Jesus Christ Our Passover: Part 4
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Watch the Lamb
Watch the Lamb by Ray Boltz
The love it took for Jesus to do what He did and for God to give what He gave is unimaginable. We can only try to love God back with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
1 Corinthians 5:7 KJV:
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover [lamb] is sacrificed for us [on our behalf]:
When you see the word “Passover,” it can mean the entire Passover feast and all that it entails, or it can mean the Passover lamb. In this case, it’s talking about the Passover lamb.
Passover has been celebrated for 3,500 years!
Review
Key Dates
The 10th of Nissan, the spring month that roughly corresponds to our March. Remember that they reckoned the days from sunset to sunset (not midnight to midnight). This is the day corresponding to our Friday sunset to Saturday sunset when they chose the Passover lamb.
The 14th of Nissan, corresponding to our Tuesday sunset to Wednesday sunset, is when the Passover lamb was killed—and the crucifixion of Jesus, the true Passover lamb, took place.
The 17th of Nissan, corresponding to our Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset, is when Christ’s resurrection took place.
Choosing the lamb out from the flock on Nissan 10th corresponds to the triumphal entry when Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on the colt.
Luke 19:28–30, 35– KJV:
28 And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.
35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. 37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
What they were saying came from a Psalm and was about the Messiah.
Psalm 118:19–26 KJV:
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: 20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation [Hebrew word similar to Yeshua, Jesus]. 22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 23 This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. 24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now [Hosanna], I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
What they were saying was acknowledging that Jesus was their choice (of king). The lamb was chosen.
The tradition was that they brought the lamb to the temple to show the lamb that was chosen.
From Nissan 11–13, the people were cleaning the leaven from their homes. This was because they were to have no leaven (old, fermented dough) in their houses at all during the feast of unleavened bread, which would begin right after Passover.
Luke 19:45–46 KJV:
45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Jesus cleansed the temple (God’s house) when the people were cleaning their houses from leaven.
During this time, the people could examine their lamb at the temple to be sure that it was without spot or blemish, was a lamb of the first year, and would be the representation for their family. That’s what happened with Jesus because every day (Luke 19:47), from Sunday to Tuesday, He came to the temple, and various groups of people (Sadducees, Pharisees, elders, etc.) examined or questioned Him.
Luke 20:1–8 KJV:
1 And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, 2 And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? 3 And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: 4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? 5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? 6 But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. 7 And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. 8 And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
There are many other examples of questioning during this time recorded in the gospels.
Tuesday evening is when the Lord’s Supper (communion) was instituted. The meaning of the bread and the wine (the broken body and the shed blood) represented a new covenant between God and man. Something often forgotten about the Last Supper was that Jesus washed the disciple’s feet—showing them that the greatest leader is the greatest servant.
He had repeatedly told them that He had to die, to go through all this stuff, but they didn’t get it. They didn’t understand. They wanted Him to be a king. But Jesus knew that there had to be a life for a life. This principle was beautifully exemplified in the Passover lamb.
One of the traditions involved the head of the household going through the house in silence, ensuring that there is no leaven in the house. And that is why Jesus was silent during his final questionings before Passover.
Nissan 14. In the morning, the lamb is tied to the altar at the 3rd hour (roughly 9:00 AM)—exactly when Jesus was placed on the cross. The lamb would remain on display in public view throughout the day until roughly 3:00 PM—exactly as Jesus was on the cross.
At the 9th hour (about 3:00 PM), the lamb was to be slaughtered (with no bone broken). When the priest slits the lamb’s throat to shed its blood, the priest says, “It is finished.” At the exact time the priest did so, Jesus Christ said, “It is finished.” It means “paid in full.” The Aramaic and Hebrew words sound very similar, and it’s a single word, mashelem. It means accomplished, fulfilled, paid, done, it’s over, complete.
There are other parallels during the crucifixion, but these (above) are the highlights.
After Jesus has died (around 3:00 PM), Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea get the body, and about 6:00 PM, Jesus is buried. This fulfilled another prophecy because His grave was with the rich (Joseph of Arimathea).
Then there are 72 hours when Jesus is dead, fulfilling the prophecy that Jesus would be dead in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights, just as Jonah was dead in the whale’s belly for three days and three nights. In that culture, being dead for three days and three nights meant that you were officially dead. Then, no one could say, “He didn’t really die; He was just sleeping.”
The resurrection occurred on Saturday, Nissan 17, around 6:00 PM. This is the same time as the celebration of the barley harvest, where they went out and reaped the first sheaf of the barley harvest. They would prepare that sheaf, grind it into flour, and bake a loaf of bread with it. Early on Sunday morning, about 6:00 AM, they presented that bread in the temple, which is called the first fruits.
1 Corinthians 15:20 KJV:
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Jesus Christ was the lamb. Everything the lamb was doing, Jesus was doing.
Romans 3:22–26 KJV:
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [payment] through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past [passed over], through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus
Romans 3:25 NASB:
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation bin His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
Scripture Reference
Scripture marked (NASB) taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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