Review of "Messiah in the Passover"

Messiah in the Passover by Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser.

Since this book is a work by multiple authors (20+) you can approach reading it as a reference work. It is divided into five parts.

Biblical Foundations

I was looking for background on the Passover and how it informs Christianity. This book does that well and much more. I received my copy just before Easter so the information I appreciated first of all were the chapters on the Gospels and the treatment of the questions around whether or not the Last Supper was a Passover Seder and the chronology of John’s Gospel.

Passover and Church History

The Presidential Message on International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan 2018) has been in the news of late, bemoaning the fact that many of our younger generation do not know what the Holocaust was. This book should be on every Christian’s shelf for this reason alone. It contains a wealth of history that is directly related to similar events in the twentieth century that we call the Holocaust. For example, Jews were required to be identified by badges sewn onto their clothing by The Fourth Lateran Council (circa 1215).

Jewish Tradition and the Passover

Although the earliest writings we have on the traditions of the Passover are from the third century, the Messianic Analogies (p. 178) are intriguing and thought provoking.

Communicating the Gospel Through the Passover

The insights and allusions to Messiah in this section are good and communicate well. However more interesting to me is the idea that the words Seder and Haggadah have the meaning of Order and Telling. This answered for my long standing question, how did the Jews as a people survive for millenniums while keeping their identity as a people. I believe this section shows us their calendar and liturgy kept them united. There is a lesson here for Christians.

Celebrating Messiah in the Passover

Practical guidelines for participating in a Passover Seder. Complete with recipes and resources to guide you through your own celebration. I am planning to have one next Passover/Easter.

The end material includes 9 Appendices, 7 indices, a substantial bibliography, a good recommended reading list, a glossary, and abbreviations.

My take away is this, Rom 11:18 “remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you”

My thanks to Kregel Academic for providing me a copy for an unbiased review.