Back to THE TORAH CONNECTION Table of Contents<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Exo 12:3-14 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Exo 12:21-27 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshiped. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Exo 12:43-49 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is<\/i> the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof. In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Exo 23:18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Lev 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’s passover. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Num 9:2, 3 Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Num 28:16 And in the fourteenth day of the first month is<\/i> the passover of the LORD. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Deu 16:1-7 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even<\/i> the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing<\/i> of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee: But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. And thou shalt roast and eat it<\/i> in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n During these years<\/i> (of wandering in the wilderness) the people were constantly reminded that they were under the divine rebuke. In the rebellion at Kadesh they had rejected God, and God had for the time rejected them. Since they had proved unfaithful to His covenant, they were not to receive the sign of the covenant, the rite of circumcision. Their desire to return to the land of slavery had shown them to be unworthy of freedom, and the ordinance of the Passover, instituted to commemorate the deliverance from bondage, was not to be observed. <\/i> PP 406<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Passover in Bible history–<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Jos 5:10, 11 Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover (it had not been observed since Mount Sinai)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 2Ki 23:21-23; 2Ch 35:1-19 Josiah and Judah kept the Passover in Jerusalem<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Ezr 6:19-21 those who returned from Babylonian captivity kept the Passover<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Luk 2:41 Jesus went with his parents to Jerusalem for Passover when He was twelve<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Joh 2:13-25 Jesus went to Jerusalem for Passover and cleansed the temple<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Joh 11:55-57 people came from around the country to purify themselves before Passover<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Mat 26; Mar 14; Luk 22; Joh 13 Jesus ate a Passover meal with His disciples<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Joh 6:4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Joh 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Joh 18:28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Joh 18:38, 39 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.<\/i> But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Joh 19:14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he (Pilate) saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 1Co 5:7 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: <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 1Co 10:16, 17, 21 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being<\/i> many are one bread, and<\/i> one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. . . . Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 1Co 11:23-29 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same<\/i> night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it,<\/i> 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<\/i> 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,<\/i> in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this<\/i> cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that<\/i> bread, and drink of that<\/i> cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Heb 11:28 Through faith he (Moses) kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The observance of the Passover began with the birth of the Hebrew nation. On the last night of their bondage in Egypt, when there appeared no token of deliverance, God commanded them to prepare for an immediate release. He had warned Pharaoh of the final judgment on the Egyptians, and He directed the Hebrews to gather their families within their own dwellings. Having sprinkled the doorposts with the blood of the slain lamb, they were to eat the lamb, roasted, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. “And thus shall ye eat it,” He said, “with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s passover.” Exodus 12:11. At midnight all the first-born of the Egyptians were slain. Then the king sent to Israel the message, “Rise up, and get you forth from among my people; . . . and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.” Exodus 12:31. The Hebrews went out from Egypt an independent nation. The Lord had commanded that the Passover should be yearly kept. “It shall come to pass,” He said, “when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? that ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians.” Thus from generation to generation the story of this wonderful deliverance was to be repeated. <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Passover was followed by the seven days’ feast of unleavened bread. On the second day of the feast, the first fruits of the year’s harvest, a sheaf of barley, was presented before the Lord. All the ceremonies of the feast were types of the work of Christ. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt was an object lesson of redemption, which the Passover was intended to keep in memory. The slain lamb, the unleavened bread, the sheaf of first fruits, represented the Saviour. <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n With most of the people in the days of Christ, the observance of this feast had degenerated into formalism. But what was its significance to the Son of God! <\/i> DA 76, 77<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This was virtually the last passover that was ever to be celebrated; for type was to meet antitype in the slaying of the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. Christ was soon to receive his full baptism of suffering; but the few quiet hours between him and Gethsemane were to be spent for the benefit of his disciples.<\/i> 3SP 83, 84<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n God gave direction to the Israelites to assemble before Him at set periods, in the place which He should choose, and observe special days wherein no unnecessary work was to be done, but the time was to be devoted to a consideration of the blessings which He had bestowed upon them. At these special seasons they were to bring gifts, freewill offerings, and thank offerings unto the Lord, according as He had blessed them. The manservant and maidservant, the stranger, the fatherless and widow, were directed to rejoice that God had by His own wonderful power brought them from servile bondage to the enjoyment of freedom. And they were commanded not to appear before the Lord empty. They were to bring tokens of their gratitude to God for His continual mercies and blessings bestowed upon them. These offerings were varied according to the estimate which the donors placed upon the blessings they were privileged to enjoy. Thus the characters of the people were plainly developed. Those who placed a high value upon the blessings which God bestowed upon them <\/i>brought offerings in accordance with their appreciation of these blessings. Those whose moral powers were stupefied and benumbed by selfishness and idolatrous love of the favors received, rather than inspired by fervent love for their bountiful Benefactor, brought meager offerings. Thus their hearts were revealed. Besides these special religious feast days of gladness and rejoicing, the yearly Passover was to be commemorated by the Jewish nation. The Lord covenanted that if they were faithful in the observance of His requirements, He would bless them in all their increase and in all the work of their hands. <\/i> 2T 573, 574<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n “The Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake 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.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Christ was standing at the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals. He, the spotless Lamb of God, was about to present Himself as a sin offering, that He would thus bring to an end the system of types and ceremonies that for four thousand years had pointed to His death. As He ate the Passover with His disciples, He instituted in its place the service that was to be the memorial of His great sacrifice. The national festival of the Jews was to pass away forever. The service which Christ established was to be observed by His followers in all lands and through all ages.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Pa<\/i>ssover was ordained as a commemoration of the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. God had directed that, year by year, as the children should ask the meaning of this ordinance, the history should be repeated. Thus the wonderful deliverance was to be kept fresh in the minds of all. The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was given to commemorate the great deliverance wrought out as the result of the death of Christ. Till He shall come the second time in power and glory, this ordinance is to be celebrated. It is the means by which His great work for us is to be kept fresh in our minds. <\/i> DA 652, 653<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It is significant to notice that in the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper, the Passover is referred to as a meal to be prepared and eaten. When Moses gave instructions for the first Passover in Egypt, he told the people to \u201ckill the passover.\u201d (Exodus 12:21) The above statement from The Desire of Ages<\/i> tells us that this ordinance\u2014the lamb sacrifice\u2014was to pass away forever and was replaced by the bread and juice symbols which pointed to Christ, our Passover. (1 Corinthians 5:7) And Jesus Himself says that the symbolism continues to look forward to the time the Kingdom of God will come. Christians throughout church history have celebrated the Christian Passover, the Lord’s Supper.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Second-month Passover<\/b>—<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Num 9:6-14 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: And those men said unto him, We are<\/i> defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel? And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be<\/i> in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and<\/i> eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.<\/i> They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. But the man that is<\/i> clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Second-month Passover in Bible history–<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 2Ch 30:1-20 Hezekiah invited all Israel and Judah to keep the Passover in Jerusalem in the second month<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n For further reading on the Passover, click here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n