Passover & Unleavened Bread

Passport Destination No. 2

God's Plan for Justification

God grants justification (right relationship with God) by providing the Passover sacrifice for us

Story Destinations:

The Exodus &

The Crucifixion

A perfect, sinless world had no need for Passover until Adam and Eve (representing us!) fell for Satan's lie. Upon the first (and certainly not the last) act of disobedience, man was severed from a perfect relationship with God. Adam and Eve's attempt to cover their naked shame with tree leaves was insufficient and ineffective at best. Imagine what a windy day could have unveiled! So, God Himself was the first to observe Passover with the sacrifice of an animal not only to cover Adam and Eve's shame, but to keep them warm and protected for life outside the garden. It was a gracious and merciful act of God.

The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present a food offering to the Lord. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

Leviticus 23:5-8

Passover is about God's provision and God's sacrifice for man's sin, not man's offerings to appease God. That is why Leviticus clearly calls it, "The Lord's Passover." God has been keeping the Passover since the fall of man by providing animals as a covering for sin. But animals were still insufficient and merely served as a stand-in until the better-promised sacrifice was to be sent.

According to Exodus 12:14, Passover is a lasting ordinance...forever. How can something that is fulfilled also be a lasting ordinance forever? When Yeshua willingly sacrificed His own life, He became our eternal Passover sacrifice. This does not mean that Passover is now abolished. Rather, it is fulfilled year after year by the living and lasting blood of Yeshua. There is no longer any need to sacrifice animals because the blood of Yeshua, shed once and for all, is actively covering us every Passover.

When we celebrate Passover, we acknowledge Yeshua's past sacrifice on the cross and His active and eternal role as our Great High Priest. While His sacrificial work is finished, His intercession as our High Priest is ongoing with each and every Passover. I imagine Him reminding God the Father of what has been accomplished on the cross every time the Accuser brings up our annual accounts!

God's Prescription for Passover

Must be a year old male lamb or goat without defect (Exodus 12:5).

Selected on the 10th day of the first month (v.3).

Killed in front of the entire community on the 14th day of the first month (v.6).

Using hyssop, take blood from the lamb and put it on the doorposts and lintel of the house (v.22).

Lamb roasted and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (v.8).

None of the lamb must remain till morning. Must be eaten that night or burned (v.10).

Do not go out till the next morning or carry any meat outside the house (v.22).

Do not break any of the lamb's bones (v.46).

God's Provision for Passover

Yeshua (Jesus) was found without fault, yet sentenced to death shortly after His first year of ministry (John 19:6).

Yeshua's triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the 10th day of the first month (John 12:12).

Crucified in front of the entire community on the 14th day of the first month (John 19:14-15).

Was given sour wine using a hyssop branch, as His blood was shed on each side and down the cross (John 19:29).

Was treated as guilty even though He knew no sin (2 Cor. 5:21) .

Due to the approaching high holiday and per regulations, the crucified body was quickly taken down and buried (John 19:31,42).

Yeshua's disciples returned home and locked themselves in their houses (John 20:19,26).

The breaking of legs would expedite death, but Yeshua gave up His spirit, thus the soldiers had no reason to break His legs (John 19:33).

God's Plan for Sanctification

God grants sanctification (right living with God and others) to those who live in repentance

Unleavened Bread (bread without leavening) represents a perfect life without sin. Before sin entered their world, Adam and Eve enjoyed a bountiful harvest of every kind of seed and grain without sweat or struggle. But leavening (sin) entered and ruined everything.

When we fast from leavened bread and eat unleavened bread for a week, we are reminding ourselves how easy it is to crave the leavening of sin that eventually works its way into every area of our lives. Though we are saved (justified) by grace, through faith in the perfect life of Yeshua sacrificed on the cross, we find salvation's evidence through sanctification.

Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread are inseparable holidays much like justification and sanctification. Passover requires us to trust and rest in the work of the LORD while the Feast of Unleavened Bread demands we get up and walk in faith. Just as the Israelites stayed home trusting in the blood of the lamb, the next morning they got up and hurried out of Egypt putting their feet to act in faith. Symbolically, the Scripture instructs that the Passover meal is to be eaten in haste, a picture of how we should be quick to repent and follow God's commands.

Now Boarding for Passover & Feast of Unleavened Bread!

Attention all family members...Now is the time to get those passports out and look at your Passover itinerary. You will see a list of suggested destination experiences for you and your family to choose from and complete in order to earn your Passover stamp. Enjoy this journey together and check back here when you are ready to plan your next Biblical holiday destination. Remember to contact your tour guide (me!) if you have any questions along the way.

Former & Latter