Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Passover
(Click on the
link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 12:1-16; Mark
14:22-26
[Many of the
festivals and sacred days from the Old Testament don’t seem to be relevant for
us today. They may have been significant for the Jews at the time, but not now.
In this series, we’re going to take a closer look at the festivals and sacred
days to learn what the significance was for the people of Israel at the time.
And to learn what the significance is for us today.]
Every year we
order the same thing. It’s a three-course meal with a soup or salad, entrée and
dessert. I love the lobster bisque; the steaks are always grilled perfectly; and
the crème Brule is delightfully decadent. We even get to take the second one
home. It has become an annual tradition to celebrate our marriage.
Israel had served as slaves to the Pharaohs of Egypt
for 400 years when God called Moses to lead his people to the Promised Land.
But when Moses asked Pharaoh if they could go into the wilderness, he said no. In
fact, he kept saying no even when the Lord sent nine plagues upon the people of
Egypt.
Finally, the Lord sent a plague on the firstborn. With
this plague, every firstborn son – from Pharaoh to slaves to cattle – would die!
The Lord told Moses that this would compel Pharaoh to let his people go. But there
was one more detail.
The Lord would spare the Israelites if they followed
his instructions. They were to sacrifice a male lamb and then spread the blood
on the top and both sides of their doorframe. Later that night, the Lord would
go through Egypt striking down the Egyptian’s firstborn sons… but not Israel’s.
Here are the Lord’s instructions for the meal.
8 That same
night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with
bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 11 This
is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals
on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is
the Lord’s Passover. NIV Exodus 12
Moses gathered the elders together and told them
that when they entered the Promised Land, they were to continue to observe the Passover
ceremony and pass it down from generation to generation. They were to remember
and celebrate the Lord’s faithfulness, his mercy and his grace.
14 “This is a day
you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it
as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. NIV Exodus 12
Approximately 1450 years later, a rising star rabbi
and his motley crew of disciples, entered Jerusalem with great Messianic
fanfare, to celebrate the Passover. But that night Jesus shared his Last Supper
with them.
22 While they were
eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and
gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” 23 Then
he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all
drank from it. 24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which
is poured out for many,” he said to them. NIV Mark 14
The Passover that the Israelites observed in Egypt was
a foreshadowing of Jesus. They had sacrificed a lamb whose blood had spared
their lives so that they could be delivered from the slavery of Egypt. Jesus,
the Lamb of God, sacrificed his life so that his blood would spare our lives
and that we could be delivered from sin.
That, my friend, is worth celebrating.
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