THE STAND
RE: THE PASSOVER
Passover, that holy Jewish feast and celebration, begins Monday, April 22, and ends Tuesday, April 30.
The Passover is a holy event, the first day the most important, but the entire time one very sacred and spiritually desirable to the Jewish people. Passover is considered the festival of freedom, the freedom of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt.
This very special spiritual season originates from the biblical story of Moses and the visitation of the 10 plagues upon the Egyptians to whom the Israelites, the Jewish people, were enslaved. The Jewish people were commanded to mark the doors of their homes with lamb’s blood so that the Angel of Death, the one visiting these plagues upon the Egyptian people, would “pass over” their homes as the plagues were initiated.
The lamb’s blood was crucial, and necessary as a sign of faith and belief by the Israelites in the promises of their God, Jehovah. Passover celebrates the theme of REDEMPTION, forgiveness, and restoration of the relationship of the people with their God.
But, Passover, centered on other themes as well. There was the celebration of LIBERATION. Once again, freedom was their portion and under the leadership of their
great leader Moses, the Israelites fled Egypt, the Red Sea was parted, and the journey to the promised land began.
Passover also celebrates the theme of JUSTICE. Israelites in Egypt suffered much and so often and almost always without justice of any kind. Their freedom from Egyptian
bondage allowed them to formulate new systems, and rules and regulations of justice under the leadership and direction of Moses, and the establishment of the Mosaic
Code. The Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, lays out those laws and the initiation of the Judeo-justice codes so very clearly.
Passover was also known as the FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD. The leaven that was removed from the bread represented sin and partaking of that bread was symbolic of the concept of redemption. The bread and the blood were critical components, essential to the main purposes of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jewish people gather around the table, celebrate Passover, at Sader and pray for freedom, justice, and redemption. They do so knowing that antisemitism is on the rise once again worldwide, Jews are singled out for a special kind of hatred, and Israel especially as a result of the Israeli-Hamas war, is vilified by the nations of the world. No matter that Hamas began the war, savagely killed Israeli citizens and took and continues to hold hostages, the world finds Israel to blame for the counterattack as it has throughout history. It seems as though the Angel of Death is never finished with his business.
JESUS WAS JEWISH!
How seldom it seems we as Christians remember that, or honor His heritage. WE seem to have the same lack of respect for HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE (the Jews). Our Lord himself celebrated Passover. He celebrated the FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD with his twelve disciples just prior to His death. He commanded them to reserve a special room, prepare the feast, and be ready for what was for him his VERY LAST SUPPER.
That blessed and final event occurred in the UPPER ROOM of an Inn in Jerusalem where our Lord announced his arrest, false trial, and crucifixion, only to be followed by
his resurrection, to his sad and somewhat unbelieving disciples. He entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, taught in the temple, and made his final journey UP TO
JERUSALEM, a city and its people holy to God and which he passionately loved.
At that last supper, the disciples, all twelve, conversed with their Lord, ate, and drank, perhaps never realizing that was the last time that would happen. It was there that
Jesus introduced what became known as THE LORD’S SUPPER, our present Communion. There he broke the bread, symbolic of his broken body, and commanded
the disciples to eat. He poured the wine which was symbolic of his blood shed on the cross, like the lamb of old, and commanded the disciples to drink. The blood and the
bread have been so very important to Christians, His followers and believers from that day forward. And that would be the last time our Lord would drink wine until such
time as he did with His disciples and all of us in the heavenly kingdom to come.
At that last supper, he announced his betrayal. The disciples wondered who the betrayer was. Jesus identified Judas Iscariot and ordered him to carry out his brutal
act of betrayal. The eleven remaining disciples and our Lord sang, and sang the last hymn, fellowshipped, prayed, and then they as a group went to Gethsemane. Soon
would occur the crucifixion and the resurrection. As the Apostle Paul wrote in
Corinthians:
CHRIST OUR PASSOVER ALSO HAS BEEN SACRIFICED!
The human lamb of God replaced the animal lamb and the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate meaning of Passover was fulfilled by the LAMB OF GOD. Hear then the words
of Scripture:
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD.
Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is very sacred and precious to the Jewish people. But it also has strong significance to Christians as we celebrate the crucifixion
and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, HIMSELF A JEW! We Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and that he will return a second time. It is
our duty to protect His people, the Jews, to stand with them, to bless them, to love them, always remembering as Christians that salvation is offered to the Jew first, and
then to the Gentile.
There is much we can learn as Christians from the celebration of the Passover. It was a very special, spiritual time for our Lord who celebrated the event with love and
passion. If HE did that, so should we.
Redemption, freedom, justice:
