A NEW COVENANT PASSOVER?

Yeshua said, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35). He also said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." (John 6:54-58).

Just before his crucifixion, Yeshua told his disciples to go and prepare for the Passover. He told them where to find an upper room that was waiting for their preparation. Because these men were Jewish, they understood the preparation required certain things. Celebrating the feast of unleavened bread required that they clean the room in very specific ways. The purpose of the cleaning was to make sure any and all leavening was disposed of by burning it with fire. What happens next in the Biblical account completely escapes our western gentile thinking. It seems, according to John’s account, that after dinner,(13:4) Yeshua got up and began to watch the disciples' feet. Peter was appalled at this action. Yeshua explained to him that unless Peter allowed this action, he would have no part in the kingdom that was to come. We understand that Yeshua was talking about a spiritual cleansing. Yeshua also told them at this time that one of them was about to betray him. They queried among themselves as to whom it might be. Yeshua told them it was he to whom he would give a morsel of bread dipped in the soup. Here is where we come to the Biblical conundrum.

What was this morsel of bread, (clearly bread with leavening) doing at this Passover? In John 13, verse 18, Yeshua says that one who would eat bread with him is his enemy, and will betray him. The Greek word for bread here, and other places throughout this passage, is ARTOS. It means “a leavened loaf". In Mark's account of this story, and also in Luke's, we see the same word. ARTOS is used consistently throughout the New testament when referring to what Yeshua did on this night. Paul the apostle, when referring to this night, in first Corinthians chapter 11, used the same Greek word. “and the Lord Jesus, in the same night in which he was betrayed took ARTOS, and broke it. How can this be in the light of the commands of Torah? Could it be that Yeshua was giving us a brand new concept that would apply to us as New covenant believers? If that is the case, is this an unprecedented act found nowhere else in scripture? I submit to you, Yeshua is God, and he has chosen to govern himself by His word. In the application of this concept, we must remember that His ways are far above our ways.

Let me ask you a very pointed question. Does Yeshua, as YHVH, have your permission to do things that are above your ways or your understanding? Does he somehow need your approval to operate beyond your way of thinking? We bristle at this, thinking that somehow He has circumvented His own laws. Is this the only place in the entire New testament that this has happened ? What about in the book of Hebrews the where the writer is explaining to us the concept of the “priesthood forever” after the order of Melchizedek?

The bottom line is this : Yeshua is the bread of life! The leavening that is in Him speaks of the newness of life that He has given us. If He chooses to use the concept of a brand new leavening agent, that is His prerogative!

Shalom!