Witnessing Through the Passover
A number of persuasive items can be taken from the Passover that point directly to the life and ministry of Jesus the Messiah.
God is faithful. The same God of creation who made His covenant with Abraham is faithful to guide His chosen people through history to their ultimate destination.
“So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (Exodus 2:24).
“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob'” (Romans 11:26).
“Who is this Deliverer? It is Messiah Jesus, the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'” (John 1:29).
The sacrifice of Passover points to the sacrifice of Messiah. Jesus took the already existing elements of the Matzah (Unleavened Bread) and the third cup of Passover (the “Cup of Redemption”) and fulfilled their meaning.
“You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread” (Exodus 12:20).
“Now the [Lamb’s] blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13).
“And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you'” (Luke 22:19-20).
The Exodus from physical bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt points to our spiritual redemption in Messiah.
“It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this [Passover] service” (Exodus 12:25).
“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
Passover – Journey Toward Messiah
For many Jewish people, the glorious tale of liberation from bondage to Pharaoh and the journey to the Promised Land has come to summarize the whole of Jewish history-a painful journey homeward undertaken against all odds. What a blessing it is to help the Jewish people journey all the way home through the remarkable witness of Passover and its fulfillment in Messiah.
Passover might be the most emotionally satisfying Jewish holiday of them all. Why? Because Passover is family. Somewhere in the soul of even the most cynical Jewish agnostic there lurks the memory of a multi-generational family gathering where the story of the Exodus was told and the tastes of the Passover meal were savored.
For this reason, Passover is a marvelous opportunity to connect with your Jewish friends and neighbors. But above all, Passover tells the story of Messiah, the Lamb of God, toward which the redemptive story of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt so eloquently points.
