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Ancient Mealtime Customs The ancient traditional greeting, still used today, is “Shalom aleikhem” (“Peace be with you“). This is a greeting used by Yeshua on a daily basis – part of everyday life. The normal response is, “And with you, peace”. These are normally said with a slight bow of the head. With hands on each other’s shoulders they kiss on the cheeks. Making guests feel welcome and at ease is extremely important. The offering of this gift of hospitality might be achieved in one or more of the following ways: Y Wash the dust from their feet; Y Anoint their head with fragrant oil; Y Give them a cup of cold water; Y Burn fragrant incense when they arrive; Y Seat the guest in the seat of honour; Y Offer them the “sop” during the meal. During the meal the greatest honour is to serve your fellow guests. Each person will often pass the dishes nearest them to others further away. If asked to pass something they would respond (to this asking of a favour) with, “You do me honour” when passing the dish. The Room Yeshua Used Yeshua kept the location of his last Passover meal secret until the last minute (cf Mt.26:17). Even when asked specifically he gave Peter & John directions that would only reveal the rooms location to them. There are a number of possible reasons for this. The most probable are: Y He did not wish Judas to know the location ahead of time; Y He did not wish his last Seder (Passover Meal) to be interrupted; Y All these were prompted by divine prudence and foreknowledge. The room that Yeshua tells Peter & John to ask for is a normal, humble guest chamber. However the house-master gives the most honoured room in the house. It is possible that the house belonged to Mark’s father (cf. Acts 12). This room is not only made available to Yeshua – it is furnished and prepared. This suggests that only two things are left remaining for Peter & John to do. The first of these is the “search for the leaven” where the they would check very carefully that the room was free of all yeast products and crumbs. The second thing remaining to be done would be the sacrificial killing of the Passover lamb itself. For this last Peter & John would have joined the vast crowds heading for the Temple. The lamb itself would probably have been purchased by Judas, as the treasurer, on the previous day. This would have meant his legitimately being in Jerusalem and passing the hall of the Sanhedrin. It was here that he arranged to betray his Rabbi. |
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The Passover Yeshua Knew - 1 |
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A typical triclineum (Pompei) |
