The Lord's Passover
Understanding the Lord’s Passover:
Jesus Christ always observed the Passover and this is verified in all four Gospels. He had to observe it
or he would have sinned and been cut off from the promise of Israel and the claim to the Messiahship (Exod. 12:15; Luke 1:32-33).
"And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever" (Exodus 12:14).
While still in bondage in Egypt, this ordinance was established well before the Law of Moses. The “Passing Over” of the Death Angel was the tenth and final plague before Pharaoh (Exodus 12:1-17). The Lord Jesus had to keep this ordinance of God, as His disobedience would have made Him a sinner. [Likewise, He had to observe the seven days of unleavened bread that began that night.] Jesus ate His last deeply desired Passover with the Apostles and introduced Himself as the New Testament Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). This Holiest of God’s celebrations is now a memorial of Jesus’ death and suffering until His Second Coming (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:26; Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrew 8:8-11).
Biblical Chronology:
With the Exodus from Egypt, Moses led the Israelites for three months before reaching Mount Sinai. After 40 days, Moses received the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, which are God’s universal rules. These tablets would be the only thing kept in the Ark of the Covenant, having been written of God, and not by man (Exod. 20:1-17, 25:10-22). It was during the Israelites 40 years of wandering that Moses wrote the five books of the Torah, or Law of Moses. These books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. On the plain of Moab, Moses instructed them to keep the Passover and not worship God by copying or substituting pagan festivals (Deut. 12:30-32). Over the centuries, the worship of Baal would be a constant distraction to the faith of the Israelites. He was the chief Canaanite fertility god and his wife was named Ishtar or Astarte, later to be called the Babylonian goddess, named Easter. The symbols of her spring festival are the rabbit for fertility and the egg for rebirth.
End of Days Protection:
“For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast,...”(1 Cor. 5:7-8). Jesus’ crucified body, the Unleaven Bread, would be for eternal life (John 6:51) and His shed blood, the wine, would be for the forgiveness of sin. “This is My body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me” is what the Lord Jesus commanded of His true followers (Luke 22:19). The blood of Jesus Christ also has a hidden protection for the End of Days. During the Great Tribulation, the blood of the Passover Lamb will first protect God’s elect, or believing Christians (Matt. 24:22; Rev. 9:4), and secondly to allow their entrance into the blessed first Resurrection (Rev. 7:12-14). In the “Caught up,” Christians will rise into the sky to meet Jesus Christ in His glorious return (Thes. 4:16-17). This event will end the Great Tribulation and they will enjoy the Millennium reign of peace on earth (Luke 1:32-33; Rev. 20:4-6).
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