Pesach' - Passover
Importance: Extremely high – it is commanded in both the Old and the New Covenants.
Mood: Celebratory
Background: Passover is the center of the Adonaic Christian’s calendar. It is a springtime festival of commemorating Yahweh delivering both our ancestors and ourselves from bondage. It provides the religious foundation for the entire year and it is Pesach’ upon which all the other holidays are built.
It celebrates the night when the angel passed over our households in Egypt. In both the Old and New Covenants, the blood of a lamb marks delivery from death and slavery. In the Old, the lamb purchased our deliverance from death at the hands of the angel and slavery by the Egyptians. In the New, the perfect Lamb of God purchased our deliverance from the wages of sin and our slavery to the Accuser.
Aviv 10 - Procession. Do you recall the account of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem? Did you ever wonder where all the people with the palm branches came from? According to the Hebrew calendar it was Aviv 10. That means that just prior to His descent from the Mount of Olives into the city, the annual procession of the national Passover lamb was taking place. The lamb, which would be taken to the temple in Jerusalem to be the nation’s public sacrifice on Aviv 14, was led into the city from the east. The lamb was met by crowds of people waving palm branches and joyously singing Psalm 118 as they remembered God’s miraculous delivery of their ancestors from the clutches of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Psalm. One passage sung was, “Oh Lord, please save us, Oh Lord, please save us. Oh Lord, send us prosperity, Oh Lord, send us prosperity. Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord,” which was an expansion of the psalmic verses,
Following the procession of the Passover lamb, Jesus came down from the Mount of Olives riding a donkey indicating that He was coming humbly and peacefully. It was also done in order to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy which was supposed to point out the promised Righteous King.
He followed exactly the same path to the temple that the Passover lamb had just taken. The crowds of people, who previously had witnessed Jesus’ great miracles, placed more palm branches on the pathway in front of Him (thus, the name “Palm Sunday”) and shouted to Him as He passed,
By the way, “Hosanna” or Hoshana means “Deliver us!” This was an interesting turn of the phrase, don’t you think, considering what was about to happen?
Examination. For four days, the Pesach’ lamb was kept in public view at the temple for everyone to examine to make sure that it was perfect and without defect. During the same four days, the chief priests, elders, Pharisees, and Sadducees interrogated Jesus; but He always left them speechless, because they could find no fault with His impeccable logic and character. Moreover, after Jesus was arrested, Pilate (governor of Jerusalem) and Herod (governor of Galilee) could find no evidence against Him nor fault with Him. This is because Jesus was perfect and without defect, just as the Passover lamb was expected to be.
Time of death. The national Passover lamb for Israel was to be killed in the temple on Aviv 14 at “twilight”, or at the “twain of the evening.” In Hebrew, this is translated, bain haarbayim, or “between the evenings.” The last half of the daylight hours (from about noon to 6:00 p.m.) was further divided into two parts: the minor evening oblation (noon to 3:00 p.m.) and the major evening oblation (3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.). Thus, “between the evenings” means between these two periods, or about 3:00 p.m. This was the time midway between the beginning of the sun’s descent into the west (about noon) and its setting (about 6:00 p.m.). So, the Passover lamb was killed at about 3:00 p.m. on Aviv 14.
According to Bible historian Joseph Good, the Passover lamb in the temple was bound to the altar at about 9:00 a.m. Similarly,
Some of your Bibles may put it “It was the third hour when they crucified [Jesus]” but that is an archaic way of saying it was the third hour of daylight or about 9:00 a.m.
Darkness came over the land which was not explainable by a solar eclipse because there was a full moon rather than a new moon. This took place from about the sixth to the ninth hour (noon to 3:00 p.m.); and it was about 3:00 p.m. that Jesus died —the same time that the sacrificial Passover lamb in the temple was slaughtered.
Final statement. As the high priest killed the lamb, he would have announced, “It is finished.” It is no accident that, on the cross a few miles away, Jesus’ last words also were, “It is finished”, which literally meant, “Paid in full.” The Seder is a phenomenal opportunity to present the Gospel to the unsaved. It is crammed with useful symbolism. For instance, the matzah is striped (by His stripes we are healed), pierced (pierced for our transgressions), and without leaven (sinless). Also, we break the middle of the three matzot (Father, SON, and Holy Spirit) and hide it and later find it again symbolizing the Mashiach’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Practice: We hold a Seder meal, a beautiful and extended version of the Lord’s Supper.
Biblical Support: The support for this holiday is found in (Exodus 12:2-27; 13:6-10; 23:14-16; 34:18; Leviticus 23:4; Numbers 9:3, 5; 28:16; Deuteronomy 16:1; Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-14; Luke 22:8-13; John 2:13, 23; 1 Corinthians 5:8; Hebrews 11:28).
Mood: Celebratory
Background: Passover is the center of the Adonaic Christian’s calendar. It is a springtime festival of commemorating Yahweh delivering both our ancestors and ourselves from bondage. It provides the religious foundation for the entire year and it is Pesach’ upon which all the other holidays are built.
It celebrates the night when the angel passed over our households in Egypt. In both the Old and New Covenants, the blood of a lamb marks delivery from death and slavery. In the Old, the lamb purchased our deliverance from death at the hands of the angel and slavery by the Egyptians. In the New, the perfect Lamb of God purchased our deliverance from the wages of sin and our slavery to the Accuser.
Aviv 10 - Procession. Do you recall the account of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem? Did you ever wonder where all the people with the palm branches came from? According to the Hebrew calendar it was Aviv 10. That means that just prior to His descent from the Mount of Olives into the city, the annual procession of the national Passover lamb was taking place. The lamb, which would be taken to the temple in Jerusalem to be the nation’s public sacrifice on Aviv 14, was led into the city from the east. The lamb was met by crowds of people waving palm branches and joyously singing Psalm 118 as they remembered God’s miraculous delivery of their ancestors from the clutches of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Psalm. One passage sung was, “Oh Lord, please save us, Oh Lord, please save us. Oh Lord, send us prosperity, Oh Lord, send us prosperity. Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord,” which was an expansion of the psalmic verses,
- Psalms 118:25-26 HCSB LORD, save us! LORD, please grant us success! (26) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.
Following the procession of the Passover lamb, Jesus came down from the Mount of Olives riding a donkey indicating that He was coming humbly and peacefully. It was also done in order to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy which was supposed to point out the promised Righteous King.
- Zechariah 9:9 HCSB Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He followed exactly the same path to the temple that the Passover lamb had just taken. The crowds of people, who previously had witnessed Jesus’ great miracles, placed more palm branches on the pathway in front of Him (thus, the name “Palm Sunday”) and shouted to Him as He passed,
- Matthew 21:9 HCSB Then the crowds who went ahead of Him and those who followed kept shouting: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!
By the way, “Hosanna” or Hoshana means “Deliver us!” This was an interesting turn of the phrase, don’t you think, considering what was about to happen?
Examination. For four days, the Pesach’ lamb was kept in public view at the temple for everyone to examine to make sure that it was perfect and without defect. During the same four days, the chief priests, elders, Pharisees, and Sadducees interrogated Jesus; but He always left them speechless, because they could find no fault with His impeccable logic and character. Moreover, after Jesus was arrested, Pilate (governor of Jerusalem) and Herod (governor of Galilee) could find no evidence against Him nor fault with Him. This is because Jesus was perfect and without defect, just as the Passover lamb was expected to be.
Time of death. The national Passover lamb for Israel was to be killed in the temple on Aviv 14 at “twilight”, or at the “twain of the evening.” In Hebrew, this is translated, bain haarbayim, or “between the evenings.” The last half of the daylight hours (from about noon to 6:00 p.m.) was further divided into two parts: the minor evening oblation (noon to 3:00 p.m.) and the major evening oblation (3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.). Thus, “between the evenings” means between these two periods, or about 3:00 p.m. This was the time midway between the beginning of the sun’s descent into the west (about noon) and its setting (about 6:00 p.m.). So, the Passover lamb was killed at about 3:00 p.m. on Aviv 14.
According to Bible historian Joseph Good, the Passover lamb in the temple was bound to the altar at about 9:00 a.m. Similarly,
- Mark 15:25 HCSB Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified Him.
Some of your Bibles may put it “It was the third hour when they crucified [Jesus]” but that is an archaic way of saying it was the third hour of daylight or about 9:00 a.m.
Darkness came over the land which was not explainable by a solar eclipse because there was a full moon rather than a new moon. This took place from about the sixth to the ninth hour (noon to 3:00 p.m.); and it was about 3:00 p.m. that Jesus died —the same time that the sacrificial Passover lamb in the temple was slaughtered.
Final statement. As the high priest killed the lamb, he would have announced, “It is finished.” It is no accident that, on the cross a few miles away, Jesus’ last words also were, “It is finished”, which literally meant, “Paid in full.” The Seder is a phenomenal opportunity to present the Gospel to the unsaved. It is crammed with useful symbolism. For instance, the matzah is striped (by His stripes we are healed), pierced (pierced for our transgressions), and without leaven (sinless). Also, we break the middle of the three matzot (Father, SON, and Holy Spirit) and hide it and later find it again symbolizing the Mashiach’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Practice: We hold a Seder meal, a beautiful and extended version of the Lord’s Supper.
Biblical Support: The support for this holiday is found in (Exodus 12:2-27; 13:6-10; 23:14-16; 34:18; Leviticus 23:4; Numbers 9:3, 5; 28:16; Deuteronomy 16:1; Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-14; Luke 22:8-13; John 2:13, 23; 1 Corinthians 5:8; Hebrews 11:28).
