Messiah in Pesach Chapter 17
- Welcoming Elijah
- Turning around the unbelieving nations
- The Father of Mercies (Avi HaRachamim)
- Grace for the humble, opposition to the proud
- The Bridge of Grace and Mercy
- Hearts of the Patriarchs
- Faith-Hope-Love-Perfection
- Regarding Messiah’s Office as King
Welcoming Elijah:
During the Pesach Supper, in every Jewish home—after the third cup or the “Cup of Blessing” has been drunk—the door is opened to admit Elijah the prophet as forerunner of the Messiah (cf. chapter 19ff. the Seder in fourteen parts). Accompanied by this act of prophetic role play appropriate passages are read that prophesy the defeat of all the unbelieving nations (1, 2, 3).
Turning around the unbelieving nations:
It is a remarkable irony that in instituting His own Pesach Supper, the Messiah connected the symbol of the third cup not to the judgment of others in a spirit of righteous indignation but to His voluntary prayer to receive the judgment of others upon His own person (for more on the “mystery of the third cup” cf. the first six sections of chapter 18). In Messiah the enmity between Adonai and humankind (Jew and Gentile) is made to cease. Shalom (completeness, perfection) is made possible between the Almighty and humankind by the redemptive ministry of the perfect Tzaddik (Righteous One), who successfully offered-up His life as our Korban Pesach (sacrifice) to once-and-for all bring about a just means of reconciliation between us and the heavenly Father. This means that with the welcoming of Elijah and the coming of Messiah the Festival of Pesach became an observance that speaks of the universal love of the heavenly Father who is Avi HaRachamim. The love of the Father is a just love that has required the one to unselfishly sacrifice His life for the sake of the many.
The Father of Mercies (Avi HaRachamim):
כִּי־אַהֲבָה רַבָּה אָהַב הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָעוֹלָם עַד־אֲשֶׁר נָתַן אֶת־בְּנוֹ אֶת־יְחִידוֹ לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יֹאבַד כָּל־הַמַּאֲמִין בּוֹ כִּי אִם־יִחְיֶה חַיֵּי עוֹלָם׃
כי כה אהב אלהים את העולם עד כי נתן את בנו יחידו למען לא יאבד כל המאמין בו, אלא ינחל חיי עולם. פ
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall inherit eternal life.
The Festival of Pesach, therefore, should be observed in Adonai’s Spirit of mercy and is meant to be principally understood as a declaration of the Creator’s love for all humanity. Pesach for Gentile as well as Jew should be an exercise of international faith in the substitutionary sacrifice of the Korban Pesach. Pesach is the Holy One’s gracious preferred alternative to global judgment.
Grace for the humble, opposition to the proud:
Pharaoh’s principal spiritual problem was pride. Adonai Avinu gives grace to the humble but He opposes the “proud.”
Observation #1. The Jewish people were judged equal to the Gentiles on the day of the first Pesach. The difference? Israel accepted the blood of the Lamb over and to the sides of the doorposts of their homes.
Observation #2. Israel’s Korban Pesach is the Messiah. Messiah is God’s gift to Israel and Messiah is Israel’s gift to the world. Receive Messiah and you will receive life. Ignore or reject the Messiah and your judgment will remain upon you.
Observation #3. The Prophet Malachi (My Messenger) prophesied that the Message and the ministry of Elijah would one day turn the Hearts of the fathers to the children, and the Hearts of the children to the Fathers. Otherwise, unheeded, the people of Israel and all of the peoples of the world would be stricken with a “curse.”
Observation #4. The Message of the Elijah to come continuously cries out in the spiritual wilderness of Israel today for reestablished Israel to return to a life of faith in Adonai Elohim’s universal mercy and graciousness; faith in the spiritual life that the Patriarchs once embraced. Therefore, faith in the collective Heart of the Patriarchs is faith in their Torah, their doctrine, therefore, the revelation of Adonai’s redemptive love for all humankind).
The Bridge of Grace and Mercy:’
Our nation and people of Israel is God’s bridge of love, mercy, and grace to all the nations and peoples of the world.
הִנְנִי שֹׁלֵחַ מַלְאָכִי וּפִנָּה־דֶרֶךְ לְפָנָי וּפִתְאֹם יָבֹוא אֶל־הֵיכָלֹו הָאָדֹון אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּם מְבַקְשִׁים וּמַלְאַךְ הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּם חֲפֵצִים הִנֵּה־בָא אָמַר ה’ צְבָאֹֽות׃
“Behold, I am going to send My messenger [מַלְאָכִי-melechi, the Elijah to come], and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord [Ha-Adon Ha-Mashiach], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant [מַלְאַךְ הַבְּרִית-melech habrit, the prince of the covenant of grace (chesed, chen): Ha-Mashiach], in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says Adonai Tseva’ot.
Messianic Insight #1. Messiah is the Son of Israel. In his first miraculous visitation to earth Messiah was publicly introduced by the prophet Yochanan Ben Zechariah Ben Aaron (the Elijah to come) and He appeared at the second Temple, fulfilling Malachi’s prophecy regarding Him (cf. “My Messenger,” Malachi 3:1).
Messianic Insight #2. Messiah fulfilled over three-hundred prophecies from the Tanakh at His first coming (this occured after the time of the first Elijah to come). He will fulfill over four-hundred more prophecies at His future second coming (this will occur after the time of the second and ‘final’ Elijah to come).
Messianic Insight #3. Messiah is the Light of the World. Only through Israel’s Messiah and Israel’s faith in Messiah will all the peoples and nations of the world one day be blessed (as Adonai has promised).
As the Prophet Malachi pointed out, Moses and Elijah gave witness to Messiah but until a majority of the people of Israel embraced the messianic faith of the Patriarchs the world as a whole would fail to come into the full blessedness of Adonai promised for the messianic golden age. So now there is a ‘delay’ in effect. The promises may not come into full effect until the people of Israel accept the messiahship of Messiah Yeshua Ben Joseph Ben David. Israel and Israel’s Messiah together are the Bridge of Grace to God the Father. Until the people of Israel say “blessed is He who comes in the name of Adonai” there will exist no real peace in Israel or for that matter, anywhere in the world.
Hearts of the Patriarchs:
Hearts of the Patriarchs #1. The Heart of the Father. Abraham’s heart teaches us that the just shall live by faith.
Hearts of the Patriarchs #2. The Heart of the Son. Isaac’s heart teaches us that on Mount Moriah a Son has already been sacrificed in our place. This Son like the sacrifice of father Abraham was identified by His being caught in a thicket. He wore a crown of thorns. Like Isaac, the Promised Son, the Messiah entered the world under the ‘sign’ of His miraculous birth.
Hearts of the Patriarchs #3. The Heart of the Spirit of Holiness. The heart of Jacob teaches us that with the help of the Holy Spirit, whose sanctifying help follows the sacrifice of the Son, the elect descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be “protected” and “preserved” by the Almighty until the day of Messiah’s reign on earth begins. The meaning of Jacob’s name tells us that on the near future day of Messiah’s glorious return to earth Israel will finally “Supplant” the evil World System that has nearly destroyed Man’s birthright. The virtue and power of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit will one day (we pray soon) fully restore redeemed Israel’s status as a royal nation of priests and kings. Through the restoration of Israel: Redeemed humanity is called to rule one day from a position ‘higher’ than the angels. Redeemed humanity (Israel and the Commonwealth of Israel) is historically destined to rule (over all of creation) at the right hand of the Almighty One. It is this eternal high calling that the Messiah of Israel came to earth to restore.
Faith-Hope-Love-Perfection:
The Patriarchs are a testimony to the restoration ministry of Messiah:
Restoration #1. Abraham restores faith. He is the Friend of God.
Restoration #2. Isaac restores love. He is the Son who sacrifices His life in obedience to his Father.
Restoration #3. Jacob restores hope. He is the Sojourner who leaves Israel in the hope of escaping extinction, due to the murderous hatred of his jealous brother Esau. Jacob is the one who covenants with the Almighty One to one day return to Eretz Israel (with His wives and children) to claim all of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, to him and to his children
Restoration #4. Then comes father Joseph. The life of Joseph is a testimony to our ultimate destination which is our one day living in a state of spiritual and physical perfection, in a state of immortal Glorification. (Faith-Hope-Love-Glorification.) Joseph is a testimony to the Suffering of Messiah Ben Joseph and the glorification of Messiah Ben Joseph. There are over one hundred ways that father Joseph’s life parallels the Life of Messiah: In His death, resurrection, ascension and second coming!
Messiah is also testified to by the Hearts and three “offices” of the Patriarchs: Aaron, Moses, and David:
Restoration #5. The Testimony of Aaron (the Light-bringer): Messiah is our “permanent” High Priest;
Restoration #6. The Testimony of Moses (the Drawn Out One, the Son): Messiah is our Deliverer-Prophet; and
Restoration #7. The Testimony of David (the Beloved One): Messiah is our King.
Regarding Messiah’s Office as King:
Messiah will soon return not as the meek, betrayed brother Messiah Ben Joseph but as the Lion of Judah (Ha-Aryei Mishevet Yehudah) who rules with a rod of iron; as the Greater Son of King David, the Messiah Ben David. On that glorious day all Israel will be fully restored (national and international). The hearts (plural) of the children will, as Moses and Elijah rightfully demand, be fully returned to the Heart (singular) of the Patriarchs (the Heart of the Fathers is the Spirit of Holiness Himself). Thereafter, the Promise that Israel will one day be an immense blessing to all the nations and peoples of the world will be, on the very day of Messiah’s second coming, finally fulfilled. Due to the faith, love, and hope of Messiah and the children of Israel all the world will one day be blessed to near edenic proportions. Just as our Father in heaven promised so long ago by His own sacred Name.