The Passover

I hate to admit it, but I had been a Christian for years before I realized that the Jewish celebration of Passover had anything to do with my celebration of Easter. I also didn’t know that the service our church called “Holy Communion” was rooted in the Passover dinner. The intertwining of my Christian faith and this Jewish feast had totally escaped me.

Passover is a Jewish feast set up by God some 3500 ago. It celebrates the night that God delivered the Israelites from cruel bondage to the Egyptians. That night was the culmination of ten escalating plagues that loosened the grip of Pharaoh on the Israelites. The last plague was the death of all the first born children in the land. However this plague could be averted if each family followed the Lord’s instruction to take a year old unblemished male lamb, sacrifice it and personally apply the blood of the lamb to the doorposts of their house. “And when I see the blood I will pass over you and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” The result of this plague was great mourning in the land of Egypt and salvation for those who had put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. Pharaoh let God’s people go.

God wanted His people to always remember this pivotal event of their redemption so He established the Passover Feast. God loves audios and visuals to teach His children. He also loves celebrations and families and food. He placed the celebration of Passover smack dab in the middle of families with multi-generations gathered around the table for the evening meal. Food is important. Ritual is important. Repeating stories is important. This is how we learn. He wanted His people to understand the importance of their deliverance so He established this dinner as an annual reminder.

By the time of Jesus the Passover feast was a time of great celebration. It was a time of remembrance and anticipation, it clearly looked back to the night in Egypt so long ago, but it also looked ahead to a greater fulfillment.

Jesus looked forward to celebrating the Passover with His disciples at what we have come to call the Last Supper. On the night before He was betrayed, Jesus not only celebrated Passover but transformed the supper. During the dinner He took the bread and gave thanks and broke it, giving it to His disciples, but He gave this tradition new significance, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Then after the supper He took the third cup of wine, the cup of redemption, and said, “Drink from it all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Jesus brought new meaning and importance to Passover. He taught the elements of bread and wine didn’t just point back to the original Passover night but pointed to the ultimate pass over, His death would bring salvation to many from the bondage to sin.

Then next day after this supper a remarkable “coincidence” occurred. The timing was something Jesus could not have controlled. Just as the High Priest offered the annual sacrifice of the unblemished Passover lamb in the temple as he had for over a thousand years on that one day of the year, at that very moment, Jesus was sacrificed on the cross. It was as if God said, “Pay attention. Connect the dots. Passover prefigures the cross, deliverance from the bondage of slavery points to deliverance from the bondage of sin. The sacrifice of the Passover lamb prefigures the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

All of this connection brings a new appreciation for the richness of our heritage. Our faith is deeply rooted in the unchanging faithfulness of God to His people. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast!

Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You for the beautiful way you weave together the story of redemption. There is such richness and majesty and mystery in Your story. Thank You that You brought salvation to us through the blood of the unblemished male lamb. Give us the grace to trust you and personally apply His blood to our hearts by faith.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen