Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread

The Lord's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to the Lord by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. (Lev. 23:5-8)

From the time I was a young girl I knew that Jesus celebrated the Passover, only we called it His last supper. I was always curious about what He did at that meal and why He would have chosen the Passover meal to be His last meal. I asked a Jewish friend of mine about Passover. She gave me a book that I had to read from back to front that explained all about it. I decided at that time each year I would celebrate Passover. I have learned more and more as I celebrated each Passover. Jesus obediently chose Passover for His last supper. In this short devotional I could never present how rich this feast is and how clearly it points to Jesus. My prayer is that you will receive a passion to enter into the celebration of Passover and receive the blessing of knowing more fully what is meant when Paul said Jesus became our Passover Lamb.

Passover is the first feast of the New Year cycle in the Hebrew calendar. It falls in the month of Nisan. In 1 Cor. 5:7-8 Paul encourages the church to celebrate Passover saying Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Sad to say but most Christians do not know much about this wonderful feast and how it points to Jesus, the Lamb of God, our Redeemer. He became our Passover Lamb, sacrificed for the forgiveness of sin. Passover before the time of Christ, and for Jewish people today, is a celebration of how God delivered His people out of the hands of their enemy, the Egyptians (Ex. 12). Today we can celebrate not only the history of the deliverance of the Jewish people, we celebrate Jesus, Lamb of God, and our Lord who paid a debt we could not pay. He became the Lamb and laid Himself on the cross as a sacrifice. For by His shed blood we receive deliverance from the hands of the enemy of this world. His blood redeems us and transfers us into the promise of eternal life. We celebrate a release from bondage and oppression. We begin our journey as a new creation.

For me Passover is a time to praise and give thanks to the Lord my God, who continues to be my deliverer. It is a time to gain faith for the future work He has for me. Passover is a celebration of Jesus my Lord.

This year Passover begins at sundown on March 29. If you have never celebrated Passover I would encourage you to do so this year. I would encourage you to prepare for it by:
1. Preparation. The Jewish people clean their homes. It is a good time to repent of any known sin committed in our homes room by room and thank God for His forgiveness for each sin. (Ps. 51:10)
2. Dedicate or re-dedicate yourself, your home and property to the Lord your God. (Joshua 24:15)
3. Invite the Lord to fill your heart, mind and home with His glory. Sing worship songs, read the Psalms, take communion as a family, fast from the media and do not allow anything before your eyes or ears that would dishonor the continued presence of God. (Ps. 24)

There are many websites to assist you in celebrating Passover. Books that I have used include the following: The Cycles of God by Robert Heidler; God's Appointed Times by Barney Kasdan; Jesus in the Feasts of Israel by Richard Booker.

Submitted by: Patricia L. Wenzel

Digging Deeper (Psalm 51:10-17)

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall show forth thy praise. 16 For thou delightest not in sacrifice; Else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (NKJ)

DIGGING DEEPER
11(W) The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.