If it’s important to God, it MUST BE important to us!
We are entering into one of the year’s most life-changing, miracle-working seasons. It’s the season of Passover and Resurrection Sunday (Easter).
As Christians, we traditionally celebrate Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday (Easter); however, we do not give much thought to the Jewish feast of Passover. Most Christians know Passover celebrates the journey of the ancient Hebrews from the slavery of Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land-Israel, as told in the book of Exodus. Frankly, that’s just the beginning.
In 2025, Passover and Resurrection Sunday (Easter) crossover. Let’s look at the dates:
Palm Sunday – April 13,
Great Friday- April 18,
Easter/Resurrection Sunday – April 20
PASSOVER – Sundown April 12 – April 20
God instructed His people to apply the blood of lambs to their doors so that the judgment would pass over (hence Passover) their homes.
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (Exodus 12:12-13 NIV).
Passover is about THE BLOOD of the Lamb.
It’s about God’s redeeming power on earth! It is about your deliverance, freedom, and protection by the Blood of the Lamb! Passover revealed that the Lord distinguished between His people and those who were not His people.
The Passover feast remembers the Israelites’ exodus from hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt and the redemption of a newborn nation belonging to the Lord.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HEBREWS IN EGYPT:
It starts with Joseph. His brothers sold him, and he ended up in Egypt. Even though he was a slave, God was with Joseph and blessed the work of his hands, so he had great favor. Through a series of events over several years, Joseph finds himself before Pharoah. By the grace and wisdom of God, Joseph tells Pharoah what he desires (Genesis 41), the interpretation of his dreams. God gives Joseph a strategy to save Egypt, and Pharoah gives Joseph charge over Egypt.
Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt looking for food. He reveals himself to his brothers and extends forgiveness. Joseph’s family moves to Goshen. At the end of Genesis, Joseph dies. He had favor with the people of Israel, and his family was protected because of his position.
BUT THEN…
A new Pharoah (KING) comes on the scene for Egypt, unfamiliar with Joseph. Within several generations, the descendants of Jacob (Israel—Joseph’s father) were ruthlessly enslaved, just as God told Abraham, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there” (Genesis 15:13 NIV).
The Israelites were afflicted and oppressed. This is the center of our Passover narrative:
“So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly” (Exodus 1:11-14 NIV).
BUT GOD!
The Hebrews had become too numerous, so Pharaoh ordered that every Hebrew boy that was born be thrown into the Nile. But God had a plan, and his name was Moses. (You can read his origin story in Exodus 2.)
Many years later, Moses flees from Egypt. But after an encounter with the God of the Hebrews through a burning bush, Moses returns to Egypt and asks Pharaoh to let the slaves go for three days to worship their God.
Pharaoh refused, and the judgments on the gods of the Egyptians began. Each plague had a direct correlation to one of the Egyptian gods. The last plague was the judgment of death, which is where the story of Passover begins.
“Take care of [the lambs] until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover” (Exodus 12:6-11 NIV).
REMEMBER THE PASSOVER
God commanded the Hebrews to remember the Lord’s Passover for generations to come. The Lord gave specific instructions on how He desired the festival to be celebrated. (You can read more about it in Exodus 12.)
On the first two nights of the Passover celebration, the Jews read from the Haggadah. This book tells the story of Passover and sums up the importance of the seder, the ritual meal eaten on the first two nights of Passover. The Haggadah states, “In each and every generation, we are obligated to see ourselves as if we personally left Egypt.”
The most important symbols of Passover are the matzah (unleavened bread), maror (bitter herbs), and lamb or shank bone. The Bible tells us that we are to eat the lamb with matzah and maror (Exodus 12:8).
Lamb bone: This represents the lamb whose blood was used to mark the doorposts of the homes God passed over before the exodus in Egypt. Since the destruction of the second Temple, the Jews no longer make the sacrificial offering of a lamb at Passover; therefore, many families do not eat lamb at the Passover meals but simply represent the lamb with a bone.
As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God. It is His blood that the Lord sees on the doorposts of our hearts, granting us freedom from judgment and destruction.
Matzah: Jews eat matzah at the Passover seder to recall the haste with which the Hebrews left Egypt, baking their dough before it had a chance to rise (Exodus 12:39). Matzah also represents the bread of affliction, a reminder of the harsh servitude the Hebrews experienced in Egypt.
Maror: The maror (bitter herbs), usually represented by horseradish or bitter lettuce, reminds us that the Egyptians embittered the lives of the Hebrews (Exodus 1:14).
Your Chains Are Gone!
The blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, still has the power to set you free! Jesus is our atoning sacrifice. He paid the price with His blood that justice demanded so that we would not have to experience the judgment of death but have eternal life with Him.
The blood on the door provided protection and immunity! The blood of Jesus that covers us still provides that protection and immunity! The covenant principle of Exodus is all about REDEMPTION—which has its fullness in being released and redeemed from something (sin, law, judgment, etc.).
“I will go through the land of Egypt…and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am God. The blood will serve as a sign…When I see the blood I will pass over you—no disaster will touch you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12-13 MSG).
The Passover foreshadows what Jesus, the Lamb of God, would do for all of humanity. The Passover is important to God because it illustrates His power and His love for His people.
God delivered His people, the Hebrews, from the slavery of Egypt. God is able to DELIVER you too!
During this season of remembrance, as we remember the freedom God gave the Hebrews and the price that Jesus paid with His death and Resurrection, let’s remember that we were once entrapped and enslaved by sin. We were once headed down the path of death and destruction!
But God!
But God drew us to Himself. Our eyes were opened, and we could see. As John the Baptist once said of Jesus, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NLT). We could see that we were sinful. We could see that we needed a savior. And when we believed in Jesus, the price was paid, and the stains of sin washed away.
We don’t forget that we were once slaves to sin…we rejoice that we have been set FREE!
