“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” (Matthew 26:2)
Shalom! May each and everyday be a reflection of HIS Love and Perfect Sacrifice for Us.
And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood - Revelation 1:5
I know this is a special week in remembrance of what our Messiah did for us on that cross so many years ago. I pray you all have a very Blessed week finding time to reflect on His love and grace poured out on the world.
This will not be my “Resurrection Day” post… that will most likely be put up next month after Passover. Rather, I would like us to take the time and reflect on the significance of the events that were put in place before the beginning of time.
God’s Plan of Salvation – for all Mankind. First to the Jews, then the Gentiles… keeping the covenant promises made so very long ago. Orchestrated flawlessly by the only One capable of such incredible, indescribable sovereignty and grace, Blessed be His name.
As we all know God has a track record of being deliberate in how He rolls out plans and purposes He has set in place. And He doesn’t make mistakes. I think we can all agree there. Yeshua was sent into this world, into the lineage of God’s chosen people, into a very small yet very strategic and significant location we all know as Israel some 2000 + years ago. God established a timeline, a calendar of events and expectations for His people. Let's face it, if we believe and follow a Jewish Messiah, we should at least be familiar with how God presented His Plan of Salvation and it's significance to us through His Word.
Why should the events that surrounded the death and resurrection of our Savior be important to remember as the Family of Christ? And why does it matter when we observe these truly momentous and significant events? There are some key connections in Scripture that took place and should be cherished in our hearts as we take in and reflect on the ultimate price He paid for us.
Let’s step back in time a bit…
Let’s go back to the Exodus… Okay, we are stepping way back in time, but stick with me... there is a point to all of this.
What happened during Passover and why should it be remembered in the weeks to come? Is it even significant for a Christian vs an Orthodox Jew vs a Messianic Jew, etc? My thought… YES. Nothing in the Bible is insignificant….
The last of the Plagues… the final and 10th victory over all of the “gods” worshiped in Egypt. This was not just a strike at Pharaoh… this was Spiritual Warfare and God taking His people back to the land promised to Abraham. This was GOD showing HIS sovereignty over ALL, both in the Heavenly and Earthly Realms.
Exodus 12:12 – (ESV)
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.
What was expected for the people of Israel – God’s chosen people when this last plague was to be executed?
Well, let’s look at the timeline and calendar that GOD established… and high level instructions given by the LORD.
God establishes the 1st month of the year – otherwise known as Nisan.
Exodus 12:1-2 - The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.
God instructs them that on the 10th day of this designated month the Passover lamb would be chosen, one without blemish, a male, and a year old.
Exodus 12:3, 5
o 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.
o 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,
God instructs the that on the 14th day of this designated month – that lamb would be killed at twilight. On that same night… the blood would need to be put on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the house where the lamb had been eaten in the manner instructed by the LORD.
Exodus 12:6-7
o 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
o 7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.
o NOTE: To make things more interesting… The Jewish day is from sundown to sundown… (For example: Shabbat starts Friday night at sundown, and is observed until Saturday night at sundown.)
So as instructed by the LORD… at twilight (sundown) on the 14th day of Nisan the lamb was to be killed and the blood put on the door frames. So when we see Passover being celebrated on the 15th of Nisan it was technically the 15th, as that day began at sundown on the 14th, and that night the “Destroyer” passed through as indicated by the LORD.
Passage in Full can be found in the full chapter of Exodus 12 – I encourage you all to take some time to read this.
WHY all the details?… WELL, we know that Jesus, Yeshua our Messiah was indeed Jewish and INDEED followed Jewish festivals, law and traditions. Mary and Joseph would have raised him accordingly in this manner as they themselves also followed Jewish tradition and laws.
Is there proof of this?… YES, there are plenty of examples to show us the environment in which Jesus was raised and His Ministry, below are just some examples from the Gospel of Luke:
Circumcision –
Luke 2:21
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Purification rights, laws and sacrifice –
Luke 2:22-24,27, 39-40
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they (Mary and Joseph) brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
27 And he (Simeon) came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, …
39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Festivals –
Luke 2:41-42
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.
Yeshua’s Ministry, Synagogue and Sabbath –
Luke 4:14-16, 31-32
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.
Luke 5:4
4 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
Luke 6:6-
6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.
Luke 13:10
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
Luke 16:17
17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
Again… Yeshua's take on the Law (God's instruction to His people) from the Gospel of Matthew:
Matthew 5:17-19
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the samewill be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Okay, so we know Yeshua was Jewish not just by lineage but by His actions/customs… Why does this matter? Well, God seemed to think it mattered, and those who wrote the Bible, would have also given weight to this. Remember, the Biblical authors wrote according to what they knew and were familiar with… The New Testament did not exist during Jesus’s ministry and Crucifixion/Resurrection/Ascension… The term or Holiday of “Easter” was not a thing in those days… but PASSOVER WAS.
What was going on that week before Jesus would be taken and Crucified for the Salvation of the world?
PASSOVER was going on!
What does that mean? That means the traditions of Passover were kept among the Jewish people. This was one of the busiest times of the year in Jerusalem. All preparing to observe the feast. Just as instructed in Exodus… the people of Jesus day would be choosing a lamb – spotless and temple approved – for sacrifice. This took place at the SAME time God had designated back in Exodus 12 – From the 10th day of Nisan to the 14th day of Nisan. (to this day… that calendar and feast remains for observance of the Passover). Passover is on April 22, 2024
The Passover lamb in Exodus to be sacrificed and it's blood poured onto the door frames to allow the "Destroyer" to pass over those who obeyed God's instruction.
The Passover Lamb in the Gospels to be the sacrifice for the WORLD, and His Blood poured out, so that the “Destroyer” would have no claim for all who believe.
Just as with Moses and the Israelite in Egypt…
Hebrews 11:28
By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
So we see the same with Jesus and Mankind
Matthew 26:26-28
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
God’s Lamb was perfect, spotless, without blemish and the time was set on Eternity’s Clock for this sacrifice to take place EXACTLY at it’s appointed time… there was NO question that this was intentional.
How can I be so sure about that?… Well… because the Word of God tells us…
Yeshua was the last sacrificial Lamb that would be required to bear the sins of humankind.
REQUIREMENT: Perfect, without blemish –
Passover Lamb of Exodus:
Exodus 12:5
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,
Yeshua, our Passover Lamb:
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, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Hebrews 9:14
How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Even down to the specific details…
Passover Lamb of Exodus:
Exodus 12:46
It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.
Numbers 9:12
They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it.
Yeshua, our Passover Lamb:
John 19:31-37
31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
Did Jesus know that this was the appointed time… that PASSOVER was designated as the exact time God had chosen for not just the Jews to have Salvation but the NATIONS (Gentiles) as well. Not just a time to reflect on past victory over exile and destruction but to become the time for the WORLD to reflect on the ULTIMATE VICTORY over SIN and DEATH once and for all. The stage was set and God would orchestrate every detail with precision and perfection!
Did Yeshua know that this was the time appointed… YES.
Matthew 26:2
“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
Matthew 26:18
He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’”
Luke 22:15-16
And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
John 7:6
Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.
John 13:1
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
Did John the Baptist know? YES.
John 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:36
And he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
Was He prophesied as such… YES.
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
Acts 8:32
Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.
Was He described as such after making the Ultimate Sacrifice… YES!
1 Corinthians 5:7
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.
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, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Is this sacrificial Lamb description carried through to the end? You guessed it… YES!
Hebrews 9:28
So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Revelation 5:6
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Revelation 7:14
I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Revelation 12:11
And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Revelation 13:8
And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
Revelation 14:1
Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
Revelation 17:14
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
So is PASSOVER significant to both the Jew and Gentile alike?
That is something each one of us should take some time to reflect on.
My personal thoughts… take it or leave it… Passover is such a beautiful remembrance of God claiming His people (the Jews) and re-claiming all the NATIONS through the blood of His Perfect Sacrificial Lamb. The sequence of events set in place by God, to established HIS Glory, should hold a place in every believer's heart. At minimum we should become familiar with God's timeline for these momentous, life altering events, not just the timelines established by man.
Remember in all humility and grace that we have even grafted in for those who believe...
Romans 11:17-24
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
In Exodus we see God glorified by the Israelites with this very first Passover…
Exodus 12:27
You shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for He passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
Today and EVERDAY (not just this coming Easter weekend, not just next month during Passover)…
Will WE bow our heads and worship our GOD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who was, who is, and who will forever be. God Most High, אֵל עֶלְיוֹן ʼĒl ʻElyōn, who offered His Son, as the PERFECT Sacrificial Lamb, in OUR STEAD… sparing ALL who will repent, believe and receive HIM, from eternal exile, destruction and death... Giving us unimaginable grace and eternal life with Him?
I pray that this is a resounding YES.
Prayer and Blessing
Father, You alone are Lord of Lords and Most High God. You set the times and seasons, and You have redeemed us by Your Grace. As we reflect on your mighty deeds of ancient days, Your perfect display of complete sovereignty over all things seen and unseen... may we bow our heads and worship You with the respect and praise that is Yours and YOURS ALONE. Help us to never become proud, but rather remember that it is only because of Your Mercy that we have the right to be called Your children. You keep your promises, and truly ALL Nations have been blessed through Abraham! Thank You for the Ultimate Sacrifice given on our behalf, enabling that blessing to be fulfilled. Blessed be our God, Creator and King, the One who was ...who is ... and will be forevermore. AMEN.
NOTE: For those that would like to dive deeper... There is so much more detail we could get into the events that take place that correspond with Yeshua being the perfect Sacrificial Lamb – A great book that goes into more detail regarding the testing and inspection of Jesus as the Passover Lamb (as the Passover lambs in that day had to be “inspected & approved” per Jewish law) is The Forgotten Jesus by Robby Gallaty… check it out!
Other suggested reading... The below are authored by Lois Tverberg and shed some beautiful light on the Jewish world that Jesus was very much a part of.
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus
Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus
Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus
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