Fourth Cup

During the Jewish celebration of the Passover Seder, the seventh step to freedom, the head of household blesses the matzah (unleavened bread). As part of the thirteenth step, he blesses the third cup of wine, the cup of blessing and redemption, and all present drink it. During the Last Supper, Rabbi Yeshua used these two steps to institute the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

During the traditional Passover Seder, in the fourteenth step, after the head of household leads all present in singing the hallel (praise) psalms (§ 113-118) he prays a blessing over the fourth cup, the hallel (praise) cup, also called the cup of praise, and declares the Seder finished. Our Catholic priests commemorate the end of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by declaring, “The Mass is ended. Go in peace.”

Rabbi Yeshua‘s Passover Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and his Sacrifice on the Cross were one single sacrificeHoly Mother Church teaches: § 1367

The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different. In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner.

Rabbi Yeshua, celebrating his Last Supper, declared, “Take, eat; this is my body” Mt 26:26 and “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Mt 26:2729.

After the hymn, the Haggadah calls for the head of household and all at table to drink the fourth cup of wine. After that the head of household declares the Seder ended, as our Catholic priests now declare, “The Mass is ended. Go in peace.” But Rabbi Yeshua did not drink the fourth cup with his shlikhim or end the Seder. Instead, he led the shlikhim out to the Mount of Olives Mt 26:30.

Later, on the same day in the Hebrew calendar, on the Cross, in the final minutes of his mortal life, Rabbi Yeshua called for the Final Sacrifice to be completed. The same day! From the beginning, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” Gen 1:5. The Hebrew day begins each sunset at the moment the sun falls below the horizon, so the day begins in darkness and ends in daylight, a reminder of our own progress toward “the light of the world” Jn 8:12. The Last Supper began after sundown, the start of 14 nisan. It ended on the afternoon of the same 14 nisan at about three o’clock in the afternoon:

After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), ‘I thirst.’ A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished’; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit Jn 19:2830.

At the very last moment Rabbi Yeshua drank the fourth cup of wine (vinegar is sour wine) and declared the Seder finished. In this way Rabbi Yeshua made the Last Supper and the Sacrifice on the Cross one single sacrifice.

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