Dear Thirdwoe,
I will definitely defer to your knowledge and experience regarding church rituals, as I'm unacquainted with them. I'm sure I could learn a great deal from you on these. But my understanding of Scripture would cause me to repeat either Gregory or Ronen's comment up above:
"Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Yeshua, saying, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" (Mat 26:17ff)
I'm of the opinion that Yeshua ate the Passover with his disciples, not some other "Last Supper." But I'm not sure that this is relevant to the discussion about 1Co. 5:7-8 anyway. There, as in Mat 26, the terms for the Torah-based festivals, Passover and Unleavened Bread are explicitly stated in the text ("petzkha / patira").
I simply see no way around the conclusion that followers of Yeshua, whether Jewish or Gentile, are expected (by God's Word) to obey His commands; but more relevantly to this discussion, that Paul was specifically referring to the annual observance of Passover / Unleavened Bread. That was my concern with the Peshitta on this passage to begin with.
Note, I believe that the term "Passover" had become metonymic for the entire seven-day period that included Unleavened Bread (see Mat 26:17, Act 12:3-4), so that by saying "Passover" you could be referring to anytime during the Feast of Unleavened Bread also. But Mat 26 states that it was the Passover that they ate (Mat 26:19), and I don't see any way around that.
As for Christ's instruction to "do this in remembrance of me," I don't think any frequency was ever assigned to that, and I personally don't know if it matters whether leaven is used or not. I think that it only makes sense to remember Christ especially on the feast of Passover every year (if you observe it), since he is the "lamb" that was sacrificed for us (Isa 53, Jo. 1:29, 1Pe. 1:19, etc.).
Some Hebrew followers of Yeshua do "communion" every Friday night at the onset of the Sabbath. Personally, I like to try and remember his sacrifice anytime I eat. But if pressed for the most literal, scriptural means of observing Christ's command, I would certainly point to the annual Passover seder as the most direct fulfillment.
Thanks, by the way, for your continued study, love, and pursuit of the Scriptures--primarily the Peshitta. I'm interested to hear of any updates that you have regarding your projects.
Shlama,
Thomas
I will definitely defer to your knowledge and experience regarding church rituals, as I'm unacquainted with them. I'm sure I could learn a great deal from you on these. But my understanding of Scripture would cause me to repeat either Gregory or Ronen's comment up above:
"Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Yeshua, saying, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" (Mat 26:17ff)
I'm of the opinion that Yeshua ate the Passover with his disciples, not some other "Last Supper." But I'm not sure that this is relevant to the discussion about 1Co. 5:7-8 anyway. There, as in Mat 26, the terms for the Torah-based festivals, Passover and Unleavened Bread are explicitly stated in the text ("petzkha / patira").
I simply see no way around the conclusion that followers of Yeshua, whether Jewish or Gentile, are expected (by God's Word) to obey His commands; but more relevantly to this discussion, that Paul was specifically referring to the annual observance of Passover / Unleavened Bread. That was my concern with the Peshitta on this passage to begin with.
Note, I believe that the term "Passover" had become metonymic for the entire seven-day period that included Unleavened Bread (see Mat 26:17, Act 12:3-4), so that by saying "Passover" you could be referring to anytime during the Feast of Unleavened Bread also. But Mat 26 states that it was the Passover that they ate (Mat 26:19), and I don't see any way around that.
As for Christ's instruction to "do this in remembrance of me," I don't think any frequency was ever assigned to that, and I personally don't know if it matters whether leaven is used or not. I think that it only makes sense to remember Christ especially on the feast of Passover every year (if you observe it), since he is the "lamb" that was sacrificed for us (Isa 53, Jo. 1:29, 1Pe. 1:19, etc.).
Some Hebrew followers of Yeshua do "communion" every Friday night at the onset of the Sabbath. Personally, I like to try and remember his sacrifice anytime I eat. But if pressed for the most literal, scriptural means of observing Christ's command, I would certainly point to the annual Passover seder as the most direct fulfillment.
Thanks, by the way, for your continued study, love, and pursuit of the Scriptures--primarily the Peshitta. I'm interested to hear of any updates that you have regarding your projects.
Shlama,
Thomas