The great purpose of the feast of Passover was to recall salvation provided by Yahweh. Generation after generation was to remember the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt and the deliverance of the Jewish firstborn from death itself. Yahweh’s salvation benefited the individual if he trusted in God and if he associated himself with the blood of the slain lamb sprinkled upon the posts of the door.
As we prepare to celebrate the new Passover in remembrance of God’s saving work in Christ, it is appropriate for us to meditate for a few moments on this observance as it has been celebrated over the centuries.
Changes In The Feast
From time to time, God has revised, adjusted and altered the Passover observance depending upon the circumstances of the children of Israel.
Initially the blood of the lamb was to be sprinkled on the doorposts and beam. The meal was to be eaten in homes on a specific night with girded loins, shod feet and staff in hand. In Numbers 9, the first adjustment is made as a provision for those who could not keep the Passover due to reasons beyond their control. If one was unclean because of a dead body or if one was on a long journey, he was to observe the feast exactly one month later.
We find further revision being made in Deut. 16:1-6. These changes were to take place once the people were in the promised land — revisions such as offering the Passover lamb “in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name in.” Once Jerusalem became the focal point of divine worship, the Passover lamb was to be slain in that city rather than in the various towns and villages throughout Palestine.
With the lambs being slain in Jerusalem, the blood was not available to put on each person’s doorposts and was probably sprinkled on the altar (cf. II Chr. 30:15-16).
In Christ’s Day
According to some Jewish authonties, the Passover service has not changed much today from the way it was observed in the first century.
- The feast began by asking a blessing upon the meal after which the first cup of wine was shared.
- Parsley or lettuce was dipped in salt water as an appetizer — this was to be a reminder of the hyssop used to spread the blood on the doorposts.
- After the appetizer, three loaves of unleavened bread were provided. One of the three loaves was broken in half, one of the halves set aside for later; the remaining bread was passed around. The distributed unleavened bread was to represent the “bread of affliction” the Jewish fathers ate in Egypt.
- The first part of the Hallel (Psa. 113 and 114) was then sung after which the second cup of wine was drunk to conclude the first part of the Passover.
- The second part of the Passover began with the eating Of bitter herbs and the sop. The bitter herbs were a reminder of the bitter persecution that was endured, in Egypt; the sop (a thick dip was to recall the clay which was used to make bricks.
- The Passover lamb was eaten.
- After the meal, the half-loaf that was set aside earlier was distributed had eaten.
- Next, the third cup of wine was served and the second part of the Hallel (Psa. 115-118) was sung.
- A fourth cup of wine was taken.
- The concluding prayer was offered.
The Last Supper
We now center our attention on the meal that the Lord shared with his disciples on the night of his betrayal and arrest. This meal probably would have taken place about 8:00 P.M. on the 14th of Abib.
Was this indeed a Passover meal? There seems to be evidence both ways. “Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand: I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples” (Matt. 26:18) would imply Jesus did eat the Passover meal. On the other hand, John 18:28 reads: “they themselves (the Jews conducting the trial of Jesus) went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.” Such a statement clearly indicates the last supper was held before the national feast was observed.
We think that the last supper was not a true Passover meal. Yet when the details of that night are examined, it would appear that Jesus aimed at making the meal as much like the Passover feast as possible. We read in the various accounts that during that evening feast:
- Prayers and blessings took place.
- Wine was drunk.
- Bread (no doubt unleavened) was eaten.
- The sop, and probably the bitter herbs were eaten.
- The bread was eaten after the meal.
- The cup was partaken after supper (Lk. 22:20; I 11:25).
- Before departing, they sang a Psalm (Matt. 26:30).
These are but seven obvious similarities — sufficient at least to consider that this meal was intended to be similar to a Passover feast. As was recorded in Matthew 25, Jesus himself called this meal a Passover: in addition, we recall his own words spoken before the meal began: “With desire I have desired to eat this pass-over with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15).
A New Passover
It seems quite clear that Jesus considered this meal a Passover — yet it was not really — or was it? We have already seen that God altered and revised the Passover observance in the past and we wonder if this was another occasion in which an adjustment was made. If it was adjusted, there would have to be very good reasons to make a change — and we think there were.
Out Of Egypt
Initially the Passover feast was established as a “memorial”: “This day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations” (Exod. 12:14).
For some 1,500 years, Israel would observe the Passover as a reminder of their deliverance from Egypt. But perhaps Christ was now adjusting the observance of the Passover to drive home a more important point. Rather than remembering how Israel was taken out of Egypt, perhaps Christ wants us to remember in him that Egypt must be taken out of Israel!
The need for Egypt to be taken out of Israel — what a sobering thought this should be! There has been only one man who has lived completely uncaptivated by spiritual Egypt.
To Christ, this was a Passover feast: he was the lamb of God whose sacrifice would make possible a deliverance much greater than that of Israel out of Egypt. Brothers and sisters, the memorial that we observe every first day of the week is our Passover. It is our remembrance of the way by which spiritual Israel can be delivered from Egypt.
Eating His Flesh, Drinking His Blood
The whole purpose for Christ to maintain a similarity to the Passover in the last supper draws to a focus in the memorial emblems. In the setting of a Passover feast, these emblems are most significant.
We mentioned earlier the half-loaf of bread that was set aside to be served after the meal; we believe that it was this half-loaf that Jesus blessed and broke and gave to his disciples saying: “Take, eat: this is my body.”
In considering the bread, our minds immediately go to the words “I am the bread of life… I am the living bread … For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (John 6:48,51,55). The meaning of these words is evident from the context for eating his flesh and drinking his blood is set forth as achieving the same result as truly believing in him.
“Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life” … He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:54,47).
Eating his flesh and drinking his blood is equivalent to believing in him since both will result in eternal life. Thus, the Lord asks us to truly believe in him to such a degree that we digest his way of life — that we partake of his way of living.
The Broken Body
Returning to that upper room, we hear our Master say: “… this is my body. which is broken for you.” Brethren, it makes little difference whether we prefer the phrase: “this is my body which is broken for you” or the variation: “this is my body which is for you.”
Both phrases point toward the same thing — his way of life.
His was a way of life in which Jesus always brought his body into subjection: a way of life in which Jesus never once allowed his flesh to have the victory. The bread represents Christ’s body; by partaking of it, we confess that we truly believe in him and his way of life. Believing in his way of life, we dedicate ourselves to follow in the same life of righteousness.
The Cup of Wine
As we mentioned earlier, there were four cups used in the Passover meal. According to some references, each cup was given a title taken from the four phrases in Exodus 6:6-7:
The first cup— taken before the meal — “I will bring you out,”
The second cup— during the meal — “I will rid you,”
The third cup — after the meal — “I will redeem you,”
The fourth cup — closing — “I will bring you unto me.”
We think it very significant that Luke describes the wine of this memorial as “the cup after supper” (22:20). This would identify the memorial cup as the third cup entitled “I will redeem you.”
“I will redeem you”— is not this cup of wine a remembrance of that redemption of sins available through his sacrifice? This wine represents Christ’s blood; it speaks of his perfect life, shed for the forgiveness of our sins.
Participation in the bread and wine should evoke a simple question: when we symbolically participate in his body and blood do we believe, really believe, in Jesus? Do we believe to such a degree that we partake of his way of life?
Brothers and sisters, do we really desire to eat this Passover with him?
Perhaps during the coming weeks, we will try more earnestly to live a life devoted to God resolving to take Egypt out of Israel.
I Will Bring You Unto Me
Ever since its institution, it would appear that the Passover observance has undergone periodic revision. Even if the Lord Jesus did wish to make this meal as much like a Passover feast as possible, he still stopped short of doing so.
After giving much deeper significance to the bread and wine, Jesus said: “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29). If we recall the sequence of the Passover feast, we see that Jesus had deliberately omitted the fourth cup and the concluding prayer. How significant it will be when Jesus next partakes of the fruit of the vine. In his Father’s kingdom, Jesus will be completing the memorial feast not with just the 11 but with the great host of the redeemed saints of all ages.
Until that glorious day, let us partake of this bread with the commitment to partake of Jesus’ way of life — to drive Egypt out of Israel! Let us drink this wine and seek God’s forgiveness for our many failings.
Let us look forward to the ultimate union with our Lord but let us even now, with our sins forgiven, enjoy the fellowship with God that has been made available to us: “for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One