The Road to Easter1

Deut 16:1-2 “In honor of the Lord your God, celebrate the Passover each year in the early spring, in the month of Abib (AW-BEEB), for that was the month in which the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Your Passover sacrifice may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the Lord your God at the designated place of worship—the place he chooses for his name to be honored.”

NOTICE: Three things were to be observed for the Passover:

It was to be celebrated in THE MONTH when God had delivered His people from Egypt.

A LAMB was to be slain

It was to be sacrificed at THE PLACE God chose for His name to be honored.

So..There was a designated TIME, a designated LAMB, and a designated PLACE.

Jesus knew that the Passover being observed at the very time He sat at the table with His disciples was the Final Passover as far as God was concerned.

He knew that the O.T. Passover celebration had been a sign, an arrow, a type and a foreshadowing pointing to the ultimate, final Passover when the true lamb of God would be slain for the sins of the world—and the Lamb to be slain was Him.

So as Jesus sat at the table with His disciples, one epoch in God’s dealing with men was ending and a new one was beginning.

The Last Passover was being replaced by the first Lord’s Supper.

We’re going to see today that the events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus had the same three components God had required for the O.T. Passover.

First:

There was a chosen LAMB:

On Sunday—10th of Abib (aw-beeb)—the Jewish people would select the Passover Lamb for the yearly celebration in Jerusalem.

This had been their custom for centuries.

On this very same day—Sunday, 10th of Abib—scripture records that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. And what did the people say?

“Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “ Hosanna! ‘ Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.”—Mark 11

This clearly signified that the people had selected Him. They recognized Jesus as God’s Messiah.

Jesus wasn’t just a great Teacher, inspirational leader, lover of the needy, the hero of the downtrodden.

Jesus was God’s selected lamb.

John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John didn’t see a normal man walking toward him.

He didn’t see a relative, for Jesus and John were cousins through their mothers Mary and Elizabeth.

John saw Jesus through the eyes of His Divine purpose—to die as the sacrificial lamb for our sins.

Rev. 13:8 Calls Jesus, “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

1 Pet.1:18-19 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a LAMB without blemish or defect.”

Not only was there a chosen lamb,

There was also a chosen TIME

Every year on Thursday—the 14th day of Abib—the Jewish people chose a faultless lamb that was killed, and the Passover meal was eaten at dusk.

On Thurs.—the 14th day of Abib—Jesus was crucified at 9 in the morning, and died at 3 in the afternoon. He was buried before sunset.

Jesus was crucified in God’s PERFECT TIMING!

Gal.4:4-5 “But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those who were under the law.”

Ro. 5:6 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”

We all know how important timing can be.

If you’re a mechanic, the timing gear on a car determines how smoothly and how economically it runs, or if it runs at all.

If you grow things, the timing of when you plant them is critical.

Lots of things involve timing: our careers, our relationships.

I believe with all my heart there is a timing to life.

The Bible assures us that “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”—Ecc. 3:1

Jesus was born just in time, in the fullness of time, right on time for you and me…

Next,

There was a PLACE designated by God for Jesus to be sacrificed:

God had instructed, “it must be sacrificed to the Lord your God at the designated place of worship—the place he chooses for his name to be honored.”

Luke 23:33 “When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.”

The PLACE where Jesus was crucified had been selected by God all the way back to Abraham.

As Abraham lifted his knife to sacrifice Isaac on the altar and God stayed his hand, a ram was discovered caught in the thicket.

“So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”—Gen 22:14

This phrase “on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided,” can be translated, “on this mount the Lord shall be seen.”

For centuries the belief existed among the Jews that Jehovah would be seen in a sacrificial way on this mount.

The sacrifice offered by Abraham was a picture of what Father God would fully follow through with concerning His own Son.

You see, Abraham offered Isaac a stone’s throw from the very mountain on which, in the fullness of time, Jesus was crucified.