Passover

Origin

Passover was born in Egypt on the eve of the Exodus. After nine plagues, the final judgment fell: every firstborn in the land would die. God told each Israelite household to kill a year-old lamb without blemish and paint its blood on the doorframe. When the destroyer passed through Egypt that night, it would 'pass over' every home marked by blood. Inside, families ate the roasted lamb with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast — there was no time to let it rise. By morning, Pharaoh had let them go. God commanded that the night be kept forever as a memorial, so that every generation would taste deliverance and tell the story to its children.

Historical Background

Passover anchored Israel's entire calendar; God reset the year so this month became the first month (Exodus 12:2). Over the centuries it grew from a home rite into a national pilgrimage: once the Temple stood, families traveled to Jerusalem to slaughter their lambs there, and the city swelled with worshippers each spring. The meal acquired a fixed order — the Seder — with four cups of wine, the retelling (the Haggadah), and the youngest child's question, 'Why is this night different from all other nights?' It was during such a Passover pilgrimage, in a crowded Jerusalem, that Jesus ate his last supper with his disciples.

How It's Observed

A Passover Seder is a meal that teaches through the senses. On the table sits a plate of symbols: bitter herbs for the bitterness of slavery, salt water for tears, a sweet brown paste for the mortar of forced labor, and unleavened bread (matzah) for the hurried escape. Participants drink four cups of wine, recline as free people, and read the Haggadah aloud, retelling the Exodus as if they themselves had been delivered. Leaven is swept out of the house beforehand — a hunt children love. The whole evening is built to hand the story to the next generation around the table.

In Christ

The New Testament reads Passover as a portrait of Jesus painted centuries in advance. Paul says plainly, 'Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed' (1 Corinthians 5:7). John the Baptist points to him as 'the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.' Jesus chose Passover to give his life: at the Last Supper he took the bread and the cup of the Seder and made them his own — 'this is my body... this is my blood.' Just as the lamb's blood once shielded Israel from death, his blood shields all who trust him. Even the detail that not one of the Passover lamb's bones was to be broken finds its echo at the cross (John 19:36).

Why It Matters Today

For Christians, the Lord's Supper grows directly out of this feast — every time the bread is broken and the cup is shared, the Passover story continues. It teaches that freedom is something God gives, not something we earn, and that deliverance is meant to be remembered out loud and passed on. Wherever believers gather to recall a sacrifice that spared them, they are keeping the heart of Passover.

Scriptural Basis

Did You Know

• Passover is the most frequently mentioned feast in the Bible — and the Exodus it commemorates is referenced more than any other event in the Old Testament.
• The Hebrew word 'pesach' means to pass over or spare; some scholars also link it to the picture of God 'hovering protectively' over the marked homes.
• A traditional Seder ends with the hope 'Next year in Jerusalem' — a line spoken for centuries by Jews scattered far from home.