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"THE FEAST OF PASSOVER."
Intro. One of the great days in the history of the nation of Israel was the day that God delivered them from their bondage in Egypt and the nation was birthed. On this day they saw the awesome power of God as He killed all of the firstborn males in the land of Egypt who were not protected by the blood on the doorpost.
I. THE HISTORIC EVENT.
A. Moses had been sent by God to the Pharaoh to demand the release of His people from Egypt.
1. Pharaoh hardened his heart against God and God began to destroy Egypt with a series of plagues.
a. The waters of the river were turned to blood and the fish died.
b. The land was covered with frogs.
c. The plague of lice.
d. The swarms of flies.
e. A pestilence that destroyed their livestock.
f. The plague of boils.
g. A tremendous hail storm.
h. The plague of locusts.
i. The darkness throughout the land.
j. The death of the firstborn.
2. God had given instructions to the Israelites whereby the firstborn in their homes could be protected.
a. They were to choose a lamb on the tenth day of the month from their flock.
b. On the fourteenth day of the month they were to kill it and put the blood in a basin and with a hyssop bush they were to sprinkle the blood on the lintel and the doorposts of their homes.
c. God declared that He was going to pass through the land of Egypt that night and would smite the firstborn in all the land of Egypt both of the men and beasts, He promised "When I see the blood, I will pass over you and the plague will not destroy you."
3. This feast was to take place each year on the 14th day of the first month of the religious calendar.
a. The Jews have two calendars, one religious the other secular.
b. The secular New Year is known as Rosh HaShanna, and is celebrated in the end of September or the beginning of October. This year it is the 30th of September. It is the beginning of the feast of Trumpets.
c. The first month of the spiritual calendar is April.
B. The feast of Passover is a memorial feast to remind them of the mighty power of God in their deliverance from the misery of the slavery and bondage in Egypt.
1. It was to be observed throughout their generations, so it is observed to the present day.
2. The Passover meal is filled with symbolism.
a. Four cups of wine.
1. One drunk at beginning of the meal (cup of sanctification).
2. The second is drunk during the telling of the story of the Exodus. It is known as the cup of Judgment (At the mention of each plague the finger is dipped in the wine and tasted).
3. The third cup is known as the cup of redemption. It is taken when the bread is broken.
4. The fourth cup comes at the end of the meal and is the cup of praise.
5. These four cups represent the four "I wills" of God in
Exodus 6:6,
7.
EXO 6:6 I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, (sanctification). I will rid you out of their bondage, (Judgment). I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, (Redemption). I will take you to me for a people, (Praise).
b. The Unleavened bread. It is called the matzah, and is striped and pierced for fast baking and to insure that it does not rise.
1. There were three of these flat loaves wrapped in a white cloth.
2. The top piece represented God the creator. The bottom piece represented man here on earth. The middle piece represented the mediating priest that represented man's access to God.
3. The middle piece is broken and placed in a white cloth and hidden until the end of the meal. After the meal the children search for this hidden matzah. The one who finds it brings it to their father who redeems it from them with a coin. It is then blessed and eaten with the drinking of the cup of redemption.
4. To us the broken matzah represents the sinless life of our Lord. Being striped and pierced it reminds us of the stripes laid on His back and His side pierced.
5. He was wrapped in white linen and hidden in the grave for three days.
6. Through His death and resurrection we are redeemed.
a. They also have the bitter herbs that reminded them of the bitter slavery their fathers endured.
b. The sweet paste made of chopped apples, nuts, raisins cinnamon, and grape juice that represents the clay from which they made the bricks in Egypt.
c. There were greens dipped in salt water. The greens were to represent the hyssop used to sprinkle the blood on the door posts, and the salt water the tears they shed, or the passing through the Red Sea.
d. The Lamb shank to remind them of the lamb that was slain.
II. JESUS OBSERVED THE PASSOVER WITH HIS DISCIPLES. LUKE TELLS US THAT JESUS SAID TO THEM, "WITH DESIRE HAVE I DESIRED TO EAT THIS PASSOVER WITH YOU BEFORE I SUFFER."
LUK 22:16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
A. This is an interesting statement by Jesus, He speaks of it being fulfilled in the Kingdom.
B. There are four feasts inaugurated here in
Leviticus 23. The feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread: The Feast of Wave Offering and Pentecost: The Feast of Trumpets: and the Feast of Tabernacles.
1. Paul speaking of these holy days declared, that they were all a shadow of things to come, Jesus is the substance. There is no substance in a shadow, but it tells you there is substance there.
2. Passover was the foreshadowing, the substance is Jesus.
3. Paul wrote the Corinthians:
1CO 5:7 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:
C. The lamb sacrificed in Egypt to spare the firstborn from death was a forshadowing of Jesus who was sacrificed to redeem us from death.
1. It is interesting that the lamb that was to be sacrificed for Passover was to be chosen on the 10th day of the month. Jesus presented Himself to the Jews as their Messiah on Sunday which was the 10th day of the month, the day the sacrifice was to be chosen.
2. This is the day prophesied by Daniel, 173,880 days from the day that the commandment went forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
3. This is the day that David wrote about when he said:
PSA 118:22 The stone [which] the builders refused is become the head [stone] of the corner.
PSA 118:23 This is the LORD'S doing; it [is] marvelous in our eyes.
PSA 118:24 This [is] the day [which] the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
PSA 118:25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
PSA 118:26 Blessed [be] he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
PSA 118:27 God [is] the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, [even] unto the horns of the altar.
4. This is the day that the prophet Zechariah wrote about when he said:
ZEC 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King is coming to you: He is just, and has salvation; He is lowly, and will be riding upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of an donkey.
5. This clears up an interesting problem in the Bible. Jesus had prophesied that the sign that they would receive was the sign of the prophet Jonah, for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so the Son of Man, would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
a. If Jesus was crucified on Friday, it is difficult to get three nights in the grave, however if Sunday was the 10th, the day Jesus presented Himself, then Passover, the day Jesus was crucified would have been on Thursday, for the Jews begin their day at sundown. This means that Jesus had eaten the Passover meal with His disciples on Wednesday evening and the next morning He was hanging on the cross, which would be Thursday.
b. Where did we ever get the idea that He was crucified on Friday? Because the Jews wanted to get the bodies off of the crosses before the Sabbath, and we know that the usual Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday.
c. However the first day after the Passover the 15th day of the month was to be the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which verse 7 in our text tells us was to be a Sabbath day.
d. John points out in his narration of the crucifixion that that Sabbath day was an high day; i.e., the Sabbath day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
e. You have an interesting situation where you had two Sabbath days in a row. Friday, the 15th was a Sabbath as well as Saturday, the regular weekly Sabbath.
f. Jesus was taken from the cross and buried on Thursday before sundown. He was in the grave Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. When they came to the tomb on Sunday morning, He had already risen.
D. When in Egypt the blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the lintel and doorpost of the house, it was sprinkled in the shape of a cross. Do you suppose God was seeking to show them something?
E. When Jesus gave the cup to the disciples He said, "This cup is a new covenant in My blood, which is shed for the remission of sins. And as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till He comes."
F. In Egypt the Passover lamb was slain and the blood applied to save the families' firstborn from death. Jesus our Passover lamb was slain to spare you from death.
1. But the blood had to be applied to the door of the house, for there to be protection.
2. Even so, you must personally be protected from death by the blood of Jesus Christ, for it is by the shedding of His blood that we receive the remission of our sins.
3. Sin is the killer. You have already sinned, thus, under the penalty of death, the only escape from death is through the forgiveness of your sins which can only be obtained by the blood of Jesus Christ. "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can for sin atone, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Verse-Reference
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
Abbreviate Books
Use SBL Abbrev.
