Blog Posts containing "Passover"

Passion Week. “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” The Passover meal starts with the lighting of the candles and the breaking and hiding of a piece of the Afikomen. Afikomen means “after the dinner” and refers to a kind of cookie dessert. The children search for the broken piece after the meal. Whoever finds it gets a special treat. Then they all were involved in the sharing of a desert. Each person has a cup for the meal. There are four times the cups are filled, each with special meaning. There is a place set for Elijah to come with a plate and a cup of wine as well. The door is left ajar for him to come as a sign the Messiah has arrived.  Read more

The wilderness was where revolts started and here were 5,000 men, a number symbolic of a revolutionary force, listening to Jesus' appealing message. His constant reference to the Kingdom, end times, and conflicts with the religious leaders was part of their manifesto.  Read more

This parable demonstrates the principle of the difference between what you think rationally and how you think spiritually. The rational commentaries generally miss the fact that the feeding of the 5,000 is the Passover feast. The disciples who followed Jesus to Capernaum missed the sign of the previous feeding. It is not all that bad, as most theologians who comment on the incident missed the sign as well. Spiritually, this was not primarily about the feeding of the 5,000. It was Jesus instituting the Eucharist according to John.  Read more