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(Exodus 12:1-14; Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 28:16; Deuteronomy 16:1-7)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
History:<\/strong><\/div>\n
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God gave instructions to Moses for the first Passover shortly before the Israelites left Egypt. On the tenth day of the first month a yearling male lamb or goat in perfect condition was chosen to be the Passover victim. On the fourteenth day, in the late afternoon, it was killed and its blood was sprinkled on the sides and top of the door frame of the home. Then the lamb was roasted and, without breaking any of its bones, was served to the family in the evening with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Only the circumcised could eat it. Any of the lamb that was left was burned. Under the circumstances of their imminent departure from Egypt, they were to eat standing up, fully clothed, and packed to leave at a moment’s notice. One year later they celebrated the Passover in the wilderness of Sinai. The next Passover that we have a record of came after they had crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land 40 years later.<\/div>\n
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Finally, when the Israelites were settled in Canaan and God had chosen Jerusalem as the central place of worship, the people congregated there for this and other Festivals, the lamb was killed at the temple instead of in the home, and the blood was sprinkled on the Altar there instead of on the family’s door frame.<\/div>\n
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Significance to the Jews:<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Passover commemorated redemption and liberation – redemption from the stroke of the death angel on that night when God sent the final plague on the Egyptians; and liberation from slavery to a new life of freedom. The angel would “pass over” and spare the firstborn of the family that had the blood of the lamb on their door posts; anyone within that house was safe; the perfect lamb had died to guarantee life; it was eaten with bitter herbs to symbolize the bitterness of their life of slavery; those eating it were not to settle down and relax but be alert and ready to leave at any time for their new home. They had been slaves living under terrible conditions; now they would be free, living under the care and guidance of the great God Almighty who had showed His awesome power in so many ways. It was important that they should not forget what they had come from, and every year they were reminded of it through this service and the retelling and explanation of the story to their children.<\/div>\n
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Passover also turned attention forward to the time when the Messiah, God’s perfect Lamb, would die as the ultimate sacrifice to save His people from their sin and overcome Satan.<\/div>\n
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Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0Hebrews 2:14, 15<\/div>\n
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Messiah would bring freedom and establish a new Kingdom for His people.<\/div>\n
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The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0Isaiah 61:1-3<\/div>\n
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Significance to us:<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Passover is a symbol of deliverance from bondage to new life. Jesus was chosen before the world began (1 Peter 1:20); He is the Lamb of God (John 1:36; Revelation 5:6, 12); His blood saves us (Romans 5:9); we have no protection other than Him (Acts 4:12); we need to personally, individually take (eat, ingest) Him into our lives (John 6:53-57, 63); only those who get rid of sin can enjoy the benefits He offers (Colossians 2:11); we need to anticipate leaving for our New Home at any time (Matthew 24:44).<\/div>\n
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It is good to be reminded of what we have been delivered from (the bitterness and bondage of Satan, the old slave-driver), how and why we are being liberated; then we will better appreciate and anticipate what is in store for us in the future.<\/div>\n
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Jesus died as our Passover Lamb on that Friday almost 2000 years ago, in AD 31, at the same time that the Passover lamb was being sacrificed in the temple, at about 3 pm.<\/div>\n
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Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a01 Corinthians 5:7, 8<\/div>\n
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The Lord’s Supper:<\/strong><\/div>\n
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When Jesus died, He fulfilled the symbolism of the Passover lamb – redemption and liberation from the bondage of sin. He put in its place the symbols of the bread and juice of the Lord’s Supper to commemorate His death and our continual need of the spiritual life He provides.<\/div>\n
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For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a01 Corinthians 11:23-26<\/div>\n
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Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. . . . It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0John 6:53-58, 63<\/div>\n
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Just as the solid food we eat provides the nourishment and energy we need for proper muscle and organ function, and the liquid we drink builds up our blood and circulatory system, so we constantly need the spiritual nourishment that Jesus provides to live and grow and be healthy spiritually until He returns to consummate our salvation. Since we have not yet passed from this old world of evil to the new kingdom and the eternal home He has prepared for us, Jesus Himself said that the full meaning of Passover \/ the Lord’s Supper is yet to be fulfilled in the future kingdom of God.<\/div>\n
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And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0Luke 22:15, 16<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(Exodus 12:1-14; Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 28:16; Deuteronomy 16:1-7) History: God gave instructions to Moses for the first Passover shortly before the Israelites left Egypt. On the tenth day of the first month a yearling male lamb or goat in perfect condition was chosen to be the Passover victim. On the fourteenth day, in the late … <\/p>\n