Pesach “Passover”
It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.
As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.
Torah Portion Name and Readings-
Pesach is the Hebrew word for “Passover”, this is the name for the weekly Torah Portion reading for the Exodus starting in chapter 12 verse 21 and going through verse 51.
Prophets and New Testament-
It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Joshua in chapter 3 verse 5 through verse 7, chapter 5 verse 2 through chapter 6 verse 1, and chapter 6 verse 27.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of John in chapter 19 with verses 31 through chapter 20 verse 1.
Torah Portion Overview-
In this torah portion, we see Moses command the very first Passover sacrifice, with the blood of the lamb poured into the basin at the door and put on the doorpost. Israel is then instructed to memorialize the Passover. The people then sacrifice the Passover just as Moses had instructed. The Destroyer, serving Yahweh, passed through the land of Egypt and struck down the firstborn of every family and every animal. This was the greatest and final plague. After this Pharoah was broken and he agreed to let the people go free. Israel left Egypt in haste, with plunder from the Egyptians. They left the very same day that the sojourn of Abraham started when he left his father’s house. We then get more instructions for the Passover.
This torah portion is a special portion, it is the portion that covers the Passover. This is appropriate with Passover and (Easter) approaching! The Passover is important to Christians because of what it symbolizes and how it connects to Christ’s death.
“Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. You shall observe this as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. When you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this observance mean to you?’ you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.’ ” And the people bowed down and worshiped.”
Exodus 12:21-27 (NRSVue)
The Passover was a special ceremony where they,
• sacrificed a lamb,
• put blood on the door,
• and then ate of that lamb.
• The Destroyer passed through Egypt but spared those who had the blood on the door.
Now compare to Jesus who was,
• Sacrificed for our sins on our behalf,
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
1 Peter 2:24 (CSB)
• His blood covers our hearts,
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Hebrews 10:19-22 (ESV)
• We “eat His flesh” to have eternal life (here the verse is about bread, but the idea is that His flesh is “food”,
“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”
John 6:53-56 (NASB95)
• And we are saved from utter destruction at the last day because of His sacrifice!
“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9 (ESV)
The comparison is very strong! Thus the richness of Passover cannot be missed! We eat of this great feast celebrating our Lord and what He has done for us! Indeed, it was this very event that He asked us to do, to remember His sacrifice.
“Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Luke 22:19 (NRSVue)
Jesus is this lamb, the lamb of God! He is our Passover lamb!
“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 (NRSVue)
“You know that you were ransomed from the futile conduct inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.”
1 Peter 1:18–19 (NRSVue)
He laid down His life willingly for us! This is so shocking!! Today, because we have grown up knowing of Jesus we don’t think much of this, at least, it does not shock us. However, step back and look at it with fresh eyes. Imagine the size of the sun, compared to the size of our planet. Then picture even larger stars, the largest star estimated to be about 1700 times larger than our star. These stars rotate with other stars and form galaxies. The galaxies rotate around each other to form a massive universe! Now all this, all this was made by Christ.
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
John 1:3 (ESV)
Jesus, our God, made all this!! Yet He was willing, to come to earth as a human, and be tortured to death to save us!! This is incredible! We cannot say what we would do if we were gods, for we cannot imagine such a change of nature. However, I feel safe in saying this, if I were a god, I would not want to do what Jesus did! In fact, I think I would just start over! But He did not. Instead, He chose the hard road, He chose the way of death, that we might have life. This is incredible! It is the greatest mystery and joy that Jesus Christ chose to be sacrificed for us. We must live in eternal gratitude to Him, thanking Him for all that He has done!
We are not the only ones to be shocked! Remember that the Jews expected a Messiah to come and be a conquering King, that would overthrow the Romans and bring about a Kingdom of peace for the Jews. They expected Him to be a general, not a carpenter! Yet this is not the way of God. For He chose to come in humility and suffer.
“He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity, and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases, yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”
Isaiah 53:3-7 (NRSVue)
He did this of His own free will! He laid down His life. He did not give up but instead persevered until the end.
“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
John 10:18 (NRSVue)
This sacrifice brought us redemption, forgiveness of all our sins, everything we have ever done or will do, if we will only repent and accept Him!
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”
Ephesians 1:7 (NRSVue)
Therefore, let us live our lives, remembering what He did! Let us not just remember this great event during Passover, let us remember it every day! His sacrifice should encourage us to live a life of sacrifice and love, for each other and God. Live your life as someone whom God valued so much that He was willing to be tortured to death to save. Live your life as someone who owes such a debt to God but cannot ever repay it. Live your life as though you too are a sacrifice, just like Christ was.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2 (NRSVue)
And so this Passover, remember His sacrifice. Talk about it, dwell on it. Thank Him for setting you free, thank Him for His blood that covers your sins. Rejoice in Him, in your freedom, and live your life to Him!
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Exodus 12:21 Moses commands the Passover lamb to be sacrificed and the blood applied to the door.
Exodus 12:24 Moses commands the Passover to be memorialized.
Exodus 12:28 The people sacrifice the Passover as Moses commanded.
Exodus 12:29 The Destroyer strikes down the firstborn of Egypt during the 10th Plague and Pharoah lets the people go.
Exodus 12:33 Israel leaves Egypt in haste and with plunder on the same day that their sojourn started (with Abraham).
Exodus 12:43 The instructions for the Passover.
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Joshua 3:5 The people are told to consecrate themselves and the priests are told to pass the ark through the people.
Joshua 5:2 The second generation of Israelites are circumcised.
Joshua 5:10 The Israelites eat their first Passover in the Promised Land.
Joshua 5:13 The Commander of the Armies of Yahweh appears to Joshua.
Joshua 6:1 Jericho is locked up because of Israel.
Joshua 6:27 Yahweh is with Joshua and his fame grows.
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
John 19:31 Jesus is pierced with a spear to prove that He is dead.
John 19:38 Jesus is buried by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.
John 20:1 Mary came to the tomb at pre-dawn morning and saw the stone rolled away.
Further Study-
Naked Bible 271-273: Exodus 12 Part 1, 2a, and 2b
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN0_JRpD-vU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdUlMaeeP38
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYTluC7y9OkThe Bible Project - Passage Study: What Is Passover?
https://bibleproject.com/videos/what-is-passover/
To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE