Tomorrow night is Passover. It is the time our family observes the death and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua. We keep it simple, usually with a quiet meal at home . . . OK, with four kids it's not that quiet. At the table we will remind our children of its Messianic symbolism and finish by partaking in communion with matzos and small cups of grape juice. We remember our Savior's sacrifice – His body beaten and broken for us, His blood spilled for the remission of sins.
The first Passover, which liberated the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, was a foreshadowing of a greater redemption. God instructed His people through Moses to take an unblemished male lamb into their homes on the 10th day of Nissan. On the 14th the lambs were sacrificed and their blood applied to the doorposts, thus sparing the firstborn God's final plague. The four days allowed each family member to become attached to the lamb and impress upon them the costly nature of the sacrifice – an innocent one would die in their place.
Yeshua was God's answer in Genesis 22:8 as Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac on the altar – "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering." Satisfied with Abraham's trust and obedience, God stopped Abraham from taking his son's life and substituted a ram caught in a nearby thicket. God saved Isaac, but did not spare His own Son, who was crucified at the very hour the lambs were slaughtered in Jerusalem for Passover. Yeshua is our Passover Lamb. His shed blood is applied to the doorpost of every heart that believes and trusts in Him. As such, God will "pass over" every convert and spare them the plague of spiritual death.
Posted by Jeff King at April 22, 2005 05:58 PM