Christ in the Passover

            This past week we have been reading about the Passover as a family and how Christ was prophesied about and integrated into the Jew’s Passover feast. Here are a few of the places where Christ is clearly seen.

            On the very first Passover in Egypt, the Israelites were getting ready for the angle of death to come and deliver them from Pharaoh’s cruel slavery. God told them to put the blood of a firstborn, unblemished, male lamb on their doorposts to keep the angel from killing their firstborn.  This represents Christ ‘s blood saving us from death and hell. Even more interesting is that when you look at Scripture in Exodus, the Israelites were to paint the blood on their doorposts and lentil (a beam which supports the doorposts).  As a result, a cross is painted on the door with the blood of the sacrificial lamb. How cool is that!! Without the blood of the Lamb, neither the Israelites nor us would have the assurance of eternity with God in heaven.

                        Another interesting example of Christ in the Passover meal is the unleavened (Matzo) bread. There are three loaves of unleavened bread which symbolizes the trinity. The middle loaf is broken in half. Half of it is placed back in between the other two loaves, and the other half is wrapped in a linen napkin and placed under a pillow. This loaf represents Jesus, and the breaking, wrapping, and placing under the pillow represents Christ’s death and burial in a tomb. Later in the meal, the hidden loaf is brought back to the table representing Christ’s resurrection. Every member of the family eats of it. This symbolizes the Christian feeding upon the Bread of Life.  Another example of Christ in the Passover meal, is the use of unleavened bread. It is made of pure flower and water without yeast (leaven) to ferment it. Yeast is the picture of what sin does to someone. When just the smallest amount is added, even the tiniest crumb, the bread will ferment and sour. Just like the tiniest amount of sin in our lives will sour our lives and us. The bread that represents Christ in the Passover is unleavened, representing no sin. After the dough is flattened it is pierced with a pointed sharp instrument to keep it from bubbling up when baked. John 19:37 speaks of how Christ was pierced by the nails, just like the bread.

            What is so sad is that the Jews still follow this feast and these traditions and do not see how they point to Christ. It is very pleasing to know that God had planned for us to be saved and for His Son to die on the cross for us since the first Passover.

             There are many areas of symbolism of Christ in the Passover meal that I did not mention. If you would like to learn more about these and how to celebrate the Passover meal from a Christian perspective, get the book Celebrating Biblical Feasts, by Martha Zimmerman.