The Afikomen and the Third Cup - Maundy Thursday - April 9, 2020 - Text: Ex. 12:1-13; 1 Peter 1:14-21

Today we come and we celebrate. We remember the events of the first Passover. We are reminded of the deliverance of the children of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, but more important, we are reminded of our own deliverance from the bondage of slavery to sin. Today we also, even more importantly remember what our Lord Jesus Christ gives to us in this celebration, that is that from this Passover meal He gives to us a new meal, His own meal, even His Supper wherein we eat and drink our Lord’s body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
 

Last week, Wednesday evening, we talked about the eating of the lamb which foreshadowed the one Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. Today we come to the place where the meal has been eaten, and a couple weeks ago we described the various parts of the meal, the various foods and their meaning. And the lamb has been eaten. After the meal has been eaten and before the third cup of wine is consumed, there is the eating of the bread. Normally the daily meal would consist of one loaf of bread, but on the Sabbath there are two loaves of bread, this was to serve as a reminder of the double portion of manna which fell on Friday for Israel as they traveled in the wilderness (Ex. 16:22). In honor of Passover, a third matzah was added specifically for the Seder.
 

At the beginning of the Seder meal, three pieces of Matzah are placed in a special covering. The middle Matzah, called the afikomon, is broken and only half is placed in the special covering. It is placed in the middle of the covering, between the other two pieces. The other half is hidden until the last part of the Seder. Although this remains a mystery for those of the Jewish faith, for us Christians, the three Matzah are indeed a reminder of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The middle Matzah that was broken and half hidden reminds us of Jesus being broken, crucified and buried.
 

The Matzah bread is a bread that is baked without using leaven or yeast, which was removed before the celebration began and we talked about that several weeks ago. The Matzah bread very much resembles a large unsalted cracker. In its baking, the Matzah bread is pierced, that is holes are poked in it, and it is striped. This piercing and striping remind us of Jesus stripes and piercing during His trials, suffering and death.
 

At this point in the Jewish Seder the afikomon is found and then redeemed or ransomed for a small token, in other words, the leader of the Seder offers some token, a piece of candy or the like, to the children who have searched and found the Matzah.
 

When Jesus celebrated the Passover Seder with His disciples, it was at this point in His celebration of the Seder, on Maundy Thursday, that Jesus changed this and gave us the Lord’s Supper. Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples as an example of what they should do for each other, how they should lead by being servants for others. Jesus had announced that one of His disciples would betray Him and then dipped the bread and passed it to Judas, which we said was a sign of one’s love for another. Now it was the time for the afikomon to be found. Scripture does not tell us of children finding the bread and returning it for a reward, which makes me think this is a more recent addition to the meal. Instead, the bread is brought out and distributed. We are told that Jesus takes the bread, blesses it and proclaims it as His body, “Take and eat, this is my body”. Jesus does not call or suggest this to be a symbolic act, nor does he say or suggest that the bread is no longer present. He says this bread, which He is holding in His hand, is my body.
 

We make the connection to the Old Testament as we are reminded that in the temple, the lamb was sacrificed and eaten. Here, now, Jesus takes this middle matzah, the bread that was broke and buried and declares this as His body. Jesus is going to the cross to be sacrificed, dead, and buried and then risen and eaten. Yes, at the Lord’s Supper we are eating Jesus very body for us, for our forgiveness. This eating ties us to and unites us with Jesus. This eating makes Jesus a part of us.
 

And then the third cup, the cup of redemption is consumed. Following the distribution of the middle matzoh, Jesus takes the third cup, the cup of redemption. He offers the blessings, Ba-ruch, a-tah A-do-nai, e-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, bo-ray p’ree ha-ga-fen. Translation: Blessed are you, O LORD our God, King of the universe, who makes the fruit of the vine.
 

Jesus then distributes the third cup of wine telling His disciples and us that “This is My Blood.” Jesus does not say nor imply that this is a symbolic gesture, nor does He say or imply that there is no longer any wine present, rather He uses the word is. This is my blood. This blood along with this wine, this body along with this bread are the main things in this Supper, the eating and drinking of the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Himself for us, for our forgiveness, life and salvation. This eating and drinking tie us in to and unite us with Jesus the one giving His life, the one being sacrifice for us, in our stead, once and for all for our forgiveness.
 

All the pointing of the Old Testament, all the foreshadowing, all the types are now having their fulfillment, their culmination in what is taking place here. The whole Passover, the whole Seder, the whole order of God’s Word points to Jesus and is fulfilled here in Jesus. Jesus came to do what the whole people of Israel could not do. Jesus came to do what is required of all people and what all people cannot do. Jesus came to live perfectly. He came to fulfill all God’s laws perfectly. He came to fulfill all God’s promises perfectly and He did.
 

Jesus is the ultimate Deliverer, Redeemer. To redeem something means to buy it back or to give something in trade for. Jesus bought us back, He traded His life for ours. He paid the price, the cost, the wage for our sins. As we come to His table, as we partake of His true body and His true blood in His Holy Meal, we are united with Him so that His life is indeed our life, we are perfect; His death is our death, the price for our sins has been paid; and His resurrection is our resurrection.
 

To quote my favorite seminary professor, Dr. Norman Nagel, “The Lord’s Supper is surely what it is when it is the Lord’s doing. He has done Calvary. ‘The passion of Christ occurred but once on the cross. But whom would it benefit if it were not distributed, applied and put to us?’ If you want your sins forgiven you do not go to Calvary, but to the Lord’s Supper. At Calvary it was achieved but not given out. Here it is not achieved but it is given you. As the Small Catechism confesses, the two chief things are the bodily eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ and the words for you. Into mouth and into faith; unfaith can repudiate the gift, but it cannot make the Lord’s words untrue. It can profane his body and blood to mortal consequence” (Dr. Norman Nagel). And so we celebrate and we give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His mercy does endure forever. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.