Our Passover Lamb by Sam Nadler
|
|
|
Passover is an eight day festival kept in remembrance of the Lord’s “passing over” the houses of the Israelites, when the first born of all the Egyptians were slain. It is also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because during its celebration no leavened bread was eaten or even kept in the household (Exodus 23:15, Leviticus 23:6). |
||||||
|
However, despite its familiarity, there is a powerful concept at the center of this feast that is often overlooked: personal deliverance through the blood of the Lamb. The necessity of applying the lamb’s blood is the key to our Messianic faith. Every Passover we are not only reminded of the Exodus story, but how redemption in the Lamb affects our lives now and even into eternity. |
||||||
|
In the Scriptures God progressively reveals this truth of the Lamb of redemption so we may grow into the image of the Son: the Lamb of God. Every year multitudes of Jewish pilgrims came up to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover in accordance with Deuteronomy 16:16. But this Passover was not like any other. We read that when Yeshua was coming into Jerusalem crowds of people came out to greet Him. They took the branches of the palm trees and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel” (John 12:12, 13). This was prophesied by Zechariah, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). This event is traditionally called Palm Sunday by Christendom. But, why did the people wave palm branches? To better understand this Jewish event, we need to understand the mind-set of first century Jewish pilgrims.
Looking for a King John is the only writer that mentions palm branches being waved. In Matthew 21:8 the tender branches of the willow are noted and in Mark 11:8 leafy branches like the myrtle are mentioned. If you take all three gospels together you have the picture of the lulav being waved in recognition that the true King of kings, Yeshua the Messiah had arrived.
Selection of the Lamb By the fourteenth of the month, the fickle crowd quickly became a mob demanding Yeshua’s death. On that day—the day the lambs would be sacrificed for the Passover —Pilate, the regional head of Roman government, declared to them, “I find no fault in this man” (Luke 23:4). Acknowledged to be without blemish, Yeshua, our Passover Lamb was qualified and acceptable before God to be the sacrifice for our sins. However, though acceptable to God, He could not be sacrificed unless we rejected Him. Man’s recognition of Yeshua’s perfection was also the height of man’s rejection of Him.
Acceptance of the King
A Triumphal Entry Passover gives insight on the spiritual truths of the Scriptures and is a healthy reminder to live a life pleasing to the Lord. New Covenant believers and congregations that do choose to celebrate Passover and study their “Jewish roots” discover great truths and blessings. They more clearly recognize God’s faithfulness, and that “they do not support the root, but the root supports them” (Romans 11:18).
Therefore, let us
“keep the feast” this year and every year, and invite our Jewish friends
and family to Passover to hear the Good News that Messiah is “the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). (Excerpted
from Sam Nadler’s book Messiah in the Feasts of Israel) Y |
||||||
|
Excerpted from
Sam Nadler’s book: |
Learn more about Passover and
Israel's Feasts! |
|||||
|
|
||||||
