Passover Lamb

   April 19th at sundown marked the holiday of Passover, a holiday often overlooked by Christians. We may recognize Jesus as our Passover Lamb and understand the connection to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. But having a deeper knowledge of its history as well as how it is celebrated holds significant meaning for us. It is the oldest Jewish festival (over 3,000 years old!) and the first one that God commanded the Israelites to observe. It commemorated the defining moment in Israel’s history when God redeemed them from over 400 years of slavery in Egypt. The first Passover is recorded in Exodus 11-12 in which each Israelite family was instructed to select an unblemished lamb. They were not to sacrifice this lamb right away, but to keep watch over it for several days so that it became like part of the family. Each family sacrificed its lamb in the assembly of the people and spread its blood on the doorframes of their houses. This blood protected them from the tenth and final plague, in which all the firstborn of the Egyptians died.

   When Temple worship was established, Passover became one of three pilgrimage festivals requiring the Israelites to travel to Jerusalem. In the afternoon prior to Passover, the lambs were sacrificed in the Temple courts. At the sound of the ram’s horn, each Jew slaughtered his own lamb, holding his hand on its head until its life drained from it. In this way, each person experienced the cost of his own sin, fully realizing that the lamb’s life was taken in place of his own.

   In the evening, each family celebrated a Passover meal, or seder (i.e. a set order of service). The lamb, legs unbroken, was roasted with bitter herbs, a reminder of the bitterness of slavery. They also partook of matzah (unleavened bread), symbolizing the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt and their bread had no time to rise; haroset (a pasty mixture of nuts, fruit and wine) to symbolize the mortar the Israelites used to build store cities in Egypt; and raw vegetables (symbolizing the hyssop used to spread the blood on the doorframes of their houses) dipped in tart liquid (symbolizing tears of affliction). Four cups of wine were consumed at different times throughout the meal, each cup corresponding to one of the four promises God gave to Moses in Exodus 6:6-7 (1. I will bring you out from Egypt. 2. I will deliver you from slavery. 3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. 4. I will take you to be my people.)

   The Lord’s Supper that we observe every Sunday involves two elements of a traditional Passover Seder, which Jesus celebrated with His disciples. At the point of the Seder in which the disciples ate the matzah (unleavened bread), which was broken into pieces, Jesus said, “Take and eat, this is my body” (Matt 26:26). He had previously identified himself to them as the bread from heaven, bringing life to those who would partake of it. The cup that we read about in the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper corresponds to the third cup of wine – the Cup of Redemption. This cup represented the shed blood of the lambs that brought the Israelites redemption from Egypt. Jesus lifted this cup and said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:27). When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we recognize Jesus as our Passover Lamb and the full realization of the redemption the Israelites experienced. Just as the unleavened bread is broken, so Jesus’ body was broken as a sacrifice for our sins. When we take the cup, we remember that His blood saves us from the Pharaoh of this world (Satan) and frees us from slavery to sin, just as the blood of the lambs that the Israelites sacrificed in Egypt brought them freedom from physical bondage. Because of the sacrifice of our Perfect Lamb, God passes over our sins, delivering us from the wages of sin (death) and bringing us into a life of freedom and forgiveness.

   (This is only a very brief overview of Passover and the traditional Passover Seder. If you would like more information, I recommend visiting the following link: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Spring_Holidays/Pesach/Introduction/introduction.html. In particular, I suggest downloading the Seder guide for Christians.)

Jessica Adams