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What is the Meal of Messiah? Part 3 of 3

As you may have heard Vine of David is publishing the Vine of David Passover Haggadah and the Vine of David Meal of Messiah this year in time for Passover. (For pre-order and general information click here) While most believers in Messiah are familiar Passover and the traditional seder, very few have heard of the Meal of Messiah. To aid with this we have decided to post Boaz Michael's forthcoming article from Messiah Journal 103 on this beautiful tradition in three blog posts.

Click here for Part 1. Part 2.

A Messianic Banquet

The Meal of Messiah is a relatively recent innovation in Judaism. It was only introduced a few hundred years ago, and most sects of Judaism do not observe it. Nevertheless, the concept of a coming Messianic Banquet is as old as Judaism itself. The prophet Isaiah states:

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. (Isaiah 25:6)

Ancient Jewish legend has speculated about the details of this feast for thousands of years. The sages imagine that in the future, God will prepare a feast for the righteous in the Garden of Eden and recline with them at the table.[1] The main course will be the meat of the legendary beasts Leviathan and Behemoth along with wine made of grapes from the six days of creation.[2] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be present at the table along with all the righteous resurrected. At the banquet, God will crown King Messiah. The Talmud says that at the end of the meal, no one will be found worthy to say the Grace after Meals except for the Messiah who will take four cups (alluding to a Passover seder) in his hands and says the blessings.[3] Only he is without blemish and therefore deserving of such an honored position at the table.

Our Master also spoke of this great feast that is to take place in the Messianic Era. He alludes to this when he talks about those who will "recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 8:11). The Messianic banquet is called the "marriage supper of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:9). It is to this banquet that Yeshua refers when he told his disciples that he would not eat of the Passover again or drink from the fruit of the vine again "until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God" (Luke 22:16).

The Meal of Messiah is supposed to be a rehearsal and a foretaste of the great Messianic banquet of the future. As believers, we can keep the custom of celebrating the last day of Passover with a Meal of Messiah, and express in physical form our longing for the great banquet when the final marriage of Messiah and his bride will take place. Our Master taught us to eagerly await his coming. What better way to express our anticipation than with a special meal that foreshadows his return?

A Messianic Jewish Meal of Messiah

For the last several years, my family has been keeping the Chassidic custom of ending the last day of Passover with a Meal of Messiah. Not because we are Chassidic or trying to be more orthodox, but because we have found it to be a delightful, meaningful, and joyful custom to focus us on the real meaning of Passover: the great redemptive work of our Messiah. Each year we learn more and more about it and it takes on deeper spiritual significance. Through it, we attempt to taste the Messianic Era in the here and now. At the Meal of Messiah we eat the last of the matzah and drink four cups in remembrance of the body and blood of Yeshua. We celebrate his resurrection by reading Gospel passages about the empty tomb and his appearances to his disciples. We talk about that future banquet when we will recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--when Yeshua will eat of the Passover with us again and drink of the fruit of the vine with us again. We talk about how we long for his speedy coming, and we sing, and sometimes even dance. The Meal of Messiah has become my favorite part of the seven days of Passover. It's made the seventh day unique and significant for my family.

Each year, at the conclusion of the event, I have thought about how wonderful it would be to share this custom with other Messianic believers. This year, Vine of David is publishing a Meal of Messiah haggadah, The Vine of David Meal of Messiah: The Wedding Supper of the Lamb, to help introduce this beautiful custom to Messianic homes and communities.

Celebrating the last day of Passover with the Meal of Messiah has helped instill in me the idea that, each day, I must carry with me his spirit and fervently work to prepare the way for his imminent return. Maranatha! Our Master is coming!

[1] Numbers Rabbah 13:2.
[2] Rapahel Patai, Messiah Texts (Detroit, MI: Wayne State University, 1988), 244-245.
[3] b.Pesachim 119b.