herbs cut into
small pieces (or grated fresh horseradish); 4) Charoset (A mixture of finely chopped apples,
nuts, and cinnamon mixed with a little wine); Karpas (Either parsley, celery, lettuce, onion or
potatoes may be used).

Other Items on the Seder Table

Three Matzos: 3 matzos are contained in what is called a Matza Tash, a three-in-one bag for
unleavened bread.
Wine (Grape Juice): Four glasses of wine, each representing one of the four aspects of the
Seder.

Salt Water: For dipping the Karpas (parsley).

Cup and Place setting for Elijah: For Elijah’s possible appearance.

Pillow: A symbol of freedom and relaxation.

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 The Passover Preparation
“Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of
your houses…” Exodus 12:15

As Passover draws near, the head of the house gives instructions to the entire household in
preparation of the Seder. It is a time of seeking out any leaven in the house. This leaven (called
chometz) represents pride and sin and must be removed. The children search with a candle and a
feather and a wooden spoon to ferret out any piece of leaven (chometz) that might defile the
house and its occupants as well as the Seder. The leaven was taken outside the village and
burned.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5:6, “Know ye not that a little leaven (chometz) leaveneth the whole
lump?”

Let us prepare for the Passover by opening the rooms of our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to
illuminate, seek out, and remove that which may be Chometz (leaven) in our lives.

We Light the Candles

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
Psalms 27:1

As the festival lights are kindled, we ask God to bring forth His truth as a
great light, that this Passover Celebration may be filled with meaning.
Though the first woman (Eve) was deceived and the light went out, it was
by the obedience of a woman (Mary) that the light of the world was
restored. Since it was by the seed of a woman that the Light of the world
was brought into the world, the woman of the house always lights the
candles.

Blessing over Lighting of the Candles

Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us by His
commandments, and in whose Name we light the festival lights.

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 The Four Cups of Wine
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I will do…’” Exodus 6:1

Leader

The four cups of wine is an ancient tradition of the Passover Seder. Each cup represents one of
the four promises made to Israel concerning their freedom from bondage. These promises are
stated in Exodus 6:6-7.

All

“…I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians…
I will free you from being slaves…
I will redeem you with an outstretched arm…
I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God…”

Leader

At Passover we drink from these cups four times. These promises are celebrated among God’s
people, both believing and unbelieving Jews and believing Gentiles. Let us remember the union
between God and His people, both Jew and Gentile.

These four cups are:

1st cup: The Cup of Sanctification
2nd cup: The Cup of Judgment
3rd cup: The Cup of Redemption
4th cup: The Cup of Praise or completion

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 The Kiddush Cup
The Cup of Sanctification
“…I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” Exodus 6:6

The word sanctification means “one that is separated.” Because of our faith in the Lamb of God
(Yeshua), we have been separated to a life of holiness and service to Him.

Leader
Lifting our cups together, let us bless the Name of the LORD and His provision.

All

Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine.

Leader

Let us now drink of the first cup of Passover.

The Washing of Hands

“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His Holy place? He who has clean
hands and a pure heart…” Psalms 24:3-4

Leader

(Lifts the bowl for all to see)

Hand washing is an intricate part of the Seder. It reminds us that as we approached God on His
Holy Mountain (Sinai), He commanded us to wash and make ourselves clean before Him.

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Yeshua exemplified His humility when He laid aside His garments and girded Himself with a
towel and washed His disciple s’ feet.

After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with
the towel that was wrapped around Him.

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your
Teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:5,
12-14)

Karpas
(Parsley)
“…the Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their
slavery went up to God…” Exodus 2:23

Leader
(Holding up the parsley)
Passover comes in the spring of the year when the earth has come
alive and is covered with the freshness of green. Parsley is
green reminding us of the newness of life that God has given to us.
Parsley is also somewhat bitter, reminding us of the bitterness
of slavery, both slavery in Egypt and slavery to sin.

(Holding up the salt water)

Life in Egypt was harsh under its cruel bondage. The salt water represents the tears that flowed
from the countless faces of an oppressed people. It also represents the curse of sin, as God said
we would eat our food by the sweat of our brows. It could also be said that the saltwater pictures
the Red Sea, through which God made us pass and defeated our enemies.

All

Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the earth.

Leader
Let us dip our parsley and remember.

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 The Four Questions
“…when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’, then tell them…”
Exodus 12:26

Leader

A child asks the four questions:

This night is different from all other nights!

1. On all other nights we eat bread or matza. On this night, why do we eat only matza?

2. On all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables. On this night, why do we eat only
bitter herbs?

3. On all other nights, we do not dip our vegetables even once. On this night, why do we
dip them twice?

4. On all other nights we eat our meals sitting or reclining. On this night, why do we eat
only reclining?

The Questions Answered

“And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and thy sons forever.”
Exodus 12:24

Leader

On all other nights we eat bread or matza, but on this night we eat only matza.
(Holding up the Matza Tash (3-pocketed Matza Bag))

The unity of three—the Echad! (Echad means one)

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 Shema Israel, Adonia Elohienu, Adonia Echad.
Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One.
Deut. 6:4

Even though traditional Judaism relates these three to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, And Jacob,
we realize that they represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

(The leader takes out the middle matza)

The middle matza is broken. As Jesus said, “This is My body which is broken for you.”
Luke 22:19

All

This is the broken body of Messiah.

Leader

(The leader wraps one half of the broken matza in a cloth)

This is the Afikomen, the one that has come and the one that is yet to come.

All

Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.

Leader
(Hides the Afikomen)
The Afikomen remains hidden until the third cup. This is a vivid picture of how our Messiah,
Jesus, was broken for us, wrapped in linen, and hidden in the earth until the third day—the day
of redemption! Blessed is the one who finds the Afikomen—the one who finds Jesus.

God commanded the children of Israel to eat unleavened bread or

matza. There was not enough time for the bread to rise for their
journey from Egypt, so they let the sun bake the bread flat.
Leaven represents sin and God wants us to remove the sin in our
lives so we can walk closer to Him in our journey.

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even
Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 1 Corinthians 5:7

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See how the matza is striped?

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement
of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

See how the matza is pierced?

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of
grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced …”
Zechariah 12:10

Now let share a piece of the bread of Passover.

All

Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the
earth.

Maror
Bitter Herbs
Leader
On all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on Passover we eat only maror—bitter
herbs.

(Holding up horseradish)

“…so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made them
bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and all kinds of work in the fields…” Exodus 1:12

As, we dip a piece of matza in the maror , let us remember the bitter toil of our forefathers and
the bitterness of the sin that once enslaved us.

All

Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us by His
commandments and has commanded us to eat bitter herbs.

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 The Charoset
Twice We Dip
Leader

The third question the child asked concerned dipping our vegetables twice. We have already
dipped our parsley in the salt water.

(Holds up Charoset)

Great toil and labor were the burden of the children of Israel. They were forced to
make brick of mud and straw to build Pharaoh’s magnificent cities. The Charoset
is a mixture of apples, nuts, sugar, spices, and wine, and pictures the mortar used
by the children of Israel to make brick.

With a piece of matza, we dip into the bitter herbs and then into the Charoset.
Although in our lives, we sometimes experience bitterness, it is offset by the sweetness of the
Holy Spirit.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:26-27

This Night We Recline

Leader

Now we answer the fourth and final question asked by the child. At the first Passover, the meal
was eaten while standing, with staff in hand and shoes on their feet, ready to leave at a moments
notice—they were slaves about to make an escape! In
ancient times, only free men reclined while eating.
Because “the Son hath made us free” from the bondage of
sin, tonight we recline.

All

Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe,

Who has freed us from the bondage of sin and has given us
rest.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” Matthew11:28

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 The Cup of Judgment

The Ten Plagues

Leader

There is only one true God and no other gods can stand before Him. The plagues that fell on
Egypt were judgments on their many gods. We do not rejoice in their defeat, but realize the
punishment that resulted from their sin. Although they were sinners (as all are), we know that
God loved them and Christ died for them. Let us remember that anyone who sins and does not
receive redemption will drink from the cup of judgment. It is our duty to be a watchman and
warn them of the judgment to come.

A full cup is a cup of joy. Since judgment is not joyous, we do not want the cup to be full. We
will dip our finger in the cup and let a drop of the judgment fall on a piece of matza, recalling
how judgment—the judgment for our sins—was poured out on the sinless Son of God.

Leader ad Group

The plague of blood [dip & drip].

Frogs [dip & drip]
Lice [dip & drip]
Flies [dip & drip]
Pestilence [dip & drip]
Boils [dip & drip]
Hail [dip & drip]
Locusts [dip & drip]
Darkness [dip & drip]
Death of the firstborn [dip & drip]

Do Not Drink of the Cup of Judgment

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 Pesach
The Lamb of Passover
Leader

We have eaten the bitter herbs and the unleavened bread of Passover. The other essential
element to the Passover is the Passover lamb. The children of Israel slew a perfect lamb and
applied its blood to the doorposts of their homes. When the death angel saw the blood, the house
was passed over, hence we have the celebration of Passover.

“…For even Christ our assover is sacrificed for us:”

1 Corinthians 5:7
When the blood of the Perfect Lamb is applied to the doorposts of our hearts, the destroyer must
pass over us.

The shank bone represents the arm of the sacrifice, wherein is his strength.

“Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed
in pieces the enemy” Exodus 15:6

The arm of the Lord is mighty to save and will soon save us from the enemy of our souls!

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 Dayenu
It Would Have Been Sufficient
“They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.”
Psalm 145:7

Leader
God’s goodness is awesome! For each of His acts of mercy and kindness we declare dayenu—it
would have been sufficient.

Leader All
Had God brought us out of Egypt and not
delivered us from the hand of our enemies… Dayenu

Had He delivered us from our enemies,

and not opened the Red Sea… Dayenu

Had He opened the Red Sea and not

watched over us in the wilderness.. Dayenu

If He watched over us in the wilderness for

forty years, and not given us manna… Dayenu

Had He given us Manna, but not given us

Torah (teaching)… Dayenu

Had He given us Torah (teaching) and not Dayenu

brought us to the promised land…
It would
Had He brought us to the Promised Land NOT have
and not given us Yeshua (Jesus)… been enough

Praise God for the Lamb

The Feast
Leader

Now we will enjoy the feast of Passover. Normally you would expect a prayer of blessing;
however, we are going to follow Deuteronomy 8:10:

When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land
which he hath given thee.

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 The Afikomen
Leader

Remember that the Afikomen was broken, wrapped in linen, and hidden. It is time for the
children to come and find the Afikomen. The child who finds it will hold it for “ransom,” given
by the father. I will play the role of the father today.

{Let children seek for the Afikomen. Reward the winner with a piece of candy, a small amount of
money, etc.}

“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

Jesus gave the bread to His disciples and said,”Take, eat, this is my body. This do in
remembrance of Me.”

All

Blessed are You O LORD, our God, King of the Universe, Who brings forth bread from the
earth.

The Cup of Redemption

“I will redeem you with an outstretched arm…” Exodus 6:6

Leader
This is the third cup. It symbolizes the blood of the lamb—the Lamb of Redemption. This cup
was drunk after supper. It is the cup that Yeshua (Jesus) gave to the first disciples, and said,
”This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20)

The blood of the Lamb brought redemption to the children of Israel in Egypt. So also the
atoning blood of the Lamb of God brought redemption to any and all who will receive Him as
Lord and Savior.

All

Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

Leader

Let us gratefully drink together.

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 The Seat for Elijah
Leader

Each year at Passover, the Jewish people set a place for Elijah, the prophet. They know that
Elijah must come before the coming of the Lord.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of
the LORD:” Malachi 4:5

Each year, the youngest child of the house goes to the door, opens it, and looks to see if Elijah is
coming.

John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah to announce the arrival of the Messiah at
His fist coming. Today, we look for the spirit and power of Elijah to fall on us to announce the
Messiah’s second coming.

The Cup of Praise

Leader

The cup of praise is also known as the cup of completion. Jesus did not drink of this cup because
His work was not yet completed. He said:

“For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall
come.” Luke 22:18

Jesus asked His disciples to drink the cup of praise. We can drink the cup of because of His
faithfulness in completing His work on Calvary, and we can count on His faithfulness to fulfill
all of His Word. We also can look forward to the day when we will drink the cup of praise with
Him in His Kingdom.

All

Blessed are You, O LORD, our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

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 Next Year in Jerusalem
Leader

Now that the Passover Seder is complete, there is but one thing yet to be said. In the heart of
every Jewish person abides the longing to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem—the city of the King.
In anticipation of His coming Kingdom, we bless one another with the traditional wish of:

Next Year in Jerusalem!

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