Passover Blessings in the Lamb of God!
Jesus and Passover
Recent questions such as, “What does Jesus have to do with Passover?” have caused me to do some extensive research on Passover in the First Century A.D. Passover today is associated, by most people, with the Jews. Given the present-day level of antisemitic rhetoric and actions worldwide, it seems prudent and the will of God to show the relationship between Jesus and Passover. Jesus: a Jew who celebrated Passover His entire life and chose to spend His final hours observing this Feast of the Lord.
His mother called Him Yeshua (Jesus is the English translation) and the holy day is called Pesach (Passover is the English translation). The first time we see Yeshua at Passover He was twelve years old, debating and amazing the rabbis in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Yeshua and His family traveled to Jerusalem three times a year as commanded in the Torah in Deuteronomy 16:16—at the Passover (Feast of Unleavened Bread), the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. In the first century when Jesus lived, the Passover sacrifice and meal were celebrated only in Jerusalem because the animal eaten at the meal (lamb or goat) had to be slaughtered in the Temple. Yeshua and His family observed the Passover as prescribed in Exodus chapter 12 where God, through Moses, instituted this Feast of Adonai. The timing was to be in the first month of the year (God’s biblical calendar—the month of Nisan). A lamb was to be chosen on Nisan 10—a lamb for a household. The lamb had to be without blemish, a male of the first year. On Nisan 14, the whole congregation of Israel had to kill the lamb at twilight. Then, of utmost importance: “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. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” (Ex. 12:7-8). And, “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.” (Ex.12:13).
The three mandatory elements that were on Yeshua’s Passover table were the lamb, the unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs. When God told the children of Israel, through Moses, to “kill the Passover” (Ex.12:21), it was “haPesach.” The lamb. Passover today is thought of as a holiday—a family celebration. In Yeshua’s day and in the Torah, Pesach is all about the Lamb. In the Gospel of John we read that Yeshua experienced three Passovers (contributing to the belief that His ministry lasted three years). The first and last Passovers were celebrated in Jerusalem at the beginning and end of His public life. The middle Passover is considered to be the period just before Passover when Yeshua speaks about Himself as the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:35).
Behold the Lamb
In the first century mind, the lamb of Passover, HaPesach, was a sacrificial lamb whose blood, when applied, saved those who applied it from death. The Torah said, “For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you” (Ex. 12:23).
Lambs were regularly sacrificed in the Temple in Jerusalem for atonement for sin. Without blood there was no atonement (Lev. 17:11). Now picture Jesus appearing on the scene. What does Yohanan (John) the Immerser say about Him? “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!‘” (Jn. 1:29).
Jewish minds may have made a connection with Abraham and his son Issac, since the words of Issac were well known: “…where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7). The sacrificial lamb. Deep in Hebrew thought. A good question to be asked today at traditional Jewish Passovers would be: “Where is the lamb?” We, as Messianic believers, have the answer! The Lamb is a Person, not a dead shank bone on a seder plate.
Jesus’ Passover Observances: Timing
After the weekly Sabbath, the Feasts of the Lord (moadim or appointed times) have very specific dates according to the Torah in Leviticus chapter 23. Therefore, we know that Yeshua celebrated Passover every year on the fourteenth day of the first month (Nisan) at twilight. Then He would have observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of Nisan. Following those two khagim (feasts), Yeshua would have celebrated the Feast of Firstfruits that occurred on the day after the Sabbath of Passover.
What does this mean as it relates to Yeshua’s final Passover on earth? He entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan—the day on which the Passover lambs were chosen (Ex. 12:3). Crowds waving palm branches shouted, “Baruch haba b’shem Adonai” (Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”) (John 12:13). Jesus was presenting Himself as Israel’s Passover Lamb.
“Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He [Jesus] sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.” (Luke 22:7-8). Yeshua knew that His hour had come, and He wanted to do what was important to Him at that hour. He said to His disciples, “… 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” (Luke 22:15-16). SELAH. (Will there be another Passover celebration in heaven? Will the Lamb be the host?).
At His final Passover on earth, Yeshua imbued the elements with new, eternal meaning, identifying Himself with the Passover sacrifice. The unleavened bread (matzah today) became a symbol of His sinless body that would be broken. “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me'” (Luke 22:19). What were they remembering up until then? Their deliverance from Egyptian bondage by the powerful right arm of the Lord, and their exodus before their bread had time to rise. Now they were to remember His body (the Bread of Life of Jn. 6:35) that would be broken for them as they were about to be delivered from the bondage to sin.
Yeshua identified the cup after supper, the Cup of Redemption, with forgiveness of sin made possible through the blood that He was about to pour forth on the tree of sacrifice. “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you'” (Luke 22:20). [This was a reference to the New Covenant, the Brit Hadasha, promised in Jeremiah 31:31].
At the Passover meal, Jesus was sitting with John at His right and Judas at His left. He dipped unleavened bread into bitter herbs (usually horseradish today) with the one who was about to bitterly betray Him (Mark 14:20). In the Garden of Gethsemane (Gat HaShamanim), Jesus suffered in agony, the drops of blood falling (Luke 22:44) from His brow reminiscent of the drops on the Passover plate that recalled the judgement of God (of the idols of Egypt). Yeshua took the judgment that our sin deserved.
Later that night, Yeshua was betrayed and arrested. He endured an unfair trial, humiliation, torture, and beatings, and then crucifixion at the time when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed (Luke 22-23). (While there is still some controversy over the exact timing of the crucifixion, one thing is clear: JESUS DIED AT PASSOVER). This is fact. Yeshua was also in the grave during the Passover holiday, the FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD, the feast mentioned in Leviticus 23 that is considered part of the Passover.
When did Jesus rise from the dead? On another Jewish feast: the FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS of Leviticus 23. That is why the Brit Hadasha in I Corinthians 15:20 says, “But now Messiah is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” It fell on a Sunday, the first day of the week. It could rightfully be called “Passover” or “Firstfruits Sunday”.
So What Happened?
Why don’t Christians today celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus when it actually happened—during the Feast of Passover? I will try to relate the truth as I have discovered it. To begin, the earliest followers of Jesus, all Jews, celebrated the death and resurrection of the Messiah at Passover. In their weekly worship they observed the Jewish Sabbath, followed by a communal meal on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Yeshua. (Christian Sunday worship as we know it emerged from this early observance).
The earliest Christian documents called the death and resurrection of Jesus and the celebration of it “Pascha”—the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “Pesach” or Passover. This has at times been called the “Christian Passover.” It is believed that these first believers may have added some remembrance of Jesus’ death and resurrection to the traditional order of service (seder, as it is known today). This might be the case with the three matzot in one pocket, with the middle one broken and then “resurrected”.
In Syria and Asia Minor until the second century, many Jewish and Gentile Christians celebrated the “Christian Passover” at the same time as the traditional Jewish Passover, beginning on sundown on the fourteenth of Nisan. For this reason they were called Quartodecimans, the Latin for “Fourteeners.” They read the story of the first Passover in Exodus 12 and engaged in prayers and hymns. They also celebrated the resurrection at this time.
Some theologians, like Irenaeus of Lyons defended the Quartodeciman practice of keeping a Christian Passover, but Sunday observance gradually dominated the whole Church, and the observance of the 14th of Nisan died out in the next two or three centuries.
In the meantime, for about 300 years, believers in Messiah Jesus celebrated His death at Passover and His resurrection at the Feast of Firstfruits, Yom HaBikkurim. Then, a separation came between Christianity and Judaism as more and more Gentiles believed in Yeshua. Quoting from Jesus and Passover by Anthony J. Saldarini, “These non-Jewish believers overwhelmed those who were born Jews, and they gradually changed the character and center of the Christian community. The Gentile converts absorbed enormous amounts of Jewish belief and practice: a weekly day of worship, the Bible, hymns and prayers, public reading of the Bible, moral norms, festivals, etc. but they detached these practices from their Jewish setting and gave them a new home and meaning.”
The Facts About Easter
I have not mentioned Easter so far, because there was no “Easter” as a celebration of the resurrection until from 300-700 years after the death of Jesus. There was, however, a pagan festival celebrating Spring since pre-historic times. The goddess connected with this festival was named Eostre from which Easter may be derived. This is still open for debate but is thought to be the connection with painted eggs and bunnies (fertility symbols). What is NOT debatable is the change in dates of the celebration. While the early disciples of Yeshua lived according to the traditional Jewish calendar, some Christians no longer wanted to be dependent on the Jewish calendar for the ordering of their calendar. They wanted to draw a clear line between the two communities. To separate. So in the 4th century, a final step was taken. The date of the resurrection was fixed at the Roman Church Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. This group, under the rule of Emperor Constantine, decided that the resurrection must be celebrated on a Sunday, independent of the Jewish Passover. This meant that “Easter” would fall on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring equinox.
Constantine has been quoted as saying that it was a Christian “duty to have nothing in common with the murderers of our Lord” (even though Messiah’s death was a joint effort of both Jews and Gentiles and, ultimately, the will and plan of God). The ruling of the council was not immediately accepted by all believers, especially those who had been celebrating the resurrection on Passover. They did not like suddenly being called “heretics”.
The separation of Passover and Easter was a DELIBERATE ACT OF ANTISEMITISM and unfortunately resulted in other acts and persecution of the Jewish people who were then labeled “Christ Killers.” The word “Easter” is believed to have originated around the 8th century AD, 400 years after the Council of Nicaea, replacing the original Greek term PASCHA (meaning Passover). I relay these facts not to attack Easter but to put Passover in its original, positive light. Jesus and Passover certainly are organically related.
Passover in the New Testament
The word Passover appears 28 times in the Brit Hadasha (New Covenant). The Apostle Paul, a learned Hebrew scholar, had much to say about Jews and Passover. He seems to have grasped the major focus of the Messiah at His final Passover on earth when Yeshua said, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). He linked the Old Testament Passover sacrifice to the crucifixion of Yeshua. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 5:7, “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us”.
Referring to the new meaning that Jesus gave to the bread and wine of Passover (which eventually became known as “Communion”), Paul said, “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (I Cor. 11:27). The apostle was encouraging the early believers to look for any leaven in their lives (examine themselves) before participating in the “Lord’s Seder.” (See also I Cor. 11:28; Psalm 139).
In I Corinthians 11:23-26, Paul explains how to properly observe the New Testament Passover, or “Lord’s Supper,” and concludes by saying, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” The emphasis on His death—His sacrifice, even more than His resurrection—shows how very meaningful and powerful is the blood of His sacrifice.
The Eternal Passover Lamb in Revelation
While the original Hebrew roots of belief in Jesus may have been buried, rejected, or even scorned over the centuries, they resurface in an amazing way in the final book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. Jesus is exalted as the Eternal Passover Lamb. No bunnies. Just a Lamb slain for our salvation.
The Lamb is the most frequent symbolic figure for Yeshua the Messiah in Revelation. He is the culmination of history: Yeshua, our Passover. Rev. 5:6: “And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain…” Rev. 5:12: “ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Rev. 5:13: “…Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Rev. 7:10: “…Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Rev. 12:11: “And they overcame him [the evil one] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” Rev. 13:8: “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 7:17: “For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Rev. 19:9: “Then he said to me ‘Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb’…”
Don’t be surprised if the marriage supper in Heaven is a Passover meal (seder). Feel free to celebrate Passover now, showing Yeshua (Jesus) as the Glorious Lamb whose blood delivers us from the bondage of sin—and who rose from the dead as a testament to this blessed reality. And good news! The calendars coincide this year with Firstfruits and Easter falling on the same Sunday.
Chag Pesach Sameach (Happy Passover)!
P.S. Let’s put more emphasis on the Risen Lamb at our Passover seders, perhaps during the Afikoman portion of the seder. The Feast of Firstfruits deserves top priority. Where would we be if Yeshua had not risen from the dead?
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