Passover and Passion, Symbolism and Sacrifice

Gathering

Song: Praise God from Whom all Blessing Flow

Prayer: Joel

Introductory Comments: Joel

- talk about Passover celebration and what Jesus might have celebrated with his disciples the night before he was crucified.

- Jesus adapted what they were familiar with and helped them understand how he was the fulfillment of the OT festival of Passover (and other festivals).

- Service divided into two parts - the Symbolism and the Sacrifice

- it will get dark

- leave in silence.

Symbolism: The Passover and the Lord’s Supper

The Bread and the Body

Scripture Reading: Jordan

Deuteronomy 16:1-3 ““Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there. You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.”

Scripture Reading: Bryan

Exodus 16:2-4 “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”

Ex. 16: 31 “Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”

Scripture Reading: Carolyn

Luke 22:19 “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.””

Bread from Heaven

Joel

When God instituted the Passover - it was to be a meal eaten in haste. The bread was to have no leaven or yeast in it. Eventually a whole week of removing leaven would follow. Some people suggest that the removal of the leaven was a bit like the removal of sin in our lives. In some ways, the removal of leaven was so that the meal did not have to wait for the bread to rise.

As the Exodus continued - God provided food - bread from heaven called Manna - to be their sustenance and provision.

In celebrating the Passover with His disciples - Jesus brought new meaning to the bread of the meal. Now, instead of simply looking back in remembrance, Jesus was looking forward to the next day, the day that his body would be broken. He is our eternal manna, bread from heaven. He is the broken bread of the Passover.

As we celebrate, we do look back - in remembrance - as a reminder of what Christ did.

discuss logistics of the Lord's Supper - normally we pass the bread and cup together. Today, we’re going to take a slow. We’re going to pass the bread initially and then the cup.

Pass the Bread/Matzoh

Song: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Take the bread

Prayer: Carl

Extinguish 1 Candle

The blood and the cup

Scripture Reading: Jordan

Exodus 12:1-7 “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.”

Scripture Reading: Bryan

Exodus 24:3-8 “Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.””

Scripture Reading: Carolyn

Matthew 26:27-28 “And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Blood and Covenants

Discussing how covenants were sealed with Blood

in the passover blood marked the people of Israel. In their homes with the blood on their doors they were sealed.

Later, the covenant between God and the people was sealed with blood. Moses sprinkled them with blood

Jesus - talks about a new covenant - symbolizing his blood with wine of the meal - there is not a third party involved - it is his own blood that seals this covenant.

Begin juice distribution.

Song: Nothing But The Blood

Drinking from the Cup

Prayer: Vern

Extinguish Candle 2

Sacrifice: The Crucifixion of Jesus

Scripture Reading: Jordan

Matthew 27:22-44 “Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on t…”

Scripture Reading: Bryan

Matthew 27:45-50 “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.”

Scripture Reading: Carolyn

Matthew 27:51-57 “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.”

Message: The Son

Exodus - final plague

I want to take us back for a moment. When the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt, God led Moses to contend with Pharaoh in order to free them. A series of plagues were intended to both break down Pharaoh’s resolve but also to prove God’s supremacy over the deities of Egypt. The final plague was the most devastating, the most painful. In this plague - God would take the life of the first born son of Pharaoh and everyone in Egypt who did not have a the blood of the passover lamb on their doorposts.

In response to God’s miraculous work, He expected the firstborn to be dedicated, consecrated to Him.

Exodus 13:2 ““Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.””

Moses clarifies this instruction in this way:

Exodus 13:11-15 ““When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’”

Practically speaking - the firstborn animals were sacrificed to the Lord or redeemed with a substitute offering.

The firstborn male humans were redeemed with an animal sacrifice.

Jesus - the Final Firstborn

As we reflect on the cross of Jesus, here we have the only truly blameless son (of man or beast) who is offered as a sacrifice. He is the eternal redemption - purchasing our redemption with his blood.

Col. 1:15-20 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

So, as Jesus hung on the cross, beaten, bruised, afflicted on behalf of you and me, he did so as the final firstborn. Now, there is no more reason for an animal sacrifice of redemption. He did it.

Eph. 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”

His death on the cross did more than just satisfy the blood-lust of his accusers. In his death - Jesus bore the shame of our sin.

Isaiah 53:3–6 NLT

He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

Jesus made peace with God for you and me. He bore our sins. He paid our price. He did it all.

Joel - conclude with prayer

Extinguish the final candle on the table

Song: Were you there?

Exit in silence