From the Selection to The Sacrifice - A perpetual Memorial
The word Pesach פסח comes from the verb לפסוח (lifsoach) which means to pass over.
‘For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. ‘
Exodus 12:23
In the book of Leviticus, chapter 23 we see the description of the moadim, the times chosen by God for us to meet with Him.
These moadim, or Feasts of the Lord, are prophetic events that point to God’s plan of Redemption for mankind. They point to the First and Second Coming of Messiah Yeshua.
Our people, the people of Israel, even though the vast majority do not have the revelation of who their Messiah is, in celebrating these memorial dates, prophesied and continue to prophesy the coming of Yeshua, that is, our own Redemption.
Shabbat is the first moed described in Leviticus 23 and is a standard for all the other moadim.
Leviticus 23:3
‘ “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.’
All the moadim, or the Feasts of the Lord, are a Shabbat, that is, a day of rest from regular work, a day of Holy Convocation, a day set apart, sanctified for the encounter with our Creator.
At the beginning of Shabbat, in every Jewish home we eat bread and wine, pointing to the first supper that was served to a hebrew man.
Genesis 14:18
‘And Melchizedek (in hebrew – MalkiTzadik מלכי צדיק ) king of Salem (Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) ‘
In addition, Shabbat’s seventh-day supper is prophesying about the seventh millennium, the day we will rest and have supper with Him in eternity.
Revelation 19:9
‘And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” ‘
But now let’s talk specifically about the moed of Pesach or also called Chag HaPesach.
Exodus 12:1-3
‘The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. ‘
On the 10th day of the first month, the 10th of Aviv, a lamb was set apart and chosen by the congregation of Israel to be slain.
Exodus 12:5-6
‘Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. ‘
From the 10th to the 14th of Aviv the lamb was to be inspected to see that there was no blemish in it, and finally on the 14th in the afternoon it was to be sacrificed by all the congregation of Israel.
In the gospels we see that 4 days before Yeshua, our Lamb, was slain, He was set apart and chosen by the congregation.
John 12:12-13
‘The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast (the Feast of Pesach) heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” ‘
There, at that time the congregation of Israel was choosing and separating for themselves their lamb in Jerusalem.
But for the next 4 days, until the 14th of Aviv, Yeshua was inspected by the priests and leaders to prove to everyone that there was no sin in Him.
John 18:12-13,19-21
‘So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Yeshua and bound him. First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ‘
‘ The high priest then questioned Yeshua about his disciples and his teaching. Yeshua answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.”’
Then we see Yeshua being inspected by Pilate.
John 18:37-38
‘Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Yeshua answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. ‘
Isaiah 53:9
‘And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.’
Let’s continue reading about PESSACH in Exodus 12 now in verses 7 to 9.
‘“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. ‘
Dear ones, to this day, Passover is celebrated in homes. We sit down as a family to roast and eat the lamb together, with the bitter herbs and the unleavened breads.
We know that leaven represents sin, but what about bitter herbs?
They represent the suffering experienced by our people before their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. In the same way, we understand that most of us can only eat the Lamb after tasting the bitter herbs, that is, when we go through struggles and afflictions, our hearts soften, then we cry out to the Lord, He comes to save us and finally we are worthy to eat from His flesh.
At this Pesach dinner, in this memorial moment, we take the opportunity to teach our children about Salvation.
Exodus 12:26-27
‘And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord ’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. ‘
This is how Pesach has been taught to our people, from 3500 years ago to the present day, ledor vador, from generation to generation.
We see that Yeshua celebrated Pesach with His disciples, seated at the table in a home, as a family.
‘ And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover (Pesach) with you before I suffer. ‘
Luke 22:14-15
Of course, the seder (dinner, or literally – order, organization) celebrated by Yeshua was a night before, so that exactly on the 14th of Aviv in the afternoon, He could fulfill the prophecy given to our forefathers and be sacrificed by all of us as the Passover Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.
Just as Yeshua did, our people continue to teach and celebrate Pesach
And you, my brother or sister, what have you taught your children?
The moadim, the Feasts are of the Lord”s feasts, for all those who want to follow Him diligently.
But what has the Church perpetuated from generation to generation?
Has this generation heard about the Passover Lamb?
Or about the leader of a new religion who replaced the congregation of Israel after we have killed “their” King?
There is no such a thing as two Passovers, the Jewish and the Christian. This thought comes from the 3rd century, at the Council of Nicaea, organized by the Roman Emperor Constantine.
One of the purposes of the Council of Nicaea was to change the date of the celebration of Passover to “Easter” which was to be changed to the Sunday after the first full moon, after the spring equinox. In other words – it shouldn’t have any connection to Jewish (biblical) Passover. Let’s look at the words of Emperor Constantine:
We ought not therefore to have any thing in common with the Jews, for the Savior has shown us another way. And consequently, in unanimously adopting this mold, we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews. How can they be in the right, they who, after the death of the Savior, have no longer been led by reason but by wild violence as their delusion may urge them? It would still be your duty not to tarnish your soul by communications with such wicked people as the Jews. It is our duty not to have anything in common with the murderers of our Lord.
Well, At that time, there were about 1,800 bishops in the Church. Approximately 120 of them were Jews. Jen Rosner notes, “From all accounts that we have, these Jewish Yeshua-believing bishops were not present at the council of Nicaea, and moreover, they were not invited.”
A few hundred years prior, it was the Jewish leadership of the Yeshua followers that not only spread the Gospel to other nations but were the first fathers of the faith. Now, they are not even invited to the most consequential Church council since Acts 15. Ironically, the leadership at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 was exclusively Jewish and determined that Gentiles could become believers in the God of Israel without having to circumcise. In Acts15, the Jewish believers decided to include the Gentiles. At Nicaea, the Gentile bishops decided to exclude the Jews.
Let’s conclude by going back to Exodus 12, verse 14
‘“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord ; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. ‘
In Luke 22:19 we see that Yeshua uses the same expression as in Exodus 12:14
‘And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ‘
That is, Yeshua was reinforcing the fact that Chag HaPesch is a memorial that should be perpetuated by us.
And finally in Luke 22:20
‘And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. ‘
In Leviticus 17:11 we read:
‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. ‘
This principle seems to have been forgotten throughout the history of our people. Today, even without the temple, many Jews believe that only by praying and doing charity they can be forgiven of their sins, but we know that this has never been the case.
Let us pray that on this Pesach, the eyes of our people will be opened so that they will not only perform a ritual, but there will be revelation of the need of the sacrificed Lamb, and of the blood at our doors, but especially at the doors of our hearts.