They prepared the Passover. In the evening He came with the twelve... And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup... and He said to them “This is My blood of the new covenant...”

- Mark 14: 16b, 18, 22, 23a, 24a

God masterfully uses story and symbol to convey His truth. The Passover meal incorporates both – the Exodus story and common food and drink – to tell us The Greatest Story Ever Told.

The Passover Seder plate holds five symbolic food items. Beside this plate is a cloth in which three pieces of matzo (unleavened bread) are wrapped. There are also 4 cups of wine.

During the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, Jesus celebrated a Passover meal with his disciples. During this meal, Jesus singled out two of the above-mentioned items to introduce the disciples – and us – to a new understanding of Passover.

Early in the Passover meal the second piece of matzo is broken and half of it is hidden. In the Bible leaven is usually a symbol of sin. Note that matzo is un-leavened. The broken and hidden matzo represents Jesus' sinless life, painful death, and burial in the tomb. Later that hidden half is returned, reminding us of Jesus’ resurrection.

When the matzo is returned, it is again broken and distributed to each person present. This is what Jesus was doing when He said, “This is My body...”

The third cup of wine – called in the Passover tradition “The Cup of Redemption” – represents God's third promise to Moses: “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.” The wine symbolizes the blood of the Passover Lamb. This was the cup which Jesus held when He said, “This is My blood of the new covenant...”

The Passover meal celebrates the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb and the subsequent exodus of God's people from slavery in Egypt. Jesus asks us to use His last Passover meal—what we now call Communion—to celebrate His sacrifice which provided for our exodus from slavery to sin and the world.

Take some time to ponder your own exodus out of slavery to sin and into life with God. Then, celebrate what the Lord has done!