Passover: At the Foot of the Cross

I love the Passover. It’s simply the most amazing time of the year.

Yeah... I bet that sounds weird. Most people look forward to Christmas that way, I guess. Or people of my faith would look forward to the Feast of Tabernacles as the most awesome time of the year. But for me, that best time is that short period in spring.

Why? Well, it’s because of what it means. To put it simply, Passover means to me the sacrifice of my Jesus Christ for me (Matt 26:2; 1 Cor 5:7). Passover is just one day: the 14th of Abib. Yet, it is the first of the annual Holy Times and all others follow from it. Without it there would be nothing else. Without Passover, even the weekly Sabbath, which existed since creation, would have no meaning for us.

I think it’s very telling how God revealed his holy times to a pagan-Egypt-immersed Israel. The Passover was the final straw that brought redemption from slavery to Pharaoh (Exo 12), the symbol of freedom through a miraculous act of sparing Israel’s firstborn. The second time the Ten Commandments are listed in the Bible, God connects this freedom with the Sabbath command:

Deu 5:15 – “And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”
[NKJV]

He said keep the Sabbath because of that freedom? Weird, isn’t it because He blessed it? (Gen 2:3; Ex 20:11) Yes. For both reasons. There’s something to notice about the order of (recorded) revelation of Holy Times and their observance. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are first (Ex 12) and then, the Sabbath (Ex 16), then the rest.

I believe there’s something significant in what God was saying here. In Egypt, Israel was in slavery. I find it hard to imagine that they would be allowed by the Egyptians to take that random vacation every seven days. They were not free to worship. The blessing of the Sabbath would not be open to them.

Same with us; through the Passover Lamb’s redeeming blood, we’re free. Through that blood, we live. It is the first step. Without that first step, we would not even be able to honour God as Creator, as pictured by the Sabbath day. It would have no meaning for us. Why? Well, we’d be dead. (Rom 6:23)

The Cross is the central expression of God’s person for us: the greatest sign of His love, the power of salvation and the means of reconciliation. (Eph 2: 3-4; Col 1:19-20; Heb 12:2; Rom 5:8) The God who was willing to give up divinity and live as a human and to die for those who don’t deserve it is celebrated in the Passover. (Phil 2:5-8; Heb 2:14-18; 4:15)

There can be no time like the anniversary of my Lord’s death to kneel at the foot of the Cross and praise Him for what He’s done. Worthy is the Lamb of God of all power, glory, worship and praise. Forever.