Weekly Drash - Bo

Compliments of First Fruits of Zion
reprinted by permission of FFOZ

Parashat Hashavuah

Bo - בא : “Come”
Torah : Exodus 10:1–13:16
Haftarah : Jeremiah 46:13–28
Gospel : Mark 4–5

A Memorial

Thought for the Week:

The rituals of the feast find their fulfillment in Yeshua because He fills them full of meaning. Our hearts burn with longing as we read His words, “I will not eat this Pesach again… I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29) With all certainty, we agree with the Apostle Paul, saying, “Messiah our Passover lamb also has been sacrificed,” (1 Corinthians 5:7) and we keep the festival in remembrance of Him.

Commentary:

Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. (Exodus 12:14)

God rescued Israel from Egypt and told her people to keep the festival as a remembrance of their salvation from bondage and slavery. But it was more than just a remembrance. It was also a rehearsal for something wonderful to come, an appointed time on God’s calendar.

Fourteen hundred years after the exodus from Egypt, Yeshua went to Jerusalem with His disciples to keep the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. He always kept the Father’s appointed times.

In Jerusalem, He kept the seder meal with His disciples. He took the unleavened bread and the customary Passover cup and instructed His disciples to do so henceforth in remembrance of Him. According to John’s chronology, on the day of the slaughter of the Passover lambs, He became the Passover Lamb. At the time when Israel slaughtered their Passover lambs in remembrance of their great salvation from Egypt, Yeshua was crucified, and His blood was applied as a mark of salvation on all who would believe in Him. Therefore, when believers keep Passover, we have two things to remember. We remember the historic salvation from Egypt as the Torah commands us. But we also remember the salvation granted us through the sacrifice of Yeshua. The two remembrances are not mutually exclusive. They naturally complement one another.

Every year we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in remembrance of Yeshua. After all, Messiah Himself told us to keep the festival in remembrance of Him.

Was it just breaking bread and drinking the fruit of the vine that He had in mind? No. There was a specific context, and the context was Passover. In Luke He said, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover (pesach) with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:15–16)

The commandment to do “this” in remembrance of Yeshua is not a commandment just to take a cup and some bread. The specific “this” to which Yeshua referred was the Passover seder meal. What could be more appropriate for a disciple of Yeshua to do than to keep the festival of Passover in remembrance of Him, just as He told His disciples?

Shavuah Tov!  Have a Good Week!

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