The “story” can be found in Exodus…I think most people familiar with the Bible know the story of Moses and the Israelites, and their deliverance from the Egyptians.
And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
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 forever. (Exodus 12:6-14)
We see here a lamb of the first year, without blemish, was to be sacrificed, and the blood was to be put on the doorposts of the house, so that when the Lord came at midnight and saw the blood, he would “pass over” the house and they would be spared.
Passover represents deliverance. We see that Passover in the O.T. pictured the deliverance of God’s people from slavery. But the sacrifices of the Old Testament were only a foreshadow of the coming Lamb of God, and his ultimate sacrifice for mankind.
Passover is a memorial of what happened in Egypt... the death of the firstborn being the final act that gave them freedom. We are told by God to keep this day as a memorial, a feast unto the Lord by an ordinance forever.
And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. (Exodus 12:25)
And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshiped. (Exodus 12:26-27)
We are also told that at some point your children will want to know what is meant by this service. This is an indication that “years” have gone by, and God wants us to share with our children the “real” meaning behind this service and how God delivered his people.
The word “memorial” is referenced in the Strong’s Concordance as number 02146, from the root 02142:
1) memorial, reminder, remembrance
02142 zakar {zaw-kar'}
primitive root;
1) to remember, recall, call to mind
2) to cause to be remembered, keep in remembrance
3) to mention
4) to record
5) to make a memorial, make remembrance
Webster’s defines a memorial as:
1a) (adj) serving to preserve remembrance
We observe memorials of many things in our lives today. We observe the memorial of our birth, the memorial of the birth of our nation on July 4th, and May 30th, a memorial in honor of our soldiers that died in war, and many others. Memorials are set aside on “specific” days for an occasion that all are to be made aware of and the event to be recalled to memory. The Bible makes several references to “the appointed season,” referring to a specific time to keep the passover.
And thou shalt shew thy son in that day,saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. 9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD'S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. 10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. (Exodus 13:8-10)
Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. (Numbers 9:2)
And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD. (Numbers 28:16)Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. (Deuteronomy 16:1)
And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. (Joshua 5:10)
The Old Testament is not the only place that this memorial is mentioned.
Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. (Matthew 26:2)
After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. 2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. (Mark 14:1-2)
Note here that it was a “feast day” that was soon approaching the people. I mention this as a note for studying regarding the “timing” of Jesus’ death. The Sabbath that the Bible refers to was this “feast day” and not the weekly sundown Friday Sabbath.
Jesus asks his disciples to prepared for the passover.
And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. (Matthew 26:19)
Jesus and his disciples ate their meal. When the meal was over, Jesus gave the disciples a lesson in humility. For the sake of space in this article, read: John 13:1-17
Jesus washed each other’s feet, and in verses 13-16 he told the disciples that he had given them an example to follow. Jesus was teaching his disciples that a servant is not greater than his master, nor is HE (Jesus) greater than his Father who had sent him.
Jesus then gives us “new” symbols with this Passover.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:17-20)
Passover still represents deliverance today for those that turn their life over to Jesus, to be delivered from the bondage of sin and be forgiven, and to be freed from the penalty of death. Today, it is a constant reminder of the deliverance we are granted in a world still living in bondage.
We renew our covenant with God on Passover. We observe the Passover as a celebration of Jesus and what His death did for us. We renew our vows with the bread and wine, and redo the act of humility that He did with His apostles.
Since we have seen that there is a specific time and season in which to partake of the bread and wine, it is important to take note of this following scripture:
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. (1 Corinthians 11:26)
We have just read scriptures revealing that there is an appointed time to take this Passover. When we read this passage that says, “as oft as ye drink it”, it is not talking about a weekly ritual, but rather, when the season is upon you, and you drink of it, do it in remembrance of Him.
Not only do we partake of the bread and wine, as symbols of the blood and body of Christ, but we are admonished to do something else.
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. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
We are to purge out the old leaven (the sin from our lives) so that we may also be unleavened (free from sin).
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of thatcup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (1 Corinthians 11:27-29) Strongs defines unworthily as:
514 axios {ax'-ee-os}
probably from 71; TDNT - 1:379,63; adj
AV - worthy 35, meet 4, due reward 1, unworthy + 3756 1; 41
1) weighing, having weight, having the weight of another
thing of like value, worth as much
2) befitting, congruous, corresponding to a thing
3) of one who has merited anything worthy
3a) both in a good and a bad sense
Unworthily can not be talking about “sin”, because we are all sinners. How then, can we drink and eat unworthily? From these definitions, unworthily is speaking of “attitude.” We need to come before God with the right attitude. These are some of the attitudes we need to remove from ourselves:
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:8-11) This is to be a JOYOUS OCCASION, the work has been accomplished and Jesus was victorious. LET US rejoice and celebrate in it.
Passover represents hope in a future deliverance as well. We have been spiritually freed from bondage, but we are still living in physical bondage to this world and the corrupt satanic rulership. In a yet future time, at the return of Jesus Christ, we will be delivered again, but this time, from the physical control of Satan and his demons. Passover allows us to reflect on our past and our future. With each Passover season we grow closer to our final redemption, and we rejoice in our deliverance.
Who should keep the Passover? Everyone who is a believer of Christ should keep the Passover. Christ intended for the Passover to be kept until he returns. We are told to:
“...proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (I Cor 11:26)
He told his disciples that he would not partake again until he was with us in the Kingdom. We are told to keep the Passover as a “Remembrance” to him, until we partake of it TOGETHER in the KINGDOM. Christ was slain, and by his blood he ransomed men of God from “every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” (Rev 5:9) This isn’t a Jewish event; it is an event for “everyone.”
Should it still be kept today? ABSOLUTELY! Before Christ died, while he was yet with his disciples, he gave them new symbols for the Passover. No longer were we to sacrifice a lamb, because Christ was going to be the ultimate sacrifice once for all. He gave the symbols of bread and wine, representing his blood and body. Christ’s death does not do away with the Passover, but rather his death deepens the meaning of our deliverance.
References: The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.