Jesus’ Death Fulfils Passover
by Rev. Darren Edgington
There is a prominent fixture in most homes called the family calendar. Usually it is used to record doctor’s appointments, entertainment events, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. The items scratched upon the calendar usually determine manner in which we spend or invest the days of the year ahead.
Above my desk there is a beautiful 2009 calendar with glorious scenery that coincides with each month, and inscribed on the picture is an inscription from a Psalm. It was a gift from some beloved friends around the Christmas season. I look at it regularly, admire the beautiful picture, then glance at the dates ahead to determine if there are important things scheduled for the upcoming week.
If ancient Israel had the technology to produce a glossy pictorial calendar, the first month would likely include a picture depicting some part of the celebration of Passover. This is because God started their calendar on the month He delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt and established the ongoing celebration of Passover (Exodus 12:1-2).
Our year starts in January. I have no idea who made that decision. Here in the northern region of the country, I would prefer to have the year begin in May when the flowers are in full bloom. But no one asked me!
Our calendar begins in frigid January with New Year’s Day. Some families travel long distances to get together for elaborate meals and fellowship on that occasion. But many Americans spend the day just trying to eliminate the symptoms of a severe hangover from the previous evening’s festivities. Others just linger around the house waiting until the afternoon to finally arrive. At least our year starts with some great college football games.
But there seems to be no real significance regarding the fact that we start our year in January. It seems like we just do it.
What I want us to note is that unlike us, God started Israel’s calendar with a purpose. The Passover celebration was intended to be foremost - a central “starting point” for the nation. This was to be a lasting ordinance, never to be forgotten.
It is no accident that God also ordained that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem during the celebration of Passover as their prophesied Messiah, meek and lowly manner, riding on the colt of a donkey. Many pilgrims came to the city at that prescribed time. But Jesus did not merely come to kick off the year with the rest of the crowd. He came to transform the entire situation.
Passover celebrated Israel’s deliverance from bondage to Egypt. God brought them out utilizing a severe plague of judgment – all of the firstborn in Egypt died in one night. The next day the Egyptians were more than happy to escort the Israelites out of town.
This great exit or “exodus” became the paradigm for describing God’s deliverance in Israel. Just as we sing our national anthem and recall battles that secured our nation’s freedom under the star spangled banner, many of Israel’s songs in the book of Psalms recalled this deliverance.
Passover also included a special provision for God’s chosen ones. They would be protected from the night of judgment and death. A lamb had to die so they could live. The sacrificed lamb’s blood was then placed upon the external portions of the home, much like a surveyor marks territory with neon-colored ribbons.
God promised, “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (Exodus 12:13). They were saved from God’s righteous judgment because death had already occurred and the evidence was smeared on their homes. The blood set them apart.
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as he ate the traditional Passover meal with his disciples. But the events that would transpire would transform their understanding of that holiday forever. For Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:7 that “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
The blood he would shed on Calvary would save us from a greater judgment than Egypt endured. Every person is condemned before God, not just the firstborn. By nature and by choice we are universally careening toward a fearful judgment due to our sin. The only hope is that Christ would save us from the coming day of God’s wrath. In love, He does.
The security Israel felt as they huddled inside their home due to the external application of the lamb’s blood pales in comparison to the security that is in the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He ushers in the greatest exodus. Believers in Christ are delivered from the fearful judgment to come and eternal death thereafter.
Jesus came to Jerusalem during the celebration of Passover to supersede Passover. Because of his sacrificial death in our place, God will “pass over” us on the last day.
If it were my decision, I would start our calendar on Good Friday. I think Paul would agree: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).