Passover

The Christian world has celebrated Palm Sunday, commemorating the day that the Lord Jesus Christ made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It marks the beginning of Holy Week. But why was Jesus going to the city at that particular time? He was going to participate in the Feast of Unleven bread, the Passover.

To gain an understanding of why this was so important in the Jewish culture, we turn to Exodus 11 and 12, when God said He would bring one more plague on Egypt. He instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that this month would be the first month of your year. God said that on the 10th day of this month, each man is to take a lamb for his family and care for it until the 14th day of the month. The lamb must be a year-old male, without blemish. On that day, the lamb is to be sacrificed at twilight. Then God instructed them to take some of the blood of the lamb and spread it on the sides and the tops of the doorframe of the house where the lamb is to be eaten. They were told to roast the meat and leave nothing to waste. If any was remaining, it must be burned in the morning. God told them to eat it in haste, with their cloaks tucked into their belts, their sandals on their feet and their staff in their hands. Why? They were going to leave Egypt.

God told Moses that he would strike down every first born in Egypt, both men and animals. However, when he saw the blood of the lamb on the doorframes, he would pass over that house and no harm would come to those inside. God told Israel to celebrate this day, as a festival to the Lord. For seven days they were to eat bread made without yeast. Yeast was used as a symbol of sin, such as hypo racy or malice. The Feast of Unleven Bread would begin with the Passover and continue for seven days. It was to be a lasting ordinance.

Just as the Israelites were given freedom from bondage at the hands of the Egyptians, we are likewise offered freedom from the bondage of sin, through the blood of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus. Why did the Lord go to Jerusalem at that particular time? He went for the Passover, only this time, God was not focused on the sacrifice of animals. This time God made the sacrifice Himself. The Lord Jesus, a male, firstborn, without blemish, was the sacrificed. After eating the Passover meal with them He took the cup and told his disciples, "This is the cup of the NEW covenant in MY blood." It would be the final sacrifice. All of the righteous requirements of the Law were met in one person. As Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished." There would be no more need to sacrifice. God had done it for them, and for us.

Christians today celebrate the Passover, understanding that the sacrifice was Christ on the cross. In a variety of different ways, believers celebrate the Lord's Supper, or Communion. It represents the body of Christ, who gave himself up for us, who fed us with the Word of God, who took our sins upon Himself. The shed blood of a sacrificial lamb would cover the sins of the man and his family, and seeing the blood God passed over them. The blood of the Lamb washes all sin away, past, present and future. Now when God passes over the believer, He sees the righteousness of His own Son. The shed blood of the Lamb is a gift to us, to wash us clean and make us Holy and Righteous before God.

Good Friday marks the day of Christ's crucifixion and Easter the day when God raised Him from the dead. For believers, it commemorates the day of freedom. That freedom is a free gift, offered to anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God and that He gave up his life freely as a substitution for us, to pay the price of sin. The Bible says, "Whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." Because of what God did, we are free.