Jewish Roots in Christianity in the Seder Supper and Eucharist

As I married into a Jewish family, I have attended Seder suppers and have always been moved by the historical and spiritual dimensions it represents to the Jewish people and to me as a Christian.
The sharing of meals has been a common way of forming or strengthening relationships This custom is especially prevalent in Middle Eastern countries.  Rev. 3:19-20 says that God through His divine Son Jesus, desires to initiate a relationship with us; He wishes to dine with us, and all it takes is for us to repent of our sins.
   Jesus was Jewish and so the Christian faith is rooted in Judaism.  Before the Exodus,
God directed Moses to instruct each family to obtain an unblemished lamb.  The lamb was to be slaughtered; breaking no bones, and then its blood was to be smeared on the doorpost. This marker spared them from the scourge of death; they would be “passed over.”  The story of the Exodus pertains to all persons, since it proclaims of the right of all persons to be free. The early Christian Church retained some of this religious culture with the commemoration of Christ’s death, referred to as “Pesach” (Passover). Jesus is the spotless lamb with no broken bones, whose blood was poured out in his crucifixion for the forgiveness of sins and will have triumph over death. He is the link to the early Church and is the one who transformed the Seder meal to a remembrance of His death and resurrection.
This important Jewish feast is a feast of redemption and liberation, the memorial of the Israelites deliverance from their bondage in Egypt.  The word “Passover” means deliverance. It is a feast of great rejoicing which reveals how God “leads us from captivity to freedom, from sadness to joy, from mourning to feasting, from servitude to redemption, from darkness to brilliant light.”  Jesus fulfilled all of this through His death and resurrection. 
The Dead Sea scrolls say –“When they gather at the communal table, having set out bread and wine so the communal table is set for eating, and the wine poured for drinking, none may reach for the first portion of bread or the wine before the priest, for he shall recite a blessing over the first portion of the bread and the wine, reaching for the bread first.”  This is the role of the priest in celebrating Eucharist.
The Passover is celebrated with a ritual meal called the “Seder”; a Hebrew word that means “order”.  The meal consists of a prescribed menu of special symbolic food, blessings, and prayers.  The celebration of Eucharist (which means “thanksgiving”) also has a prescribed ritual; prayer, bread and wine.
The Seder gathering fulfilled God’s call for a formal assembly, in which those present bless and consume unleavened bread and wine, just as we do at Eucharist.

The book that describes the procedure and prayers for the Seder is called the “Haggadah,” (“the telling”) and at Eucharist there is also a book of ritual prayer, called the “Roman Missal”. The washing of one’s hands before eating or serving food is a requirement of Orthodox Judaism.  The Priest also washes his hands before consecrating bread and wine. 

At the Seder supper there are 4 cups of wine: Each with symbolic meanings; sanctification, praise, redemption and the fourth cup, the cup of acceptance which completes the new covenant. Eucharist incorporates all these cups into one with the death and resurrection of Christ and assurance of our  salvation.

The flat unleavened bread used for the meal is “Matzah,” The absence of leaven symbolizes the removal of sin.  At Eucharist, the unleavened bread, “the host”, represents that Christ had no sin in his life.

The unleavened bread is divided into three separate pieces separated by cloths. Like the Trinity, representing God, the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit. The middle layer is referred to as the “Afikomen.” It is a Greek word meaning, “I have arrived; I am coming again” or (he who comes after). It is taken out, broken in half, wrapped in a white cloth, (the royal color), and set aside, removed, and hidden from view and represents the Messiah who was broken for our transgressions, hidden and then returns. 

The Afikomen is hidden as a symbol of (death, burial and resurrection), a visible reminder of the hidden Messiah whose appearance is expectantly awaited. The greatest reward goes to the child who finds the Afikomen, but the child must wait for the reward which comes 50 days later, Pentecost; the time of the descent of. Holy Spirit, after the crucifixion and resurrection.
      The Matzah had stripes and holes, pierced into it. Christ received 39 lashes.  His hands and feet were pierced through, “His body broken for us.  “He was wounded for our transgressions; bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was on Him and by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4 the lamb that was sacrificed to save us.”

The Passover lambs had to be unblemished.  The blood from these animals was collected in cups by the priests and poured onto the Temple altar. Lev. 17:11, the Jews believed that blood held special meaning when poured out on the altar; it was offered in atonement for their sins.
At the Seder supper there 3 Roles are played –
1) The Parent –In Eucharist, this is the priest
      2) Server of the food- the altar servers
      3) Commentator- the telling of the story; the lectors at Eucharist
In Eucharist, the key elements are: bread “the bread from heaven” and wine-“the cup of salvation”, the gift of God's love, a free gift to anyone who receives Jesus
At the Last Supper, Jesus told the apostles that the blessed and broken bread was his body. They were to eat it, and the blessed wine was his blood. They were to drink it. The cup was the cup of redemption, setting up a-new covenant, representing His blood shed for us, which procures our salvation. This was Jesus’ last will and testament “Do this in memory of Me.”

Every time this mystery is celebrated, “the work of our redemption is carried on” and we “break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ.” (St. Ignatius of Antioch)
The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by His life, death, and resurrection. It is a work made present by the liturgical action. The Christian observance of this ritual meal celebrates not only our tradition of Christ’s last supper, but our own Jewish heritage which provided the context for Jesus’ institution as the last supper. We personally come out of bondage and are asked to bear witness to God’s redeeming action in the past, to act in conformity with His will in the present, and to renew our hope in further redemption.

The correct attitude of Christians toward the Passover Seder consists in sharing the history of the Jewish people, discovering the links that bind the Church to this people and giving thanks for their faithfulness to the Sinai covenant.