Selah: Consider

The tradition of Passover is a major Jewish holiday first celebrated nearly 3,500 years ago upon the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  It is rich with tradition and known for including matzah, or unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and other symbolic foods to help retell this event in the history of the Jewish people.

It was a privilege when years ago, my husband and I were invited to a Passover Seder held by Jewish friends still awaiting the Messiah. It was a sacred evening for us, both because we knew they had asked us into a private space and because we saw the Lamb of God fully for what He was then and is now in our lives. It was during Season 5 of The Chosen, however, that it came alive for us once again. 

To assure you are up-to-speed, The Chosen is a historical drama created, directed, and co-written by filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, and is the first multi-season series about the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. The production is not full of cheesy scenes or subpar acting but abounds with truths and a compelling portrayal of our Savior, His followers, the Roman oppressors, and the Jewish people, their lifestyle and their traditions at that time. 

It is in Season 5 that what has become known as The Last Supper takes place, the Passover Seder when Jesus meets one last time with His disciples before His crucifixion, warns of His betrayal, washes their feet, offers the bread and the cup, and shares words He prays will best prepare them for all that lies ahead. This scene is portrayed throughout Season 5 as a springboard to all that happened prior to those moments.  

As my husband and I sat in the theater watching the fourth episode of that season, I felt drawn into every moment the actors portrayed related to The Last Supper. The script closely follows the accounts of Matthew and John, as well as the words that Mark and Luke share with us in the Gospels.

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. 

— John 13:1-5

Then, as in Passover tradition, the Dayenu. I remembered it from our time years before at Passover Seder, but something touched me differently witnessing it on screen and spoken by those representing the disciples.  

The Dayenu is a song traditionally sung during the Passover dinner during the retelling of the story of the exodus. Its stanzas list a series of kindnesses God performed for the Jewish people during and after the exodus itself and concludes each with the responsive Dayenu, or the words “it would have been enough”: 

If He had taken us out of Egypt and not made judgments on them [the Egyptians],
it would have been enough. 

If He had made judgments on them and had not made [them] on their gods,
it would have been enough. 

If He had destroyed their idols and had not given us their wealth,
it would have been enough. 

If He had given us their wealth and had not split the Sea for us,
it would have been enough. 

If He had split the Sea for us and had not taken us through it on dry land,
it would have been enough. 

If He had taken us through it on dry land and not drowned our enemies,
it would have been enough. 

If He had drowned our enemies and had not supplied our needs in the desert for forty years,
it would have been enough. 

If He had supplied our needs in the desert and had not given us the Torah,
it would have been enough. 

If He had given us the Torah and had not brought us into the land of Israel,
it would have been enough. 

If He had brought us into the land of Israel and had not built us the Temple,
it would have been enough. 

The Dayenu traditionally ends with the blessing of the Temple, but in the related scene in The Chosen, the actor playing Big James adds a new verse. Crying, he intensifies the moment with the following: “If He had only built the holy temple and not sent the Messiah in our lifetime, it would have been enough – we would have waited, but You chose us, and it is enough.” 

Personal. Big James’s addition made the Dayenu personal… not only for those around the table, but for us – also His chosen. 

Then, in a later scene which happened prior to the Passover meal with the disciples, this: In a nonbiblical account through what seems a Divinely inspired script, Jesus gathers His female followers around a similar table. He thanks each personally and specifically for how they served Him along the way, He asks them to keep their distance during the next few days, including during the Passover celebration, because He would impart special words to His disciples. 

It is the women’s response, which includes a version of the Dayenu based on their experiences with Jesus, that most caught my attention: 

Mother Mary: If I had only been given the joy of holding you in my arms and you had not performed signs and wonders, it would have been enough. 

Mary Magdalene: If you had only performed signs and wonders and not called me by name, it would have been enough. 

Eden (woman portraying Peter’s wife): If you had only healed Mary of demons and not called my husband, it would have been enough. 

Tamar (a foreigner often slandered): If you had only called Simon Peter and not healed my friend, it would have been enough. 

Martha: If you had only healed Ethan and not raised my brother, it would have been enough. 

Mary of Bethany: If you had only raised my brother and not defended my honor when I worshipped you, it would have been enough.

Joanna (financial supporter): If you had only defended Mary but not given meaning to my life that had been so unfulfilled, by letting me support you and this miraculous family that I believe will change the world, it would have been enough.

The women’s customized Dayenu of the kindnesses Jesus had specifically shown each of them caused me to think of the enormous kindnesses Jesus has shown me*. Not required. Nonobligatory. Noncompulsory. And probably more expected than I wish to admit. I was gutted. It seems we all should be. Every under-shepherd. Each one of us who have experienced receiving blessings we do not deserve. All of us knowing that when we understand the blessing of being given what is not owed or earned, it is our responsibility to do the same for those we influence. 

How does your Dayenu read? Is Jesus enough? Are you sharing that blessing? 

*If He had only entered my heart at the age of nine and had not given me God-honoring parents,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only given me God-honoring parents and had not given me a Christ-centered education,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only given me a Christ-centered education and had not shown me mercy
in an abusive marriage,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only shown me mercy in an abusive marriage and not shown me love as a single mother,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only shown me love as a single mother and had not brought Doug into my life,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only brought Doug into my life but had not spared his life five days after we were married,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only spared Doug’s life that one time and had not given us the blessing
of a son and daughter,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only given us a family and had not spared Doug’s life numerous additional times in the following 40 years,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only spared Doug’s life numerous additional times and had not given us additional children by the marriages of our children,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only given us additional children by the marriages of our children and had not given us the joy of grand parenting,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only given us the joy of grand parenting and had not given us careers and experiences that led to the calling to champion the shepherding message,
it would have been enough. 

If He had only given us careers and experiences that led to the calling to champion the shepherding message and had not given us an avenue to communicate that message,
it would have been enough. 

If He had given us an avenue to communicate the shepherding message and
chooses to give us nothing else,
it will be enough. 

DIGGING DEEPER QUESTIONS:

1. What blessings can you recall personally that you did not deserve? 
2. What undeserved blessings can you recall from leading the sheep in your life? 
3. How does your Dayenu read? Take time to write it aloud to somewhere.