PASSOVER
REMEMBERING THE BLOOD
First Word
While the word “PASSOVER” is well known, it’s pretty much just a word
or a meal that was eaten some 2,000 years ago by
the Hebrews.
But its meaning reaches so much farther than a
meal.
It is that every person should personally feel
that they too had come out of Egypt
Death Angel PASSOVER
- Passover is derived from the
Hebrew verb pesah; meaning to pass over; to spare - skip, hop
- It comes from the
Bible account of the Death Angel passing over the Hebrew’s first born
children, striking the first born of the Egyptians. – This was the TENTH and
final plague placed on the Egyptians by God through Moses that finally got
them delivered out of the hands of Pharaoh and the
- All Ten plagues against the
Egyptians were actually plagues against their gods to show that their Gods
were nothing, they were helpless. - NYOBS
15.02 PLAGUES OF
- Pharaoh
sees himself as a god – The King was believed to be the incarnation of Horus the son of “Re” the sun god -
Pharaoh was all powerful – Life and death was in his word.
- Ten in scripture is the number for Government;
it represents Judgment – the Law - as an example; the law of the Ten Commandments.
- The tenth judgment and final plague was
that the first born child of every Egyptian family would die; from the
slave girl to the Pharaoh; including the first born of all their cattle.
- On the 14th
of Nisan;
a distinction was made between the Egyptians and the Israelites; the
- With death at their
doorstep, Pharaoh’s advisors were telling him, it might be a good
idea “to let the people go”, in fact let’s help them go; - “Send them out of the land in haste”.
- Archaeologists have uncovered
coffins with the inscriptions; “That night of slaying of the
firstborn”. – Other inscriptions say; “That day of the slaying of
the firstborn”.
- Judgment has now come on
- Please get this… It was
God Himself that invoked this tenth plague and told the Hebrews that “When I see the blood, I
will PASSOVER you”.
Ex 12:12 -13 -When I see the blood, I will PASSOVER you
12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt Egypt
13 The blood will be a sign for you on the
houses where you are; and when I
see the blood, I will
pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt
Ex 12:21 -23 – The Blood will be a SIGN
21 Then Moses said to them, "Pick out and
take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover
lamb.
22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it
in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two
doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out
of the door of his house until morning.
23 For the LORD will pass through to strike
the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two
doorposts, the LORD will PASS OVER the door and not allow the destroyer
to come into your houses to strike you. NKJV
Ex 11:4-6 – The FIRST BORN
shall die
4 “About midnight I will go throughout Egypt
5 Every firstborn son in Egypt
6 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt
Ex 11:7 – A Distinction - All
Israel
7 But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at
any man or animal.' Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction
between Egypt Israel
Ex 12:12 – Judgment on the many gods of Egypt
12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt Egypt
Ex 12:33 - Send them out of the land with haste
33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people,
that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be
all dead men. KJV
Red Sea PASSOVER
- With Pharaoh in hot pursuit,
the entire Hebrew nation safely PASSED OVER the
- Pharaoh had said “Who is
the Lord, that I should obey Him?” – Floating DEAD face up in the
- Pharaoh personally owned
the Hebrews slaves; when he died they were no longer legally his.
- The Jewish Midrash teaches that the
Ex 5:2 - Who is the LORD,
that I should obey Him
2 Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I
should obey him and let Israel Israel
Ex 14:21 -22 – The Sea parted and they PASSED OVER
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and
turned it into dry land. The waters were divided,
22 and the Israelites went through the sea on
dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. NIV
Ex 14:27 -28 – The Sea went back and drowned the Egyptians
27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and
at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward
it, and the LORD swept them into the sea.
28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots
and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the
Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. NIV
The Cross PASSOVER
- FYI- The Sanhedrin was the religious
court system of Judaism - The head of it and the Jewish high Priest were
appointed by
- Jesus, the Lamb was
examined and found without fault; he was without blemish.
- When Jesus was
crucified on the cross, He made it possible for Death to PASSOVER us. God Himself had provided the Passover
sacrifice
- Jesus became the
sacrificial Lamb of the PASSOVER and when God sees His Son’s blood on the
door post of our life, death will pass over us and we will LIVE forever
with Him. – We have been redeemed from the power of sin and death. - When
the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.
Gen 22:8 - God Himself
will provide the Lamb
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will
provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them
went on together.
NIV
John 1:29 - The Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him
and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of
the world!
NIV
Ex 12:13 -When I see the blood, I will PASSOVER you
13 when I see the blood, I
will pass over you.
NIV
John 8:36 - You are set free
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be
free indeed. NIV
John 19:6 – The Lamb was
spotless with no fault found
6 Therefore, when the chief priests and officers
saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate
said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find NO FAULT in Him". NKJV
Good
Friday
- The slaughter of the
Lamb was to be performed by the Father, not the Priest.
- On Friday the doors to
the
- At the very same time, God the Father
sacrificed His ONLY Lamb; His Son on the cross for His family. – Without the shedding of HIS blood
there can be no forgiveness.
- The smart people say
the next day was Passover and that would be (our) April 7, 30A.D.
Heb 9:22 – Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness
22 In fact, the law requires that nearly
everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there is
no forgiveness.
NIV
- To commemorate the
“Passover” God gave Moses instructions on just how it was to be
REMEMBERED. It was to be celebrated
14 days after the new moon of the first month of Nisan also called Abid
which falls between March and April. – I know this sound weird, but their
year started when the planting season started based on the new moon. Passover started on the evening of the
14th which technically would be considered the beginning of the 15th,
Saturday the Sabbath. – It is the most important religious event in
- The Feast of the Passover combined
with the Feast of Unleavened
Bread. is a seven day celebration with the main feast the first
night commemorating the last meal the Jews ate before they hurriedly left
- Traditionally the
Lamb was slaughtered in the temple precincts, but was celebrated and eaten
in their homes with other families. – The meal was traditionally taken
reclining on the floor and would include the stipulated ritual hand
washings and the four cups of wine at specified points in the meal. (Mixed; 1 part water, 3 parts wine).
- The atmosphere was of
worship, prayers, vows, vigils, promises, ritual washing and the sacred
meal followed by rejoicing with music, shouting and dancing.
- The meal is also
known as the “Seder meal”. Seder in Hebrew means “Service”
- The eldest son of the
household would ask four questions at the Seder meal; “Why is this night different from
all the others?” – The use of unleavened
bread and bitter herbs, the dipping
of vegetables, and the cushions at the host’s chair
- at which the father would read excerpts from the Bible as well as the Haggadah which told the
story of how the death angel had PASSED OVER them and how God had
delivered the Hebrews out of Egypt.
- The host would recline back on cushions
recalling the ancient mode of eating.
- The main purpose of
re-telling the story of
- Today the celebration
is two fold: 1) The Jews
rejoicing that God delivered them from their enemies and their future as
Gods children; 2) The
celebration of Jesus delivering them from their sins and the expectancy of
His return.
- During the meal there
was Four Cups of wine –
Jesus did not drink the fourth cup.
- When we as saints are
raptured, we will sit at the marriage supper and take Holy Communion with
Christ and He will drink “The
Fourth Cup” with us”. NYOBS .05.11 LORD’S SUPPER - MYSTERY OF
THE FOURTH CUP
Lev 23:4-5 – Passover at Twilight;
Nisan or Abib (March-April) 14th
4 These are the LORD's appointed feasts, the
sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:
5 The LORD's Passover begins at twilight
on the fourteenth day of the first month. NIV
Ex 12:14 – Passover - An everlasting ordinance
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
- The
Sabbath
– Just to get you all upset. The
smart people think that at some point the early Christians started having
two church services on Sunday; one in the early morning and one at night
with the hours chosen for secrecy for the sake of those who WORKED ON THE
SABBATH. – go figure.
Passover Meal
- Water: A dish of salt water for washing
the hands represented the tears of the slaves.
- Red
Wine: As the feast progressed, their cup would
be refilled four times with RED wine representing the blood.
- The
Lamb:
A one year old male lamb without blemish was roasted whole; not boiled, and
was eaten without breaking a bone in his body. It was called the “Paschal Lamb” and was
eaten with the bitter herbs. Jesus
was the Lamb of God - Not a bone in His body was broken.
- NOTE: Traditionally the
Paschal Lamb must be eaten before sunrise with none left over for
the next day. If it was leftover it
MUST be burned. – If a lamb was too much for a small family they would
join with others to eat the Paschal lamb.
For a larger group of families, if the Paschal Lamb was not large enough
they could have a second Lamb called a Chagigah and it was OK to save the leftovers from that
lamb for the next day. – No lamb could be slaughtered just for one single
person.
- NOTE 2: It might be fun to know that the tail of
a sheep or lamb could contain as much as 15 pounds of fat; this was the
richest part of the fat and was offered as a sacrifice to God.
- Bitter
herbs
salad consisted of bitter lettuce, chicory or
endive; Today, Jews use grated horseradish or onion, parsley and
watercress. It was symbolic of how
the Egyptians embittered their live during captivity.
- Haroset
sauce
or fruit pulp was grated apples, chopped nuts, sugar, cinnamon and sweet
red wine mashed together into a texture resembling mortar, making a thick
dip. It represents the mortar
of Pharaoh’s building projects.
- Unleavened
bread; Two
varieties (1) Wrapped in a napkin,
there were three wafers of bread such as Matzos; which had a texture like
a cracker. (2) Another type
resembled nut or date bread and was thick and heavy. - Unleavened bread represented that there
was no time for bread to rise with leaven because of their quick flight
out of the bondage of
- Other
dishes;
a hard boiled egg and sweet vegetables also for dipping. - NYOBS
05.11 – LORD’S SUPPER
- The
very first Passover, they were to eat the meal inside the house
and not outside, fully dressed with their sandals on and their staff in
their hands and their “kneading bowls” bound up in the clothes on their
shoulders ready to go.
Ex 12:34 – The kneading bowls were already packed up.
34 So the people took their dough before it was
leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their
shoulders.
NKJV
Ex 12:11 – Belt and sandals on with your staff in your hand.
11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your
waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand.
So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. NKJV
Ex 12:46 -47 – Must be eaten inside one house
46 "It must be eaten inside one house;
take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.
47 The whole community of Israel
Num 9:11 -12 - Not one of the LAMB’S
bones will be broken
11 They are to eat the lamb, together with
unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12 They must not leave any of it till morning or break
any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all
the regulations. NIV
John 19:36 -
Not one of CHRIST’S bones will be broken
36 These things happened so that the scripture
would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," NIV
Ps 34:19-20 – Prophecy - Not
one bone will be broken
19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the
LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones, not one of them
will be broken. NIV
Lev 3:16 – The fat is the Lord’s
16 The priest shall burn them on the altar as
food, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD's.
NIV
Leaven
- A candle light search
of the house was taken to “Seek and Destroy” all leaven in the house.
- NOTE: Elsewhere in scripture it speaks of
leaven as being evil; symbolic of sin
Just saying
- Jesus is the True
Bread of Life. – An unleavened life without malice and wickedness; but
with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
- Symbolically the
believer should “Seek and Destroy” the sin in their own personal life so
as to match up with their position as believers in Christ.
Matt 16:6 – Beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees
6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware
of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. KJV
1 Cor 5:6 - A little
leaven (sin) leavens the whole loaf
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a
little leaven leavens the whole lump? KJV
1 Cor 5:7-8 – Get rid of
the old leaven
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that
ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our
passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. KJV
Ex 12:15 - Put away leaven out of your houses
15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even
the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: KJV
Ex 13:7 – No leaven in all
your quarters.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and
there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven
seen with thee in all thy quarters. KJV
Last Thoughts
- Josephus
writes
that the number of people celebrating the Passover Feast could swell to
three million people; others say it was only 180,000 - Either way is was still
a lot of people.
- The Greek word “Eucharist” (Pronounced; Yoo-Kuh-Rist) means “gratitude” or the giving
of thanks and was used in conjunction with Holy Communion of the bread
and wine.
- The Greek word
“Koinonia” is translated; Fellowship,
Communion or Sharing.
- Passover is the REMEMBERANCE
of the shedding of blood of the LAMB. - Both Times.
- Just as the ordinance
of Baptism came to take the place of Circumcision; the ordinance of “The Lord’s Supper” or communion
eventually took the place of the Passover meal.
We
celebrate the Passover when we partake of “THE LORD’S SUPPER
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
I
am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture verses.
Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further that I
otherwise ever could have.
A Commentary – Critical,
Experimental & Practical - Eerdmans
Antiquity of the Jews; The - Josephus;
The Jewish Historian
Bible Almanac; The – Packer Tenney White
Baker Commentary on the
Bible – Walter A. Elwell
Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer
Customs and Folkways of Jewish Life – Theodor H. Gaster
Expositor’s Bible
Commentary; The – Frank E. Gaebelein
Guide Post - Lent – Max Lucado
Harpers Bible Dictionary – Harper & Row
His Glory Revealed – John Hagee
Illustrated Encyclopedia
of Bible Facts – Packer-Tenney White
Jewish book of Why; The – Kolatch
Matthew Henry’s Commentary – Zondervan
Mysteries of the Bible – Readers
Digest
New International Version
Bible – NIV
New Unger’s Bible
Handbook; The – Gary N. Larson
Paul & His Letters – John B. Polhill
The Message Bible
Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries - Leon Morris
Vincent’s Word Studies of
the NT – MacDonald
Webster’s New World
College Dictionary - Webster
Why Do Catholics Do That? –
Kevin Orlin Johnson
Wikipedia
Wycliffe Bible Commentary;
The – Pfeiffer & Harrision
Zondervan Pictorial
Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney
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