Good morning,
The evening of April 1, 2026, is the celebration of Passover. How are Jesus and Passover connected? That will be our study for this week.
| What’s Jesus’ link to Passover? |
How are Jesus and the Passover connected?
I. Introduction
Passover, an annual Jewish festival commemorating the Israelites’ deliverance from slavery in Egypt, holds significant meaning within biblical history. The question of how Jesus is connected to the Passover underscores deep theological themes that span from Exodus to the New Testament. By exploring Passover’s Old Testament origins and its culminating aspects in the life and ministry of Jesus, we gain a fuller understanding of how Scripture consistently portrays redemption through the sacrifice of the “Lamb of God.”
II. Old Testament Foundations of Passover
Passover (Hebrew: Pesach) was instituted during the Exodus when Yahweh commanded the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb, place its blood on their doorposts, and eat the lamb as part of a special meal (Exodus 12:3-14).
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: 4And 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. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6And 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. 7And 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. 8And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. 12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.14And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. ”
This act distinguished them from the Egyptians at a time when Yahweh struck all the firstborn of Egypt. According to the text, the blood was a sign of divine protection:
“For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:12-13)
This event was such a defining moment that the people of Israel were commanded to remember it annually as a perpetual ordinance (Exodus 12:14). The Passover meal included specific elements-unleavened bread (matzo), bitter herbs, and the Passover lamb-underscoring themes of haste, deliverance, and sacrificial atonement.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com
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