By Michaela Gordoni
THE CHOSEN insiders team is partnering with hosts of the Grafted YouTube channel to explore the relationship between the Passover, Jewish tradition and Christianity.
“What we really wanted to do was to demonstrate this unity of the family between Jew and Gentile because that’s really at the heart of the Passover meal,” Grafted co-host Sam Van Buskirk shared with THE CHOSEN insiders Jalein Abania and Chris Durban in an April 13 video.
“So we want to show that together, and that’s kind of the heart of what we try to do with Grafted, too, is help bring unity to the family by showing the Jewishness of Jesus, and this is just kind of helping us portray that,” he continued.
A key point of the meal is the remembrance of the “story.”
“It tells the story of the Jewish people’s redemption out of Egypt but then it also tells the story of all of our stories of salvation and deliverance,” Van Buskirk explained.
Grafted co-host Dr. Tom Blake clarified that it’s a shared celebration for both Christians and Jews.
“It’s the good news of Israel’s deliverance and our own good news,” Van Buskirk said. “So this is a good news meal, you could say, and so to have a traditional seder, you usually follow what’s called a hagada.”
Matt Rudolph, a Messianic Jew and friend of the Grafted hosts, said, “Hagada…literally means the telling. And it comes from this verse in Exodus 13 and verse 8, and it says, ‘And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, this is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt,’ and so it’s an amazing thing because we’re actually told to put ourselves into the story each generation.”
“When they tell the next generation about God’s mighty deliverance, we tell the story as if we were there.”
Matt likens partaking of the Passover meal to a “multi-sensory” experience, as part of the story is told with each element.
“A lot of our memories are connected to our senses. So smells and tastes, and so when we recall these things, we remember the story, and we’re able to pass it on from generation to generation,” Rudolph said.
“So this is the core way to step into the story, and you can already begin to see that the Passover is really connected to communion,” Dr. Blake said. “So communion is really a mini Passover. So what we’re doing is a long version of communion.”
Related: What Filming THE CHOSEN’s Last Supper Felt Like for This Star
At the last supper, Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me,” and the Jewish people consider that a commandment.
“The Hebraic idea of remembering is not just like thinking about the past, but it’s you call to mind the mighty acts of God so you bring them in front of you in order to act today,” Rudolph explained. “So it’s eliciting a response in our hearts.
“So this is this interaction. It’s eating. It’s drinking. It’s telling the story. It’s talking together. It’s doing life and then with Jesus right in the center of it and his presence with us,” he explained.
THE CHOSEN’s LAST SUPPER trilogy just earned $5.8 million across 2,292 theaters last weekend, according to Collider.
Part of Movieguide®’s review of THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER – PART ONE reads, “PART ONE follows the final days of Jesus as he walks through Holy Week… Jesus continues to share his message and explains in parables why His death is necessary.”
“Nearly every event comes straight from the gospels and is faithfully portrayed,” the review continues. “THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER – PART ONE strongly stresses Jesus Christ’s divinity and the need for his vicarious death, while also highlighting his message of salvation.”
You can watch the LAST SUPPER trilogy in theaters through April 20.
Read Next: Last Supper Season 5 Interviews with the Cast of the Chosen!
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