A Few Quick Passover Thoughts from a Christian Lens

Before I finish this blog post, I want to wish everyone a Happy Passover.

May Passover enrich your walk with the Creator in a beautiful and meaningful way this year, especially with tensions high in the world. We need more love in this world, and Passover is an amazing pre-configured picture of the love of Jesus, who became our Passover Lamb.

You might say Passover is one of the highlight events in Israelite history.

As a Christian, it’s important for me to acknowledge the beauty of Jewish identity. Christians who observe the Feasts of Yahweh do so with no harmful intentions or desire to replace them.

The fact is, Jesus is a Jewish man, the most famous to walk this planet.

He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who will one day establish the Davidic monarchy in the holy city.

Passover season brings new beginnings, and the perfect time to abandon slavery in all its forms.

Yahweh led the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand, performing astounding miracles to set Abraham’s descendants free from oppression.

Oppression comes from all sides and at all levels of society.

It’s heartbreaking to hear about the effects of war, modern slavery in other nations, human trafficking, and even our own self-oppressive tendencies that are not beneficial to our souls.

Exodus 6:6 “Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.”

Our God is not a God who wants slavery in any form. He desires all men and women to be free.

While the Exodus story is a literal, historical event, we can use it spiritually to enlarge our understanding of slavery in our day, too.

Not to diminish the severity of the acts of the Egyptians in times long gone, but God is a God who claims Egypt is part of His people.

Isaiah 19:25 “Whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

Exodus 22:21 ““You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

This command from Exodus 22 doesn’t say: “except for Egyptians.”

Jesus showed us that love does no wrong to a neighbor, and we must treat all with love and kindness. If an Egyptian were to cross into the Promised Land, his or her heritage wasn’t a factor in how to treat them.

Yahweh is a God of fruitful wisdom. I hope humanity comes to understand we are all made in God’s image.

I will not get political in this post, but I will say in our days there is a certain vitriol among divergent backgrounds that needs to end. The world needs more compassion, especially during the time of the Spring Feasts.

Passover points us to the liberation of our own personal Egypt as much as it does the historical event in a miraculous display of God’s power.

God’s power to set us free is as miraculous as His supernatural miracles.

Accept all of yourself, not the parts you like alone. Don’t let your mind become an Egypt to your soul.

Don’t treat others with contempt or disdain, even if you disagree with them. Remember Exodus 22:21, because a stranger is still your neighbor.

The story of the centurion is a notable example of this in practice.

He has a need and knows Jesus Christ can fulfill it in the gospels.

He was a Gentile, an outsider to the flock (at least in the Pharisees’ eyes) and Jesus praised him for his faith. It didn’t matter what his background was, what his skin color was, what his gender was, or even his occupation that often cost people their lives in wartime. Jesus only responded with amazement at his faith and understanding.

Matthew 8:10 “When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

This man was set free by the One who does marvelous things.

He did it in ancient Egypt, and He still does it today.

The blood of Jesus is our gateway to the Father’s grace and mercy.

During Passover, Jesus was the unblemished Lamb at the time the Israelites were eating the meal commanded by God in remembrance.

A poetic symbolism was likely not lost upon many of His followers who understood who He was and what He was coming into the world to do.

John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

John the Baptist understood it well.

Jesus is the fulfillment of Passover, the offering on our behalf, in the greatest act of love ever in history or for eternity.

I don’t keep Passover to “earn my way” into heaven. Far from it. The Bible clarifies that a list of rules and dos and do nots isn’t what being here on Earth is about. It’s about treating people with the love they deserve, or maybe haven’t even experienced in their life at all. As Paul said in his letters, if you have no love, what good is your faith?

We do this to honor our Savior, Jesus Christ, who became a sacrificial Lamb to cover us from God’s punishment. We don’t want to be the Egyptians on the receiving end of the judgment.

We can’t be that.

We must be those under His covering, His grace, and His love.

Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

He wants to be our friend.

He died and gave Himself for us so that we can have that newness of life and our own Promised Land.

Passover reminds us of how much Jesus suffered and the profound consequences of damaging our relationship with God.

It may be hard to accept this in your mind’s eye, but Jesus was marred and disfigured beyond any man, even before His crucifixion.

That’s the price He paid in your stead.

A gruesome picture of a love beyond any love.

When the Angel of Death came over the homes of Egyptians and Israelites, only those who had the blood of the lamb stood a chance of missing death.

Even the death of the firstborn is a picture of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s firstborn, His only begotten son.

It’s a reversed paradox in a way. Using death to bring life.

God used the final punishment of Egypt of death to bring the Israelites life in a new land free to be who He created them to be.

He used the death of the cross to bring life to all men, women, and children.

And He used Jesus’ death itself, and His resurrection, to bring eternal life to those of us who put our trust in Him and the gospel message.

Our God is a wonderful God who uses the negative things of the world to bring positive results. He is the One who created thunderstorms, yet they bring wonderful blossoms. He created volcanoes, yet they enrich the soil so new life grows.

He used the stubborn heart of an evil king to show His wonderful power and love for His people, and using Jesus Christ, He brought eternal life to even His enemies.

Passover is a foreshadowing event for the cross and eternal life.

It shows God isn’t too small to use the ugly things in this world for His glory.

While the Passover event is full of death and destruction, it is also full of the wonderful freedom offered to us by our Creator.

I hope you ponder upon what it took for Jesus to set us free this Passover, just as Yahweh set His people free in ancient times to eliminate oppression and reclaim freedom for all.

Chag Pesach Sameach!