Exodus 12:1-13 is the first record, or the institution of the Passover. It is a time of emotions, of fear, wonder and awe. It was to coincide with the last and most terrible of the plagues which the LORD God would bring upon the land of Egypt. It was that night that the God of the Universe would bring death on the land, and all the first born in Egypt would be put to death. Some of the plagues would be only for the unbelieving Egyptians, and others would affect the Hebrew people as well… this is one of those plagues.
The only way the Hebrews would be spared, is if they followed God’s instructions.
“Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door-frames of the houses where they eat the lambs.
8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.”
To the last detail, the Passover instructions are given. It was a matter of life or death.
Here is how they were to eat the Passover. “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.”
We seem to have mastered the last part of this, as the Lord’s Supper is often given a few minutes to be completed.
To think back and wonder how they must have felt and to know that the only thing that kept them safe… was a sprinkling of blood on the two door posts and lintel, must have been scary as they heard what seemed to be the whole land of Egypt erupting in cries and groans over the loss of their first born children.
It was a night to be forever remembered, and celebrated, as this was the straw that ‘broke the stubborn camel’s back.’ Pharaoh could not stand it any longer. He told Moses to get the Hebrew people out!!!
Jesus told his disciples to prepare the Passover meal. It was no small task, and must have been a good meal. Feasting was not the real purpose, REMEMBERING was the reason for the season. Impressing others with the food, the way they dressed, the fancy plates and glasses was not even in the picture. The simple feast was a remembrance of a special time in their history when by God’s grace, they were spared.
Jesus had called them three years before, and since then they had witnessed his miracles, teachings, confrontations. They had been taught from His eternal mind, all that the Father wanted them to know. They had seen Jesus reach across racial barriers, traditional barriers, class barriers, male/female barriers to reach and teach the lost. He had caused them to wonder as He walked on water, raised the dead, fed thousands with only a few fish and loaves of bread. Now He has but one more thing to do… DIE.
“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,” He said.
This Passover was special! More than the others. Not only was it a Jubilee, it was the Jubilee of Jubilees. Leviticus 25:8-13 states: “And thou shalt number seven Sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession.”
This was truly a special celebration… but it was more special because it was the establishment of the Lord’s Supper. Luke recorded it for us in chapter 22 and beginning with verse 16, “For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
The bread represented His body, the juice represented His blood. Not to be rushed through, not a time to show off or think about anything else, for nothing else is as important as this: HE GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME!
I truly was so lost I should have died, but He did it for me! Praise God! “Worthy is the Lamb,” who is now our Passover Lamb as well.