Why do we Celebrate the Feast of Passover?

By Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The video version of this teaching is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qK2819oihY

The scripture reading is Exodus 12:1-28 & Luke 22:7-23

When God spoke to Moses from out of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, He gave Moses instructions on how to draw near to Him through the five different offerings. The important thing to remember is that this occurred after God brought them out of Egypt, from their bondage to slavery, and after He took them for His people through the covenant mediated by Moses. This system of offerings was designed to allow God’s already chosen and covenant people to draw near to Him. When we accept Yeshua as our offering that allows us to draw near to God, we need to realize that this happens after we are taken out of our slavery to sin. It is after this that we enter into the New Covenant.

How does this work? Are the offerings and sacrificial system instituted at Mount Sinai a shadow of salvation through Yeshua? How exactly are we redeemed from our slavery to sin? And how do we enter into the New Covenant? It all begins back in Egypt with the original Passover sacrifice.

Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians that Yeshua is our Passover and admonishes us to observe the Passover and the subsequent Feast of Unleavened Bread in a manner worthy of our calling.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NKJV 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Understanding Yeshua as our Passover is critical to understanding how we are redeemed from slavery to sin, and how we can enter into the New Covenant.

God differentiates between what are considered offerings and what are sacrifices. In Deuteronomy, when God is giving final instructions to the children of Israel before they enter the Promised Land, He summarizes what they are to bring to Him.

Deuteronomy 12:11 NKJV 11 "then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD.

The offerings are listed separate from the sacrifices! The Hebrew word for “sacrifice” is #2077 “zeh’-bach” literally meaning sacrifice as referring to the flesh. When we see the English word “sacrifice” in our Bibles, we must check to see if the Hebrew word used is Zebach because that is not always the case. Of the five types of offerings described in the book of Leviticus, only one of them is called a sacrifice; that one is the peace or Thanksgiving sacrifice. In fact, the Bible uses the word “sacrifice” for only two types of situations; they are to institute a covenant and to bring the peace sacrifice. This brings us to the Passover. The Passover is specifically called a sacrifice. In fact, God calls it His sacrifice!

Exodus 12:26-27 NKJV 25 26 "And it shall be, when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' 27 "that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.'" So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

So, is the Passover sacrifice a covenant sacrifice or a peace sacrifice? As we will see, it is actually both!

First, take a look at the context in which the Passover occurs. The children of Israel went into Egypt to escape the famine that swept the entire region. Their sojourn in Egypt was in fulfillment of God’s prophecy to Abraham.

Genesis 15:13-14 NKJV 13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 "And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

Jacob’s son Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt where he eventually rose to become second in command to Pharaoh. When the famine hit, Joseph called for all his family to join him in Egypt where he made sure they had the best of everything.

After Joseph’s death, another pharaoh rose to power and the children of Israel were seen as a threat not an asset to Egypt. They were slowly drawn into slavery by burdensome tax regulations until they finally called out to God for relief. Egypt had taken God’s people, the descendants of Abraham into slavery, and God was about to reclaim them.

Exodus 6:5-7 NKJV 5 "And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 "Therefore say to the children of Israel: 'I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 'I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

The word “redeem” is the Hebrew word “ga’al,” #1350 meaning to redeem or avenge. God would both redeem His people and avenge them for the wrongs done to them. This is the dual role of the word “ga’al,” the redeemer and avenger of blood. Brenda and I have written an extensive study of this concept in our book Shadows of Messiah in the Torah, Volume 4 which is available from on-line book sources.

God’s stated purpose was to “visit” His people, remove the bondage of servitude to Egypt, redeem and avenge them, and take them as His people. And through all of this, they would know that He is the LORD! God begins this process by sending Moses and Aaron with a message to Pharaoh that the Hebrews were His people not Pharaoh’s and it was time to release them back to God.

Exodus 5:1-2 NKJV 1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.'" 2 And Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go."

Pharaoh refuses to accept the right of God to reclaim His people, and so, the battle is on! God sends the plagues on the Egyptians, differentiating between His people and Egypt until finally, God makes a formal appearance the night of the Passover sacrifice.

So, now we turn to the background on the Threshold covenant to understand the significance of the Passover sacrifice. The late nineteenth century theologian, Henry Clay Trumbull, in his book The Threshold Covenant, explains the Passover sacrifice in terms of this threshold covenant. In its simplest form, the threshold covenant was a way of inviting a guest into one’s home and assuring the guest that he was welcome. The homeowner or host would greet a guest at the door or threshold of the home. An animal would be sacrificed at the door and the blood poured out on the threshold. The guest would enter the house passing over the blood of the covenant. That guest would be welcomed into the home as one of the family. The owner was, then, obligated to protect the guest as he would a member of the family. In fact, the well-being of the guest took precedence over the well-being of a member of the family.

Now in light of the Threshold Covenant, Let’s take a look at the description of the Passover sacrifice.

Exodus 12:21-23 NKJV 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 "For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.

The text doesn’t tell us where the sacrifice is to take place. We see that it must be near the door of the house since the blood is painted on the lintels and the doorposts. When we turn to the Hebrew language, we find another clue that the sacrifice is at the doorway of the home. The word translated as “basin” describing the location of the blood they use for dipping the hyssop is the Hebrew word “saph,” #5592 meaning something that contains such as a bowl, basin, door, or threshold. The Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the Torah completed around 300 BCE, uses the Greek word “thoo-ra” meaning door or doorway for the Hebrew word “saph.”

So, the instructions to the children of Israel can be understood to mean that they were to dip the hyssop in the blood in the threshold. They were, then, to use the hyssop to coat the entire door frame with the blood. After coating the entire doorway, they were to enter the house and not leave it until the morning! When the LORD saw the blood on the doorway, He would know He was welcome in that home and “pass over the door, or the threshold and He would visit them and prevent the destroyer from entering the house! The LORD was an honored guest in the home and they shared a meal together eating the Passover sacrifice along with the bitter herbs! This, then satisfies the requirements of the peace sacrifice. The word “peace” in this case is the Hebrew word “shalem,” #8002 meaning a voluntary sacrifice in thanks. It comes from the Hebrew word “shalam,” #7999 meaning to be safe or complete. The Passover sacrifice brought safety and completeness to the children of Israel.

While the children of Israel were safely in their homes, the LORD visited the Egyptians as well: He visited them with judgment because they did not have the blood of the Passover sacrifice on their doorway! Trumbull describes this scene in his book, The Threshold Covenant.

Jehovah did not merely spare his people when he visited judgment on the Egyptians. He covenanted anew with them by passing over, or crossing over, the blood-stained threshold into their homes, while his messenger of death went into the houses of the Lord's enemies and claimed the first-born as belonging to Jehovah.[i]

Pharaoh, the enemy of God, who had refused to let God’s people go, then kicks them out of Egypt!

Exodus 12:31-32 NKJV 31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, "Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said. 32 "Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also."

God leads them across the Red Sea and through the wilderness until they come to Mt. Sinai, the mountain of God where God would institute a covenant with them, a threshold covenant, where He would invite them into His home.

Exodus 19:5-6 NKJV 5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."

After God spoke the words of the covenant, the children of Israel brought offerings and peace sacrifices. These sacrifices were the sacrifices of the covenant offered at the base of Mount Sinai, the threshold of God’s dwelling place on the mountain!

Exodus 24:5-8 NKJV 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient." 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, "This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words."

After this, the children of Israel were allowed to approach the mountain although only Moses could go to the top of the mountain where God’s presence was manifest. They were allowed to pass the threshold. God welcomed them into His home and family. They shared a meal with God! God accepted them as His people!

Exodus 24:9-11 NKJV 9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.

In Egypt, the children of Israel welcomed God into their homes. They shared the Passover meal with God. Then God took them out of Egypt, out of slavery, and brought them to His Mountain where He welcomed them into His home. But their new home was not to be at Mt. Sinai, it was to be in the Promised Land. So, God instructed the children of Israel to build a dwelling for Him.

Exodus 25:8 KJV 8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

God’s desire was and is to dwell among His people. He instructed the children of Israel how they could draw near to Him through the offering system. Of these offerings, only one is like the Passover sacrifice; that is the peace offering. Every time a peace offering is brought, it is a remembrance of the Passover sacrifice and a remembrance of the covenant with God!

Now, we turn back to our opening questions, “How are we redeemed from the slavery of sin?” How do we enter into the New Covenant? We do this by first welcoming Yeshua into our homes, our lives.

John 3:16 NKJV 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Those who do not welcome Yeshua into their lives face the same judgment as Pharaoh.

John 3:18 NKJV 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

We, then follow Him out of slavery to sin. This is the purging of the old leaven that Paul wrote to the Corinthians about! Yeshua is our Passover sacrifice. He is the blood spilled at the threshold of our lives welcoming God into our lives. He is the blood of the threshold covenant allowing us to enter into God’s home! He brings us safety and completeness in Him.

Luke 22:18-20 NKJV 18 "for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19 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." 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

He is also our peace sacrifice bringing us peace, safety, and completeness.

John 14:27 NKJV 27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

We are to honor Yeshua by leaving the leaven of our old lives behind.  We can and should participate in the celebration of the Passover.  The Passover serves to be a reminder and a memorial of how we have been freed from our bondage. The Passover also reminds us that we have entered into a Threshold covenant with God through the sacrifice of Yeshua. This is what Yeshua taught His disciples on that last night with them.

As this teaching is streaming out to you, tomorrow is Nisan 13^th on the Biblical calendar.  It was on the evening of the 13^th as the day changes at sunset and becomes the 14^th, that Yeshua shared His final Passover meal with His disciples. We too can keep this feast just as He taught His disciples. We can keep the feast of the Passover as well as the feast of Unleavened Bread remembering Yeshua as we do! The apostle Paul reminds us that Yeshua is the one who has redeemed us!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

Since God lives in us, we are the temple of God! The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in our lives! The sacrifice has been made and the blood of that sacrifice has been placed on the doorway and He has entered in. Let the Holy Spirit lead you into all truth! And let us glorify God by all that we do!

Study Questions:

1. What are the things that God commits to do as His obligations under the covenant at Mt. Sinai?

2. In the beginning of this teaching we quote Paul from 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 when Paul speaks of purging out leaven from our lives.  What is the broader context of Paul’s teaching?  What is the leaven that he is referring to and how is it removed?

3. Examine the biblical use of the Hebrew word Ga’al #1350. What are the meanings of this word beyond those covered in this teaching?  How do all these meanings apply to God’s words in Exodus 6:5-7 as well as how Yeshua is a fulfillment of these meanings?

4. In Exodus 3:8, God said He had come down to deliver His people from Egypt. In what way did God “come down?”

5. In what way is entering the Tabernacle or the Temple crossing the threshold of God’s dwelling place? In what way is participating in a peace sacrifice or a Passover observance (Exodus 12:41-50) similar to entering the Tabernacle?

6. What new insight did you gain from this teaching? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you realign your life based on this new understanding?

© 2019 Moed Ministries International. All rights reserved.

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[i]  H. Clay Trumball; The Threshold Covenant; Charles Scribner and Sons; 1896; page 209