Passover
Bible Passage:
Exodus 12:1-22; 42-49 [God commands the Passover be observed]; Matthew 26:19 [Yeshua reinforces the Passover]; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 [Passover is reinforced by Paul to be observed].
Purpose:
God ordained the Passover feast to memorialize God’s mercy on sparing the lives of His people from their sins by offering a sacrifice in their place and redeeming them from sin’s bondage [Exodus 12:27; 1 Corinthians 5:7].
How to Observe:
A Passover sacrifice is no longer needed since Yeshua Himself has become our eternal sacrifice regarding the Passover (and all animal sacrifices) [Hebrew 10:1-10]. A fire-roasted, well-done (no blood) lamb, however, may be eaten as a memorial of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb and of Yeshua’s sacrifice on the cross for the sins of mankind.
A Passover meal can still be eaten (excluding the sacrifice) to include the memorial lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs [Exodus 12:8]. The Passover meal should be eaten in haste and with feet covered.[Exodus 12:11]. None of the Passover meal should be left until morning, so only make as much as each person can eat and if there is still anything left over, throw it out [Exodus 12:4, 10].
Stay in your home and do not leave your house until the morning after the Passover meal [Exodus 12:22]. If you are hosting another family in your home, do not have them leave the home until the next morning and provide them with lodging arrangements.
It is also helpful to have a brief telling of the Passover story. The reason why we celebrate Passover should be told to the children and guests of the home [Exodus 12:26-27].
For seven days, beginning on the night of the Passover meal, you are to eat unleavened bread and not eat anything with leavening in it [Exodus 12:15-19]. Do not give away your leaven or have anyone else consume it for you. It should be eaten before Passover or thrown away before the Passover begins.
The first day of unleavened bread and the seventh day of its observance is a Sabbath and therefore should be observed just as the weekly Sabbath is observed [Exodus 12:16].
On the first and seventh day, you are to gather with fellow believers and set aside the time for observing the feast and giving the time to God by means of prayer, worship, teaching, and by not spending the day simply as you please [Exodus 12:16; Isaiah 58:13].
Act:
Celebrate the Passover with sincerity by remembering the exodus from Egypt and, more importantly, Yeshua’s sacrifice during Passover for the sins of mankind.
What is Leaven?
Literally, it is a rising or fermenting agent used in making food items that use flour such as bread. The best way to identify leaven is by the ingredient label on a food product. The following products are known leavening agents: yeast, yeast extract, leaven, leavening agents, baking soda, baking powder, and sodium bicarbonate. Bread does not have to be “fluffy” to have leaven, as even crackers, tortillas, and some sauces even have leaven in them. It is always better to check the ingredients of a product than to assume the absence of leaven.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Spiritually, leaven represents sin and impurity in one’s life [Matthew 16:4, 6, 12; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8]. Just as leaven grows in bread, so does sin and impurity in the life of a person. To remove the spiritual leaven during Passover means to actively and intentionally remove the things from our lives that cause us to be impure and sin. Impurity can be physical, sexual, verbal, visual, and can also involve laziness, selfishness, anger, envy and other things that are not necessarily actions, but attitudes or ways of thinking that affect the way we live [Proverbs 30:12]. We should seek and work towards being unleavened and pure by God’s enabling [Philippians 4:8; 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 John 3:3].
