Passover to the Promised Land
No guaranteed Friday night fish fries or Easter egg hunts on the horizon. Shipping delays not ideal for Easter basket filling. Ahh, the disruption! How are we supposed to get ready for Easter? Should we even bother to think about Lent? Honestly, haven’t we all given up so much lately? Here’s some good news: Jesus came to free us from a performance-based, check-box approach to life. Insert deep breath here. So maybe this year, pressing pause on our usual pre-Easter busyness, we switch things up and deepen our walk with the Risen Lamb.
What’s Lent GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Lent, for Catholics and some protestants, ushers in the tradition of giving something up as an act of personal sacrifice, such as alcohol, meat, chocolate, or social media, intended to drive one's heart and mind to the greater sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. For many, this tradition, though not found in scripture, is helpful in cultivating a prayerful posture, cutting out excess self-indulgence, and pursuing greater holiness in God. For others, it can be a religious check-box, disconnected from worship and unfortunately leading to religiosity apart from real relationship with Christ. Whichever side of the coin this practice rests on for you, be encouraged that the sacrifice of Jesus suffices. His work is enough, according to God, for those of faith to draw near to God.
"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." Psalm 51:16-17
The holy week begins on Palm Sunday, one week before Easter Sunday. (Check out my blog post on Holy Week in the Home.) Palm Sunday is the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. He arrived, King of Kings, declaring through that mount that he came in pursuit of peace, not war, which would have required a king to come instead trotting in on a war horse. I must admit it would've been a smoother ride. Anyhow, setting his face toward the cross after riding into town, Jesus began to move intentionally and divinely toward his own death, due every human but him, and therefore towards our salvation.
The Redemption of God’s People
In Old Testament times, God's people first emerged as the nation of Israel when they escaped from Egypt on Passover night. Of course scripture helps us appreciate their many trials in finally grasping freedom from the hand of Pharaoh, including ten horrible plagues and repeated attempts to escape Egyptian servitude into the surrounding wilderness. That day finally came. Just as God had instructed, his people chose a perfect and spotless lamb, one per household, sacrificed their lamb and smeared its blood with a hyssop paintbrush over the doorposts of their home, and then roasted and consumed the lamb's meat with unleavened bread (no time to wait on the puffy goodness of a bakery-fresh baguette) that night while readying themselves to leave in haste. Meanwhile, the Spirit of God moved through the land and took the lives of all firstborn males in Egypt, including Pharaoh's own son and even the livestock. It's hard to imagine the horror. But as promised, God spared his people from his wrath and delivered them safely to freedom and, eventually, into the promised land.
The key theme of God's redemption is on glorious display in this Exodus narrative. God moved his chosen ones from slavery to freedom and made himself known to all the people of the earth. As history has continued, the Jewish people have observed the Passover, an 8-day festival of feasting and celebrating, worshipping and observing tradition and scripture, for thousands of years.
Throughout the Bible, a new covenant (promise between God and his people) assumes that there must be a sacrifice and the shedding of blood for its inauguration (Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20), which God provided for us in the person of Jesus Christ. Because of his unique perfection and humanity, unlike an animal sacrifice which had to be repeated year after year for the Jewish people, Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf delivers us forgiveness once and forever (Hebrews 10:1-14) under a New Covenant of grace. The promise of God in Christ doesn't depend on the steadfastness of our wavering faith, which Jesus foreknew would wax and wane all the time, but rather on the blood of the Lamb being found on the doorposts of our lives. His blood is all we need to know that we are God's treasured possession forever.
Jesus Celebrated the Passover
Jesus referred to the exodus of Israel as he celebrated the Passover with his disciples, making a historical tie to the Jewish custom of this meal; but, he also recast it as a picture of his coming death and substitutionary sacrifice and God's coming kingdom. Yeshua used the rituals of the Passover seder meal to explain the meaning of the New Covenant of grace by revealing his sacrificial role as the Passover Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world. The Passover (and therefore our practice of communion) takes on new meaning and depth for us today as Jesus' followers.
"For I will forgive their iniquities, and remember their sins no more. In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." Hebrews 8:12-13
“But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not the old written code..." Romans 7:6
Understanding the events of Passover helps us as Christians to have a deeper appreciation today for the Jewish roots of our faith, to see how Jesus celebrated this same Passover seder meal with his first disciples before heading to the Cross, and to celebrate how he is our better Passover Lamb, bringing redemption and freedom to all of God's people forever - far beyond the nation of Israel to all tribes, tongues and people groups (Revelation 7:9). Savoring the Passover seder helps us better grasp and even tangibly experience the continuity of the Old and New Testaments and their fulfillment in Christ. (Old and young alike, be sure to check out the Jesus Storybook Bible for more on this!) The scarlet thread of the gospel runs through every word of scripture, and the priestly garment it weaves together rests on the shoulders of Jesus Christ.
Did you know?
Passover lambs were kept in Jewish homes for 5 days (see Exodus 12:3-5) during the Passover - just enough time for the families to fall in love with and develop a personal affection for the cute little guys - and put on display for all to inspect for spotlessness.
Jesus preached and went about Jerusalem for 5 days, after which he was declared without fault, "selected" by Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate, and crucified at precisely the same hours as the festival lambs were simultaneously chosen and sacrificed (Exodus 12:6, Mark 15:25,33-34) on what has since become known as Good Friday - sinless, spotless, bones unbroken.
Jesus chased the religious, holier-than-thou folks from the house of God and welcomed in those who were considered unworthy to draw near to God, like women and children and those previously cast out of the religious circles.
Jesus "rested" in the tomb on the Sabbath day, just as the Jewish people rested from work in obedience to God. His work was finished.
He arose from that grave alive - on the day of the Feast of Firstfruits of all days! As the people were bringing the first fruits of their barley harvests to the temple, Jesus defeated death, and ushered in God's great harvest of souls into heaven! (1 Corinthians 15:20)
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. -1 Corinthians 15:20
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." -Matthew 9:37
The Promised Land awaits
As we begin Holy Week this year, brightening up our homes with colorful decor and signs of new life such as flowers, bunnies, eggs and chicks, let our hearts not wander far from the Lamb of God. Jesus said the Passover will be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God one day in the future (Luke 22:15-16) and that he wouldn't again eat this meal until he can enjoy it with all of God's people in the Promised Land to come. The table is being set even now. One day soon we will pull up a chair to his table and enjoy his presence forever. For now, six-foot “air hugs” to you and yours.