Next week is Easter, and since it falls on the first of the quarter this year we will partake of the Lord’s Supper on Easter morning. Tonight we will, in a manner of sorts, be observing Communion with what is called a Passover Meal. Now, the origin of the Lord’s Supper just so happens to be the Passover of which Jesus and His disciples partook on the night before His crucifixion.
Many times we think of Passover as being only a Jewish observance, but I am hoping to show us that it can be meaningful for Christians as well. It is meaningful because of its symbolism, and how it can remind us of all the Lord has done for us by freeing us from the bondage of sin and bringing us into the Promised Land of eternal life in Christ Jesus. We will begin this morning with looking at the origin of the Passover, which can be found in Exodus 12:1-13. So, let us now stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Origin of the Passover (Exodus 12:1-13)
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.”
6 “Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire – its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.”
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. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike 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 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Here we encounter a set-up to the final plague on Egypt. Back in Exodus 11:1, we read, “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether’.” As the Scripture reveals, this last plague would result in the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt.
What was this last plague? In Exodus 11:4 we are told that this final plague would result in the death of all the firstborn living in Egypt, which would include even the Israelites, unless they did according to the instructions they were given in our main text. According to Exodus 12:23, this mass killing of people would take place at the hands of “the destroyer,” which was possibly an “angel of death.”
In our main text we are shown the provision for Israel’s rescue from “the destroyer.” The people were to kill a male lamb without blemish (v. 5) at twilight (v. 6), and then smear its blood on the doorposts and lintel of their homes (v. 7). In verse 13 the Lord said, “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” We also learn that they were supposed to eat of the Lamb that was slain, and partake of a meal of unleavened bread and bitter herbs (v. 8). Both this special night and the meal were called “Passover.”
New Testament Application
Passover represented Israel’s freedom from slavery, but it is also symbolic of our freedom from the bondage of sin. According to John 1:29, Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He became our Passover Lamb; and when the Israelites smeared the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintel, the stroke of their hands formed the symbol of a cross, and in a sense became prophetic of the grace that we would receive through Jesus’ death on the cross. In 1 Corinthians 5:7 the apostle Paul declared, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”
Revelation 7:14 reveals that those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior are wearing robes washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. The reason why we are able to escape judgment and condemnation is because God only sees the blood of Jesus Christ when He looks at us; and because He sees only the blood, He will pass over us, as “the destroyer” passed over the Israelites. As the old gospel hymn says, “When I see the blood, I will pass, I will pass over you.” Therefore, I hope we will realize that Passover is not only significant to the Jews, but it is significant to Christians as well.
In Exodus 12:14 the Lord told Israel concerning the Passover, “So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.” When we come to the New Testament we discover that the Jews are still celebrating Passover just as God commanded.
Jesus Himself celebrated Passover. Mark 14:12 says, “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, ‘Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?’” In Luke 22:14-16 we read, “When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, ‘With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God’.” I am sure you recognize these words as the beginning of the Lord’s Supper, which Christians observe to this very day.
Our Lord’s Supper originated with the Passover. In 1 Corinthians 5:4-8, Paul admonished the believers of Corinth, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” What I want us to catch here is what Paul advised in reference to the Passover. He said, “Therefore let us keep the feast . . .” (v. 8). This tells me that Christians are supposed to remember the Passover; however, to set your mind at ease, I will say that we do observe Passover each and every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper.
Elements of the Passover Meal
As Christians, we partake of the Lord’s Supper on a regular basis, because it’s a church ordinance. Passover is not a church ordinance, but if we feel led, it is acceptable to observe the Passover; and when we choose to observe it, we need to keep in mind that the Passover meal includes a few other elements in addition to the bread and grape juice. I want to take a few minutes and share with you about some of the elements of the Passover Meal, and describe what they each mean:
1.) The Passover Meal begins with the “removal of leavened bread” from the room. In Jewish tradition leavened bread came to have a negative connotation as a religious symbol, for it signified the potential for both corruption and sin. Removing the bread reveals a willingness to remove any corrupting influence in one’s life and submitting to God in obedience.
2.) There are four times during the meal in which “a sip of grape juice is taken,” and these four sips represent “freedom,” “deliverance,” “redemption,” and “thanksgiving.” These are some things that Christians should celebrate – the freedom and deliverance from our sin, redemption by the blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb, and thanksgiving for our new freedom and eternal life.
3.) “A spring of celery is eaten,” and this vegetable represents life, created and sustained by God, and how we are filled with great joy at the goodness of God for His Son who gives us life eternal. “The celery is dipped in salt water” before it is eaten. The salt water shows that life in Egypt and sin was hard and filled with pain, suffering, and tears, reminding us that the struggle for freedom begins in suffering, and that life is sometimes immersed in tears.
4.) “Roasted lamb is also eaten” to symbolize the Passover lamb that was killed so the Israelite children might live; but it also symbolizes the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
5.) “A roasted egg is eaten.” The egg is in an oval shape, symbolizing no beginning and no end. The egg is a symbol of new life and hope, and reminds us that God’s grace is eternal with no end.
6.) A hidden piece of “unleavened bread is eaten” to symbolize the long awaited Messiah.
7.) “Horseradish is eaten,” which are bitter herbs to remind us of how bitter our lives were as slaves in sin. As sweet as our lives are now, we must never forget the bitterness of our bondage from which we have come out.
8.) Also, “charoset is eaten.” Charoset is a sweet mixture of apples, honey, and nuts. Often, life is a mixture of the bitter and the sweet, and sadness and joy. It reminds us of the sweetness that God can bring into the most bitter of our circumstances, such as the sweetness of His forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ.
9.) The Passover meal is also filled with the singing of four hymns, which correspond to the four sips of grape juice.
The Passover is a formal meal that utilizes symbolism to teach us the story of redemption, and it is a meaningful worship experience that numerous protestant churches and denominations, including Southern Baptists, are beginning to incorporate into their yearly calendar. I have led in some of these celebrations myself, and I have always received the same feedback. Those who participated expressed that they were somewhat afraid to attend because it was a new experience, but that they would not have missed it for anything. The major comment was that it was “very meaningful.”
Lord’s Supper or Communion
I want to re-shift our focus for just a moment to think about the Lord’s Supper, of which we have the great privilege of partaking regularly. The Lord’s Supper is a meaningful service also. It is, in fact, a scaled down version of the Passover; however, the two symbols utilized in the Lord’s Supper, or the Communion, are “the most important ones” for us to remember, and they are “the bread” and “the wine,” or juice.
You see, we must also remember the Lord’s Supper and its symbolism. The Jews were commanded to keep the Passover (Exodus 12:14), and it seems that Christians should consider observing the Passover too (1 Corinthians 5:8); but Christians are definitely commanded to remember the Lord’s Supper. In Luke 22:19, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me,” and in 1 Corinthians 11:25-26, the apostle Paul reiterated Christ’s words, saying, “This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
What do the two symbols in the Lord’s Supper mean? In Mark 14:22-24, concerning the Passover, which is where the Lord’s Supper was instituted, we are told, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many’.” The bread symbolizes Jesus’ body that was broken, and the cup symbolizes Jesus’ blood that was shed, as He died on the cross in to pay the penalty for our sins.
Time of Reflection
In his gospel, the apostle John declared, “Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:14b-17).
As Easter is approaching, and as we reflect on the Passover and the Lord’s Supper, let’s remember our Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, who was slain on the cross and whose blood was spilled to atone for our sins; and if you are here this morning, and you have never had your sins washed clean by the blood of the Lamb, then I wish to invite you to come and receive Jesus into your heart today.
