THE PASSOVER The Passover Lamb And The Resurrection of the Messiah The Passover is considered a turning point in the history of the old people, through which they crossed from the land of bondage to the wilderness, to set forth toward the promised land. The Passover lamb, with all its rites, carried special concepts: “It shall be the first month of the year” (Exod. 12.2); “This day shall be a memorial, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations” (Exod. 12.14); and it is to be kept by the whole congregation (Exod. 12.6). It also carried a spiritual concept that touches the life of the congregation of the Church in its relationship with God. The Passover lamb is not merely a memorial of a historic event that took place in the past; it represents a present and continuous work of God in the life of His people. The Passover feast also means a personal relationship between every member of the congregation and God Himself. This concerns the symbolic Passover lamb. On the other hand, as the Lord Christ offered Himself a true “Passover” for the whole world, His Passion, crucifixion, burial and resurrection become a continuous and permanent Passover in the life of the Church that it celebrates, not only once every year, but in every Divine Liturgy, and experiences its strength throughout everyday. That divine Passover work became the subject of meditation for every true believer, through which he passes over from glory to glory, to enter, by the Holy Spirit, into the Father’s bosom. That made the two chapters: 11 and 12 of the Book of Exodus, the center of the whole Book, if not, of the whole Old Testament, as the crucifixion and the resurrection of the Lord Christ are the center of the Bible as a whole. That is why it is significant to present an accurate, yet concise study, as much as possible, of the Passover lamb in the light of the old Jewish traditions known at that time, and the passion, crucifixion and resurrection, in order to know its significance in the life of the catholic (universal) or global Church and in the life of each of its members. The Passover and the old traditions In the days of the first Adam, his two sons offered two different offerings to the Lord. Abel, as a hunter, offered a blood sacrifice, as atonement for his sins, which he obtained after his parents; while Cain, as a worker in the land, brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the land. Anyhow, humanity received those two actions and disfigured them through deviation from the Divine way. The nomadic Bedouins used to splash the sign of blood over their tents thinking that it chases away the evil spirits. On the other hand, the tribes working in agriculture adopted a different tradition; they abstain from eating leavened bread for several days at the beginning of the new agricultural season, lest the leaven of the old crop get into the new one. Thus, they start a new year with new food and a new life. Let us note that those two rites (splashing the blood and abstaining from leavened bread) had their origin in pure faith; yet, humanity deviated from their way of faith. Therefore, the rite of Passover came to turn them back to the right way. The Passover carries the ‘sign of blood’, with the concept of reconciliation between God and man, through the blood of the Redeemer. The believer feels himself like a Bedouin with no place here to settle down in a permanent Passover, in a continuous movement toward the higher Jerusalem. He puts blood on the two 67 doorposts and on the lintel, namely, on his heart and mind, not to drive away the evil spirits but to pass over with all his thoughts and feelings to the Fatherly bosom, through his union with the Savior, defeating the hosts of evil under his feet. As to the second rite, eating only unleavened bread, and removing the leaven from his house, it concerns the life of the believer, who, although in a permanent movement toward heaven and in a state of sojourning on earth, he feels within his heart that he is leaning restfully on the bosom of the Lord, working in the vine of the new land. Hence, he eats unleavened bread for the seven days of the week; that is, he keeps on eating, all the days of the week or all the days of his life, the new food that never gets old. He continuously enjoys the new life and the food of the angels and sing the new praise, saying with the apostle, “Behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5.17). It is amazing how the Church, in her celebration of the feast of Passover (Resurrection), has practiced since the early days two integrated rites together: the Baptism of the catechumens (the new converters to Christianity), and the Eucharist1. In the eve of the Passover, the Bishop baptizes the catechumens, to let them bear the sign of blood on their inner foreheads and in their hearts, to enjoy the reconciliation with God the Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, by His Holy Spirit, and to enjoy the spirit of sonhood, that will help them cross over to the Divine glories. Then, they would approach, together with the rest of the believers to partake of the other rite, the Eucharist, in which the Church, striving on earth, appears as though she, amid her strife, has settled down around the eternal divine altar, feeding on the forever new unleavened bread and enjoying the Holy Body and Blood, that would never get old. This is our new Passover, the shadow and symbol of which the old Passover bore. A personal Passover God commanded the whole congregation to keep the Passover. It is the Passover of all the Church united to her Groom. Later on, He commanded to hold it only in Jerusalem, the city that carries His name, as it is a Passover of the Lord. That vivid collective image did not ignore the personal role of every member of the congregation. On the contrary, it concentrated on it through the union of every member with the congregation. Not only did God command that every house should be splashed with blood, but He also committed every man and woman to eat the flesh of the Passover lamb, roasted on fire. The act of eating here is a sign of a personal relationship and of personal partaking of that rite. Indeed, it was not possible for the babies to take part of it; yet, they attended the rite and rejoiced in it, besides getting saved through the faith of their parents, who partake in eating the flesh of the Passover lamb. It was not just a matter of the crossing over of the congregation as a whole, but for every individual person, whether it be a man, woman, or child. Even after the crossover, while keeping the feast year after year, every single partaker of that feast is considered to have personally enjoyed the fellowship of faith together with those who have been saved and received a portion of the freedom gained by the early fathers. In the Book of Exodus it is said, “You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread... for in it (you) came out of Egypt” (23.15), addressing every single member of the congregation, as though he or she came out of Egypt. And in the Book of Deuteronomy, it is said, “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of 1 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. St. Cyril of Jerusalem. 68 Egypt by night” (16.1). That command was addressed to every believer along the ages, as though he/she has come together with the early fathers by night out of the land of Egypt. That is also confirmed by the Jewish tradition. For example, it is mentioned in the ‘Didache’1 that the forefathers were not saved alone; but, while saving them, he saved us as well. It is not only one enemy that confronts us to defeat us. The blessed Holy One saves us from their hands. Therefore, celebrating the feast of Passover, even in the sound Jewish thought, carried an inner trend that touches the believer’s life and his personal relationship with God through his union with the congregation. It is the same thing meant by the Church, as it celebrates the new feast of Passover, in order for every believer to enter into the enjoyment of the new resurrected life through crossing and settling in the bosom of God as a member in the holy congregation. From the Law to the Messiah The feast of Passover had its special rites for the Jews, recorded in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Exodus, that carries certain other traditions that included prayers of blessing, praises and certain psalms, mentioned in the ‘Mishnah’2, (which I previously dealt with)3 as well. That feast was rich in its memories and promises that carried God’s care for man, especially through the salvation presented by the Messiah. They used to recognize that night as an anniversary of the creation of the world, of the circumcision of Abraham, the sacrifice of Isaac, the release of Joseph from the prison, the anticipated release from captivity, the appearance of the Messiah, the coming of Moses and Elijah, the resurrection of the fathers and the end of the world4. That is why the Lord Christ offered Himself a Passover to the world in the feast of Passover, in order to proclaim that the Truth swallows up the symbol and brings it on to the consummation of its goal. Father Melito Bishop of Sardis5 says that the secret of Passover is realized in the body of the Lord. He was led like a lamb and was slain like a she-goat saving us from the bondage of the world (Egypt) and setting us free of the servitude of the devil (Pharaoh), putting his seal on our souls by His Spirit, and on our body members by His blood. He is the One who brought us from servitude to freedom, from darkness to light, from death to life and from oppression to eternal Kingdom. He is our Passover to salvation. He is the silent Lamb that was taken out of the flock, slain in the evening and buried by night. Therefore, that feast was bitter. As said in the Holy Book, “You shall eat unleavened bread with bitter weeds.” (Exod. 12.8). Bitter for you were the nails that were used. Bitter was the tongue that blasphemed. Bitter was the false testimony that you uttered against Him. He also asks us to contemplate how the secret of Passover is new and old, eternal and mortal, non-corruptible and corruptible. It is old according to the Law and new according to the Logos (the Divine Word). It is mortal through the symbol, and 1 It means ‘behavior’ or ‘way’. It is a work that contains an interpretation of the Law presenting behavioral principles. See: Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. Tradition And Orthodoxy. 1980. 2 The Mishnah is a word that means ‘repetition’ or ‘the second Law’. It is a collection of oral Jewish legal traditions. It was collected by Rabbi Judas El-Emir nearly in 200 AD It includes the opinions of the rabbis and teachers. See: Fr. Tadros. Y. Malaty. Orthodox Traditions. 1980. 28. 3 Fr. Tadros y. Malaty. Christ in the Eucharist. 1973. 4 Ibid. 5 One of the fathers of the second century AD. 69 eternal in the words of grace; corruptible through the death of the lambs, and noncorruptible through the life of the Lord. So are the sacrifice of the lambs, the rite of Passover and the letter of the Law; all of which have been realized in Jesus Christ. In place of the Law came the Logos; thus the old became new; the commandment became grace; and the symbol became fact1. From the earthly Passover to the heavenly Passover St. Hippolytus of Rome says that the Jews celebrate the earthly Passover; yet, they deny the heavenly one. As for us, we celebrate the heavenly Passover crossing over the earthly one. The Passover they celebrate is a symbol of the salvation of the firstborns of the Jews. The firstborns of the Egyptians died; while the Jewish firstborns were saved because they were protected by the symbol, by the blood of the Passover sacrifice. Nevertheless, the Passover we celebrate brings salvation to all people, starting with the firstborns who are saved and thus enjoy life2. St. Ambrose says, And now, as you celebrate the Pascha, the holy Passover, you should know, O brethren, what the ‘Pascha’ is! Pascha means ‘Passover’. This feast is so called, as in it, the Son of God passed over from this world to His Father. What would be the benefit from celebrating this feast, if you do not follow the example of Him, whom you are worshipping through passing over from the darkness of wicked deeds to the light of virtue, and from the love of this world to the love of the heavenly home? There are many people who celebrate and observe this holy feast; yet, they do that unworthily because of their evil because they do not pass over beyond this world to their Father; they do not pass over from the carnal lusts of this world to the love of heaven. How miserable Christians they are! They are still under the authority of the devil, comfortable with his evil... That is why, I am warning you, my brethren, to celebrate this feast, as you should, by passing over. If any of you is still in sin, let him sanctify this feast, passing over from the wicked deeds to the life of virtue. As for him, who walks in a holy life let him pass over from virtue to virtue, and hence, none of you would be passing over3. St. Athanasius, in his festal messages, spoke often of passing over from the worldly Passover to the heavenly Passover. For instance, he says, Now, however, that the devil (Pharaoh), that tyrant against the whole world, is slain, we do not approach a temporal feast, my beloved, but an eternal and heavenly. Not in shadows (or letter) do we shew it forth, but we come to it in truth. For they being filled with the flesh of a dumb lamb, accomplished the feast, and having anointed their doorposts with the blood, implored aid against the destroyer. But now we, eating of the Word of the Father, and having the lintels of our hearts sealed with the blood of the New Testament acknowledge the grace given us from the Savior, who said, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10.19). For no more does death reign; but instead of death henceforth is life, since our Lord said, “I am the life” (John 14.6); so that everything is filled with joy and gladness; as it is written, “The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice” (Ps. 97.1). He also says, “It is not right, my brethren, that it should be delayed, or observed carelessly; but with alacrity and zeal we should come to it, so that having begun joyfully here, we may also receive an earnest of that heavenly feast. For if we 1 Mileto. Pastoral Homily. 2 St. Hippolytus of Rome. Spiritual Pasch. 3 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. The Divine Love. 70 diligently celebrate the feast here, we shall doubtless receive the perfect joy which is in heaven, as the Lord says, “With fervent desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it, until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God” (Luke 22.15-16).” “For to those who keep the feast in purity, the Passover is heavenly food;” “Wherefore let us not celebrate the feast after an earthly manner, but as keeping festival in heaven with the angels. Let us glorify the Lord, by chastity, by righteousness, and other virtues. And let us rejoice, not in ourselves, but in the Lord, that we may be inheritors with the saints.”1 The rites of the Passover St. Melito, Bishop of Sardis, believes that the Law was an introduction to the covenant of grace, not only through commandments and words, but also through the symbol. He says that the words and acts of the rite are meaningless if they are severed from what they symbolize2. This is actually the view of the Church that it received, with an evangelical Spirit, since its beginning. And now, let us speak about the rite of the Passover, as it came in the Book of Exodus, and what it symbolizes, with the help of biblical texts and writings of the fathers. 1- Why did it happen by night? The Lord says to Moses, “About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt” (Exod. 11.4). And He confirms in the Book of Deuteronomy, “For in the month of Abib, the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night” (16.1). St. Hippolitus interprets this saying that the strike took place in the darkness of night, as in the veil of darkness, away from the bright light of the day, justice is realized in the devil and his dark crimes “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord” (Joel 2.30-31), and “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him! Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it” (Amos 5.18-20)? 3 It is as though, while the devil dwells in darkness, the Lord is destroying him in his den. While he is sure that there is no one to oppose him, he will be destroyed together with all his works. The Lord (our new Passover) delivered his Spirit by the end of the day, and entered by night into Hades, to set those captivated in the darkness free, and to bring them forth to the light of paradise, without darkness. 2- In the month of Abib, the beginning of months The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exod. 12.1). It is as though, with every Passover, they enter a new year, to live in a continuous state of renewal within the heart, through the slain Jesus Christ. As the Lord Christ (our Passover) is the head of creation, and is its Firstborn, this month became the “firstborn” of ages and the beginning of the new life. According to the words of the 1 The Divine Love. See: St. Athanasius. Festal Letters. Letter IV, V, VI. 2 The Paschal Homily. 3 The Paschal History. 71 apostle, “Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6.4). St. Hippolytus says that the true sacrifice of Passover to us is the beginning of eternal life1. St. Athanasius says2 that the symbolic Passover came at the beginning of the months but the Lord (the true Passover) came at the end of ages (Heb. 9.26), to proclaim that He is the end and goal of the Law (Rom. 10.4). It is noteworthy that the word “Abib” means a head of grains, as though, through the Passover, the soul becomes the “head of grain” of the Lord, namely, His harvest. 3- Taking the lamb on the tenth day of the month (Exod. 12.3) That was a reference to the entrance of the Lord Christ into Jerusalem, to be kept there, until He offers Himself a Passover for our sake. Choosing the tenth day refers to His coming after the Law (the Ten Commandments) to consummate the commandment that was broken by man, granting us the possibility of its fulfillment. 4- Offering it on the fourteenth day (Exod. 12.6) In the fourteenth day, the moon becomes full. As the sun is a symbol of the Lord Christ, and the moon of the Church, it is as though, through Christ (our Passover) (1 Cor. 5.7), the enlightenment of the Church is consummated, and its splendor is proclaimed. The days of keeping are five (10 to 15 of Abib), representing the five beginnings of the world, in the history of salvation. With it, Adam began the human race; Noah began the new world after the great flood; Abraham began as a father to the believers, from whose seed came the people of God; Moses began the world in the written Law; and finally Christ came on the fifth day to begin the age of grace, in which He offered Himself a Passover having its effectiveness in all the five eras. The five-days also refers to the effectiveness of the true Passover for all those who work during any of the five hours of the day: those who began their work in the first hour, the third, the sixth, the ninth, or the eleventh hour. 5- Inviting the neighbor next to his house (Exod. 12.4) This refers to the invitation of the Gentiles, being the (next neighbor), to share in the enjoyment of the true Passover. 6- The lamb should be without blemish (Exod. 12.5) It should be either a lamb, a symbol of meekness, according to the words of the prophet Isaiah, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its sheerer is silent” (53.7), or “a kid of the goats as a sin offering” (Num. 7.16). The Savior Lord Jesus Christ was called a Lamb, as in the Book of Jeremiah, it is said, “I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter, and I did not know that they had devised schemes against Me, saying, ‘Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut Him off from the land of the living, that His name may be remembered no more’” (11.19). As seen by St. John the Baptist, who said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1.29). In heaven, St. John the evangelist saw Him, “In the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as though it had been slain” (Rev. 5.6). It is perfect and without blemish because the Lord Christ, who is Holy and 1 The Spiritual Pasch. 2 St. Athanasius. Festal Letters. 72 without sin, is capable of atoning our sins by His own blood (Heb. 9.14). St. Hippolytus of Rome says that because the Lord Christ alone, without blemish or spot in every virtue, presents all righteousness, from the beginning to the end. He said of Himself, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3.15)1 Moreover, according to the apostle, we have been redeemed by perfect blood, as though of a lamb without spot, the blood of Christ. Being a male, that refers to His status, as a Groom to all believers (2 Cor. 11.2); “Who has the bride is the Bridegroom” (John 3.29). Being “Of the first year”, means that it should be young and strong to stay new in our lives forever though He is the Old of age, the Eternal. 7- The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it (Exod. 12.6) On the one hand, this had been realized in the Person of the Lord Christ, of Whom it is said, “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together” (Acts 4.27). On the other hand, the Lord Himself was the One who came forward to offer Himself as a sacrifice of love for our sake. St. John Chrysostom says, “But it is not so with Christ. He doth not command this to be done, but Himself becomes It, by offering Himself a Sacrifice and Oblation to His Father.”2 Despite the great number of families that offer lambs all of them share in one sacrifice. However, the Lord Christ had offered Himself as One Passover, for the atonement of all nations and peoples gathering all around Him, as though in one house. St. Hippolytus comments that, as it was the case with the houses of the Hebrews, although numerous, yet counted as one house. Churches, though numerous in a city, they represent one Church. Christ, who is whole, is undivided in various houses, as is said by the apostle Paul, that we are one in Christ3. It should be kept inside the house. St. Hippolytus says that it is one assembly and one house. It is one Church where the Holy Body of Christ is eaten. It is not to be moved out of that one house, or Church. Whoever eats it in any other place will be condemned as a wicked thief4. 8- To be killed at twilight (Exod. 12.6) It is a reference to the fact that the Lord Christ has offered Himself for the world at the fulfillment of ages. 9- The blood to be put on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses (Exod. 12.7) Speaking of the efficiency of the blood, He says, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exod. 12.13) because “Without shedding of blood, there is no remission” (Heb. 9.22). The Egyptians have undoubtedly seen the slaying of the lambs and the sprinkling of the blood and mocked the Israelites for it but they perished. If any Hebrew had tied the lamb to the door, instead of slaying it, he would have also perished, as there is no salvation for us except through the death of the Lord Christ and the shedding of His blood. That is why He says, “Most assuredly I say to you. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12.24). The blood of the lamb was a symbol of the blood of the Lord Christ, without 1 The Spiritual Pasch. 2 The Gospel of St. John. Hom. 14. 3 The Spiritual Pasch. 4 The Paschal History. 73 which there is no salvation. St. Lactantius says, “the Hebrews alone were saved by the sign of the blood: not that the blood of a sheep had such efficacy in itself as to be the safety of men, but it was an image of things to come.” 1 St. Hippolytus of Rome says that the power of the sign of blood is put on the houses as well as in the souls, where the Spirit of God finds its holy dwelling2.He also says that the blood is on the upper lintel, namely, on the Church and on the two doorposts, namely, on the two peoples (the Jews and the Gentiles). St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, believes that putting the blood on the upper lintel and on the two doorposts refers to the sanctification of the three sides of the soul: the mental, the emotional and the spiritual3. Man is sanctified with all his mental energies, desires, emotions and inner feelings. Thus, it was the belief of the fathers, as far as the sign of blood is concerned, that it implies the sanctification of the catholic, or global Church, as well as the human soul as a member in that Church. It is noteworthy that the blood is not to be put on the doorstep, lest it be trampled over with the feet. The apostle says, “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy, who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant, by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10.29)? As to our fight in order to enjoy the fruit of that blood, St. Athanasius says, “we should use more prolonged prayers, and fastings, and watchings, that we may be enabled to anoint our lintels with precious blood, and to escape the destroyer.”4 10- The Use of a bunch of hyssop (Exod. 12.22) “And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood” (Exod. 12.22). The scholars could not reach a definite view about that hyssop; however, the traditional one is that it is the Hyssop plant. This plant was used, according to the holy Book, to purify from leprosy (Lev. 14.4, 6), from sin (Ps. 51.7), from sicknesses, (Lev. 4.49, 51) and for ritual purification (Num. 19.6, 18). It was also used to lift up a sponge filled with sour wine and presented to the Lord Christ on the cross (John 19.29). It is said that hyssop is an aromatic plant that grows on walls and rocks. St. Augustine says about hyssop, “Now this is a meek and lowly herb, and yet nothing is stronger and more penetrating than its roots; that being rooted and grounded in love, we may be able “to comprehend with all the saints what is the width, length, depth, and height (of love)” (Eph. 3.17-18), that is, to comprehend the cross of our Lord.” 5 Through the blood, springing from the limitless love, we are sanctified; it destroys the leprosy of sin. Thus, we receive healing from all our sicknesses; our souls become purified; and we share with Christ His Passion on the cross. 11- To eat it “roasted in fire” (Exod. 12.9) A- The rite does not stop at the splattering of blood but the believers should eat the flesh of the lamb, roasted in fire to unite with the Lord Christ, who went through the divine justice, saying, “My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me. 1 The Divine Institutes. 4:26 2 The Paschal History. 3 Vita Mos. 2:96. 4 festal Letters. 3:6. 5 Christian Doctrine. 2:41. 74 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws” (Ps. 22.14-15). B- We should not stop at believing in the suffering Lord Christ, who passed through fire for our sake, but we should also partake of the communion of His body and blood shed for us in order to have the fellowship of His Passion, to recognize the power of His resurrection and to abide in Him and He in us (John 6.56). C- St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, believes that the food of Passover is the hot and flaring faith1. The scholar Origen also asks us to have the kindled Spirit and cling to the fiery words presented to us by God, as He did with the prophet Jeremiah saying to him, “Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire” (Jer. 5.14). Let us dwell on the flesh of the lamb which is well cooked, so that those who partake of it would say with the two disciples of Emmaus, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us” (Luke 24.32)? 2 D- It was the custom to roast the lamb on two crossing iron bars that symbolize the cross. 12- “Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water” (Exod. 12.9) He wants us to enjoy the divine Word, flaming with fire, and not to eat it raw nor boiled with water - not to receive it with a lukewarm attitude (like water), but with a hot spirit, serious in enjoying it. He wants us to receive faith through the cross and Passion, not by a loosely spirit. 13- “Its head with its legs, and its entrails” (Exod. 12.9) As we eat our new Passover, we enter into the head, the feet, and the entrails. We recognize the love of Christ, with the hope of comprehending its height (head), its depths (feet), and its width (entrails); then, we shall find it surrounding us from all sides. St. Hippolytus of Rome3 believes that the head is the Law, which revealed the “secret of the Passover”; the feet are the disciples, who preached peace on the mountains of Zion; while the entrails are the Passover itself that we came to know through the Law and the Bible. 14- “With unleavened bread” (Exod. 12.8) The leaven refers to “malice and wickedness” (1 Cor. 5.7-8), and to hypocrisy. That is why St. Ambrose advises us, saying that if people (the Jews) celebrated the feast of Passover by eating unleavened bread for seven days, every Christian is committed to eat of the body of the True Lamb, Christ, and to lead a simple holy life all along the seven days, all the days of his life. He asks us to be careful to keep away the old leaven, and not remain in it. According to the warning of the apostle, “Purge out the old leaven’ (1 Cor. 5.7); that is to say, purify yourself of it. If you kept yourself away from all the evil, the so-called old leaven, and fulfilled by faith all your resolutions when you were baptized; then, you will be true Christians4. St. Athanasius the apostolic comments on the words of the apostle, “Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5.8) that we should put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man which was created 1 Vita Mos. 2:109 2 Origen. Commentary on the Gospel of St. John. 13. 3 The Paschal History. 4 The Divine Love. 75 according to God, in righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4.22, 24), meditating on God’s law day and night, with a humble mind and a pure conscience. Let us then cast away from us every hypocrisy and deceit and get away from every pride and malice. Let us promise to love God and our neighbor to become a new creation and drink new wine. Finally, let us then celebrate the feast as we should1. Some fathers like Origen believe that the old Passover was connected to the unleavened bread, so as to keep the believers from getting leavened by the leaven of the world anticipating the new leaven of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 13.33). It is noteworthy that the Lord Christ, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, used leavened bread, as He carried our sins in His body. 15- “With bitter herb, they shall eat it” (Exod. 12.8) A- St. Jerome believes that God forbid the use of honey in the offerings; yet, at the same time, He commanded eating the lamb of Passover on bitter herb, as though He does not want us to lead a spoiled life but bear the affliction in this world2. B- The bitter herb reminds the people of the bitterness of the servitude to sin, from which they are set free through the lamb of Passover. C- The bitter herb refers to our commitment to approach the sacrament of the new Passover, with bitterness of heart and spirit because of our sins. When our mouth is embittered, because of sin, our heart would be filled with the sweetness of God’s body and blood. In other words, we do not enjoy the sacrament of the Eucharist without repentance and confession. 16- “You shall let none of it remain until morning” (Exod. 12.9) It is a reference to the sacrament of Passover as the secret of “the new life” and our Church is keen on letting no divine sacrament remain to the next day. 17- “Nor shall you break one of its bones” (Exod. 12.46) This refers to the Lord Christ, who, “when they came to Him, and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs” (John 19.36). St. Hippolytus believes that we can thus recognize His resurrection (John 20.27). He carried the scars of the wounds but it was not fit for Him to rise with broken legs. As the bones of the Lord were not broken, it is fit for us to receive the “Word of God”, that we eat, kindled with fire, without breaking its bones - to understand it, not in a killing human literal way but through the constructive Spirit. As the bones of the Passover are not broken, so also the righteous united with the Lord Christ their Passover, will have their bones unbroken, as the Psalmist said, “He guards all their bones; not one of them is broken” (Ps. 34.20). Moreover, St. Augustine says that the Psalmist does not refer literally to the bones but the unbreakable living faith. He proves that by the right-hand robber, who although the bones of his feet were broken, yet the bones of his soul were kept by the Lord. In the moments of bitter affliction he abided in the faith to be worthy to enter paradise, to be kept in the hands of God3. 18- They will eat, ready to depart (Exod. 12.11) “You shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste; It is the Lord’s Passover” (Exod. 12.11). 1 Ibid. 2 St. Jerome. Ep. 128:2. 3 Expositions on the Psalms. Ps. 34. 76 St. John Chrysostom says1 that this phrase has a historical and a symbolic interpretation as well. As for the historical interpretation, this commandment aims at letting the Jews take into consideration that they are going to depart; as though by so doing, they say, ‘We are ready to depart; we are going out of Egypt to the land of promise; we are departing’. As those people were known for their forgetfulness, He gave them that commandment to remind them of the goal of the Passover. On the other hand, In the symbolic interpretation, he says that we also, as we eat the Passover, the Lord Christ (1 Cor. 5.7), we should eat it “with a belt on our waist, and sandals on our feet” in order to be ready to depart and rest. May everyone eat this Passover without looking down to Egypt (the world) but up to heaven, to the higher Jerusalem. Bracing with a belt is an indication of the departure of the soul. Listen to what God says to a righteous man, “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me” (Job 38.3). That is what He also said to all prophets, and to Moses. The Lord Himself appeared in a similar way to Ezekiel (The Septuagint Translation of the Bible. Ezek. 9.7). Likewise, the angels, being soldiers, appear girded (Rev. 15.6). Let us then brace ourselves and courageously stand. We should have no fear because the Leader of our exodus is Jesus not Moses. They were therefore, eating it, ready to depart and to pass over from the land of bondage, heading to the land of promise; they were ready by their bodies (the belt), their hands (the staff), and their feet (the sandals). That is the same concept of getting ready to partake of the sacrament of the Eucharist; in having it, we yearn to pass over to where the Lord Christ is sitting. The belted waist refers to controlling the lusts of the body in order for man to walk, not according to the desires of his body but to those of the heavenly Spirit. That is why St. John Cassian, mentioning that a monk should brace his waist with a belt, he says, The soldier of Christ should know first of all that he is protected by the girdle tied round him, not only that he may be ready in mind for all the work and business of the monastery, but also that he may always go without being hindered by his dress. … For the girding of the loins and binding them round with a dead skin signifies that he bears about the mortification of those members in which are contained the seeds of lust and lasciviousness, always knowing that the command of the gospel, which says, “Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3.5) . The sandals on the feet refer to what happened with the prophet Moses, when he took off his sandals, made out of dead animal skin, in order to be able to enjoy the burning bush. Nevertheless, here he puts on sandals of a different kind, those of the Lord, of which St. John the Baptist said that he is not worthy to bow and loosen its straps. Therefore, let us have the sandals of the Lord so that, as he walked, we do likewise not fearing the thorns of this life or the violence and authority of Pharaoh but to trample over all the forces of evil under our feet. St. Ambrose says, “For he who is about to celebrate the Lord's Passover, about to feast on the Lamb, ought to have his feet protected against all attacks of spiritual wild beasts and the bite of the serpent.”2 The staff in our hands is the rod of God, also called the rod of Moses, and the rod of Aaron. We lean on the power of God for salvation (the cross), hold the rod of commandment (Moses), and practice the spiritual worship (Aaron). Some fathers see, in the staff, the hope on which the soul leans, on her way to heaven, to cast away the 1 Homilies on the Epistle to the Ephesians. Hom. 23. 2 Concerning Repentance. 2:3. 77 destructive threats of the devil, as a traveler does to chase away dogs with his staff. Finally, St. Athanasius the apostolic speaks of the readiness to that trip saying, “Our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Light, Who instead of a staff, is our scepter, instead of unleavened bread, is the bread which came down from heaven (Eph. 6.15), … and Who, to speak briefly, by all these hath guided us to His Father.” 1 As to eating it in haste (Exod. 12.11), St. Hippolytus says that whoever approaches that great and exalted body should be watching and fasting; 2 he should be ready to set forth. 19- “You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations” (Exod. 12.14) This is a confirmation of the eternal Passover. It also aims at letting the old people anticipate for the coming of the true Passover, whose blood will be forever sanctified. 20- “No outsider shall eat it” (Exod. 12.43, 48) No uncircumcised should partake of it, only the circumcised. Therefore, nobody can enjoy communion of the holy sacraments, except he who gained the spiritual circumcision, the Baptism by which he became a son to God, having the right to unite with Him in Christ Jesus. St. Athanasius the apostolic says, But the deceitful, and he that is not pure of heart, and possesses nothing that is pure shall assuredly, being a stranger, and of a different race from the saints, be accounted unworthy to eat the Passover, for “No foreigner shall eat it.” Thus Judas, when he thought he kept the Passover, because he plotted deceit against the Savior, was estranged from the city, which is above, and from the apostolic company. For the law commanded the Passover to be eaten with due observance; but he, while eating it, was sifted of the devil who had entered his soul (John 13.27).” 3 21- “It is the Lord’s Passover” (Exod. 12.11) The Holy Book differentiates between the “Lord’s Passover”, and the “Jews’ Passover”. In the Law, He does not say, ‘your Passover’ or ‘The Jews’ Passover’, but He says ‘The Lord’s. Notwithstanding, when the people fell into evil and lived without repentance, He refers it to them4 saying, “The new moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates” (Isa. 1.13-14). The scholar Origen noticed that this thing happens with all sorts of worship, calling the Sabbath, “the Lord’s Sabbath”; and in the Book of Numbers, He says, “My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time” (Num. 28.1). He also calls the people “My people”; yet, when they deviated from worshipping Him, He said to Moses, “Go, get down, for your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves” (Exod. 32.7). It has no longer been the people of God but that of Moses. 1 Festal Letters. 14. 2 The Paschal History. 3 Festal Letters. 6:11. 4 CF. Origen. Commentary on the Gospel of John. 12; Athanasius. Festal Letters. 6:2. 78 Killing the firstborns A- The scholar Tertullian believes that the Egyptians have paid the price of what they have done to the Hebrew children by throwing them in the river. The Lord punished them by their own deeds1. B- God allowed all the firstborns to be killed, even those of the beasts with no exception. That is a symbol of God’s work in devastating evil. As for His children, even the hairs of their heads are counted and they rest under His care. C- St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, sees in killing the firstborns a reference to the devastation of every cause of sin, as he says that it is fit for whoever seizes evil through virtue, to destroy it since its onset. By this he destroys every thing that would follow. That is what the Lord teaches us in the Bible, inviting us, very clearly, to kill the firstborns of evil, instructing us to destroy lust and anger and not to be afraid of the sins of adultery and murder (Matt. 5.22, 28). Those two do not come all of a sudden but anger produces murder and lust gives birth to adultery. Thus, by destroying the firstborns (lust and anger), we kill all that would follow. If we take the serpent as an example, by crushing its head, all of its body would be killed at the same time2. 1 Tertullian. Adv. Marc. 2:20. 2 Vita Mos. 2:92, 94. 79 CHAPTER 12 (Continued) THE EXODUS OF THE PEOPLE “Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, ‘Rise and go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also’. And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land” (Exod. 12.31-33). That is how God works in our life. Not only does He call us to cross over to Him, or kindle our hearts within us with the longing to do that but if we persist till the end He also motivates those who oppose us, urging us to go. “The children of Israel asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing” (Exod. 12.35). We saw that this was allowed by God to make up for the wages that was robbed by the Egyptians from the children of Israel during the years of bondage when they built houses for the Egyptians for free. It carried as well, a symbol of the sanctification of energies and feelings that were previously used for the benefit of sin, to turn into tools of righteousness for the Lord1. St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, sees in that action a symbolic portrait of the work of the Church that adopted from the world its philosophies and knowledge, and made use of them. He says that these matters become useful if used to adorn the secret of the divine altar by the riches of the mind2. Many people presented to the Church their worldly knowledge, as a kind of offering, as St. Basil the Great did when he sought the Egyptian wealth everywhere, at the time of his youth, then dedicated all that wealth to the Lord, for adorning the Church, the true Tabernacle3. The stops of the journey The scholar Origen spoke often of the stations or stops of that journey, as carrying the features of the set off of the soul from the land of bondage to the higher Jerusalem. In our present study, and that of the Book of Numbers, we shall try to deal with these stops: Rameses: That was the start of the journey; then, the people set forth to ‘Succoth’. ‘Rameses’, according to Origen, means (the city of corruption), as though the start of the way is for man to get out of (the city of corruption), from motives of sin and evil. We cannot enjoy the journey of salvation, while we stay where sin dwells. In this concern, he says that if you want the Lord to be your guide, to precede you in the pillar of cloud, to provide you with the rock and the spiritual Manna, and to let you enjoy the spiritual drink, you have to depart from ‘Rameses’. The Lord speaks clearly about this saying, “Do not lay for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matt. 6.19); and “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor ... and come, follow Me” (Matt. 19.21). This is the meaning of departing from Rameses and following Christ4. 1 See chapter 3 of this book. The scholar Tertullian. Against Marcian. 4:24. 2 Vita Mos. 2:115. 3 Ibid. 2:116. 4 In Exode. 5:2. 80 Succoth: According to Origen, ‘Succoth’ means tent, as though the believer, as he forsakes the motives of sin, he should consider his life here as a sojourn. He says that as you cast away corruption, and get away from evil, you should dwell in tents which we do not want to take off, but “to be further clothed” above it (2 Cor. 5.4). He would be dwelling in tents, he who runs toward God, free and without shackles or burdens. The number of those who took part in the exodus “The number of the children of Israel who journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children” (Exod. 12.37). This number carries a symbol of the crossover of the Church: “6 x 100 x 1000.” The figure 6 refers to the perfection of human work, as in 6 days, God created the world, and in the sixth day, He created man, His most perfect creation on earth. It is as though man comes, carrying the perfection of his human possibilities, of thoughts, motives, feelings, emotions, and abilities, dedicating his whole body and spirit to God. The figure 100 refers to the perfection of the number of the congregation, as though it is fit for the Church to set forth in its wholeness toward God, leaving back no living member. As to the figure 1000, as we saw in our interpretation of the Book of Revelation1, it refers to the heavenly life, as the Church goes with all its children, with their whole spiritual and physical energies, setting forth towards the higher Jerusalem, with a heavenly thought and a heavenly life. As to calling them ‘journeying on foot’, this means that the Church is in a continuous movement toward heaven, with the Spirit of strife and persistence, with no despair; she would never stop its crossover. Saying ‘besides children’, refers to being “men” who carry steady spiritual fruits.
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