Pesach “Passover”

This week we are celebrating Passover.  The whole point of Passover is that we are supposed to remember a story (Deuteronomy 16:3, Exodus 12:25-27) and see ourselves in it.  This same story was told for thousands of years as Jews saw themselves in the story from generation to generation.

When Jesus came to this earth He ate this very same Passover meal we ate, the day before He died.  But He said something interesting.  He said that when we remember this story, we should do more than see ourselves in the history of Israel.  When we eat this meal, we should remember Him!  

Luke 22:19 (ESV):  “And he took 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.” 

This was revolutionary that He would point the Passover at Himself and His sacrifice, yet we can see that this idea was first presented by Jeremiah in a prophecy comparing the Exodus to a new or second Exodus.

Jeremiah 16:14–16 (ESV): 

 14  “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 

 15  but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers. 

 16  “Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. 

Notice the promise of deliverance from the north country, Babylon and Assyria, the places of the exile of Judah and Israel.  It is promised that they will return and that Yahweh will send many fishermen and hunters to find them.  This is exactly what Jesus did (Matthew 4:19) where He sent to Judah first (Matthew 10:5-15) and then to the whole world (Matthew 28:19)!

Remember that Jesus was baptized He entered the water and came out) (Matthew 3:13-17) just like Israel did (Exodus 14).  He then went into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights (Matthew 4:2) just as Israel wondered in the wilderness for 40 years (Numbers 14:33).  

Then Jesus was tempted with the 3 temptations to mirror Israel. 

1 - He was tempted with hunger, but where Israel failed He succeeded (Matthew 4:3-4, Exodus 16).

2- He was tempted to test the Father, but once again succeeded where Israel failed (Matthew 4:5-7, Numbers 14:22). 

3 - He was tempted to commit idolatry but He stood firm where Israel did not (Matthew 4:8-10, Exodus 32).  

Jesus here is seen as a kind of Israel, but one who did not fail.  

He is also the Prophet like Moses!  God gave Moses three signs that He would be with Him.  

It was prophesied that God would raise up a prophet like Moses, and that the Children of Israel were to listen to Him (Deuteronomy 18:15).  And so when Jesus came He performed these same signs that Moses did, but in a greater way.  

Moses first sign was a staff being turned into a snake.  The snake of Aaron then ate the snakes of the Egyptians.  The Egyptian snakes represented the protection over the king of Egypt and also the power of their gods.  When the staff of Moses swallowed the staff of the Egyptians it was like the LORD saying “Your protection is dead”.  The God of Israel was going to defeat the gods of Egypt.  “and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.” (Exodus 12:12b) 

When Jesus died and resurrected all power in heaven and on earth was given to Him.  He stripped the rebellious ones of all their power.  But He was greater than Moses, for Moses did not judge the gods of Egypt Himself, He only did and said what God told him to do.  Jesus executed the judgement of the gods Himself (John 16:11).

Moses second sign was his hand becoming leprosy and then being healed instantly.  In the same way, when Jesus came He healed lepers by touching them with His hand (Luke 5:12-13).

Moses third sign was turning the Nile water into blood.  Wine can be symbolic for blood.  This is why Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast.  Moses turned water into blood, Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1-11).

He was performing all these things to show that He is the prophet like Moses.  

We can see these comparisons to the first Exodus and Jesus.  But what does this have to do with a second exodus?  

Remember that the Israel was still in exile during the time of Jesus.  They were taken into captivity into Assyria and never returned.  It is the task of the Messiah to bring them back (Matthew 15:24, Isaiah 11:10-16, Jeremiah 30:3-24, Jeremiah 33:14-26, Ezekiel 20:33-44, Hosea 1:2-2:1, Hosea 3:4-5, Ezekiel 37:15-28). For many more references to the second exodus see Isaiah 10:20-22, 11:10-16, 35:1-10, 44:21-23, 51:1-16, Jeremiah 3:12-4:2, 12:14-15, 16:14-16, 30:3-24, 31:1-14, 31:31-36, 33:7-8, 14-26, 46:27-28, Ezekiel 11:16-21, 20:33-44, 28:25-26, 36:21-38, 39:21-29, Hosea 1:2-2:1, 2:14-23, 3:4-5, 6:1-3, 14:1-9, Amos 9:14-15, Zechariah 10:6-12.  

This second exodus has been fulfilled in Jesus now and not yet.  He set us free from our slavery to sin and brought us out of spiritual exile.  Yet remember that Adam suffered 3 exiles; exile from the land (of Eden), exile from the presence of God, and exile from life (death).  We have been brought out of exile from the presence and promised that we will be brought out of exile from the land and death (at the great resurrection)!  

Further more remember that part of the curse of the law was slavery (Deuteronomy 28:68) and that we have been set free from this curse (another type of exodus) (Galatians 3:13)!  

And so we can see that the Passover is about Jesus and this second exodus which has happened and will happen!  Thus as we keep Passover this week let us remember Christ and His sacrifice.  This is not just their story, this is our story.  We are not reading only about Israel’s past, we are reading about our past and everything our Messiah has done for us!