REV. DANIEL ROHAN Last Supper, exodus linked

"Now the feast of unleavened bread drew near, which is the Passover. [In Greek, Pascha] And he sent Peter and John, saying, go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat." (Luke 22:1,8)
All four Gospel accounts stress that it was by the Lord's design that the Last Supper and self-offering on the cross took place during the celebration of the Old Testament Passover feast. The Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, simply refer to the Last Supper as "the Passover."
Luke makes it clear that Jesus was fully aware that he had a "Passover mission" to fulfill in Jerusalem. In Luke 9:28-36, the evangelist underscores that point by recounting a profound event that occurred shortly before the Lord went to Jerusalem for the last time.
Transfiguration: Jesus was transfigured on Mount Tabor. We are told that during his Transfiguration, his garments became "white and glistening" and Moses and Elijah spoke with him. Tradition tells us that the subject of their conversation was the "decease" that he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Valuable information can get lost in translation. The Greek word translated as "decease" in Luke 9:31 is nothing less than the word "exodus." In the passage, Moses, the leader of the first exodus, and Elijah the Prophet are speaking with Jesus about his exodus.
Jesus will accomplish that exodus on the cross in Jerusalem during the celebration of Passover.
The Passover feast, particularly the Passover seder, was the memorial of the Hebrew exodus from Egypt.
At the beginning of the Lord's ministry, John the Baptist, called the Forerunner, also makes it known that Jesus has a "Passover mission" to perform, for he calls Jesus "the Lamb of God."
The term "Lamb of God" is taken directly from the sacrificial vocabulary of the Old Testament and becomes a key term in the New Covenant in Christ.
When the Forerunner identifies Jesus as "the Lamb of God," he closely connects the Lord with the Jewish Passover, and in particular with the seder, where in ancient times the central feature was to eat the Passover lamb which had been sacrificed in the temple. John the Baptist is saying in so many words that Jesus is the "ultimate Passover lamb."
The early church was well aware that it was no coincidence that the new exodus of the Lamb of God took place during the celebration of the Old Covenant Passover.
Parallels: There are many striking parallels between the old Pascha and the new Pascha in Christ. For instance, in Exodus 12, we read that Moses instituted the Passover seder on the night before the Hebrews set out on their exodus from bondage in Egypt.
Moses led the Jews to the banks of the Red Sea, through which they miraculously passed. They continued into the wilderness toward the Promised Land.
Jesus instituted his Pascal meal the night before his exodus on the cross.
In his passion, Jesus took us from slavery to sin, through the Red Sea of his blood, into the promised land of eternal life.
Just as the Passover seder is the memorial of the Passover, so the holy meal, called the Eucharist in the Orthodox Church, instituted by Jesus on the night he was betrayed, is the Christian memorial of our Pascha in Christ, our passage from death to life in Him.
The Passover seder is a form of liturgical worship. Modern Jews observe the seder in a manner very similar to the way it was celebrated in Jesus' day.
Traditionally prescribed foods are eaten, special prayers are recited and liturgical actions are performed.
Because of the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, modern Jews have no sacrificial lamb to eat. So they use only a lamb shank, to symbolize that sacrifices can no longer be offered.
Also important for the Passover ritual were and are wine and unleavened bread.
XThe Rev. Daniel Rohan is pastor of St. Mark's Orthodox Church in Liberty.