Passover
What is Passover? Well, it has nothing to do with the goddess of spring, Eostre, whom we know as Easter. In her honor, sacrifices were offered on the vernal equinox, which is around the time of Passover, each year. The worshipers of the goddess Eostre celebrated the return of light and life with fertility rituals and symbols, some of which still survive in the modern observance of Easter, like colored eggs and rabbits. Christians adopted the name and customs of Easter to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Let us, however, not waste time studying the pagan traditions of man, but rather that which God has ordained, Passover.
If you are unfamiliar with the very first Passover, please read Exodus 12:1-13 before reading on.
Israel’s Passover involved a young and perfect lamb. This lamb was cared for by the family and was then slain for the covering of sin. To kill a perfect lamb that you cared for had to be very hard, as hard as killing your pet dog or cat, I suppose. However sad this may have been, the wages of sin have not changed. In Romans 6:23 we learn the wage is death. We receive life only from death, be it the death of an animal or plant for food, or the death of the Lamb of God for our salvation.
When God commanded the Israelites to paint their doorposts with the blood of the Passover lamb, it was yet another sign of Christ. (Exodus 12) The lamb was killed in the ‘basin’, which was a gutter on the ground in front of the house to prevent flooding. The blood was then painted on the top and sides of the doorframe, and was in a pool at the base of this door. In John 10:9 Christ calls Himself the door. He was covered in His own blood from the crown of thorns on His head, the nails in His hands to the side, and the deathblow nails at His feet where blood would become as a pool beneath Him. The Israelites went in through the blood soaked door on the very first Passover night for safety. In the morning they went out through this door to the Promised Land. We too, like the Israelites did, have a door to go through. His name is Yehoshuah (Jesus). If we choose to go through that door we will have trials, but we will have the promise, and if we remain true, we will see the Promised Land known as heaven.
Passover, the festival of unleavened bread, the Lord’s Supper, was created by God to help us remember. He taught us as we do children, not only with words, but also actions so we might not forget. So, what all is done on Passover? One custom was for the red wine to be mixed with warm water. Making it warm furthered the representation of blood. Participants would also clean their hands before touching each food out of respect for what it symbolized. Psalms 113-118, and other Scriptures, were recited at different points throughout the meal, many prayers were said, and songs were sung. However, rather than speaking of traditions, I’ll stick to a few basics and leave you with further study to do on your own.
Christ celebrated the Passover meal with many different food items, one of which was unleavened bread. Leaven (yeast) is used as a symbol for sin many times in the Word. (A symbol only; much like a wolf is not evil, leaven is not sinful.) Hence, the removal of leaven in the Passover is a symbolism of putting away all of the sinful ways of the old life as a result of becoming a new creation in Christ. We do not put away leaven/sin to be redeemed but rather because we are redeemed. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8) Why did God choose leaven as this symbol? Leaven was a product used daily in the time of the Messiah. This bitter product caused bread to rise up with air, making it appear larger; however, much like a man puffed up with pride, it did not contain more bread, only air. The Hebrews also practiced keeping back a small amount of raw dough to be placed in the next day’s batch. This practice of leaven being passed from loaf to loaf is a symbol of sin being passed from generation to generation. Unleavened bread also has holes and stripes on it, further reminding us of Christ’s death on the cross. Christ also contained no sin, and so the symbolic leaven is removed. God’s perfect plan again unfolds.
There are other symbols from the old way that give perfect shadow of the new way that gives perfect shadow of the Way that shall again come. The bread for the bitter sop (John 13:26) was not the bread He blessed with ‘this is My body’ that came later on in the meal. The bitter herb (often lettuces) was eaten because the Egyptians embittered the lives of the Israelites in Egypt. The third cup of wine, which was taken after supper, (Luke 22:20) was called the cup of blessings and redemption because it had always signified the lamb’s blood. Because of the blood of the lamb, death passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. Death will pass over once, and never return in our lives, thanks to the blood of the Lamb. Christ took the unleavened bread after the meal and broke it, even though by tradition nothing else was to be eaten after the meal. The last thing to be eaten now is the bread, the symbol of the Lamb of God, so the taste and memory will linger. An old Jewish custom was for the boy to give his prospective wife a glass of wine and say, “This cup is a new covenant in my blood, which I offer to you.” Christ offered us a marriage to Him with this Passover wine. Will you accept His offer? Again, there is so much to say about Passover but I will leave it to your study and reflection. (Just please be careful not to get trapped in the deception of man's customs and remove Christ, as so many have, from the Passover.)
But do we non-Jewish non-Israelites observe Passover? Exodus 12:43-45 states that foreigners are not to eat the Passover, but in Ephesians 2:12 and 19 we see that we are no longer foreigners to the covenants of the promise. Now all of us can be members of God’s household. At one time Passover was restricted to those who were circumcised of the flesh but now it has an even higher standard for participation. We must have circumcision of the heart to be under the new covenant of Christ the Lamb. (Romans 2:29)
“cleanse out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, according as ye are unleavened, for also our Passover for us was sacrificed -- Christ, so that we may keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of evil and wickedness, but with unleavened food of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
Passover this 2002 falls on the eve of the 27th of March. The same date according to the Hebraic calendar of the Bible is the eve of the 14th of Nisan, also called Abib, of this year, which is 5762.
What then is communion? In the act of communion, trays of breadcrumbs and grape juice are passed around for people to partake of them silently in remembrance of Jesus’ death in church (unlike Passover) usually every Sunday. Why not a meal? Some say what Paul spoke of in 1st Corinthians 11:29-30 is where the use of very small cups of juice (not wine) and crumbs of bread came from for the use of communion, others say it was because of Luke 22:17-18, and yet I’ve heard Catholics proclaim they started it.
Imagine if you would, what Paul would say if he were at a church of today. Would he say, “Are you people alive? ...Do you think Jesus starved Himself? Where is the fellowship and happiness?” He’d then probably say the same thing he did in 1 Corinthians 11:20 “When ye therefore come together into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.” (KJ21)
Some will say that you can partake any time you wish. ‘So oft as ye partake of it’ they say. Let’s use your birthday as a comparison. If God had said, ‘You are to celebrate your birthday with a big chocolate cake so oft as ye celebrate it,’ would this mean you would have chocolate cake every Sunday in church? Would you celebrate your birthday anytime you felt like it? Do you? We remember our parents daily, we do not need a birthday party to do so, but once a year a birthday sure is nice, isn’t it. Even though Passover is not, in my way of seeing, to be celebrated any old time, we should remember, and remember it well, all that the Messiah did for us on a daily basis.
“And He took bread, and gave thanks and broke it and gave it unto them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me." Likewise also He took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:19-20) Was Christ saying here that whenever you drink wine and eat bread remember Me? What does, ‘this’ in reference to ‘this cup’ and ‘this do’ mean then? It wasn’t ‘these’ things do in remembrance of me, so it has to be referring to one thing. If we look a few verses before this one we’ll see. “Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread when the Passover lamb must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat."” (Luke 22:7-8) The Passover Lamb of God was indeed referring to the Passover…this do in remembrance of Me.
We do not have to follow the customs of man; however, we should observe Passover. Take this appointed time and remember that Yehoshuah (Jesus) was the Lamb sacrificed for our sins. He lived. He died. He rose. In love. Take time to reflect on His love and remember this Passover…and all your days, remember His unfailing love is for you…all for you.
If you would like to study this further, here are but a few verses to read: Numbers 9:1-3, Exodus 12, 2 Chronicles 35:17, Isaiah 53:5-7, Zechariah 12:10, Matthew 26:17-30, Luke 2:41-42, John 4:22 and 13:1, 1 Corinthians 11:26-28, 1 Peter 1:18-19, and many other references like Hebrews 4:15, where we can remember that even Pilate found no fault with the Messiah, and so as spoken in Deuteronomy 15:21, this Lamb was indeed perfect. We gain no merit with God by observing festivals but we do miss out on the depth of God’s perfect plan for our Salvation if we choose not to. The most incredible thing out of all this is God’s constant love displayed in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, for us. May you have a blessed Passover.
(Remember: Not all doctrine is truth, not all truth is doctrine, what I write may be absolute, and what I write be 100% false. Study thy sword and see for thyself. Never take the church’s word for it, nor mine.)