Why Every Believer Should Look Forward to a Glass of Wine at Passover

I, like most of you, have been listening to and reading articles and blogs comparing our current worldwide situation with the plagues and disasters we read about in the Bible. I know that, for many people, there is a great deal of uncertainty in the air and uncertainty can lead us, if we are not careful, into the realm of fear.

So, this week in my blog, I want to direct our attention to the end of the story, so to speak. In a few weeks, the Jewish people and a growing number of Christians all around the world will be celebrating Passover. As most of you know, Passover is the commemoration of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt.

The way Passover is celebrated is by families gathering around their table having a meal called a seder meal. The word Seder is a Hebrew word that means “order.” The meal is called a seder because the meal’s order is designed to tell the entire Passover story. Each element of the meal leads the family through the Scriptures from Israel’s entrance into Egypt through their miraculous deliverance.

As believers in Yeshua (Jesus), these elements not only tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt, but they also tell the story of Yeshua’s life, death, burial and Resurrection in a powerfully unique way. In future blogs, I will dig into some of these elements because I know they will bless each of you and deepen your understanding of the prophetic power of G-D’s Word.

However, for today, I want to focus only on the wine of the seder. During the Passover meal, the family will drink four cups of wine. Each cup has meaning and represents a promise G-D gave to Israel.

The first cup is the cup of sanctification, which represents the first promise: “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

The second cup is the cup of judgment, which tells us of the second promise: “I will rid you of their bondage.”

The third cup is the cup of redemption, which shares the third promise: “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.”

The final cup, the fourth cup, is the cup of praise, reminding us of the fourth promise that G-D would take us as His people and He would be our G-D.

I am sure that as you read these four promises, you could easily connect these promises that were fulfilled in the Exodus from Egypt with each promise being fulfilled in Yeshua, that is, until we get to the fourth cup: “I will take you …” The reason for that is that the fourth promise of “I will” has not yet been fulfilled in Yeshua, but it will be.

Let’s look at Matthew 26:29 and Luke 22:18:

“But I say to you, I will never drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29, TLV).

“For I tell you that I will never drink of the fruit of the vine from now on, until the kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:18)

Yeshua spoke these words to His disciples at His Passover seder as they partook of the third cup, the cup of redemption. After drinking the cup of redemption, Yeshua says that He will not drink wine again until the day He drinks with us in His Father’s kingdom.

What an amazing prophetic promise that Yeshua shared with His disciples during that seder. His promise was not only for those sitting at the table with Him that evening. It still speaks to us today. Yeshua made sure that His disciples throughout history would know that He is coming back to “take us to where He has prepared” and “make us His people forever” and that He would always be our G-D.

In the book of Luke, right after Yeshua says He would not drink the wine again until He comes to take us to the place He has prepared, He tells us to continue having seders in remembrance of Him. This is why I believe it is so important for all believers to participate in Passover seders each and every year. It is because Yeshua specifically told us to do this in remembrance of Him. Why? So that each and every believer would be reminded, and look forward to a glass of wine.

So, let me encourage you in the next few weeks to find a Messianic Passover seder that you can participate in, or you can join me at mine with my family as I livestream it on my synagogue’s Facebook page. Just look for Brit Ahm Messianic Synagogue. {eoa}

Eric Tokajer is author of With Me in Paradise, Transient Singularity, OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry, #ManWisdom: With Eric Tokajer, Jesus Is to Christianity as Pasta Is to Italians and Galatians in Context.