Shalom and welcome to veahavta Israel, a Hebrew phrase, which means you shall love Israel. We hope you’ll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher, Dr. Baruch shares his expository teaching from the Bible. Dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Zera Avraham Institute based in Israel. Although all courses are taught in Hebrew at the Institute, Dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English. To find out more about our work in Israel. Please visit us on the web at loveisrael.org. That’s one word, loveisrael.org. Now here’s Baruch with today’s lesson.

Dr. Baruch:

The Bible reveals a connection between Passover and Messiah. In fact, Paul says, as we learned last week, that Messiah, He is our Passover. So someone who loves Messiah, who believes in Yeshua, this one is going to want to know as much as he can about Passover.

Dr. Baruch:

Do get your Bible, and look with me to the book of Mark and chapter 14. This entire chapter, as well as the next one is dedicated to Passover. And it’s very important if we’re going to understand what Messiah did in that final week of His life. If we’re going to understand why He laid down His life, when he did, then we need to understand everything possible we can concerning this festival of Passover and the feast of unleavened bread. Look with me if you would, to verse 12. Now, let me tell you that there’s going to be some differences between how I share this scripture with you, that is how I translate it. And what’s written in your Bibles. And the reason for that is simply, that oftentimes we are lazy when it comes to the word of God. And oftentimes people did not put the emphasis as they should on every word and how that word is constructive in the biblical language.

Dr. Baruch:

In fact, what we’re going to see in this first verse we’re going to study is something that is shameful. And I say shameful, because there’s no way that someone should write this down and believe it’s proper, proper translation of what’s written in the scripture. Because if we accept it as all translations do, we’re going to find that it does not make sense.

Dr. Baruch:

Now, what is that? Again, verse 12. And for the sake of the first day of unleavened bread, that’s what it should say. Now, this expression at the beginning, we have to understand that the grammar is important. And this is in the Greek construction known as the dative. There’s four primary constructions. There is the nominative, there’s the genitive, there’s the dative as we have here, and also the accusative, then there’s one other one, the vocative, but it’s very rare in the Bible. And the dative speaks about a purpose for the sake of something. And what we find here is that we’re talking about for the sake of the first day of unleavened bread. Now, most of your Bibles will say, and this is incorrect. They ignore the influence, the significance of the dative. They translate it, on the first day of unleavened bread. That is an impossibility. What we’re going to find is this, that the disciples … Look again at verse 12, for the sake of the first day of unleavened bread. And they’re talking when the Passover is sacrificed.

Dr. Baruch:

Now they’re talking about this in a general sense. Because we know something. We know that the Passover lamb is not sacrificed on the first day of unleavened bread, rather it’s the day before. The first day of unleavened bread according to the scripture, I would refer you to the book of Leviticus chapter 23, beginning in verse nine, there’s a section there concerning this holiday. And we learned that Passover is the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. The first day of unleavened bread is the next day, the 15th day of Nisan. So this would be like saying for the sake of a new year’s Eve party, the person came on new year’s day and said, where are we going to have our new year’s eve party? It makes no sense. You’re a day late. The answer is simply the dative. What we see here is that it tells us for the sake of the first day of unleavened bread. In this time period, we have to sacrifice what? The Passover lamb. And then we read further on in this passage that his disciples came to Him saying, “Where do you want us?” That we should what? “Where should we prepare the Passover for you to eat?”

Dr. Baruch:

Now, one of the things we’re going to see here, in this first section of our passage is that this word Passover literally Pesah, appears over and over. And Passover or Pesah has to do with redemption. And we’ve already talked about, there’s a connection between redemption and death. Now, again, we’re going to see that the disciples they are not paying attention to this. They are oblivious to this fact, but the writer here is emphasizing it to us. So once again, they come, they said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” Now, in one sense, that Passover is that sacred meal on the evening of the 15th. And Remember in Judaism, according to the book of Genesis, the day begins in the evening. So it would be on the eve of the 15th or the Eve of the 15th is when that meal would be partaken of. And that’s their emphasis, but understand something, there’s many aspects of observing Passover and The Feast of Unleavened Bread. And we’ll see that in a moment.

Dr. Baruch:

Move on to verse 13, based upon their question, Messiah responded, look at verse 13 and He sends two of his disciples. Now we talked about last week, why that number two is important, because it shows a divergent understanding, two different opinions. And we’re going to see once again, in this section and throughout this 14th chapter, that Messiah, He has the truth and the disciples and everyone else has something different. They’re plotting along their pathway and He’s going along the will of God.

Dr. Baruch:

Verse 13, and He sends two of His disciples and He says to them, “Go into the city.” Now important, where are they staying? They’re staying on the Mount of Olives. We saw that last week. So when it says, “Go into the city,” He’s talking about going into the city of Jerusalem. And He says that you will encounter a man carrying a jar of water. And this word in the biblical language means a big jar of water. Now, how would Messiah know this? Well, we’re seeing an example here concerning His omniscience. We know that Messiah is God in the flesh. God who became incarnate, therefore Messiah He’s omniscient. He knows everything.

Dr. Baruch:

Now, oftentimes what does He do? He pushes this away. Why? Well, usually when we come across a passage where it speaks about Messiah as the son, the son of man, it talks about Him being a example to humanity. Him living as a man, not at all dipping into His divinity, dipping into His omniscience. But here He wants to share with the disciples that He’s in charge, that what He is saying, isn’t the truth, truth from the heaven.

Dr. Baruch:

So He states to them, you go into the city and you’re going to go there. And you’re going to see a man carrying this large pot of water. And He says at the end of verse 13, and you follow him. Verse 14, and wherever he should enter, He says, you shall say to the master of that house, that the teacher … Now that’s important. Every time there is a title or description of Messiah, we need to pay attention to it because it helps us understand and interpret the passage. And here, once again, He’s being called the teacher. Now they are preparing things for the Passover. And if you believe that Passover is just that Seder meal that they would eat, you have missed out. There are many aspects of observing, Passover, and what is known as what’s called a Last Supper. [Hebrew 00:09:43].

Dr. Baruch:

Now, why is that? Well, because the 14th day, and you need to be marking down these dates. The 14th day of Nisan was when the lambs were sacrificed. They were eaten in the nighttime, which would be at the beginning of the 15th day. But that wasn’t the first important meal that the people would eat because the 14th day, according to tradition. Now, when I say tradition, you can verify that there is a group of writings called the Mishnah and the section called Pesahim which deals with Passover. We see that the 14th day is treated as a fast day and before a fast day, the evening before there is a last supper. Now you’ve heard that term before the last supper. It is not a Passover Seder. It is another meal that has to do with another important observance for Passover. And that is observing the 14th day as a fast day.

Dr. Baruch:

Why is that? Well, there’s a couple reasons, but, but the primary one is this fasting shows our dependence, not upon the earthly or the physical as in food, but fasting shows our dependence upon God. So fasting on the 14th day of Nisan shows our dependence upon the Passover sacrificing. That Passover sacrifice, which was for redemption.

Dr. Baruch:

So they got together and they were going to eat this meal, this [Hebrew 00:11:23], this last supper. Now, one of the things we also know about this meal, is that it was not a family meal. By large what would happen? The man would come home and there was an inspection of his home, to make sure that all the hamets, everything that was leavened was removed from the house. If he found anything, it would be burned up the next day. But then he would eat with his spiritual leader, in order that he could take him through a very similar meal, but without the Passover lamb. They would eat a meal going through almost exactly what they were going to do the next night. And the reason for this was so that the leader could tell them the significance of everything that we’re going to be doing. And this is why Messiah here is not called son of man, but rather he’s called the teacher. Because that first meal that they were going to be observing was a meal for learning, for understanding the significance of Passover.

Dr. Baruch:

So once again, verse 14, they are to go and follow this man. And wherever he enters into, it says, you are to say to the master of that house that the teacher says, “Where is … literally my, my guest room. Now this is important because the text says, my, this is something that belongs. This place has been designated for Him. And it says in this passage of scripture where the Passover, that with His disciples, I might eat. So he’s prepared all of this. And the disciples are going to discover how Messiah has gotten everything ready or this important meal.

Dr. Baruch:

Verse 15, after saying that to this master of the house, it says, and he will show to you a upper room, which is furnished and ready there. He says, you are to prepare for us. So everything’s there that they need. They’re simply supposed to arrange it and get it ready for this first meal as the last supper. Move on if you would, to verse 16. And the disciples one forth, and they came into the city and they found just as He had said to them and the prepared, this is the 4th time, the Passover. And that means once again, all the aspects, everything that they were going to be observing, not just for that first day, but for all seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Dr. Baruch:

Verse 17, and it came about at evening. Now, this was the evening or what we would say the eve of the 14th at the conclusion of the 13th day of Nisan. Now the day ends with sundown, the day begins with evening. So it’s the evening of the 14th. The evening before the fast would be, the evening before they would sacrifice the Passover lambs. Once again, verse 17 and when had become evening, He came with his disciples and they were reclining and they were eating. And Yeshua He says, “Truly, I say to you, that one from among you will betray me. The one who is eating with me.” So He makes it very clear here that He has knowledge that there is one who is going to betray Him eating at this a very important meal. That he’s going to betray Him. And notice something else that is said. And they began to be sad, and they said, each one, notice this, “Is it me?”

Dr. Baruch:

Now think for a moment, if I were to say to one of you here today, one of you is going to still all the money that we have in our money drawer. Would you say, “Is it me?” I mean, you would say, “Well, I have no intention to do that. I wonder who it is.” You would not think it’s yourself, unless you were planning to do that. So the fact that each one says, “Is it me?” It shows us that the disciples weren’t all that faithful, that is that they were not committed to the same things that Messiah was committed to. And that was His father’s plan, to do what? To lay down His life so that the kingdom could become a reality for the people. In other words, it’s simply another example that the disciples, Israel, humanity in general, even to this day, we’re not so kingdom-minded.

Dr. Baruch:

Let’s move on to verse 19. And they began to be sorrowful and said to Him, each one, “Is it I?” And He said, verse 20. And He said to them, “To the, one of the 12, that immerses or dips with me into the bowl.” So here again, He’s giving indications that He’s in control of all of this. Over and over in this passage, what is being referred to the reader is that Messiah He’s going to lay down his life, but He’s still in control. That famous passage. No one takes His life, but He lays it down. So he reveals here who is going to be the one who dips his morsel, that would be that matsa into the bowl with Him.

Dr. Baruch:

Verse 21. Now He speaks about the implications. Verse 21. He says, “The son of man goes just as it’s written of Him.” Now, what I want you to see here is that over and over throughout the gospels, what we see is this, everything, and I mean, everything that Messiah does, He does in fulfillment of God’s word. Meaning simply this, His life is totally subjected to scripture. And notice what it says, son of man, what did we learn about that? Son of man is when the scripture is upholding Yeshua as an example to us. So He says in this passage, once again, verse 21, “The son of man goes just as it’s been written of Him. But woe to that, man, by whom the son of man is delivered, it would have been better for him that that man had not been born.” Harsh, strong words.

Dr. Baruch:

And what it’s to tell us is this, those who work against the purposes of God, those who betray Messiah do not keep covenant with Him, it says it would have been better they were not ever even born. Now, what we’re going to do before we wrap up today is that we’re going to see what He taught the disciples at this meal. Remember earlier on, when they’re talking about this meal, He’s referred to as the teacher, and He’s going to teach them the significance of what’s going to happen in a few short hours.

Dr. Baruch:

Look, if you would, to verse 22. And while they were eating, He did something. He took the bread. Now the word bread here can mean not just normal, typical bread, but it can also mean this unleavened bread or matsa. So we read here in verse 22, and while they were eating, He took the bread and He gave thanks. He broke it and he gave it to them and He said, take, this is my body. Now what he’s foreshadowing is what He’s going to do, as I said, the next day, in a few short hours, when He lays down His life.

Dr. Baruch:

Now we’re going to see something important because not only is He going to speak about his death, but He’s also here going to give hint, a clear reference to his resurrection. And in the same way that it’s an absolute necessity, that He would die, also for the will of God to be done for that victory to be achieved there’s also a necessity of the resurrection. I mean, now anyone can die, but not everyone is risen from the dead. And that term is so important. Risen from the dead. Now what we’re going to see here, it’s in a very unique construction. We’ll come to that in a few minutes.

Dr. Baruch:

Again, verse 23, He says, “And this is my body.” But he speaks about the matsa, and the matsa is unleavened. And that is significant because it means without hamets, that is without symbolically sin, that He was a perfect sacrifice. And that’s the difference. I said earlier, anyone could die, but that death won’t do anything. It’s only because He is the bread of life that He is the matsa, that He is without sin, that His death means something.

Dr. Baruch:

Now verse 23, and taking the cup. And in another gospel tells us, this is the cup after the supper, they had finished eating. And this was the final few blessings that would wrap up this meal.

Dr. Baruch:

And what’s important about that? Well, according to Jewish tradition, during this meal, there are four cups and the cup after the supper, the third cup, the cup that speaks to God as Redeemer. So He does something here. He speaks. The context is from what’s taking place is redemption. And that’s why He says verse 23 and taking the cup, He gives thanks. He gives it to them and drink … He says, “Drink from it all.” Meaning everyone. This is for all people. Everyone needs this what? Well, remember the context redemption.

Dr. Baruch:

Now there’s another aspect of this redemption that is seen if we’ve missed it up till now. Look, if you would to verse 24. And He said to them note, “This is my body,” That was the matsa the unleavened bread. But He says here in verse 24, He says, “And this is my blood.” Now blood is important because there is an inherit relationship biblically speaking between blood and redemption. We’ve talked about that this is all taking place within the time of Passover.

Dr. Baruch:

What did the children of Israel do in Egypt? They took that Passover lamb. What was important? Not just its body, but also its blood. And they placed the blood upon the [Hebrew 00:23:07]. That is the doorposts and the lentil as a sign, a sign of what? Of redemption. And that redemption caused the judgment of God that came upon Egypt to pass over them. And what He’s saying is this, in the same way that that blood of the lamb was a necessity not to suffer God’s judgment in that same way, His blood, the true Passover that’s who He is, our Passover lamb. His blood is an absolute necessity so that we can be redeemed from this coming judgment, that eternal judgment that is on the horizon.

Dr. Baruch:

So He says in this passage, once again, verse 24, “This is my blood.” And he says a blood of a covenant. Now most manuscripts had the phrase new covenant. Now, why is that important? Because when you come in contact with that phrase, new covenant, what should come into your mind is Jeremiah 31. And there is a relationship between the new covenant and the old covenant that is this, that the same standards of righteousness are there. There’s no change. What is the change? Well, God takes those righteous standards. And instead of writing them solely on a tablet or in a book, He writes them upon the tablet of our heart. And there’s another benefit before if we were to break those righteous standards, it would mean death. But now the new covenant, because it’s ratified, not just in blood, but in the blood of the Passover lamb, that is Messiah himself, the blood of the righteous one, the only righteous one. It now has a power to it. That new covenant has to do with our renewal. It continually renew God’s covenant with us.

Dr. Baruch:

And what’s the last part of it? He says, “If you sin, I will no longer remember their sins, but we’ll forgive them.” And that’s the aspect through the blood of the land, the blood of Messiah, we have eternal forgiveness. Once again, verse 24, He says, this is my blood of the new covenant, which has been poured out for many. Verse 25, truly I say to you that no longer shall I drink of it, drink of what? Well, He uses a very important expression, the fruit of the vine. Now, if you’re not Jewish, you may not know that term, but if you are Jewish, it’s a prayer that we say each Shabbat. And every time we drink from the fruit of the vine that is grape juice or wine. And that prayer is known as the Kiddush, meaning sanctification. What we find is this, that this redemption makes a reality of something. And that is God’s sanctification. That’s what Kiddush means. It tells us something else because sanctification has to do with being set apart for purpose.

Dr. Baruch:

So what He’s saying is this, I have come into this world, I’ve been set apart to enter into this world, to do what? to do the work of redemption. And what’s that added bonus of redemption? Not just that we become the people of God, but the eternal people of God, because that new covenant has that aspect of forgiveness.

Dr. Baruch:

So he says in verse 25, truly, I say to you, no longer drink of it, that is from the fruit of the vine until those days or that day, when I drink of it and knew where in the kingdom of God. And what I want you to see is this emphasis that appears over and over throughout the gospels of the kingdom. Understand there’s this inherent relationship between redemption and the reality of the kingdom. Without experiencing redemption. Let me say it another way. Without having a Passover experience. Why do I say that? In the same way that those that came out of bondage in Egypt, they all had something in common. They weren’t all Jews, but they were a mixed multitude. They all had a Passover experience. And in that same way, the only way that we can come out of the bondage of sin, the only way that we can enter into the covenant of God and enter into His kingdom is if we have a Passover experience as well with that Passover lamb, Messiah, Yeshua, for He is indeed our life.

Speaker 1:

Well, we hope you will benefit from today’s message and share it with others. Please plan to join us each week at this time and on this channel for our broadcast of loveisrael.org. Again, to find out more about us, please visit our website, loveisrael.org. There you will find articles and numerous other lectures by Baruch. These teachings are in video form. You may download them or watch them in streaming video. Until next week, may the Lord bless you in our Messiah Yeshua. That is Jesus. As you walk with Him. Shalom from Israel.