Passover is the first of seven biblical Feasts which the Lord calls his
people to celebrate (Leviticus 23): Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits,
Weeks, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Booths. These feasts celebrate the
different stages in the process of Redemption.
(Leviticus 23:4-5) These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, the holy convocations,
which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. (5) In the first month,
on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover.
In the Bible, the first month is also known as the month of Nissan. The
14th day of Nissan, at sunset, Passover is celebrated. This is a
divine appointment; a day to celebrate with the family what God has done for
us. Passover is the celebration of the beginning of our Redemption.
By definition, “redemption”
is the payment or ransom that is given to release a person from captivity or slavery.
Historically, Passover celebrates the day when God paid the price for
the freedom of His people, Israel ,
who were slaves in Egypt .
The price for that freedom was paid with
blood: the death of the Passover Lamb.
(Exodus 12:21-24) Then Moses called all the elders of Israel
(Exodus 12:13) The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you
are. 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
Every first born had to die at that time. The only ones that would be
saved were the ones that were covered by the blood of the Passover Lamb, which
died as a substitute.
A CELEBRATION
FOREVER
This celebration was not intended only for that generation which was
enslaved in Egypt ,
but it is also an invitation for all generations…
(Exodus 12:24) You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your
sons forever.
(Exodus 12:14) This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep
it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you
shall keep it as a feast.
The invitation to celebrate Passover is for all the believers for one
simple reason: just as God redeemed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt , He has redeemed
us, as believers, from another kind slavery…
(John 8:33-34) They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never
been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (34) Jesus
answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave
to sin.
Today we may think that we are “free and sovereign”, but in the spiritual,
the truth is that all human beings are born in slavery to sin. The only thing
that sets us free us from sin is the blood of the Lamb. The Lord not only
forgives our past sins, but he also redeems us from a life of sin, so that we
can live a righteous life…
(1 Peter 1:18-19) knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited
from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, (19) but
with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
God’s redemption is complete. Not only did he deliver the Israelites
from sin, but he also taught them to live in such a way that all would go well
with them and their children.
(Deuteronomy 5:32-33) You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God
has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. (33)
You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you
may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land
that you shall possess.
UNLEAVENED BREAD
Another feast is celebrated along with Passover: the Feast of Unleavened
Bread. This celebration lasts seven days in which no leaven is eaten. In the
Bible, leaven represents sin. This week “without leaven” represents the
compromise of the believer to live a pure life, without sin.
After recognizing that Jesus died for us on the cross, and paid for our
debt of sin, we must be grateful for the high price that He had to pay. Jesus
died on the cross to cleanse us from our sins… so now it is our turn to
respond, to make a compromise to live a life worthy of that sacrifice –
“without leaven”, without sin.
(1 Corinthians 5:7-8) Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as
you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
(8) Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven
of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
We used to be slaves to sin… but when we believe in Jesus, his blood
cleanses us from all sin. Not only that, but he also helps us transform our
lives. Instead of being slaves to sin, we are now “slaves of righteousness”…
(Romans 6:16-18) Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as
obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads
to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (17) But thanks be to God,
that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the
standard of teaching to which you were committed, (18) and, having been set free
from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
After being rescued from slavery, we should not conform to live our
lives as always, but we must seek to be transformed…
(1 Peter 1:14-19) As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions
of your former ignorance, (15) but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy
in all your conduct, (16) since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
(17) And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s
deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, (18) knowing
that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not
with perishable things such as silver or gold, (19) but with the precious blood
of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
With his life, Jesus gave us the example of how we must live from now
on…
(1 Peter 2:21-24) For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered
for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (22) He
committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. (23) When he was reviled,
he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued
entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (24) He himself bore our sins in his
body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds
you have been healed.
IN REMEMBERANCE OF
ME
The last time Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples was very
special, because he explained to them that he would be our Redeemer. What the
Israelites had celebrated for centuries was just a shadow of what He was going
to do in the following hours that 14th of Nissan.
Many say that Jesus “instituted the Lord’s Supper”, however this supper
was not something new, but a millennial celebration in which bread is broken
and wine is drunk, among other things. Jesus was celebrating the Passover feast
with his disciples. What was different in this occasion was that He explained
what the Passover reveals about the Messiah and how He would fulfill it. That
last night Jesus celebrated the Feast and said: “Do this in remembrance of
me”.
(Luke 22:14-19) And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles
with him. (15)And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer. (16) For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled
in the kingdom of
God
Jesus celebrated Passover just as the Israelites had been celebrating it
for centuries. In each step, he explained what the Feast was revealing about
Him. Only a few hours later, He died on the cross as God’s Lamb who takes away
the sin of the world (John 1:29), at the same time that the High Priest was
sacrificing the last lamb at the Altar of the Temple .
The Lord invites every generation of believers to celebrate Passover,
not only to perform a ritual, but rather to thank him for His Redemption and to
make us aware of the life we must live to honor that.
However, this feast is not for
“anybody” but only for believers. It is not a banquet for our flesh, but a spiritual
dinner to meditate on our redemption. This is why Paul warns us not to eat of the
Passover “in an unworthy manner”…
(1 Corinthians 11: 23-30) For I received from
the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he
was betrayed took bread, (24) and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said,
“This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (25) In the same
way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in
my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (26) For as
often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until
he comes. (27) Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord
in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
(28) Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the
cup. (29) For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks
judgment on himself. (30) That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have
died.
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