Moses says, “it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord” (12:27).What significance does the Passover Celebration have for the Christian and do you celebrate the feast?
The Passover Celebration is very significant for the believer. I enjoy celebrating each year. The Passover Celebration includes Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of the Firstfuits.
The Passover
First, I enjoy the Passover feast because Exodus 12 explains the following sacrificial characteristics of Passover:
Perfect lamb (12:5), sprinkling the blood with hyssop (12:22) and burning the
remains (12:10)—Characteristics of a sacrifice.
Moses says, “it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord” (12:27).
Substitutionary Atonement—Hebrew people were in peril as well. The Lamb
was a substitution for their first-born.
Peace offering—The peace offering was
not an offering for peace; but rather, it was a meal eaten together by people
who were at peace with each other and with God. The peace offering always
followed the sin offering.
The Passover also has fulfillment in Yeshua
Jesus is the Passover “Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
He is “Christ, our Passover lamb who has been sacrificed” (1 Cor 5:7).
Jesus is the perfect lamb without blemish: “but was in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15).
Jesus is our Substitutionary Atonement: “For he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2
Cor 5:21)
He is our “peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall
of partition between us” (Eph 2:14-15).
Passover and the relationship to the Lord's Supper
I also like Passover because the Lord’s Supper is a beautiful picture of the Lamb that was slain:
The Body of Christ that was slain (Matt 26:26)
His blood which atoned for our sins (Matt 26:28)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
I also enjoy the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-8), which is celebrated at the same time. It lasted for seven days, during which time the people removed all yeast from their houses. In the Bible, yeast (leaven) represents sin. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 says, “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is also applicable today. During this time the people of Israel ate only Matzah (bread without yeast and is pierced with many holes and striped). Our Lord was pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5) and found without sin. Also, by his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Notice that there is no lapse of time between Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread. There is no separation between our Redemption and our obligation to walk in holiness!
The Feast of Firstfruits
The final part of the Passover Celebration that I celebrate is the Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9-14). In the Old Testament the people would bring the beginning of the barley harvest, the first grain of the year as an offering before the Lord. They acknowledged that the whole harvest belonged to the Lord.
The New Testament application is that Christ is our firstfruits: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming” (1 Cor 15:20-23). Furthermore, His resurrection guarantees that all who place their faith in Christ will gain immortality through resurrection.
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