Celebrating the Passover

Our study of Ancient Israel culminated this week with a passover meal. We were blessed to go to a Christian museum that teaches biblical history through architectural replicas and Biblical meal presentations.

We began with a walk amongst the replicas, as our guide taught us about life in ancient Israel. She shared many scriptures with us and it was a spiritually encouraging time as well as a rich learning experience.

Here are some of our photos:

Inside a shepherd’s tent

By the well


Entrance to the New Testament Tomb

Looking down on the New Testament Tomb

The watchtower


Crosses

Olive press with a working aqueduct in the background

Village Home

Grinding wheel

The biblical meal room

The meal was delicious, and traditional to what probably would have been served at the Passover meal in Jesus’ day. There were hardboiled eggs (which we were told were a symbol of mourning), charoset (a mixture of apples, nuts and raisins which represented the mud used to make bricks), bitter salad greens (to symbolize the bitterness of slavery), parsley with salt water (parsley represents hope and redemption, while the salt water represents tears), unleavened bread (the Israelites fled Egypt in haste) and other traditional foods including apples, nuts, dried fruits, hummus, grape juice, honey, lentil stew, black and green olives and chicken. Lamb would have been traditional, but the museum served chicken since many Americans don’t like lamb.

I did not realize that the Passover that Jesus celebrated with his disciples was not exactly the same as the Seder meal that Jews celebrate for passover today. We ate a passover similar to what Jesus would have eaten at the Last Supper, learning about the customs and foods of that passover. After the meal was over, the presenter spoke to our family about the modern Seder, which was instituted in AD 90. She did a wonderful job teaching us about the symbolism of various components of the meal, and of helping us to to tie together everything we’ve been learning this semester.