The Jewish feast known as “Passover” recalls the apprehensive night of Israel’s departure from Egypt. It is described as “a night to be much observed”—or “a night of observations” (Exodus 12:42 c/p KJV margin). The Revised Version margin renders this as “a night of watching unto the Lord.” A consideration of this feast and of the circumstances with which it was originally associated shows that it has a deep significance for those who would seek to become partakers of the gospel promises in a real and true sense. We can only consider these things briefly here, but we will see that as Israel of old were brought out of Egypt, so now God has visited “the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name” (Acts 15: 14; c/p Leviticus 20:26). The idea of an “exodus”—a coming out—is a main theme of the New Testament, for example:
“Wherefore come out from among them; and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you...” (2 Corinthians 6:17; Revelation 18:4).
This is an exodus from a spiritual Egypt (Revelation 11:8), not a physical removal from the world, but a separation from its evil (see John 17: 15). The principles that effect or bring about this separated state are clearly prefigured in the keeping of the passover meal—as are also the principles upon which men and women can become related to the Lord Jesus Christ, and so become eligible to partake of the great and precious promises that center in him.
What is Involved?
As “the destroyer” smote Egypt’s firstborn on that dark and tragic night, the Israelites huddled together in their houses having taken the course of action prescribed—so that the Lord would pass over their dwelling and spare the life of the firstborn who had taken refuge within the doors. What they did was to act in faith by obeying the instructions given them (see Hebrews 11:28). Their position was analogous to ours today: we are warned in Scripture that God’s last judgments are to come upon this world—which is guilty of gross misbehaviour and great wickedness in the sight of God. Just as the night of the passover was “a night of watching,” so Jesus told his followers (Luke 21:36),
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
On the night of the original passover there was only one way of escape—and there is only one way today also. The instructions to the children of Israel are detailed for us in Exodus 12 and 13. They were to:
1. Take a perfect lamb for each house and inspect it for 4 days. They were then to kill it and (with a bunch of hyssop) smear its blood upon the door-posts and lintel of the house. Care had to be taken not to break a bone.
2. For 7 days they must eat unleavened bread (a search having been made on the first day to ensure the absence of leaven in the house).
3. On the night of passover, they would eat the flesh of the lamb, roasted. Also, they would eat unleavened bread with bitter herbs—with loins girded, shoes on their feet and, staff in hand—and they were to eat it with urgency.
4. No alien or foreigner was to eat of it—unless they were circumcised.
5. Their children were to be instructed in the keeping of the feast: “It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover.”
The Jewish Passover Today
The detailed and explicit instructions given in the book of Exodus for the keeping of the passover are not observed by Jews who keep the feast today, yet their minds are still focused upon that night of departure out of Egypt. Redemption from slavery, is how many view the event.
On the night preceding the 14th of Nisan, the Jewish family made a search (usually with the light of a candle) for hametz (leaven). On the night of passover a ritual meal forms part of the “Seder” service. The meal consists of mazzah (matzot or unleavened bread) and bitter herbs (maror). It is eaten “as an act of symbolic remembering.” The lamb is represented by a dry bone—and of course, there is no blood upon door posts or roasted lamb actually eaten. Cups of wine are drunk at intervals while the Haggadah is recited, retelling the story of the exodus from Egypt.
The Jewish people have not sacrificed a paschal lamb since the days of the temple which was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Romans (though Samaritans still do so upon Mt. Gerizim). The absence of the sacrificial lamb is probably the most significant omission in their service, for it was the blood of the lamb which saved them from destruction. Exodus 12:13 states:
“the blood shall be to you for a token (or sign) upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”
The Blood of the Lamb
To the modern mind the idea of “blood” seems barbaric; it speaks of violence and its associated connotations. The Bible is more matter of fact and equates the substance of blood with the life that it supports, thus: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood... the blood of it is for the life thereof” (Leviticus 17:11, 14). The blood of a lamb would thus represent to the mind the idea of an innocent life dedicated in sacrifice for others. We may understand then, that as the Israelite took the lamb and slaughtered it—and then smeared its blood on the doorway of his home in order to escape destruction—he must have been inevitably impressed with a sense of his own unworthiness and the need of “innocent blood” to somehow cover him. Not only so—he and his family then had to eat the flesh of the lamb so that it was assimilated and became part of them. It was only by identifying themselves completely with the lamb in this way that they could escape destruction. They would see that God was their redeemer and deliverer, but that He accomplished this work through the life of an innocent lamb which was given and sacrificed for them.
The blood of the lamb was to be put upon the doorposts of the Israelite’s home. As we have seen, this blood was the token or sign of an innocent life—it represented, a way of life. The idea conveyed in this was later cemented when, instead of putting blood on their doorposts, the Israelites were commanded to listen diligently to God’s commandments and lay up His words in their hearts—“And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates” (Deuteronomy 11:18-20). So, the word of God was the vital principle which motivated the life represented by the blood. It was this word then, prophetically manifested in the blood of the lamb, that was to be sprinkled upon the doorposts of their hearts and minds.
Unleavened Bread and Hyssop
Passover night had itself been preceded by the removal of all leaven from the homes of the Israelites. Leaven of course is the raising agent added to dough for breadmaking—it is actually a fermenting process which commences corruption. In the New Testament the Apostle Paul writes of “the leaven of malice and wickedness” and compares it with “the unleavened bread of sincerity (purity) and truth” (1Corinthians 5:8). The discerning Israelite would no doubt understand that a home cleared of all leaven—and in which only unleavened bread was found—ought not to harbour evil ways. To be scrupulous about these figurative things whilst the members of the household manifested malice, envy, hatred or immorality—a home where there was constant bickering, enmity and conflict—was to deny the spirit and intent of the whole procedure. The household would have been duty-bound to examine itself and ensure that its members were seeking only purity and truth.
These thoughts are strengthened by the use of hyssop with which the Israelites applied the blood of the lamb to their doorways. Hyssop is associated with cleansing—and especially when used with blood; it was used for example in the process of cleansing a house of leprosy (Leviticus 14:4,6, 49-52). The words of the Psalmist give us the idea intended:
“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and l shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:6, 7).
The hyssop used in conjunction with blood thus carried the idea forward so that it would not only represent the word of God manifested in a dedicated life, but that it would also have a cleansing or purging effect. The writer to the Hebrews applies these thoughts to Jesus Christ, saying that “the blood of Jesus Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, (shall) purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9: 14). He says, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (verse 22). Thus, purging, cleansing, and remission of sin is indicated.
Bitter Herbs
Bitterness is inextricably bound up with the history of the Jewish people—their suffering and pain are unequaled, except perhaps by groups of certain Christian believers who experienced their holocaust in (for example) the forgotten history of Piedmont and similar places. Suffering of one kind or another is the experience of all those who God calls and prepares through the teaching of His word.
The prophet Ezekiel enacted this principle when he was commanded to eat the word of God in the form of a scroll (Ezekiel 2:7-10). The message contained in the scroll consisted of “lamentations, and mourning, and woe.” It was a message of Divine judgment for Israel. In his mouth, the word was “as honey for sweetness” (chapter 3:3, 4), yet the message caused the prophet to go “in bitterness” (verse 14); for bitter indeed were the judgments that were to come upon the people of Israel.
A similar situation is found in the last book of the Bible, where the apostle John is also told to “eat up” a little book. As with Ezekiel, this little book was sweet as honey in John’s mouth, but, he says, “as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter” (Rev. 10:9-11). Why bitter? Because it was a prophecy which he (and those that he represented) had to deliver before the world—and that was to bring the bitterness of persecution and affliction.
The journey to the Land of Promise was not going to be a bed of roses—God’s way is not a way of ease and comfort—it is a hard road with many lessons to be learnt which only bitter experience can teach.
At first Israel had been successful and prosperous in Egypt—until a Pharaoh arose who knew not Joseph. Israel were then envied. The Egyptians became jealous of Israel’s favoured position, and this grew into the hatred of the Jew—just as we saw it in Europe during the 1930s. The Egyptians thus “made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage” (Exodus 1:13-14). This persecution and affliction acted as a means of separating the nation. Had everything continued comfortable and prosperous the children of Israel would have been content to stay in Egypt—but the hand of the Lord brought things to such a pitch that they were finally “thrust out.” Bitter experience is thus often a means of separating out God’s people. As Jesus told his followers: “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:22-23).
Sanctified by the Truth
The passover was to be eaten with a sense of urgency by a people who were ready to travel at a moment’s notice. They were to be a people who were ready to come out and be separate (c/p 2 Corinthians 6:17). This would be impressed upon them as they ate the passover meal according to the instructions given—“And thus shall ye eat it, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand: and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s passover” (Exodus 12:11). This was the time of Israel’s separation from other peoples as the Spirit says in Leviticus 20:24, “I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people.”
But Israel were to be separated for a purpose. They were to be dedicated. This is “sanctification.” Jesus expressed this in saying: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth... and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (John 17:17,19). To this, we can add the words of Hebrews 13:12, “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.”
In these Scriptures, the “blood” of Jesus and “the truth” become synonymous terms—for this was his life. He was the word made flesh (John 1:14), and could say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). This was our passover who is sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7), for all these figures converged in Christ.
Eating his Flesh
Having dedicated their homes by the blood of the lamb being put upon their doorposts and lintels, the Israelites were to “eat the flesh in that night”—and with bitterness they were to eat it (Exodus 12:8). In fulfillment of this Jesus who was “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), told the Jews that they should eat his flesh and drink his blood (John 6).
The Jews could not grasp the meaning of this at all! There are some who call themselves “Christians” today who cannot grasp it either, and consequently imagine that a few Latin words muttered over a wafer-biscuit turn it into the real flesh of Jesus so that they can eat him! Other “Christians” who are not quite as deluded as that, take bread and eat it as a representative emblem of the flesh of Jesus—yet are still unclear as to why they should consume the flesh of Jesus, even in symbol. It is eaten, we are told, as an act of “faith” and in remembrance of him so that they may gain eternal life. But is this all that we are to understand? Are disciples to sit together and masticate [i.e. chew] bread as a symbol of his broken body whilst they contemplate the agony and suffering that Jesus endured as their substitute?
True it is that Jesus told the Jews assembled in the Capernaum synagogue:
“Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (John 6:53-56).
Further, and by way of explanation Jesus told them:
“As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven” (verses 57, 58).
The Jews were still mystified—and so were many of the disciples. Afterwards, in speaking to his disciples Jesus put the matter before them as clearly as possible:
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (verse 63).
Let us digest this. The blood of the lamb, the flesh of the lamb, the blood of Jesus, the flesh of Jesus, the bread which came down from heaven—all these terms are figures of speech which describe the reality. What is it that actually quickens or makes alive?
The word “spirit” in John 6:63 is a translation of the Greek word pneuma which literally means breath, a current of air, or wind. It thus denotes an invisible driving force and can be applied in a variety of ways. In the particular context under consideration, the words spoken by Jesus are the driving force referred to: “they are spirit, and they are life.” His word “quickens” the disciple—and this word is the germ of life. Peter acknowledges this saying to the Lord Jesus, “thou hast the words of eternal life” (verse 68).
To partake of the passover, or to partake of the Lord’s supper, is therefore an outward sign of an inner regeneration activated by the eating, digesting and assimilation of the word of God. The word of Christ working within a man or woman manifests itself in the life that they live, and is thus described as Christ being in them—or as Jesus expressed it: “he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”
This process separates, sanctifies, and detaches the dedicated believer from “the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). He is to be “unleavened.” For this reason then, the believer is counselled to examine himself:
“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
It is only where a man or woman is mentally feeding upon Christ’s word so that his mind is transformed (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23)—it is only where this is happening that it can be said that Christ is in a person. Where this is the case, the process of the New Covenant, as given in Hebrews 10:16-17, is active:
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”
So, the believer must examine himself and ensure that there is a reality active within so that he may honestly exhibit this in the external sign of it provided by Jesus. Where this is the case, and a believer is walking in the light of the truth, then “the blood of Jesus Christ his (God’s) Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). It is in hope that the disciple of Christ “purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3).
The true religion of God then, by operating upon the conscience, is reforming and purifying in its effect. Not that anyone can ever say that they are without sin, for there is no man that sinneth not—but where the process of cleansing and reformation is going on within, and confession is made in the name of Jesus, he is faithful and just to forgive sins as well as to cleanse the disciple from all unrighteousness.
These things are just some of the principles that are associated with the passover. Clearly, it pointed forward to Christ. We have not discussed the purchasing power of Christ’s blood (it is the love of Christ that constrains us) or the great mercy of God through which sins are forgiven. We have not had space to explore the connections between the passover and Israel’s future redemption in Christ, when they shall look upon him whom they pierced and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for the firstborn.
These things must be left for another occasion when perhaps we may be able to consider the feast as it shall be fulfilled in the kingdom of God (Luke 22:16). On that future day a great chorus of sound will reverberate over the Judean hills proclaiming a great truth:
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing ...for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev. 5:12, 9).