This column represents the thoughts and opinions of Ron Braley. This is NOT the opinion of the Taylor Press.
Last week, I introduced the feasts and festivals God ordained about 3,500 years ago. Four happen in the springtime and three in the fall. The spring feasts/festivals are Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost. The fall festivals are Trumpets, Atonement, and Booths (Sukkot). The feasts and festivals were types (dress rehearsals) to be fulfilled by Jesus: the spring feasts at His first coming and the fall feasts upon His return. In this column, we’ll take a deeper look at how He fulfilled the feast of Passover about 2,000 years ago.
First, the original Passover in about 1445 BCE was part of the final plague in God’s plan to free the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. In the 10th plague, God took the life of every firstborn male, both human and animal. That is unless a God-fearing person such as the Israelite put the blood of a blemish-free lamb above the door and on the doorposts as a sign that death should ‘pass over.’
Second, Jews were (and are) to remember what God did for them through the annual Passover feast. The priests would select blemish-free lambs from a holding pen at the appropriate time in March or April (depending on the lunar calendar). They would then inspect them for four days before sacrificing the animals to be cooked and eaten during an evening meal to remember the original Passover. Jesus became the blemish-free lamb (sacrificially speaking) inspected for four days by the religious leaders and slaughtered to spill His blood to free God-fearing Christfollowers from sin and death. His sacrifice has released them from the bondage of sin just as God freed the Israelites from the bondage of the Egyptians.
Third, the bread had to be cooked in a hurry without yeast. There was no time to let it rise before the Israelites had to ‘beat feet’ in a hurry to escape the wrath of the Egyptian Pharoah. This flatbread, still cooked and eaten during the annual Passover feast, has tiny holes in it and the stripes made by cooking over a fire and grating. Some believe that these represent the piercings and stripes Isaiah foretold (Isaiah 53:5) and Jesus fulfilled.
Finally, the Passover feast incorporates four cups of wine. The third is called the ‘Cup of Redemption’ and is likely the one Jesus presented to His disciples as the cup of the new covenant (Matthew 26:27-28). Just afterward, He explained that He would not drink with them again until they are together in heaven in the future (verse 29). Indeed, we see in Revelation that Godfearing Christ-followers will celebrate the marriage feast in heaven together when all will be fulfilled (Revelation 19:6-9), and we will enjoy this fourth cup of wine, aptly named the Cup of Praise. Next week, let’s dive headfirst into the next feast/ festival ordained by God in the spring feasts: Feast of Unleavened Bread. Questions or comments? Email [email protected].
Blessings and peace, Dr. Ron Braley (www. ronbraley.com)
