Passover Preparations

I have labeled this section of 5 chapters as “the Fulcrum of Time” because the events and the significance of this week is the pivot on which everything has been looking toward since Gen 3, and everything from the book of Acts until the end of time looks back to this week.

In today’s Scripture Jesus observes all the remembrance of Passover and repurposes it by adding a superlative event that will be remembered until He comes again.

Today’s verses attach the atoning death of Christ as the perfect Lamb of God to the remembrance of the Passover lambs that have been sacrificed since the Exodus. This new meaning is so significant I am choosing to focus 2 weeks on this feast. This week we look at the preparation, and next week we will look at the observance of the first last meal.

The ancient world included Greeks, Romans, Jews, as well as other people groups of the region. Just as 2 weeks ago some observed Columbus Day while others were observing Indigenous peoples’ Dayor in a week some will commemorate dress up and free candy day, while others are praying to saints, calling on spirits, or remembering the climax of the Reformation.

Transition: Luke describes a setting where several priorities were being pursued simultaneously.

Various sets of PLANS

Crowds sought education (entertainment) without COST (21:37-38)

1. Due to crowding by Passover pilgrims, Jesus slept on the outskirts of town.

a. Distance from Temple to Olivet was about half the distance run in yesterday’s Cross Country regional.

b. Charles McCabe was telling me earlier this week that on a trip to Israel, his tour guide pointed out a cave on Olivet that could be where Jesus camped.

2. As Jesus commutes, the crowd gathers and disburses each day.

3. This crowd is curious, but compared to those who hailed His entry, the personal conviction is growing colder.

4. I don’t see them as willing to pay the cost of discipleship that Jesus explained in chapter 18.

Chief priests sought power without OPPOSITION (22:1-2)

1. The desires of the lead religious powerbrokers is moving from desire to plans.

2. Craig Keener writes “Jewish literature reports that the high priests bullied those who opposed them; against some popular misconceptions, the Gospels are no more anti-Jewish for their reports of high-level corruption and abuses than are the ancient rabbis, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Josephus who report the same sort of behavior by the priestly aristocracy”[i]

3. The conflict between their desire (19:47) and public sentiment (19:48) has been simmering for days. Each day that his corner of the Temple court fills with people is like pressure on the burr under their saddle.

Transition: Remember that the Evil one is not omniscient, but he is observant. He sees an opening not by moving the crowd, but by convincing an insider to betray Jesus.

Satan sought humanity without a SAVIOR (22:3-6)

1. Some use verses 3-6 as a description of demonic possession of Christians. But we must observe that the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit as prophesied in Joel 2does not happen until 50 days after Passover on the Day of Pentecost.

2. The indwelling or possession of a person’s psyche in these verses does not encounter the same resistance that would be experienced in a believer today.

3. Yet, even in our experience several have experienced psychotic breaks in a way that sane reality gives way to delusions of wrong-thinking.

Various responses to the virus we know as Covid-19 reveal that policies are being driven by power and pushback, more than science. And the body of data that you choose to emphasize has little influence on those who desire a different outcome.

4. Satan has been attempting to dethrone God since before earth was created (Is 14:13), he scored a major victory in humanity when Eve chose to disregard the instruction of God (Gen 3:6). While many next Sunday will appeal to Satan’s power, Jesus Himself revealed Satan’s strategy that underlies vv.3-6.

John 10:10 ESV:2016

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

5. If Satan could prevent Jesus’ atonement from taking place, his theft, death and destruction of humanity would be complete.

6. Satan realized that desperate times require desperate measures, but unwisely, he overplays his hand and plays right into God’s omniscient and omnipotent strategy.

Transition: By the time the events of today’s chapter occur, Passover has been observed every year for nearly 1500 years. Weather they were in the Wilderness, in the Promised Land or in Captivity, this feast required specific and meticulous details.

Passover Demands PREPARATION (22:7-13)

· v.7 mentions both Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover. Passover was a 1 night meal that was followed by a 6 day celebration.

· Spencer Jones describes, “In the 10th plague leading up to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, God killed the firstborn of the land of Egypt. He commanded the Israelites to perform certain observances so that he would pass over their houses and not destroy their firstborns. These observances included slaughtering a small flock animal and sprinkling its blood on the doorposts and lintels of their houses to mark it as one to be passed over. The Israelites were to eat the roasted meat of the animal with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. God established an annual commemoration of these events involving the sacrifice of a flock animal and the eating of unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The word פֶּסַח (pesaḥ, “Passover”) refers both to the original event (e.g., Exod 12:11) and to the annual commemoration (e.g., Num 9:4).”[ii]

· These 7 verses contain the word “prepare” 4 times. It includes intentionality and precision.

Room Swept clean

1. Consuming anything prepared with leaven was strictly forbidden and was penalized by being “cut off from Israel”

2. To prevent the accidental consumption of raised bread, the whole house was swept clean of any leaven. Which may be the source of the phrase “Spring Cleaning”

3. Just as a Jewish Home prepares by removing all symbols of sin, Christians are to prepare for observing the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:28 ESV:2016

28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

Lamb prepared

1. Scholars debate whether references to Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36) indicate that John is portraying Jesus as the Passover animal. However, in 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul explicitly refers to Jesus as the sacrificed Passover animal.[iii]

2. Later in v.15 Jesus specifically connects His suffering with the Passover meal.

3. Douglas Mangum summarized the significance of this act by writing, The instructions immediately relevant for Israel’s survival of the 10th plague included:

• selecting a lamb (שֶׂה, seh), an unblemished male, for sacrifice—typically one per family—on the 10th of the month (Exod 12:3–5);

• sacrificing the lamb at twilight on the 14th of the month (Exod 12:6);

• putting the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintel of the house (Exod 12:7);

• roasting the lamb with fire, not eating it raw or boiling it (Exod 12:8–9); (God likes BarBQ 😊)

• eating the roasted lamb with unleavened bread (מַצּוֹת, matstsoth) on bitter herbs (מְרֹרִים, merorim) (Exod 12:8);

• eating all of the lamb that night and burning any leftovers (Exod 12:10);

• eating the meal in haste, ready to leave home at a moment’s notice (Exod 12:11).

4. Any of you who have done 4H projects know that there is a difference between a pasture calf and a bucket calf. The animal had to be small enough that the family could eat all the meat in one meal, so it was a small, young, tender animal.

5. I have found that just one day in a home is all that it takes for family to develop and affection for a young animal. If the animal was selected on the 10th and butchered on the 14th, there was 4 days when the animal was protected and cared for as to not develop any blemishes. I’m sure the killing of the paschal lamb prompted some tough family discussions!

Blood Applied

1. “The blood on the doorposts and lintel was a sign that the people living in that house were trusting in Yahweh for deliverance”[iv]

2. Some have pointed out that the application of blood to the lentil and posts would resemble our Catholic and Orthodox friends making the sign of the cross.

Transition: Each year the cleaning, the lamb, and the blood were used to remind that YHWH would eventually, not just cover over, but do away with the penalty of sin.

Past Passover Yields Future PROMISES (22:14-16)

Jesus indicates that this Passover would be different, because this is the last one that looks both past and forward.

The Hour (v.14)

1. David Pao and Eckard Schnabel comment, “First, the Passover meal re-presented the historical exodus of the people of Israel during the time of Moses, emphasizing the deliverance from bondage in Egypt by a recitation of the Passover liturgy based on Exod. 12. Second, the Passover meal anticipated the messianic deliverance of the last days that the prophets had announced and that Israel continued to hope for, expressed by the singing of the second part of the Hallel,” [v]

2. Jews to this day continue to observe Passover looking back to Moses and forward to messianic deliverance.

3. Jesus indicates that the hour came in this Passover when proper observance would look back to Moses and forward to Messiah. After this Passover true observance would look backto God’s work through Moses which hinted at God’s work accomplished in Jesuswhich is proclaimed until He comes again.

The Suffering (v.15)

1. We frequently recall the lamb, the blood/wine and the unleavened bread. But there is another essential element to proper Passover.

2. Ancient Jews always ate with bitter herbs. Modern Jews dip the bitter herbs in saltwater as a remembrance of the tears of their people.

3. Jesus prophesies the Kingdom, but the Kingdom cannot begin until after the suffering of his blood being spilt and his body being broken.

The Fulfillment (v.16)

1. Some in other Christian traditions see v.16 literally fulfilled with Christ’s presence in the eucharist.

2. Some in the Christians tradition see this fulfilled in a spiritual presence when the Lord’s Supper is observed in faith.

3. I believe these understandings of v.16 are inadequate. Because Jesus doesn’t say He will be present as the disciples eat, He said He will eat it.

4. Rev 19:9 speaks of a future Marriage Feast Jesus will have with His Bride, the Church.

Conclusion:

Today we have seen the plans of the crowds, the strategy of Satan, Judas, and the chief priests. But notice God is still in control. God had a plan before the foundation of the world, He hinted at this plan by starting the annual remembrance and anticipation of Passover, and Jesus clearly states that this Passover is extra significant because He is about to suffer and inaugurate a new kingdom.

The application for us in this sermon is that when people and powers seem to be controlling the shots, we must remember that God is at work and we must look for His purpose and plan.

The pinnacle of His plan is that our salvation is made possible ONLY through the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior.

Song of Response #195. “Nothing But the Blood”

Benediction: Jude 24–25 (ESV) — Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

[i] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2014), 235–236. [ii] Spencer A. Jones, “Passover,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014). [iii] Ibid. [iv] Douglas Mangum, “Passover,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016). [v] David W. Pao and Eckhard J. Schnabel, “Luke,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos, 2007), 380.