Jesus celebrated a Thanksgiving meal every year of His life in the Passover, but His last Passover became the Ultimate Thanksgiving. This message explores the connections between Thanksgiving, the Passover meal, and the Lord’s Supper. It also explores the purpose and power found when we wield the sword of gratitude.
Here’s the message text:
Good morning y’all.
Growing up, I can remember the tradition of going around the table and having everyone say what they were thankful for. Now, no one ever said it, but as a kid this was a competition. Everything was a competition. I didn’t listen to what anyone was saying, I was concocting and working out my answer ‘cause it needed to be the best answer. I always seemed that when I settled on something and was happy with it, my brother or someone else would say the same thing. So then I’m scrambling for another answer. Right? Am I alone in this? Well. . . today I’m planning to give you some ammunition. I hope you’ll have a few more good answers today for your table “thankful for” competition.
Did you guys know that Jesus celebrated Thanksgiving?
Obviously, not the pilgrim, native American, turkey thing. And He certainly didn’t eat ham. It wasn’t the turducken, football, black Friday thing either.
So. . . What did Jesus celebrate? The Old Testament describes seven festivals that God wanted His people to celebrate, but Passover is the one I want to focus on today. It’s got a lot of similarities with Thanksgiving.
Passover is a joyous occasion of remembering and being grateful for all that God has done.
Sounds like Thanksgiving right?!?! In truth Passover is a thanksgiving meal. We first see it in Exodus 12, (Go ahead and look it up. It’s the 2nd book of the Bible – We’re going to read from it in a minute) God tells His people, the Israelites, that He wants them to celebrate the Passover every year for 7 days. 7 days – now that’s a good party! We kinda do that with Thanksgiving too – it’s mostly over after that first day, but we have about 6 more days of leftovers. Right?!?! Anyway, God wants them to remember and be grateful.
It’s a pretty amazing meal too. Each part of the Passover meal is significant. Each part tells a story. Today, I plan to tell you that story and my hope is that you’ll find yourself in it.
OK – Let’s start with the bitter herbs. Part of this meal was eating bitter herbs.
They represented the bitterness that God’s people experienced in Egypt. You see, they had been slaves for over 400 years. Pharaoh, Egypt’s ruler, used them to build his kingdom. The number of bricks they could make or stack determined their worth and value. Under the hand of Pharaoh, they weren’t able to worship and connect with God. It was truly a bitter time. We’re no different. Our lives are just as bitter without Jesus and we were slaves too.
On our own without Jesus, we are slaves to sin. By the way, here’s my first suggestion for your “thankful” competition.
Jesus has seen our slavery to sin and He knows our situation.
There was another element in the meal called charoseth. It was a mixture of apples, nuts, and honey. It looked a little bit like the mortar they used between the bricks.
The idea was that even in their bitterness and slavery, God was still present with them, holding them together – like mortar. There was still something sweet even in their struggle. When they ate the charoseth, it was usually layered between some unleavened bread (like a cracker) and mixed with the bitter herbs. Again, we can relate. This is the Passover story, but it’s our story too. I mean, when I look back at my life before Christ, I can still see that God was there. So. . .here’s my 2nd suggestion for your “thankful” competition:
Jesus is present even in the hard times.
Now, while they were in slavery. God saw His people. He heard their cries and sent Moses to be His instrument to bring them out. God sent 10 plagues (have you heard of them?) These were miracles, but awful ones. God used them to convince Pharaoh to “Let my people go.” This was represented in the Passover meal with a cup of wine called the “Cup of Wrath.”
A drop of wine was spilled onto a white plate as the father of the house recounted each of the plagues. Do you remember? The first plague was that God turned the Nile River into blood. So the father would say, “Blood,” and each person would spill a drop of wine that looked like blood on the white plate. The father then continued through each plague saying, “Frogs, lice, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locust, darkness, death.” In the end, they had 10 drops of wine (like blood) on their plates.
This describes our world too. It may not be flies, and boils, and hail, but we live in a fallen world too. For us, it looks more like anger and corruption, suffering from depression or anxiety, or being a victim of exploitation or abuse.
Our world is broken, fallen, and sinful.
Right?!?! This is not always an easy place to live.
Back to our story – Pharaoh continued to refuse to let God’s people go, so the final plague was the culmination of them all. Death of the firstborn.
(Let me also say, this is a hard truth. People way smarter than me have debated why God did it this way. I don’t totally understand, but the Bible is clear that it happened.)
Anyway, God has instructed each household to choose a lamb, and then in Exodus 12, beginning in verse 6, we read:
Exodus 12:6-8 - 6bThe whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals (lambs) at twilight. 7They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Exodus 12:11-13 - 11This is how you are to eat it: You must be fully dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover. 12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13The blood on the houses where you are staying will distinguish them; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
The blood of the lamb was their rescue and salvation. Death would pass over them because of the blood of the lamb.
There was a shank bone of a lamb on the Passover plate too. They were supposed to choose a “spotless” lamb, but none were ever truly perfect.
Just as this Passover lamb was their rescue,
Jesus, the true lamb of God, is the sacrifice for our rescue.
He was and is and always will be the “perfect lamb.”
Notice also, that they had to eat in haste that night and be ready to leave. “Fully dressed for travel” is what vs 11 says. Throughout the evening, they only ate unleavened bread. Like bread without yeast.
There was no time to let their bread rise because they had to be ready to leave immediately after the 10th plague. They had to be quick to respond to God’s instruction. When God gives us direction, there is no time to waste either. We can’t say, “Hold on God, let me . . . whatever.” No!! It’s too late.
We must be responsive to God’s instructions.
Once the Israelites (God’s people) left Egypt . . . to be clear the final plague was effective and Pharaoh did let them leave. However, it wasn’t long before Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army after them. They trapped them at the Red Sea. Pharaoh’s army behind them, mountains to the left and right, and the Red Sea in front of them. But God made a way where there was no way. He opened the Red Sea and created a path for His people. They crossed unscathed, but when Pharaoh’s army followed . . . they got swallowed by the sea. The Passover meal recalls this miracle with what they called a dipping ceremony.
An herb was dipped into a bowl of saltwater and taken out safely. (like God’s people) It was dipped a second time, and then swallowed. (like the Egyptian army) This one is a great picture to me, but what does it have to do with us? Well. . . Have you ever felt trapped? Maybe you’re feeling it right now. This is a great reminder that
God can make a way when there is no way.
The Passover meal also included another cup of wine called the “Cup of Redemption”. This points to the price paid for their rescue – the blood of the lamb was that price. The cost for their redemption was death.
And finally the Afikomen, was another piece of unleavened bread that reminded them of God’s provision. After they crossed the Red Sea with this magnificent miracle, the Israelites had to travel through the desert on their way to the “Promised Land.” There wasn’t much food so they complained, but God gave them manna (bread from heaven) during those years. It just appeared on the ground each morning and there was always enough for each household to eat and survive. They didn’t know exactly what it was or where it came from, but they knew that God provided it for them. The afikomen reminded them of God’s provision.
Pretty cool. Right?!?! Each part of the meal had a story. As they ate, they remembered and were grateful. This is why I think it’s sorta like Thanksgiving. I bet your family has traditions and stories that get told every year too – some of them might even be about certain parts of your meal. I heard Michelle (one of our ministers) talking about Lime Sherbet Punch the other day. She said they have it on their holiday table every year and it reminds them of her grandmother’s generosity. She eats and remembers and is grateful for her grandmother.
Me? Well, I can’t see a pumpkin pie without remembering and being grateful for Thanksgiving in Stillwater Oklahoma at my grandmother’s house. It was probably the early 90s. After eating too much food, the whole family was together in my grandmother’s living room just talking. My brother and cousin came in from playing basketball outside. Now, what I didn’t know is that my brother had made a stop in the kitchen on his way back in where he grabbed a little pumpkin pie and smeared it on his shoe. It looked like he had stepped in something our in the yard. He came into the living room, sat down, and propped his foot up on his knee and waited. It didn’t take long for my grandmother to see it and say, “Oooh Roger, what’s that on your shoe? He looked down and made a disgusted face, then wiped it off with his finger and stuck it on his mouth!! We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Why would anyone put poop . . .?!?!? Ugh!! Anyway, it’s been 30yrs, but it’s still a moment that we relive every time we’re together. I can’t see pumpkin pie or even hear someone talk about pumpkin pie without this memory rushing back into my head.
It’s bitter sweet though, like the charoseth – wonderful memory, but bitter also because my brother is no longer with us.
It’s just Lime Sherbet Punch, but it’s more. It’s just pumpkin pie, but it’s more than that. It’s a story. It’s a memory, and something I’m grateful for. It’s just unleavened bread. . . it’s just a bitter herb getting dipped in salt water. . . it’s just wine. . .
Do you see it yet?
God wired us to see stories in symbols like these. He knew these symbols would be associated with memories and emotions and relational connections. God set this whole thing up to happen once a year because
when we remember all that God has done, we are confronted with who He is, and we must consider what that means for our present day lives. When we remember God, who is always good to us, our automatic response is thanks, and praise, and gratitude. And gratitude, man, that’s a good thing y’all.
Did you know that there are scientific studies that have been done on gratitude? A Christ follower and author, Ann Voskamp has done work in this area. For her book, “1,000 Gifts,” She asked people to write down 3 things they are grateful for each day for a year. In the end, they will have collected a list of over 1,000 gifts. Listen to what she says she discovered about those who participated in her study:
“If they wrote down just three things a day they were grateful for, they were less depressed, less suicidal, less apathetic, than those who didn’t practice lifestyle gratitude. . . . Research indicated that recording those blessings was cognitive training, a way of reorganizing your brain to focus on goodness. . . Those who practice this type of lifestyle gratitude have higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, optimism, attentiveness, energy, they were more motivated, likeable, other-oriented, forgiving, generous, helpful, more likely to volunteer, and more likely to give back. Giving thanks and giving back are ‘Siamese twins.’ They move as one.” – Ann Voskamp
Man – those are incredible results! Thanksgiving is powerful!
I mean, think for a minute about how all this works. Have you ever been in a dark place? I have. Let me read something I wrote in a journal one time when I was in a tough spot and couldn’t see a way out. I honestly can’t even remember what the situation was. Anyway here’s what I wrote:
Darkness. It’s just darkness. It closes in on me. I’m swallowed by darkness. And silence. The silence is deafening. Agony. Desperation. Depression. Even if I try, my vision is clouded. I can’t see a way out. The cloud has settled on me. Death marches on, threatening, intimidating, tormenting and piercing the very depths of my being. There is nothing I can do but wait. . . I’ve tried before. I shoveled the darkness out as fast as I could only to discover that another onslaught of more darkness had already arrived in its’ place. I just kept shoveling, toiling, laboring, but it never ends. I don’t seem to be getting anywhere. So I quit. I give up. I’m helpless. With heavy breathing and an anxious spirit, I just wait for the inevitable and resign myself to anguish in silence. These are dark times. I am overcome by the throng pressing in and I can’t seem to find a footing.
Have you been there too? Does it feel like I’m reading your journal? What do you do? Where do we go in moments like this when it seems there is no hope?
Maybe the better question is: What did Jesus do? I mean the darkness was certainly closing in on Him in the end right?!?! What did Jesus do when things were at their worst? What did He do the night before the crucifixion? Let’s read it together: (Luke is the 3rd book in the NT, the 3rd Gospel) It’ll be on the screen too.
Luke 22:14-15 - 14When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
Do you guys see it? He knows he is going to suffer. When the darkness had amassed its’ hordes and was preparing to destroy Him. . . when death came knocking, with the cross just ahead of Him, Jesus sat down to a Passover meal, a thanksgiving meal, with His friends. There, He took bread and gave thanks – right before His ultimate battle with darkness. Think about it. He could have done anything He wanted, but He didn’t draw on any supernatural powers. Instead,
Jesus chose to hang out with friends, remember all His Father had done, and give thanks.
The sword Jesus wielded that night was gratitude. And make no mistake. . . gratitude is a sword. It pierces the darkness with light! (Maybe that makes it more of a light saber?!?! or maybe I’m just a Star Wars nerd?!?!))
In the darkest moment, Jesus chose to wield the sword of gratitude!
When we are surrounded by darkness, we can choose to try to shovel out the darkness or we can choose gratitude. When we thank God, we remember who He is and what He has done and Jesus’ light pokes through the veil of darkness. As we remember who He is and what He has done and give thanks, His light shines forth and destroys the darkness.
In that moment, right before His toughest moments, Jesus didn’t do anything any different. He continued just as He always had. Jesus celebrated Passover like He had done every year of His life. Gratitude was Jesus’ habit. It was His practice. He understood the power in it.
The practice of wielding the sword of gratitude gives God’s people strength and reassurance in all their circumstances.
With this sword in my hand, I am emboldened to go out and do battle with the enemy – taking ground for the kingdom of God. When I wield the sword of gratitude, I reframe my thoughts about my circumstances. When I spend time reflecting on all my blessings, the things God has done for me, the things He has given me, I enter the world out of a place of abundance, and I have a willingness to give and to be a blessing to others. On the other hand, when I’m not mindful of my blessings, when I lay down this sword, when gratitude stops, I respond out of a place of lack. I’m more likely to fall into the trap of comparison. I feel inadequate and ill-equipped. I roam the world looking for what I can get out of it or what I can take for myself.
Gratitude allows me to see the truth that in Christ I am equipped with the Holy Spirit and I am “more than a conqueror.”
So, when you sit down to your regular Thanksgiving meal this year, I want to encourage you to remember and be grateful for all that God has done for you. Yes, thank Him for your family, and for turkey, and for football, and health, but when you have your “thankful for competition” this year, let’s not get caught up in all His gifts. Let’s thank the Giver and remember how He satisfies our deepest need. Listen as Luke describes Jesus’ Passover meal that night. We’ll start in verse 19.
Luke 22:19-20 says, 19And he took bread, (this is the afikomen) gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, (the cup of redemption) saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."
The disciples had done this meal over and over for their whole lives. They knew how it went. They practiced each of these elements and remembered all the things God had done for them, but Jesus flipped it on them. When He took the Afikomen, the bread that had always represented the manna that God provided for them in the desert, Jesus didn’t talk about manna. Instead, He said, “This is my body.” And when He took the cup of redemption, the wine representing the blood of the lamb, He said “This is my blood.”
“Do this in remembrance of me.” It wasn’t about their deliverance from slavery in Egypt all those years ago. Not anymore. Jesus made it about their deliverance from the slavery of sin right now. This thanksgiving meal,
The Passover meal became the ultimate thanksgiving meal that night. It’s the Lord’s Supper.
It’s about Jesus now. Our thanksgiving should be centered on Him ‘cause He is the Bread of Life that God provided for us. He is our sustenance and will satisfy our deepest need for a Savior. It isn’t about the lamb’s blood anymore. It’s about Jesus’ blood. Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is by His blood that we are saved from our sin and given new life.
So today, if you are a Christ follower, committed to a relationship with Him, we invite you to take the the Lord’s supper, the ultimate thanksgiving feast with us. We will do it a little differently than normal. There are stations set up throughout the worship center and you will have three songs to get to a station. I’d encourage you to sit and reflect for a few minutes. Settle in and practice remembering and being grateful. Remember some specific ways you’ve seen God at work in your life. Praise Him for all He’s done. For your life, and health, and family, and gifts, but mostly thank Him for who He is. Our creator, our sustainer, our savior, and friend. He is peace in our struggle, and hope in our desperation. He is light in the darkness and our refuge in our chaos. Jesus is the mortar that holds us together. He is present in the tough times. He is the lamb of God, and the bread of life. He is the way when there is no way. He paid the price for our redemption and was the sacrificial lamb. He is worthy of our thanks and praise.
Pray with me:
God we come to You today grateful. We are grateful for all that You are and for all that You’ve done in our lives. You are more than we deserve, and for that we are grateful. Forgive us Lord. We have fallen short. We are sinners in need of a Savior. As we partake in these elements today, remind us of how great You are. And as we are reminded, Lord, may praise and thanks flow out of our lives. Teach us to honor You in all that we do. As we experience all that this holiday has to offer, may Your presence and maybe more so, our awareness of Your presence be constant. Teach us to draw the sword of gratitude in our tough moments and to have it at our hip all our days. You have equipped us and we are grateful. You have paid the price for our salvation and we are grateful. You have forgiven us and we are grateful. You have been present and we are grateful. You ARE present even now and we are grateful. We are grateful Lord. AMEN.
McKinney Falls State Park – Thanksgiving 2013
