Review: Messiah in the Passover

Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser. Messiah in the Passover.  Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, May 12th 2017. 384 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Kregel | Amazon

Have you ever wondered about how the Jewish Passover anticipate the Messiah?  Or perhaps you might wonder what is the connection between the Passover and the Lord’s Supper?  Or maybe you realized you simply don’t know anything about the Jewish Passover and you want to learn more about it and wonder what might be an available resource to learn more?  If so this is the book for you.

The two editors Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser both did a good job compiling a highly qualified team to write on the topic of the Messiah and the Passover. I was quite impressed with the contributors and their background.  The book consists of five parts.  Part 1 which consists of five chapters presents the “Biblical Foundations” and really it is a biblical theology of the Passover from the Torah to the New Testament.  I enjoyed this portion immensely.  Part 2 is titled “Passover and Church History” which consists of three chapters.  Then in Part 3 we have two chapters that explore “Jewish Tradition and the Passover.”  The next four chapters make up part 4 of the book which is “Communicating the Gospel through the Passover.”  Finally Part 5 is on “Celebrating Messiah in the Passover” which is made up of four chapters.  After the conclusion the book also have 9 helpful appendices that include charts, maps and further explanations.

I really enjoyed Part 1, 3 and 4 of the book.  That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the other parts of the book but these three sections stood out.  First off I appreciate the book providing a biblical theology of the Passover; I often think the Passover is exclusively the domain of the law of Moses but the book did a good job showing how it is important and shows up elsewhere in the Old and New Testament.  The discussion about the Jewish Tradition and the Passover also provided much needed additional background that I didn’t know before reading this book.  In fact I felt every other page I was learning something new that I didn’t know before until I read the book.  The book touches on a diverse aspect of the Passover from the Bible, church history, Jewish tradition and the actual practice and the preparation for the Passover and its incredible this was all done in a single volume.

In terms of constructive criticism there was time I felt what I read in one chapter was already covered in the previous chapter.  Also the book went on too long concerning anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish prejudices; don’t get me wrong I’m not anti-Jewish but after reading extended discussion about it I wonder if it went a bit too tangent from the book’s purpose, though I admit it was fascinating and morally right of the contributors to speak out against what is wrong.  Also at times things were repetitive and a large factor for that is because the chapters were written by different contributors rather than just one individual.  Also I’m not fully convinced that a Christian observance of the Passover is something for today in the church age although I think it is helpful and a powerful witness if it is done for the purpose of seeing it and being taught of how it leads us to Christ.  Everything I said in terms of constructive criticism shouldn’t be taken that this book is bad; on the contrary all the contributors did an excellent job on a topic that historically has been misunderstood by Christians and which contemporary Christians today still largely haven’t appreciate just how it anticipates the Messiah.  Get this book and read it to grow in your deeper love for God, the Messiah, the Gospel and how God used the nation of Israel as a vehicle for His redemptive plan.

NOTE: This book was provided to me free by Kregel Publications without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.