As Christians, we often neglect to teach our children about the Jewish holidays found in the Old Testament. Although, we are no longer required to celebrate them as Christians, they do have lessons our children can learn from their purposes and how they pointed the Israelites to the coming Messiah, Jesus.
Passover is perhaps the most obvious Jewish holiday with connections to Christianity. Originally meant to help the Israelites remember each year how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, the communion service echoes the original Passover feast (the modern Passover meal is more complicated than the one the Israelites ate right before they fled from Egypt). (Make sure you have all of the ingredients you will need before starting the devotional.)
Read or tell your children the story of the first Passover found in Exodus 12. If your children are older, you may also want to read them the story of the Last Supper found in Luke 22:7-38. Ask them the similarities they see between the food in the first Passover and the food Jesus used to institute our communion. Point out that both involved unleavened bread.
Take your children into the kitchen. Mix together 2 cups flour (whole wheat is most authentic, but you can use white flour if you prefer), 3/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Divide the dough. Have your children knead it and then make flat, unleavened bread ”loaves”. Bake at 450* (260* C) for ten minutes.
Want to add another interesting element to your bread making? Somewhere along the line, rabbis determined there had to be a time limit on the making of unleavened bread. This is because plain flour and water can begin to have a minor leavening effect without yeast after eighteen minutes. Although this was never commanded by God, today observant Jews time from the moment the ingredients are first mixed until the finished bread is removed from the oven. The entire process must take less than eighteen minutes or it is no longer considered unleavened bread. (For older children and teens, this can be the basis of a discussion about the added burdens the Pharisees placed on the people by the time of Jesus and how we must be careful to not do the same.)
For younger children, you may want to explore why the Israelites needed to make unleavened bread instead of ”regular” bread as they were rushing to leave Egypt. Start a recipe of leavened bread at the same time you start your unleavened bread. Choose a recipe that requires the dough to rise twice before baking. Point out that God knew the Egyptians would chase them, so they needed to be ready to leave – and leave quickly- when it was time. Had they waited for bread to rise, it would have slowed them down too much, or they would have left hungry.
As you enjoy your freshly baked bread, discuss what God wants us to remember during communion and compare it to what the Israelites were supposed to remember each year at Passover.