How Jesus Fulfilled Passover — Part 2

In the previous blog (if you haven’t read part one, start here) we explored the origin of Passover, its importance to the Jewish people on-going, and how it is observed today. In Part II we will see that Passover was so much more than just the emancipation of the people of Israel from the enslavement of Egypt, but prophecy for the liberation of God’s chosen people through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus as the ultimate sacrificial lamb offers us the opportunity for true freedom, freedom that can only be given through the Lord.

The Prophecy of Passover

Passover held much in the way of prophecy, not just in the prophetic warning to the people inhabiting the land of Egypt, but for the time of Christ as well. As our Eden to Eden study shares, “Not only were the Feasts of the Lord (including Passover) prophetic, but they were also literal. Jesus fulfilled every single one on the exact day. We read in Matthew 26:1-5 how the chief priests were looking for ways to kill Jesus but didn’t want to cause an uproar during the feasts—Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. What they meant by that is that they wanted to take Him privately and not in public.”

“Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”” Matthew 26:1-5

We know that God is intentional in all that He does and Authors and in that there are layers of meaning imbedded in every prophecy and fulfillment. Each aspect and part of Passover has a direct correlation to the work of Jesus on the cross and the timing of it all.

Jesus as the Passover Lamb

As we learned previously those who chose to heed God’s warning of final plague and to put their trust and obedience to Him were to make choices and take action to carry out their devotion. For the first Passover this vitally included selecting a sacrificial lamb without blemish to shed blood that would be poured on the lintel and on the two doorposts of each home. It was not just a commonplace, regular lamb, but specifically one without flaw or blemish. Although the whole picture was not available to the people of Israel, we can see through the long-term plan of God that these details held substantial worth pointing to the Messiah. Paul references that Christ is the ultimate Passover Lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7:

“Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

Christ Jesus served as the ultimate Passover lamb, for He was without sin, blemish, or stain. Because He had not soiled Himself with sin, He was the One Who could be given over as sacrifice, He was the Only One Who could for He was blameless.

During the first Passover, the Israelites had to make the choice to obediently act of placing the blood of the lamb on their homes to be spared, ultimately proclaiming who was the Lord of their home. They were symbolically and literally placing all their hope for salvation in the Lord on that day of judgement over the land. Jesus served as the ultimate fulfillment as the sacrificial lamb as His blood poured out covered our sins, paying the price that we may be spared on the day of Judgement when we place our hope in Him and make Him the Lord and Savior of our lives. Salvation came through the spilling of blood to cover for those living in Egypt and it does for us when we make the choice of Christ as our Savior. It is through the blood that we are saved, spared, and liberated from bondage. 

Communion Meaning

At the Passover meal with His Disciples, which would later be referred to as the Last Supper, Jesus shifted the traditional concept of Passover to something far greater of what He was about to do. Matthew 26 shares,

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Matthew 26:26-30

And in Luke,

“And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”” Luke 22:19

As our Eden to Eden Study shares, “On the Passover, it was custom for the Jews to have a large cup of wine that they would pass around and drink from. They would remember the time the Israelites fled from Egypt (hence the unleavened bread because they didn’t have time for the bread to rise). But this time was different. Jesus took the bread and broke it—signifying His body broken for us. He then took the wine and told them this was the blood of the New Covenant. Remember, in order for there to be a covenant, there had to be bloodshed and the disciples would have known this! He was establishing His New (and better) Covenant.” (Eden to Eden). The entwining of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread with the shedding of blood and giving of body by Jesus here is remarkable. Jesus is not only welcoming His Disciples to understand what would happen just hours later, but to begin to comprehend the significance of the shedding of His blood for the redemption of mankind.

Jesus Fulfilled it All

The deliberate timing of Passover for Jesus’s crucifixion, death, and resurrection reveals the heart of God through His faithfulness to fulfill every promise given. It was not God’s desire for Adam and Eve to fall into sin, but God had a plan to redeem His creation of man through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. In looking at the parallels and symbolic connections to Passover the people of Israel and all those since can bear witness to the weight of Christ’s work to redeem and free all those who come to Him for salvation. Jesus fulfilled Passover on the ultimate level, for all mankind at last redeeming all that Adam lost. As we celebrate Resurrection Sunday this year let us not forget the magnitude it holds in correlation to Passover and beyond.

Sources:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-jesus-fulfills-passover/

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