Tag Archives: traditions

Jesus and Passover traditions

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last-supper-655691_640So why do people not want the Last Supper to be a Passover meal?

For some, it comes down to intricate theories about the timing of the crucifixion and resurrection. To make everything fit within the timeframe they propose, the Last Supper has to happen a day earlier than what the Synoptics say.

For others, it comes down to protecting their theology. If you believe that Jesus followed the Torah to the letter, then you’ve got a problem with his Passover. If you believe that “one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law” means that Jesus read the Old Testament through Command-Example-Inference lenses, then you’d prefer that the Last Supper not be a Passover meal.

Because Jesus didn’t strictly follow the regulations of the Law of Moses regarding the Passover. He followed the customs of his day. While the Law instructed that the Passover was to be eaten while standing (Exodus 12:11), Jewish tradition had gone so far as to require that the meal be eaten while reclining. The idea was to eat not as slaves but as kings. The Four Questions used in a Jewish Seder say:

Why is this night different from all other nights?
On all other nights we eat leavened products and matzah, and on this night only matzah.
On all other nights we eat all vegetables, and on this night only bitter herbs.
On all other nights, we don’t dip our food even once, and on this night we dip twice.
On all other nights we eat sitting or reclining, and on this night we only recline.

It’s noteworthy that Jesus and his disciples reclined around the Passover table.

We see in the Last Supper reflections of other traditions that had grown up around Passover: the use of the four cups of wine, the ceremonial dipping of food, the singing of the Hallal psalms.

If you take a legalistic approach to religious observances, you’ll be uncomfortable with the idea of the Last Supper as a Passover meal. And you’ll probably be a fan of the gospel of John!

Photo from Pixabay.com

Traditions, generations, and a warning of death

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abandoned churchThere’s another side to the generational issue. Just as there are young people who dismiss their elders, so there are older Christians who “despise the youth” of those with less life experience. To many, it feels like the only thing that younger generations want to do is change things.

The reaction is often to fight back with three deadly phrases:

  • We’ve never done it that way before
  • That’s not how we’ve always done it
  • We tried that once and it didn’t work

In the end, it boils down to tradition. Dr. Wendell Broom once described the creation of a tradition. He said that there is a problem that needs to be solved, and a solution is found. That solution works, so it is used again and again. Over time, that one possible solution becomes the only solution; tradition becomes law.

This happens all the more in a movement like the Restoration Movement. When so many have staked so much on being right, having right understanding, and doing things the right way, any deviation from tradition becomes (a) deviation from what is right; and (b) a condemnation of what was being done before (and thereby those doing it).

If I’m convinced that I have fully restored the church and made it exactly what it should be, there is no longer room for “movement” within my movement. No room for thought or study. Rather than passing on a passion for investigative Bible study, we pass on conclusions; any Bible study that doesn’t reach those same conclusions is necessarily wrong.

And that’s when movements become institutions. What was an organism becomes an organization. What was an animate being slowly becomes an inanimate object. And death is not far away.

Fortunately, that’s an extreme. Few congregations follow that route to its conclusion. But it should stand as a warning to all. We give future generations room to grow, explore, and learn beyond what we know, or we condemn our churches to a slow, painful death.

photo courtesy MorgueFile.com

Reading with fresh eyes

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Rex made an excellent point yesterday. Too many doctrines have arisen that would never occur to someone who were to merely read the Bible. I don’t think the Bible was meant to be a puzzle that was hard to solve; it was meant to be communication between God and His people in a way that they could understand.

It’s an interesting exercise to try and read the Bible as if we’d never read it before, as if there were no church history and no body of Christian literature. To merely read the Bible for itself. A lot of things take on a different look.

Tradition gets in the way. Culture gets in the way. Preferences and practices get in the way. Preconceived ideas and previous teachings get in the way.

It’s not easy to try and read the Bible with fresh eyes. But it’s oh so helpful.

Some related posts:

Traditional training and prayer postures

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One interesting tradition that we have in churches in the United States is that of bowing our heads and closing our eyes when we pray. I can’t find any biblical examples of people assuming that exact posture to pray.

Any idea where that came from? What are some of the prayer postures you can think of from Scripture? Have you seen any of them practiced in a public setting?

Personally, I get nervous with non-biblical phrases that get repeated too often or extra-biblical practices that come to be the norm. That’s how traditions become laws and innocent people get emotionally trampled over nothing.