The four Passover cups

The Sabbath was instituted for Israel in the law of Moses. It was based on the seventh day of creation wherein God ceased to create (Gen 2:1-3, Ex 20:8-11). Around 500 B.C, the practice of having a special cup called a Kiddush cup over which a blessing is pronounced began and was later formalized by the Rabbis. The Passover was also instituted in the law of Moses (Ex 12, Num 9, Duet 16:1-6). In the first century A.D., the practice of using four Kiddush cups in the Passover celebration began. They base the four cups on the four promises God made to Israel in Exodus 6:6-7: "Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians". They are listed as follows:

1. "I will bring you out" - Sanctification

2. "I will rid you of their bondage" - Deliverance

3. "I will redeem you" - Redemption

4. "I will take you to me" - Hope or praise

There was debate among the Rabbis about Exodus 6:8, which says, "And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD." The discussion was about verse 8 should be considered part of the fourth promise or be a separate promise represented by a fifth cup. One solution to this question was to have a fifth cup they would not drink. It would represent Elijah who they believed would herald the coming of the Messiah based on Malachi 4:5. The New Testament makes it clear that this was fulfilled at least in the spirit by John the baptizer (Mt 3:4, Mt 11:14, Mt 17:10-13, Lk 1:17).

The Jews recite the Kiddush blessing which is Genesis 2:1-3 before drinking the first cup. They drink the second cup after reading the Passover (Pesach) story. They drink the third cup after blessing the meal. They drink the fourth cup after reciting the hallel (praise) for which Psalm 136 is recited. It is interesting to note that each of the 26 verses in this psalm end with the phrase "for His mercy endureth forever".

The most noteworthy Passover for Christians is the one Jesus partook of with the apostles the night before He was crucified (Mt 26:17-30, Mk 14:12-26, Lk 22:7-38, Jn 13-17). John's account is by far the longest, but to be concise we can compare the above information about the four Passover cups to Matthew 26:26-30 and find some interesting parallels. The practice of using the four cups started somewhere around when Jesus was here in the flesh. We can't say for certain that He used the four cups at this "last supper" before He died, but there are some interesting points either way. If He did, it can help explain what He meant.

1. Jesus took bread and blessed it at the start. We don't know what words He said, but this

can be compared to the man of the house reciting the Kiddush blessing.

2. The Lord said that the cup of wine represented His blood which was shed for the remission

of our sins. This relates to the cup of deliverance. Also see Psalm 116:12-13.

3. If there was a third cup, it would have been partaken of after the meal as a celebration of

Israel's freedom from slavery. Jesus redeemed us from the slavery of sin (Jn 8:31-36, Rom

6:17-18, Gal 3:3, 1Pet 1:18, Rev 5:9).

4. Normally, the fourth cup would be drunk at the end of the celebration after singing the

hallel. One possible explanation of what Jesus meant when He said, "But I say unto you, I

will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you

in my Father's kingdom" is that they did not drink the fourth cup because it represented

the final culmination of salvation, which was not to happen yet. The Lord did something

similar at the start of His ministry when He left off the last part of Isaiah 61:1-2 which

speaks of the vengeance of the Lord (Lk 4:16-21). They sang a hymn before they left the

Passover meal for the garden of Gethsemane.

Whether or not Jesus did the four cups at the last supper, we can still see some parallels through which we can learn about what He did for us. He is our Passover Lamb (Jn 1:29, 1Cor 5:7). He brings us out of the slavery of sin. He delivers us from the control and ultimate consequence of sin. He redeems us with His blood and makes us His. He takes us to Himself so we can have identity in Him. Someday the final culmination of His salvation will happen for all those who believe in Him and keep His commandments, and everything lost through sin will be restored (Rev 21-22).