Finding Jesus in the Feasts of Israel (Passover)

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Exodus 12:13

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.

NKJV

Many Christians make a resolution each year to read through the entire Bible in a year.  In fact, there are one year Bible’s one can buy and even online applications where one can set up a plan to read through the Bible in a 12 month period.  However, many good intentions of reading through Scripture are derailed when the reader comes to the numerous Levitical laws and rituals contained in the book of Leviticus.  The main reason for this is that we as Christians are no longer required to practice these rituals due to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross that once and for all forgives us of our sins (Hebrews 10:1-4). 

I remember being bored in school when it came to studying history.  My belief was why should I study history, after all, there is nothing I can do to fix it.  However, as I have gotten older I have come to realize that the study of history is important because it teaches us valuable lessons.  The Book of Leviticus also teaches us valuable lessons, especially when it comes to the feasts of Israel for in these feasts we see a picture of the ministry of Jesus.

There are six Jewish feasts, Passover, the Feast of First Fruits, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), the  Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:4-44).  Over the next six Saturday’s we will look at each of these feasts and see what they tell us about the ministry of Jesus. 

The first of these feasts is Passover.  The first Passover feast occurred when the Israelites were under Egyptian bondage or slavery.  After commanding Pharaoh nine times to let the Israelites go followed by Pharaoh’s continued disobedience, God is about to unleash one final plague.  This plague would be the most deadly as it would kill all the first born in Egypt.  The only way to escape the plague was to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and put some of the blood on the doorposts of your house.  Those that did this and remained in the house would escape this deadly plague (Exodus 12:1-28).

Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God, came to this world.  He came to sinful man and even though he knew no sin, Jesus died a brutal death and shed His blood for our sins.  However, this blood sacrifice is not a blanket pardon on all humanity for just as people had to stay in their households with the blood of the lamb on the doorposts to escape death, one must accept the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins to be pardoned from the death penalty for sin. 

For those that lived before the birth of Christ, the Passover was a look forward to the day when the ultimate Lamb of God, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 would provide a permanent atonement for sin.  For those of us living after the crucifixion of Christ, Passover reminds us that it was always God’s plan to provide the unblemished Lamb of God to provide permanent atonement for sin.  Hebrews 7:26-28 reminds us that the sacrifices of atonement for sin in the Old Testament were temporary but that Jesus, the perfect high priest and Lamb of God once and for all provided atonement for our sins and is why we no longer are required to celebrate Passover. 

However, the requirements of Passover remain in our Bible today to remind us that none of the sacrifices or work we can do is sufficient to atone for our sins and escape the penalty of death.  It is only through the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, that we can have total forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 2:8). 

In 2014, I had an opportunity to attend a Messianic Seder dinner.  If you are a Christian and have not attended one of these feasts, I urge you to do so.  During this dinner, the pastor took time to explain how each component of the dinner pointed to Jesus and his death on the cross.  It is this Seder dinner that Jesus and the Disciples were having at the last supper.  Interestingly, however, Jesus skipped the cup of wrath during the last supper for he alone was preparing to drink that cup by his death on the cross. 

Jesus, Messiah, has paid the total price for our sins but to escape the wrath for our sins, we must come under the protection of the blood of the Lamb of God by accepting Jesus as savior.  If you have not done so already, I want to invite you to come under the protection of the blood of the Lamb and escape God’s wrath by praying this prayer with me.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

You are now under the protection of the blood of the Lamb of God and will escape the wrath of God and enjoy eternal life (John 3:16).  Next Saturday we will discover Jesus in the Feast of First Fruits.