㉚ Where do we meet God
The Egyptian Pharaoh said he would not release the Jewish people who were enslaved. Hearing the voice of God, Moses warned:
Every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die. The firstborn son of the king, the firstborn son of a slave, and the firstborn son of livestock will all die. At that time there will be a loud outcry throughout all the land of Egypt.
Still, Pharaoh ignored Moses’ warning.
The Jews listened to Moses and smeared the lamb’s blood on the doorframes. ‘Death’ bypassed the Jewish house. Everyone else escaped death. The first son of Pharaoh also died. This day is the 14th of January.
Orthodox Jews living in Jerusalem, Israel, come to pray at the Wailing Wall, the site of the Jewish Temple. Jews hope for a Jewish temple to be rebuilt here at the Wailing Wall. Reporter Baek Sung-ho
Jews call this day ‘Pascha’. It is Passover (逾越節) by using the characters ‘Yu(逾)’ to cross and ‘Wol(越)’ to cross. It is a very big feast for the Jews. This event became a decisive factor in the liberation of Jews from Egypt.
I went to the market in Jerusalem. All kinds of shops lined both sides of the narrow alley. Palestinians were selling clothes, food, and various souvenirs. The pomegranate juice and orange juice squeezed by hand using a machine were delicious. Israeli soldiers wearing body armor and carrying automatic rifles roamed among them. It was just before the Passover when Jesus entered Jerusalem. According to the solar calendar, it is around April.
On this day, Jews kill sheep. Just like we prepare holiday food during Chuseok. It was such an atmosphere when Jesus was in the city of Jerusalem. Each household must prepare a young, unblemished male sheep one year old by January 10th. I wonder if there were some households where killing sheep was a financial burden. Such a house could be replaced with a goat.
The Jews slaughtered the sheep at sunset on the 14th (Passover). Then they soaked the sheep’s blood in a herb called hyssop and applied it to the doorframes of the house. The meat of the sheep was always grilled, not boiled. The Jewish Passover customs contained a long-standing human longing to avoid death.
It was when Jesus walked out of the temple in Jerusalem. His disciples pointed to the magnificent temple architecture and said,
Master, look. What great stones and what majestic buildings are they? (Mark 13:1)
