Jesus can be found in the feast of passover as he can in all Jewish feasts. Passover is the first of the seven annual feasts that God gave to the Israelites and is the first of the three mandatory feasts that Israelite males were required to come to Jerusalem with a sacrifice. Pentecost and the feast of tabernacles are the other two. Passover in Hebrew is pasach meaning “to suffer” and is a one day feast. Jesus suffered for us on the cross. The feast of passover is connected with the feast of unleavened bread which immediately follows it. As time went by and even today the two feasts combined are often referred to as passover though God has them separate, though they are connected. Passover occurs in either March or April of our calendar depending on the year. It is normally near the time of Easter. The Israelites were commanded to celebrate passover on the fourteenth day of the first month of Nisan (Originally called Abib). This had previously been the seventh month, but God told Moses to change the calendar and make this the first month. (Leviticus 23:5-8 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.) Passover is a one day feast immediately followed by the seven day feast of unleavened bread.
Passover came about due to the events in Egypt. Moses had returned to Egypt to free his people from pharaoh and their hardship. When pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave, God brought on the ten plagues. The tenth plague was the death of the firstborn of everyone including the Israelites if they did not obey God’s command. This included both people and animals of the people. Most of the plagues only affected the Egyptians, but this plague would also affect those Israelites who disobeyed God’s commands for what to do. The Israelites were commanded to put the blood of a lamb that they were to eat that night. This blood was to be dipped with hyssop and placed on the two side posts of the door as well as on the lintel which is the top beam of a door. If the death angel saw this blood on the door, he would passover and go to the next, hence the name of the feast. If this blood was not on the door, including Israelites, then the angel would kill the firstborn of people and beast. The family had to be inside of the house when the angel came in in order to be safe from death. (Exodus 12:21-24 ¶ Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.) The Israelites were commanded to celebrate the passover forever as well as the feast of unleavened bread. The Jews still celebrate it today as commanded. The blood that was placed on the door made a cross and it represents the blood Jesus would shed for us at Calvary as our passover lamb. The significance is important in that the family had to be inside the house with the blood on the door. Today a person is only safe from death by being washed in the blood of Jesus. Without that blood, no one is safe. The Israelites were commanded to only place this blood on their houses for this first passover as it shows that we are saved from the blood for all time. We do not need to keep being washed in the blood of Jesus. We cannot lose our salvation and keep getting resaved. By being in the house, this represented being safe in the arms of Jesus similar to Noah and his family who were safe in the ark during the global flood. Outside of Jesus, we have no life and neither did the Israelites who disobeyed God’s command. This placing of the blood on the door by the Israelites was the only way they could be safe which represents the fact that there is only one way to heaven and that is by the blood of Jesus. The LORD himself would pass over the houses and if the blood was on the door, then he forbad the destroyer from killing the firstborn. The LORD saw the blood as representative of his Son Jesus and his future death on the cross. The destroyer was most likely Satan himself, but as always Satan could not touch those who were covered by the blood of the lamb representative of Jesus’ blood just as he today cannot touch the everlasting souls of those who are washed in the blood of Jesus. The hyssop is a small minty plant that was required to be dipped in the blood in order to spread the blood. The hyssop is seen throughout scripture as being used to cleanse, such as someone who had touched a dead body. (Numbers 19:18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:) The hyssop seems to be representative of the people transferring their sins to the blood and the blood being transferred back to them as a washing and cleansing away of their sins. This was only symbolic rather than actually cleansing them, but represented the future cleansing of sin by Jesus. Jesus was given vinegar on hyssop when he was on the cross just before he died. The vinegar represents the sin of the world and God’s wrath because of that sin. Jesus was symbolically transferring by the hyssop the sins of the world and the wrath of God upon himself as he drank the vinegar. Vinegar is bitter just as sin is. After drinking Jesus said it is finished and died. Once Jesus took upon the sins of the world it was finished and his work on the cross completed. (John 19:29-30 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.) The Israelites were commanded to only kill a lamb for this passover. This lamb had to be without blemish and was to be eaten with bitter herbs. The bitter herbs represent the vinegar that Jesus drank while he was on the cross. The lamb had to be a male without blemish since it represented Jesus who was perfect and without sin. (Exodus 12:3-10 ¶ 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 an house:
4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour 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.
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 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.
7 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.
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
9 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.
10 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.) (II Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.) The people took this lamb from the flock on the tenth day of the month and kept it in their house until it was killed on the fourteenth. By this time they would become attached to the lamb. This makes it harder to kill. This is representative of Jesus and his entrance to Jerusalem on the tenth of Nisan or Palm Sunday. Jesus was chosen or selected to be king, but he refused. Jesus died as our passover lamb on passover on the 14th of Nisan, having been selected on the tenth on the same day that the Jews would have chosen their lamb. (I Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:) The Israelites were told to be dressed and be ready to leave at an instants notice. This is representative of the fact that we always need to be ready for the rapture and the return of Jesus at a moment’s notice as well as be ready for the attack of Satan. Those families who shared the passover lamb is symbolic of sharing Jesus with our neighbors. Jesus as the Lamb of God took away the sins of the world. (John 1:29 ¶ The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.)
The feast of unleavened bread immediately follows the passover and is seven days long. The Israelites had to prepare unleavened bread for the night of the first passover as they had to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice and did not have time for the bread to rise. Leaven in scripture is representative of sin and Jesus as the perfect sacrifice had no sin which is represented by this bread. Also when a person gets saved, they are washed in the blood of Jesus and so they are without sin in the eyes of God even though we still sin after being saved, but God only sees the blood of Jesus and not our sin. (Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,) We saw in I Corinthians 5:7 how we became unleavened after being washed in the blood of Jesus. The Israelites were not to have any leaven around in the house or elsewhere for the seven days of the feast. On the seventh and last day of the feast the Israelites were to have a feast to the LORD. The feast of the first fruits is also during this time with it occurring on the first day after the weekly sabbath. (Leviticus 23:10-11 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.) Fifty days after the feast of first fruits is the feast of weeks or Pentecost.
The passover is eaten at sunset when the new day starts in the Hebrew world. This is the hour that is spoken of in scripture that Jesus told his disciples to have the passover meal ready for the hour. The Last Supper was the passover meal eaten by the disciples.
Today in Israel, before the passover the house is cleansed of all leaven (yeast). Usually a small amount is left and “hidden” so a child can search the house and find it and rid the house of the last of the leaven. After the house is cleansed just before the start of the passover meal, the head woman lights candles and says a blessing. The man then makes sure everyone has some of the “fruit of the vine” or wine in a cup. The seder as the meal is called is divided into four parts with the people drinking four times from the cup. The four drinks or cups are known as the cup of sanctification which remembers “I will bring you out of Egypt”, the cup of plagues remembers “I will deliver you from their bondage”, the cup of redemption remembers “I will redeem you”, and the cup of praise (Hallel) remembers “I will take you for my people”. (Exodus 6:6-7 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
7 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.) After the blessing of the first cup the people would do a ceremonial hand washing. It was at this time that Jesus took a towel and washed the disciples feet. Next parsley is passed around as one of the bitter herbs. They dip the parsley into salt water. The green parsley is said to represent our lives and the salt water our tears. During this first cup session this is when the Afikomen is removed from the matzah bag or bread bag which contains three pieces of bread. The afikomen is the middle piece of bread. The head male takes this middle piece and breaks it in half and wraps one half in a white linen cloth and hides it. During the second cup session the head of the house takes another piece of bread and says this is the bread of our affliction representing how the body of Jesus as the bread of life was afflicted and pierced on the cross. This bread is passed around and each person breaks off a piece. After this comes the second partaking of bitter herbs. This time the head of the house takes a piece of bread and dips it in horseradish with enough on it to bring tears to his eyes when he eats it. This bread is then passed around for all to do the same thing. This may be the point when Jesus mentioned the coming betrayal by one of the apostles who of course was Judas Iscariot. A mixture of chopped apples and spices or charoseth is put on bread and a bite eaten and then passed around for all to do the same. This mixture represents the mortar and labor used to make bricks in Egypt. The sweet food reminds the Jewish people that their labor seems sweet as their redemption draws near. They also eat a hardboiled egg that reminds them the temple is no more. At the end of the passover meal, the children look for the “missing afikomen” the middle piece of bread that was removed and hidden. This middle piece represents Jesus as the second person of the Godhead with the other two pieces representing God the Father and the Holy Ghost. The afikomen had been wrapped up before being hidden which represents Jesus being wrapped in a shroud and buried in the tomb for three days. After the child finds the afrikomen which represents Jesus’ resurrection, the bread is broken into pieces and a piece given to all to be eaten which is meant as a reminder that God has broken their bondage and redeemed them at passover. This is the last of the food to be eaten as Jesus is all we need. This was the bread that Jesus broke at the Last Supper representing his soon to be broken body on the cross for our sins. The third cup is also drunk at this time. It was this third cup that Jesus was drinking when he instituted the Lord’s supper or communion. The third cup with red wine represents the blood of Jesus that he shed on the cross for us. (Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.) After the meal the Jews say more prayers and then sing a hymn which is Psalms 113-118, the same hymn Jesus sang with his disciples at the Last Supper and then they drink the fourth cup. This hymn contains Psalm 118:22 which is the part about Jesus being the cornerstone that the builders rejected speaking of how the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah at his first coming. (Psalm 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.) The fourth cup or Hallel is sometimes known as Elijah’s cup. The Jews will set an empty chair at the table directly across from the head of the house. The Jews believe that Elijah will come at passover in announcing the coming Messiah. They get this from Malachi 3:1. (Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.) This verse is actually speaking of the then future coming of John the Baptist who prepared the way for the first coming of Jesus. Jesus himself said that it was John the Baptist. (Matthew 17:10-13 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.) Elijah will come just before the return of Jesus at his second coming just as it is told in Malachi 4:5. (Malachi 4:5 ¶ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:) John the Baptist was the forerunner or type of Elijah who preceded the first coming of Jesus and Elijah will the second coming. Elijah along with Moses will be one of the two witnesses during the tribulation. At the end of passover the Jews open the front door and look outside for Elijah. When they do not see him they say “next year in Jerusalem”, not understanding that Jesus their Messiah has already come.
Scripture seems to tell of a future event that most likely will happen on passover as the Jews have a great exodus from Russia just as they did from Egypt. It seems that one day they will celebrate the exodus from Russia in place of the exodus from Egypt on passover. These Russian Jews will return to the land of Israel. This may occur because of the Battle of Gog and Magog when Russia attacks and invades Israel along with many Muslim nations and God intervenes supernaturally just as he did in Egypt. Many Jews have been leaving Russia for years, but scripture seems to tell of one great final exodus. (Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.) This exodus seems to also include Jews coming back to Israel from all over the world so it may be after Israel signs the “peace” treaty with the antichrist. (Jeremiah 16:14-15 ¶ Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
15 But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.) In scripture the land of the north is Russia as all directions are from Jerusalem and the nation farthest north is Russia.
We see that passover clearly represents Jesus in all of the things that are done. This is just the first feast of many throughout the Jewish year that point the Jewish people to their Messiah, Jesus Christ. I pray that any Jews who are not saved that they will look at the Jewish feasts and see how they point to Jesus and get saved so that you can truly enjoy the feasts with spiritually opened eyes realizing the symbolism behind them. Call upon Jesus now.
