Treasures New and Old

God’s Pattern for His Disciples: Passover Lessons

We are taking a deeper look at that discipleship lifestyle than we did in 2020 by looking at what I call God’s pattern for His disciples.

So far in this series we have looked at the following:

What Being a Disciple of Christ Means
Guarding our Hearts
Making our Calling and Election Sure
Being of One Mind with Christ and One Another
Making No Provision for the Flesh but Also Replacing Those Sinful Behaviors with Godly Behaviors
Disciple’s Control of Their Tongue
Holding Fast to our Head, Jesus Christ
Our Kinsman-Redeemer
Beware of False Doctrines

In this article, I want to look at the Passover meal, (and peek at the Lord’s Supper) to glean some deeper understanding of why God instituted the meal, and its importance to Israel back then and to the Church today. What I would like to do in this article is to explore a little bit of the lessons we can learn in the Passover.

Did you know that there are twenty-four specific places in the Bible that expound the concept of teaching our children? There are actually more, but I only looked up verses that had both the word teach and children. Some verses talk about teaching our sons and our sons’ sons. So, it’s a very important concept that we need to take to heart. There are things in the Bible that God meant for us to teach our children that we neglect today because we miss their importance. One of those is the symbols, types, and patterns that we see in the Passover meal. It was so important that the Lord Jesus Christ converted it for us to what we call today the Lord’s Supper.

The following verses make it clear that the Passover meal was to be a training event for children, as well as a reminder of what the Lord has done for us. It is important that we also use the Lord’s Supper as a teaching moment for our children whenever we celebrate it (Exodus 12:26-27; 13:8; 13:14).

Let’s look at Passover

Exodus 12:1-18:

And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance forever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

Did you notice that on the first Passover it could be a lamb or a goat? We’ll stick with the lamb for our study – I really don’t know what to do with the goats.

On the 10th of Nissan, the family (or families) were to take into their home a male lamb of the first year without spot or blemish.

Who is without spot or blemish? Christ.

Who is referred to as the Lamb of God? Christ.

The lamb was to live with the family for the next four days (until the 14th of Nissan).

Will that lamb become a pet? Yes, often named and loved by the children.

Who said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me?” (Mark 10:14) Christ – the Lamb of God.

Where was the blood to be applied? On the lintel and doorposts. Some even say that if a man were to stick the brush into the blood, then pull it out and make one sweeping motion up to the lintel and then across to the two doorposts, he would be creating a gesture that would look like a cross (from ground straight up to the lintel, then from left to right across the two doorposts). Ummmm. Regardless, the blood in the center of the lintel would correspond to head wounds, and the blood on the doorposts would correspond to hand wounds. Undoubtedly, some blood would drip onto the threshold – corresponding to foot wounds. Are we seeing a picture of what God the Father was going to allow God the Son to go through for us? “When I see the blood . . .”

On the 14th of Nissan, the lamb is slain and all of it is to be eaten and no bones are to be broken. The first Passover has everyone dressed to travel.

Are we nomads and ambassadors in this world? Yes. Are we of another kingdom? Yes. Are we just traveling through? Yes.

They were to eat the meal with bitter herbs. Do we go through tribulation and suffering here? Yes. Did the children of Israel in Egypt? Yes. Are we, then, as sojourners in this land? YES!

When God saw the blood, the death angel passed over them and the plague did not enter their house. When God sees the blood of Christ that was shed for us who believe, He passes over us for judgment, and we are not consumed by His wrath.

The unleavened bread is a symbol of sinlessness. Christ was without sin. That is why we use unleavened bread for the Lord’s Supper – a symbol of Christ’s sinlessness. But there is more. For seven days they were to eat unleavened bread. Why? Christ was in the ground only three days so the analogy seems to break down here. Could there be another reason? Could God be telling us that those under the blood are made as Christ is – sinless his eyes?

Questions are to be asked of the father by the children. The Passover was meant to be a perpetual obligation (meal and memorial) for the nation so that they would not forget what the Lord had done for them in getting them out of Egypt. This was a very important learning experience for the children as well as a memorial for the adults.

Was Egypt a land of slavery and bondage? Yes.

Is sin a land of slavery and bondage for us? Yes.

Is the Lord’s Supper designed to help us remember what the Lord has done for us in bringing us out of the slavery and bondage of sin? Yes.

How long are we to engage in the Lord’s Supper? Perpetually until He comes.

How often? 1 Corinthians 11:25: “as oft as you drink it.” In other words – often!

Why then cannot we do as the Hebrews do with Passover – use the Lord’s Supper as not just a memorial for what Jesus has done for us, but as a teaching tool for our children so that they can know what He can do for them? I think we can.

Note: This is NOT dogmatic teaching. It is not what I would consider as a reason to separate fellowship with other like-minded believers. You must allow your conscience to be your guide.

When guests are present, we often invite those who are believers to partake without really knowing if they are.

When did the Lord’s Supper become a church sacrament? The Roman Catholic Church, in 1439, affirmed the dogma of separating various ceremonies as special and sacred. They are baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony.¹

Even Martin Luther, after 1517, (over 80 years later) when breaking away from the “Church” kept many of the sacraments within the Lutheran Church. Many protestant churches do the same. We hold in seriousness (we don’t call them sacraments) baptism, marriage vows, ordination, and the Lord’s Supper.

Acts 2:41-47:

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Exodus 12:24-27: “And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshiped.”

Exodus 13:8-9: “And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.”

Exodus 13:14: “And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:”

Deuteronomy 6:20-21: “And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:”

Isaiah 53:1-12:

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him; there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divided him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

1 Corinthians 11:20-34:

When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

The Cup:

There are four cups in the Passover meal. God uses four expressions of redemption in describing the Jewish Exodus from Egypt and the Jewish birth as a nation:

“I will take you out . . .”
“I will save you from bondage . . .”
“I will redeem you . . .”
“I will take you as a people . . .”

Exodus 6:1-7 (list added):

Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and (1) I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and (2) I will rid you out of their bondage; and (3) I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, [is that a picture of Christ on the cross, I wonder?], and with great judgments: (4) And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

During the Seder, each participant drinks four cups of wine to recall the four expression of redemption mentioned in the Bible (Exodus 6:6-7). God tells Moses to tell the people of Israel, “(1) I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, (2) I will rid you of their bondage, (3) I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm and with great judgments, and (4) I will take you to Me for a people and be to you a God.” The four cups at the Seder represent the four expressions of redemption: bring, deliver, redeem, and take. The first cup is called the Cup of Sanctification; the second, the Cup of Judgement; the third, the Cup of Redemption; and the fourth, the Cup of the Kingdom (also called the Marriage Cup, Hope, and Praise).

It is believed by most scholars that Jesus stopped at the third cup at the Last Supper – the Cup of Redemption, and declared that He would not drink again of the fruit of the vine until He drank it again with us in the kingdom (that would be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and it would be the fourth cup – the cup of taking us unto Himself – the Cup of the Kingdom, the cup of “take you to me for a people”).

Additionally, isn’t it interesting that the Cup of Redemption they drank Jesus used to represent His blood?

Matthew 26:26-29: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Mark 14:22-25: “And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of this fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Luke 22:14-20:

And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

John 13:1-5:

Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Unleavened Bread:

In today’s Passovers, before the Seder Meal begins, three matzot are placed in a special cover with three sections. The middle one is known as the bread of affliction. It is broken in two by the service leader. The first half is eaten during the service, and the second half called afikomen is hidden. Children search for this when required; the service cannot continue without it. An extra wine glass or goblet is put out for Elijah the prophet.

Leaven in the Bible is always a type of sin. God wanted unleavened bread to be used to represent Christ – the perfect sinless Lamb of God. The original matzot was probably a rough oval or circle quickly made into a ball, flattened, pierced with a fork-like device to keep air bubbles down, and placed in the oven. Today it can be bought in squares, pierced with a fork-roller device that pierces the entire loaf at the same time, and then placed in the oven. The matzots remind us that Jesus is free of sin, was pierced, bruised (brown-baked spots), and bore our stripes. Then, as we partake of the Lord’s Supper “meal” we break the bread and hand it out. Matthew 26:26: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” Jesus “broke” the bread, and He was broken for our iniquities. 1 Corinthians 11:24: “And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.”

Remember that he center pocket of the white linen holding the afikomen is called the bread of affliction? Isn’t that what Christ did for us on the Cross?

There are so many types for us to learn in the Passover Meal that can be taught today when we partake of the Lord’s Supper.

We are His disciples and He is our Passover Lamb. Praise the Lord!

Maranatha!

Bro. Joe

References

¹Considine, K. P. (July 24, 2023). Why are There Seven Sacraments?. U.S. Catholic. Retrieved from https://uscatholic.org/articles/202307/why-are-there-seven-sacraments/

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