As unleavened bread is pure and free from leaven, so is Yeshua is pure. The matzo is a good representation of our Messiah. Let us examine this bread and how Yeshua is typified by this element:

1.    It is pierced.  Yeshua was pierced (Jn 19:24; Ps 22:16; Zech 12:10; Rev
1:7)

 2.  It is bruised. Yeshua was bruised (Isa 28:28; Isa 42:3; Isa 53:5; Matt
12:18-21)

3.  It is striped.  Yeshua was striped.  it is by His stripes we are healed (Isa 53:5)

4.  it is pure. Yeshua was without sin. (2 Cor 2:21; 1 Pet 2:22; Heb 4:15; Jn 14:30)
       a. Only unleavened bread was used in the Temple because the offerings presented there had to be pure.

5.  Yeshua referred to Himself as the "bread of life" in John 6:48.

6.  Yeshua was born in Bethlehem, which means "house of bread." (Heb: bêyth lechem)

7.  Passover typified the substitutionary death of the Messiah, so Unleavened Bread depicts the burial of the Messiah.


UNLEAVENED BREAD DEPICTS BURIAL OF MESSIAH
 
JUST as Pesach (Passover) depicts the substitutionary death of the Messiah, so is the Unleavened Bread depicts the burial of the Messiah.  Yeshua died a criminal's death in the hands of the Romans but His burial was that of a wealthy man. When a criminal dies he would normally be given a criminal's burial but Yeshua was accorded with honour and respect in His burial.  As the Scripture said, Yeshua was buried in new tomb affordable only for the rich people.  The donor of the tomb was His secret follower by the name of Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a member of the Sanhedrin and an influential member of the society.  His burial declared His innocence and purity. Because Yeshua was without sin (leaven), God did not allow His holy body to be treated with disrespect.  His body never decayed or return to dust.  David, king of Israel prophesied in Psalms concerning the burial of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) . "As a pure, sinless sacrifice, the Messiah was not under the curse to return to the dust."

There is an ancient Jewish blessing of the bread that goes this way: "Barukh Ata Adonai Eloheynu Melech ha olam hamotzee lechem meen ha Aretz, Amen". When translated into English: "Blessed are you Oh LORD our GOD, King of
the Universe who brings forth bread from the Earth, Amen". This ancient prayer has a lot of significance and can be traced as far back to Ezra. Jewish people used this ancient prayer starting from their return from Babylonian exile even up to today. They would use it during Feasts and Shabbat dinners.  If we examine it carefully, does the bread literally come from the Earth? The wheat and other grains, which is the main ingredient of the bread comes from the Earth but not he bread per se.   Technically all foods come from the Earth but why blessing for bread has been singled out as coming from the Earth? Why is this prayer set up this way? 
 
I believe that the LORD GOD inspired His people to pray in this manner as a prophecy then a testimony of Yeshua`s (Jesus) first coming, death and resurrection from the dead. Let us examine a few passages:

 1.      Yeshua is the Bread of life (John 6:48)

 2.      This Bread came down from heaven for men to eat and not die (John 6:50)

 3.      This Bread is the body of Christ (1 Cor 11:24)

 4.      This Bread proclaims the Lord`s death (1 Cor 11:26)

Examining this prayer, "…who brings forth bread from the Earth" makes a lot of sense. You cannot bring something "out from the Earth" unless it was first "brought into the Earth".  Yeshua, who is the Bread of life, the Unleavened Bread (meaning the sinless One), came down from heaven, was buried under the earth for a time (3 days and nights according to the Scripture) and was raised to life from the Earth on the third day! This prayer is a testimony to the Jewish people and it is an utterance of GOD`s redemptive plan to the Jews first then to the Greeks (nations) – Rom
1:16.

 Introduction

ALL the Jewish people worldwide would celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their freedom for over 3,300 years ago by GOD from being slaves in ancient Egypt and their birth as a nation under the leadership of Moses.
Passover commemorates the story of the Exodus as described in the Hebrew Bible especially in Torah, specifically in the Book of Exodus, in which the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.

Passover is the second “appointed time” (Heb: moed) mentioned in Leviticus 23 but it was first observed in Exodus 12. The first appointed time mentioned was Shabbat and then followed by Passover. It is technically a MEMORIAL rather than a Feast. However, even the writers of the Newer Covenant “appear” to combine Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread as we shall see  later. Passover is an event that is most celebrated by the Jewish people even up to
today. As many secular Jews would say, they’d make sure to celebrate the Passover every year even if the miss out any other Biblical/Jewish Feast, its fine with them. Yom Kippur is another “appointed time”  they would observe.

Etymology

THE English word "Passover" was first recorded in the English language by William Tyndale's translation of the Bible, later appearing in the  King James Version as well.

The Hebrew verb "pasàch" is first mentioned in the Torah account of the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:23). There are many speculations about its exact meaning: the commonly held assumption that it means "He passed over", in reference to God "passing over" (to skip) the homes of the children of Israel during the final plague against the Egyptians. This stems from the translation provided in the Septuagint (παρελευσεται in Exodus 12:23, and εσκεπασεν in Exodus 12:27). Targum Onkelos translated Pesach as "He (GOD) had pity”.


Biblical Passages

WE have heard and read many different messages about the Passover and yet we can always learn something new every time this time of the year comes. When we think that we know enough about this Event, we should think again, maybe we don’t. Let us examine the biblical passage that first mentioned this moed or appointed time of the Lord:

Exo 12:1-3,5-11 “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.”

Passover “goat” anyone?

How come it says in verse 5 that the Israelites can also take it also from the goats but did we ever hear a Passover goat at all? Maybe….or maybe NOT. Let us just say, it is not “common”. In verse 5, the phrase “or from” Hebrew [ מנּי מנּי מן min or minn y or – which means : a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses: - above, after or among]. This is a slight mistranslation but we have to get over it. Its always the sheep or specifically the lamb, thus, John the Baptizer cried out “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29).

When was the First Passover?

When was the first Passover? Everyone knows that it happened just before the 10th plague in Egypt, which was the destruction of the first born by the angel of death as mentioned in Exodus 12, or was it? Let us examine further the Scripture passages:

1. Yeshua was “The Lamb of God” (John 1:29, 36; Rev 5:12-13; 21:22)
2. Yeshua was our “Passover” (1 Cor 5:7)
3. Yeshua was from the foundation of the world? (Rev 13:8)

Let us examine this further:

Rev 13:8 “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the  world.  (KJV)”

The Greek word for “foundation” here is (pronounced: kat-ab-ol-ay', which means a deposition, that is, founding; figuratively conception:).

When Adam and Eve sinned, what happened? They realized that they were naked and they tried to cover themselves with some fig leaves (Gen 3:7). After GOD judged them, the LORD had pity on them for He made them “garments of leather” for their covering. If GOD has no pity on them, He would have sent them with their sewed fig leaves and soon
enough, it will dry up and they will be naked again. But GOD had a provision for them.  He has to kill an innocent animal, we don’t know what kind, but He did and took its skin and made a clothing for the couple. Could it be that it was a lamb that was slain to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve? It is not far-fetched and it is definitely a strong theory, isn’t it?

If we analyze it further, we can safely say that the lamb was slain from the founding of the world or civilization and not necessarily during the creation of the world. We have to remember that during the creation, there  was perfection. No need for a sacrifice. However, when sin entered humankind, there was now a need for that sacrifice.

Without reaching a conclusion, I would think that the first Passover was in the Garden of Eden when man sinned and was judged and GOD took pity on  them (Targum Onkelos translated Pesach as "He (GOD) had pity”) and provided a covering of skin and in the process, had killed the Passover lamb.

When is the Passover?

Passover is always a controversial topic because throughout history a debate has raged concerning the proper timing of the LORD’s Passover. Many observe the Passover on the 14th of the first month (Abib – Chaldean orig while Nisan is Hebrew) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th. Others believe that both the Passover and the first day of
the Feast of Unleavened Bread are on the 14th. Still others observe the Passover and first day of the Feast on the 15th of Abib.

I believe that part of the error is historical. When Judah and Benjamin went into Babylonian exile by the Nebuchadnezzar, these two tribes combined what is known in the Bible as the Passover and the first day of the
Feast of Unleavened Bread. No one knows exactly when these two observances were combined, but what is known is that it happened during the Exile in Babylon. As unfortunate as it was, Israelites picked up a few errors while under Babylonian influence, and the joining of Passover with the Feast was one of them. Because of this error some believe Passover is also the first high day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Checking the Encyclopaedia Judaica, it confirms the mistake committed by the Jews: "The feast of Passover consists of two parts: The Passover ceremony and  the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Originally, both parts existed separately; but at
the beginning of the [Babylonian] exile they were combined," (Ref: Vol. 13, p. 169)

Another book corroborates with Encyclopaedia Judaica, saying, "The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread rituals were originally two separate observances which were combined sometime between the events of the Exodus and the redaction of the text"  (The Torah, by W. Gunther Plaunt p. 445).

If we examine the four Gospel accounts, it is obvious that they are referring to the Passover as the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Are the Newer Covenant writers in error? I don’t think so. They were writing it based on the current standard of understanding the Jews (and Gentile converts) during their time. We have to remember that they were not making a commentary about Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread but rather recording the factual events as to when they held their Passover supper and when our Messiah was crucified. Whether it was referred to as the First day of the Feast, being the Passover is irrelevant at that point. However, we have to note that they did eat the Passover in the exact night as God commanded it. Some people would say that Yeshua celebrated it a night before the actual Passover because, He being the Lamb of God, will be killed at the time when the Passover lamb is to be killed. The problem with this speculation is that it will make Yeshua violate the Scripture:

Lev_23:5 “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S  Passover”.

Num_9:2 “Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season”.

When is the Passover Lamb Sacrificed?

One of the highly debated topic during this event is the timing of the killing of the Passover lamb. The Scripture is very clear that the Israelites has to have the Passover lamb in their possession on the 10th of Nisan and keep it until the
14th and kill it “ìn-between” the evenings. Let us examine the passage

Exo
12:6, “And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”

Once again, the translation here is simplified and limited it within few hours of the evening “ONLY”. The Hebrew word used here for “in” is “beyn” which means “in-between”, thus would make sense the time and the practicality of the situation. Instead of limiting the killing of lambs to few hours, it made it almost a day. With this argument, the Passover lamb that Yeshua and His disciples ate was a proper sacrificed done by the priests while those awaiting for their turn can eat it the next evening, justifying the passage John 18:28.

Who Should Eat the Passover?

Now let us examine when and who are required and allowed to take the Passover meal. Let us read the following passages below:

Lev_23:5 “In  the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover.”

Num_9:2 “Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season.“

Num_9:4 “And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover.”

Num_9:13 “ But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people:  because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.”

Num_9:14 And if a stranger (Heb: Ger) shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the  passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.

Exo_12:48 “And when a stranger (Heb: Ger) shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.”

From these passages, we can see that:

1. The Passover has to be taken at 14th of Nisan in the evening

2. The Passover has to be taken by the children of Israel in its appointed season

3. The children of Israel are required to KEEP the Passover

4. Passover should be kept by the children of Israel who are CLEAN and NOT in journey.

 5. Any STRANGER (“Ger” – a friendly guest NOT “nekar” – a hostile or not so friendly stranger) who sojourns or attached himself/herself to the commonwealth of Israel (Eph 2:12-13) may chose (NOT required) to take the Passover
BUT must be circumcised. (This is a requirement and Yeshua said that Scripture CANNOT be broken – John 10:35)

Who Should NOT Take the Passover?

At this time, we have to determine as to who among the people CAN NOT take the Passover. The following passages need to be examined carefully.

Exo_12:43 “And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger (Heb: ben nekar) eat thereof:”

Exo_12:48 “And when a stranger (Heb: Ger) shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no
uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.”

Num_9:6 “And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day”

Based on these Biblical passages, the LORD directed Moses and His people not to allow certain people from taking the Passover:

1. No STRANGER (“ben  nekar”  was in the original text thus it should be properly translated as “son of a non-friendly or hostile stranger”) shall eat the Passover.

2. No uncircumcised person can take the Passover. No wonder, there was a huge debacle among the leadership of believers in the first century with regards to the circumcision. Although it was not mentioned that Passover was an issue but with this passage how will they treat the massive numbers of uncircumcised  “former” gentiles who want to take the Passover? We have to remember that Yeshua said that Scripture cannot be broken. How can they go around about it?

3. No unclean or defiled can take the Passover. Paul has clear instructions as well on how to take the Lord’s table in Corinthians. Believers should examine themselves before taking it.

When the children of Israel were finally allowed to leave Egypt, there was a massive number of non-Israelites who went with them. It is obvious to say that they were not affected by God’s judgment and they believe in the God of Israel. Since these people were  obviously not circumcised, therefore, they were not allowed to take the Passover. As to why they were not affected by the killing of the first born is unknown but most likely, since they were considered as “Ger” or a friendly stranger, their Israelite counterpart may have shared the “blood of the Passover lamb”, which is a sign of Yeshua’s  blood to save those will believe and avail it, whether circumcised or uncircumcised.

We cannot ascertain with finality that the Lord ’s Supper, which is used to be known as Eucharist (which means to give thanks in Greek) may have been developed by the apostles to accommodate the uncircumcised Gentiles who came to faith in Yeshua because they cannot take the Passover meal. However, we know for a fact that the Lord’s Supper, its essence and its elements came from the Passover. We have to remember that the Temple was still standing up until 70 C.E. and during those times, of whom the majority of the apostles were still alive, have to take the Passover. The Scripture cannot be broken and the apostles had to do what they were required of.

Since it was determined in the Council of Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 15 that Gentile converts are no longer required to go through the painful circumcision, these same uncircumcised believers CANNOT take the Passover but
their circumcised counterparts are REQUIRED according to the Scriptures. However, we know for a fact that the Asia Minor congregations were celebrating the Passover, thus being tagged as QUARTADECIMANS. These same believers argued that these were instructions from John and Phillip the apostles. Were they circumcised? We don’t know. But here is my take, since there was no more Temple after 70 C.E., the Passover sacrifice CANNOT be performed. In my opinion, the LORD barred the uncircumcised from eating the “meat” of the sacrificed “passover lamb” BUT the other elements MAYBE eaten. The elements of the Lord’s supper namely, the bread and the cup, came from the Passover, thus they can be eaten.

When these things are taken into consideration, we can say that the physically uncircumcised but spiritually circumcised believers in Yeshua can partake the Passover if they chose to because the Passover lamb sacrifice is NOT
in the table but REAL PASSOVER LAMB, namely Yeshua haMashiach (Jesus Christ) has been sacrificed for ALL mankind and need not be eaten but received in the hearts of men.

It is very interesting to know that the word Yeshua (ישׁוּעה Yeshû‛âh) which literally means "salvation" or "God is my salvation" appeared at least75 times in the Tanakh (Genesis to Malachi). We know for a fact that Yeshua is the Hebrew name of Jesus of Nazareth, our Saviour and Lord. Although many christian believe that Jesus existed from the beginning, they are having a hard time to equate that it was Yeshua or Jesus was literally present in the writings of the Old Testament. Many would assume that Jesus only came into play and became the focus of everything in the New Testament only. This erroneous assumption was unknowingly copied from a false prophet by the name of Marcion from the second century. As a matter of fact, Marcion was the one who divided the Bible and coined the term "Old" and "New" testament. There is no Old or New Testament but rather just a Scripture or Biblios (Bible), which means holy books.

From time to time, I would ask some fellow believers who gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and they would immediately answer with confidence that it was God who gave it.  When I would press further as to who exactly,  whether it was the Father or the Son, their usual answer is the Father after a long pause. Again this is Marcionic belief as he was saying that it was a different god who reigned and was the focus of the "old" testament who ruled Israel with a very tough Law and Jesus triumph over this god and now saved us by grace, thus, we no longer need the Law as we had been freed from this "tough" Law. If I tell them that it was Yeshua who gave the Law to Moses, they hardly believe and many would even disagree.  They cannot connect the gracious and loving Jesus to the tough law-giver in the Old Testament who would punish to death any violators of the Law and who ordered Israel to annihilate their enemies including women and children. They seem to forget that Yeshua drove people selling in the Temple with scourge of cord and overthrew tables and many things.  I will discuss this further in a separate topic.

For many fellow christians, they cannot believe or accept that Yeshua was the giver of the Law (Torah). If I ask them how many and what are the commandments that Jesus gave, they will only say 2 commandments, i.e., To Love God and neighbor (Matt 22:37-40). However, people tend to forget that these two commandments were given to Moses and was part of the Torah (Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18). Whether christians will accept it or not, Jesus was the giver of the Torah to Moses, including the Ten Commandments.  This is very clear in James 4:12, "There is one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy...".  Therefore, if Yeshua is the Lawgiver, how do we treat the Law whom He gave? He specifically said in John 14:15, "If you love me, keep my commandments". We are also responsible to teach the Law and His commandments to people as mentioned in Matthew 28:18-20, specifically verse 20, "teaching them to observe ALL that I commanded you..". When He said all, He means ALL.  Can we keep them all? No, we cannot! This is the reason why we need Him, our Saviour but it does not exempt us from doing His commandments.  We keep what we can and those that we struggle with or cannot cope up, His grace kicks in. That is how loving our God is!

Why is it important to know whether Yeshua's name was written in the Old Testament? Because God in His loving mercy has revealed Himself to us in every possible way, even from the very beginning.  If we can understand that He was the Lawgiver and that the Scripture is all about Him (Luke 24:27) then it is easier to understand that we have to follow ALL His commandments, from "Old" to "New" Testaments, from Tanakh (Genesis to Malachi) to Brit Chadasha (Matthew to Revelation).  In those 75 verses as well, the Scripture has literally stated that Yeshua is God!  Not only that Jesus was mentioned in the New Testament, His Hebrew name was literally mentioned all over Old Testament declaring that Yeshua is God.

If we study the Bible, we can see that there are things  that we can discover that will ignite our interest and reinforce our faith.  One of the things that I was not aware of before was the fact that it was not only the children of Israel who were led out of Egypt but there were Gentiles that went with them.  In Exodus 12:38, we were told that there were a “mixed” multitude that went with the Israelites.  

The Hebrew word used here was “Ereb” that literally means promiscuous
(made up of various disparate elements mixed together) mass of foreigners, strangers and wanderers – in short, “Gentiles”.  Contrary to what we always knew, God saved not only the children of Israel but also those God-fearing Gentiles who believed in God and attached themselves to Israel as they were being led out of Egypt.  This was a physical manifestation of spiritual truth as described by Paul in Eph 2:11-13, 19.  Caleb was among these mixed multitudes of Gentiles.
 
The Torah (first five books of the Bible) and the Book of Joshua have many good things to say about Caleb. In Numbers 13-14, we were told that he was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to the Promised Land.  While ten of the spies were afraid of the inhabitants of the land, Caleb together with Joshua was undeterred. He tried to convince the Israelites that they could over take them, even though the enemy  appeared to be more superior in stature, for God was on their side.  Because the Israelites listened to the report of the majority and caved in to fear, God made them to wander in the desert for the next forty years until all the present generation of unbeliever died.  Because of their faithfulness, God promised that Joshua and Caleb would enter and possess the Promised Land.
 
In Joshua 14-15, Caleb, now an old man, is about to take his possession. Although he was old already, he still felt as strong as he did forty-five years earlier, when he first spied out the land. Even at the age of 85, he was unafraid of the giants and high walls of Canaan. Inspired by the promise of God, he went into Hebron and took it for himself.
 
What is interesting about Caleb is that he was not even an Israelite, for he was the son of Jephunneh, a Kenezite (Numbers 32:12; Joshua 14:6). The Kenezites came from the descendants of Esau (Genesis 15:19; 36:11, 15, 42), and they eventually associated themselves with the tribe of Judah when they came out of Egypt (Numbers 13:6). 
  
Why is it that the Hebrew Bible made mention of the heroic deeds of Caleb who was not even a full Israelite? For us believers, the importance of Gentiles in the Old Testament foreshadowed the time when God would later include them in His New Covenant. In the New Testament, God wants the Gentiles to become co-heir with His covenant people, without the necessity of circumcision. The Tanach (Old Testament) emphasizes God's relationship with a  specific nation, the physical Israel, while the new covenant creates a new community, in which Jews and Gentiles are both part of the commonwealth as mentioned by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. 
 
 The descendants of Caleb occupied Hebron as late as the time of king David (I Samuel 25:3; 30:14), and the biblical authors perhaps wanted to explain how they got there. Calebites had a strong connection with Israel and her God and they couldn't claim that they were full-fledged Israelites because the Calebites retained their identities as Kenezites. Therefore, they included a story about Caleb getting land in Canaan as part of the Israelite invasion to present a testimony for Israelites as co-heir of the Promised Land.
 
In the Bible there are passages that encourages the Gentiles to worship the God of Israel, the only one true God. It occurs throughout the books of Psalms and Isaiah.  When Solomon dedicated the Temple, he said, "Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your Name--for they shall hear of your great Name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm--when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear
in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked  on this house that I have built" (I Kings 8:41-43 NRSV). So the emphasis on Caleb's valour may have reminded both Israel and the Gentiles that God is faithful and He honour His promises to those who follow Him whether Jews or  Gentiles but just like those who died in the desert because of unbelief, He did
not let them enter His rest whether Jews or Gentiles (Heb 4:1, 11). 

1 Cor 13:1-13 “If I speak with the tongues of men  and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging  cymbal.  If I have the GIFT OF PROPHECY, and KNOW ALL THE MYSTERIES and ALL KNOWLEDGE; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, BUT do not have LOVE, I am NOTHING.  And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.  

LOVE is patient, LOVE is kind and is not jealous; LOVE does not brag and is not arrogant,  does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,  does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, ENDURES all  things.  LOVE never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. FOR WE KNOW IN PART and we prophesy in part;  but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.  
 
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.  For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; NOW I KNOW IN PART, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these  three; but the GREATEST of these is LOVE.“
 
I find it very interesting when people get hyper when it comes to their knowledge of the Bible. Everyone thinks that they are right and they have the “franchise” of the“correct” interpretation of the Bible. Quoting verse 9 “FOR WE KNOW IN PART and we prophesy in part”.  Shaul (Apostle Paul) tells us that we ONLY know in part. If this is the case, why are we so arrogant as if we know it all? I think we should emulate how Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and a direct disciple of Apostle John, and Anicetus, bishop of Rome, settled their theological differences and practices in 150-155
C.E.. They agree to disagree and left in peace without offending one another (History of the Christian Church Vol 2 p213).  If we THINK we know more, are we not supposed to be more understanding? Why can’t we handle differences of opinion in a godly way? We are so ready to shoot when we find a little bit of theological issue. What if they are right and we are wrong? Even if we are right and they are wrong but if causes another brother to stumble, are we not sinning against God? Shaul put it gently in 1 Tim 5:1-2 “DO NOT sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers,  the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.”

Verse 2 states that “If I have the GIFT OF  PROPHECY, and KNOW ALL THE MYSTERIES and ALL KNOWLEDGE; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, BUT do not have LOVE, I am NOTHING”.  Let me say this, IF WE THINK WE KNOW BETTER, LET US BE MORE GENTLE AND MORE UNDERSTANDING.

I remember many years ago when I used to have a cat. When she was still a kitten, she would react violently to any and every threat. After several years and she has grown and became old, she hardly reacts to the bark of the dog or even a real threat from a dog. She would just stop and look and walk away gently not because she cannot fight but because she knows that she can hurt the dog just like in the past.  This is what Shaul is saying in verse 11 “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”  
 
Shaul summed it all in verse 13 “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the GREATEST of these is LOVE. “ He also commanded us in the next passage after that,  “PURSUE LOVE” (1 Cor 14:1).


 

This extremely  important inscription was discovered in the area within Mount Zion. 
This seal is believed to have been made and used by the early Jewish  believers, who called themselves “Nazarenes” and founded the Jerusalem Assembly – the first Messianic Congregation.
 
Considering beyond  the historical weight of the symbol, this Messianic Seal proclaims to everyone  in the whole world the Jewishness of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ), and the obvious Jewish foundation and roots of the Ekklesia (congregation) founded in His Name.
 
The "Messianic  Seal," has been adopted and considered as an emblem of many Messianic believers.  It consists of a fish emblem, or vesica pisces, surmounted by a Magen David, and topped with a Menorah.  The menorah is one of the oldest symbols of the Jewish faith. The seven branched candelabra, which is the seven arms likely represented the seven days of creation. This was also the seven golden lampstand seen by apostle John in the book of Revelation.

Shema Yisrael or simply  called Shema (Hebrew: שמע  ישראל‎;  "Hear, [O] Israel") are the first two words of a section of the Torah (First 5  books of the Bible) that is considered as a centerpiece of the morning and evening prayers among Jewish people. The first verse encapsulates the monotheistic essence of Judaism.  Shema runs like this:

 Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheynu Adonai Echad. 
Baruch shem kevod malchuto L'olam va'ed


Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God the Lord is one. Blessed is
the name of his glorious kingdom for all eternity.


Shema is considered as the most important prayer among the Jews and one of the oldest liturgies (over 3,000 years old) in Judaism.  They would recite it twice a day, one in the morning and one before sleeping in obedience to Deut 6:7.  The term "Shema" is used by extension to refer to the whole part of the daily prayers that commences  with Shema Yisrael and comprises Deut 6:4–9, 11:13-21,  Num 15:37–41 and Lev 19:18.  As for the messianic believers Jewish  people who acknowledges Yeshua (Jesus) as Lord and Messiah), they would recite  the Shema and V'ahavta(meaning "And you shall love...") as stated in Deut 6:4–9 and Lev 19:18.  The way it is being recited by the Jewish people is thru their traditional song from way back, thousands of years ago.  The commandment to recite the Shema twice daily is ascribed by Josephus to Moses ("Antiquities" 6:8), and it has always been regarded as a divine commandment  (Sifre, Deut. 31.)

To the Jews, other than being recited day and night, 

1.       It is also contained in the mezuzah placed on the doorpost.
2.       It is the prayer said when dying.
3.       It the prayer uttered by millions of Jewish martyrs at the moment of their slaughter. 
4.       It is the prayer with the strongest emotional meaning even for secular Jews. 
5.       It is the password by which one Jew recognizes another in any part of the world.

Shema is one of the sentences that are quoted in the New Testament. The Gospel of Mark 12:29  mentions that Jesus considered the Shema the beginning exhortation of the first of his two greatest commandments: "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, 'Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord'" (KJV). Jesus  also refers to the Shema in The Gospel of John 10:30. A group of Jews in the Temple in Jerusalem at the Feast of edication, or Hanukkah, asks him if he is Messiah, the anointed one of God. Jesus concludes his response with the words "I
and my Father are one" (KJV). This is an allusion to the Shema, which the Jews immediately recognize.

In addition, the apostle Paul reworks the Shema in 1 Corinthians 8:6 vis-à-vis the risen Christ: "yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." (N.T. Wright, The Climax of the Covenant, 1994; E. Waaler, The shema and
the First Commandment in First Corinthians,  2008).

Recitation of Shema was commanded by God in Deut 6:4-9 as a testimony to the Jews (and to us all) that God is existing in compound unity.  If we look carefully the shema, it says there, Shema (hear) Yisrael (Israel) Adonai (the Lord) Eloheynu (our God) Adonai (the Lord) Echad (is one/united).   The repetition of Adonai in-between Eloheynu is forced and grammatically appears as over description.  However, this is a revelation of the compound unity of the Triune God (Trinity).  This message was given away by the use of the word Echad.  Why Moses did use the word Echad which means compound unity (united as one or simply one in compound form) instead of  the word Yachid which means one (and only one)?  If he did use the word yachid then there is nothing more to say. However, he used Echad declaring to the Jews and to all people about the compound unity of God. Every time a Jewish person would recite the shema, he is practically confessing with his mouth the compound unity of God and it is also a testimony to him day and night.

For us believers, this is a wonderful truth that we can ponder upon day in and day out. Isn`t it a good thing if we recite the shema day and night as part of our  prayers in the morning and at night time.  Come to think of it, they are Scriptural verses anyway and was commanded by God that even Jesus recited it Himself.  I don`t believe that you have to do it  legalistically especially if you don’t feel doing it but for a believer who wants to obey this command and wants to joyfully confess God`s compound unity  together with God`s chosen people, then we are free to do so and nobody should  stop us or judge us. After all, we have freedom in Christ!

Passover is probably the  best known of the Jewish holidays simply because it ties with our Lord`s Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder.   We believe without a doubt that what Jesus (Yeshua) did on that night was very messianic in nature and a lot of its observances and practices are types and shadows pointing to Jesus.

Passover begins on the twilight of the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. It is the first of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Shavu’ot and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel, but little attention is paid to this aspect of the holy day. The primary observances of Passover are related to the Exodus from Egypt after 400 years of slavery. This story is told in Exodus 1-15. Many of the Passover observances are instituted in Exodus 12-15.

The name “Passover” refers to the fact that the angel of death “passed over” the houses of the Jews and God
fearers, those who placed blood in the door post, when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt. In Hebrew, it is known as Pesach, which is based on the  Hebrew root meaning “pass over”. The holiday is also referred to as Chag
he-Aviv (the Spring Festival), Chag ha-Matzoth (the Festival of Matzahs), and Zeman Herutenu (the Time of Our
Freedom).

Many of us know about the first Passover in Egypt and the last Passover of Jesus with His disciples but we kind of neglect many of its significance in relation to our faith.  Probably the most significant observance related to Passover that we fail to see is the removal of chametz (leaven) from the homes. The removal of the leaven is also a symbolic way of removing the“puffiness” (arrogance, pride) and ultimately the sins from our souls.  In many instances, the Bible equated leaven with sin (1 Cor 5:7-8, Luke 12:1)

The prohibition against leaven is beyond question.  Leaven in Hebrew literally means "sour." The term "leaven" refers to any fermenting product such as yeast or baking powder.  Another Hebrew word for leaven used in Exodus was sehore (Exo 13:7) which means“swelling”.  Eating of bread with leaven during the feast carried severe consequences,
as mandated by God in the Scripture (Exo 12:15; 13:7). All leaven or anything made with leaven are to be removed from the dwelling places should not to be found anywhere in the land (Deut 16:4).  Chametz includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt). 

The process of cleaning the home of all chametz in preparation for Passover is an enormous task.  Most of them would start at least a month prior to start cleaning their homes not only with anything with leaven but everything that are undesirables and considered garbage. They would spend several days scrubbing everything down, going over the edges of their stoves and fridges and eventually the whole house. The spring cleaning practices was taken from this. After the cleaning is completed, the morning before the seder, a formal search of the house for chametz is undertaken, and any remaining chametz is burned.  For them, as they clean their houses of leaven and dirt, they also
prepare themselves spiritually as they approach the holy day.

These practices would give us a lot of lessons.  The  removal of leaven from among us is a  physical manifestation of spiritual truth.  Apostle Paul said in 1 Cor 5:7-8, “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: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.”

Some people would argue that practicing this is legalistic but is there anything unbiblical about this?  If we can learn something about these practices that will make our walk with God better, why not do it in the  context of our faith instead rather than completely reject it?  Are we sinning against God if we intentionally refrain from eating anything with leaven during the time of Passover/Unleavened Bread just as He commanded the Israelites in the Scripture(Ex. 12:14-20; 13:6-8; 23:15; 34:18;  Lev. 23:6; Deut. 16:3, 8)?  If we do not judge those brethren who came from catholic who won’t eat meat during the holy week, are we suppose to pass judgement to those who won’t eat leaven during the Passover?  Since we are doing our sping cleaning in time for the season, why not remove the leaven from among us both spiritually and physically in time for the season?  It is just a thought.