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Feasts of the Lord

From a New Testament Perspective


The Feast of Passover


 

Every year Israel celebrated their deliverance, through Moses, out of slavery in Egypt (read Lev. 23:5-14; Deut. 16:1-8; Num. 9:1-14). It is a beautiful picture of our deliverance, through Christ, out of slavery to sin and Satan. Jesus is described as the Passover Lamb:

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"" John 1:29.

Passover is a prophetic picture of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the Cross. Jesus was crucified on the Day of Passover. At the exact time that families all over Israel were slaying their Passover lamb, Jesus died on the Cross (Luke 22:1, 15-20).

"Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" 1 Corinthians 5:7.


The Historic Picture


Read Exodus 12:1-14; 21-51.

The First Month (v.2)

Passover meant a new calendar for Israel. It spoke of a new beginning for them as they left the life of bondage they had known in Egypt. The Cross means a new beginning for the believer - a new covenant (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:6-13) and a new birth (John 3:7).

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Lamb taken, kept 4 days (vs.3,6)

Christ was foreordained to die.

"He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake" 1 Peter 1:20.

The lamb was kept 4 days. 2 Pet. 3:8 declares:

"With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day".

From Adam's sin to the Cross is 4000 years - 4 "days" of the Lord.

A Lamb for a House (v.3)

"...'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved - you and your household.' Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.... then immediately he and all his family were baptised. The jailer .... was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God - he and his whole family" Acts 16:31-34.

A Lamb Without Blemish (v.5)

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" 1 Peter 1:18-19.

A Year-Old Male (v.5)

"For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" 1 Cor.15:21-22 (Rom.5:15).

All the People Kill Lamb (v.6)

While the Jews were celebrating the natural feast - God was fulfilling it in reality. See John 19:14-15.

In the Evening (v.6)

"At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' - which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' ... With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last" Mark 15:33-37.

Blood Atonement (v.7)

"In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" Hebrews 9:22.

Blood Sprinkled Door (v.7, 22)

"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture" John 10:9.

Blood Applied Personally (v.22)

"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe ... God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood..." Rom.3:22-25 (Eph.2:8; Heb.11:28)

Inside the Door (v.22-23)

Safety and protection from the "destroyer" was inside the door.

"... the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one does not touch him... And we are in him who is true - even in his Son Jesus Christ..." 1 John 5:18-20 (Col. 3:3).

Eat the Lamb's Flesh (v.8-10)

The flesh - the Body of the Lamb

"Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me..." John 6:53-57.

Roast with Fire

"... for our God is a consuming fire" Hebrews 12:29.

The Unleavened Bread

"I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If a man eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" John 6:48-51.

Eaten with Bitter Herbs

Read Jeremiah's description of his experiences in Lamentations 3 and note verse 15. The bitter herbs eaten at Passover speak of the sufferings of the Cross.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame... "Hebrews 12:2.

Not a Bone Broken (v.46)

"... The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.... These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: 'Not one of his bones will be broken' ..." John 19:31-36.

Eaten in Haste, Ready to Depart (v.11)

Here is true repentance in the believer pictured - leaving behind the old life, and entering into the new.

" ... I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds" Acts 26:20 (Acts 3:19).

The Firstborn Judged (v.12)

"He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation ... For God was pleased...through him to reconcile to himself all things...by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross Col. 1:15-20 (Romans 8:29; Revelation 1:5).

The Enemy Plundered (v.35-36)

"And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a pubic spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" Colossians 2:15.


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Copyright ©1981,1996 Paul, Bunty and David Collins. All rights reserved. This study may be freely used and reproduced, wholly or in part, by the Christian Church for the non-profit purposes of study and training only, provided copyright and contact information is included.
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