The Passover Banquet

I. "WHAT MEAN YE BY THIS SERVICE?"

A. The Passover was a most impressive service:

1. Its ritual would intrigue the young to ask questions - "What mean ye by this service? How does this service affect the youth in Israel?"

2. That ancient festival was but a type of the Lord's Supper

B. The parents could answer:

1. This passover is the banquet of our liberty from Egyptian bondage

2. Also, it is a reminder of God sparing the first-born sons in Israel

II. LET US TAKE A BRIEF BUT CLOSER LOOK AT THE ANCIENT PASSOVER

A. Meaning of the word "Passover":

1. This word comes from the Hebrew verb "pasoch" which signifies to pass, to leap, or skip over

2. They gave the name of Passover to the feast that was established in commemoration of coming forth out of Egypt

3. It was a reminder to them of how the angel of the Lord slew the first-born sons of Egypt, but spared their first-born - Ex. 12:11-16

B. Some of the regulations of the Passover:

1. The setting apart of a lamb

2. The slaying of the Passover lamb and the putting of the blood on the doorposts - Ex 12:11-27; Lev 23:5; Num 28:10-16

3. The feast was kept for seven days from the 14th to the 21st of Nisan, corresponding to our March - April

4. The Israelites came from all parts of the country to celebrate; none was exempted 5. It was the one time when the hospitality of the people in Jerusalem included all celebrants

C. It was the yearly banquet of Israel:

1. Seven days of great joy

2. A memorial of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage - Deut 5:5

III. OUR BANQUET OF LIBERTY

A. Since that ancient festival, the passover was a type of our Passover, which is Christ:

1. That is what Paul understood - compare Col 2:16-17 with Heb 10:1-9; 9:8-16

2. The lamb of the Passover was set apart and kept separate from the flock for sometime; Jesus Christ, too, was marked by he Jews to be killed, and walked no longer openly among the Jews - John 11:47-54

3. Christ was slain on the day the Jews were preparing to eat the Passover - John 18:28; 19:14; 19:31; Luke 23:54-56

4. The lamb of the Passover died between the two evenings - Ex 12:6; Christ died between the two evenings - Mark 15:34-37; John 19:30

5. No bone of the Passover lamb was to be broken - Ex 12:46; no bone of the Saviour was to be broken - John 19:33-36

B. Our Banquet of Liberty:

1. Centers in the precious blood of Jesus, the lamb of God - compare John 1:29 with I Pet 1:18-19; John 6:53-54

2. Whenever we partake of the Lord's Supper, we are enjoying the Heaven provided banquet for penitent sinners - John 3:16; Rev 1:5

3. No leaven was allowed in the homes of the Israelites - Ex 12:19; the unleavened bread at the Lord's Supper represents freedom from malice and wickedness - I Cor 5:7-8; I Pet 3:10; I Thess 5:23

4. Deliverance to ancient Israel came at midnight - Ex 12:7,29,42; final deliverance will come to God's remnant people at midnight - Job 34:20

5. No shelter from the destroyer could be had, save it be under the sign of the blood on the doorpost - Ex 12:22-23; neither can there be an shelter for the sinner except it be under the precious blood of Jesus - Acts 4:12; Heb 9:22; John 6:53-55

6. No stranger could take the Passover meat - Ex 12:43; no sinner or unrighteous person shall share the reward of the righteous - Mal 4:1-3; Ezek 28:12-19; Eph 2:13; Gal 3:29