God's Festivals and Holy Days: Passover

Facilitator's Guide

This Facilitator’s Guide is intended to assist the facilitator lead the discussion of a group on the following topic. It is not meant to give an exhaustive review of the topic, but rather give pointers from the Bible. To that end we have inserted a few comments and Bible verses that are relevant to the discussion – this may help get the discussion started. For a more comprehensive study of this topic see the related online resources at the end of this guide.

Introduction

Foot basin with sandals and towel. God's purpose for mankind is to reproduce His own kind—that is, to fashion in each person His holy character. God gave to Israel seven annual festivals which reveal the steps to the fulfillment of that plan. Through this inductive study guide you'll learn about the first step in that plan: Passover, the first festival of the year.

Evidence From Scripture

EXODUS 1:13-14 "So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. (14) And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage -- in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor."

EXODUS 3:7 "And the Lord said, I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows."

1. What was life like for an Israelite in Egypt?

· As shown in Exodus 1:13-14, for the Israelites, life was tough and they lived in slavery to the Egyptians.

JOHN 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin."

2. What is sin? Read I John 3:4

· Sin is lawlessness (a violation of the law).

3. How was an Israelite's bondage in Egypt analogous to bondage to sin?

· They lived in a pagan culture and were immersed in the customs and life of that culture.

4. Can one live in sin and be in God's family? Read I John 3:5-10 and comment.

· No, we have to strive for righteousness and not live in sin, otherwise we cannot be part of the family of God.
· Comment: Unbaptized individuals are not yet part of the called and begotten family of God. They can and will be, however (future tense), upon their willing response to God’s Spirit as it leads them toward repentance and baptism. (See our Study Guides on these subjects for more information). Those who are children of baptized members of God’s Church are in a special category until that time, referred to as “sanctified” or “holy” (1 Cor. 7:14). They are being called of God and have access to His promises (Acts 2:39), pending their mature acceptance of His calling, repentance and baptism.

EXODUS 12:3 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. (5) Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or the goats.'"

I CORINTHIANS 5:7 "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

5. List the requirements of the sacrificial animal.

· Without blemish and first born

6. Compare those requirements with Jesus Christ, our Passover sacrifice.

· Christ is without sin and He was God’s first and only child.

EXODUS 12:6-13 "'Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month…"

7. Who killed the lamb? Who is responsible for Christ's death? When was Christ crucified?

· The high priest. We are all responsible for Christ’s death. He was crucified during the daytime on Passover (the afternoon after the Passover service was kept in the evening by Christ and His disciples).

8. What is the symbolic meaning of putting blood on the door posts and lintel?

· The blood covers the sins of those who come under the blood.
· Comment: Many- if not most – of the Israelites who came under the blood on the door posts and lintels were actually not righteous.

9. Why would unleavened bread and bitter herbs be part of the meal?

· Unleavened bread makes us focus on living a life without sin, and bitter herbs symbolized the unpleasantness of slavery.
· 1 Corinthians 5:8 Paul compares truth and sincerity with unleavened bread.

10. Why were they to eat it in haste?

· God told them to be prepared to leave Egypt. Exodus 12:8

11. What would happen to an Israelite who did not have blood on his door posts and lintel?

· Their first born child would be killed.

12. What is the penalty for sin? Quote a verse from the New Testament which proves it.

· Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
· Are there other verses that make this point as well?

13. Is blood required also for deliverance out of bondage to sin and its penalty? Read Romans 3:24-25.

· Yes

EXODUS 12:14 "So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance."

14. How long is this festival to be kept?

· Leviticus 23:5 – on the 14th of Abib (Nisan) on the Hebrew calendar.

15. Would you say this is an important day in God's sight?

· Yes

16. What does " feast to the Lord" mean?

· A commanded observation of the day according to God’s instructions.

17. Do you think this is a festival that Satan, God's adversary, would like us to forget or take lightly?

· Yes

MATTHEW 26:17-19 "Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread…"

MATTHEW 26:26-28 "And as they were eating…"

I CORINTHIANS 11: 23-28 "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you:…"

18. What changes in the Passover ceremony did Jesus make?

· He fulfilled the sacrificial requirement and instituted symbols to represent the life
· He gave as upon His sacrifice for our sins. John 1:29

NOTE: Another change in the New Testament Passover is that only baptized members are to participate in the actual ceremony. Exodus 12:43-44,48 shows the original Passover was to be observed only by circumcised or true citizens of Israel. When Christ founded His Church He began the “new” Israel, or spiritual Israel…comprised of people of all races. Circumcision is still required for participation in this spiritual nation, but it is now “circumcision of the heart (see Ephesians 2:11-12 and Romans 2:28-29), which occurs with conversion and comes by the Holy Spirit, i.e. at the time of a person’s baptism. As such, unbaptized individuals are not to take of the Passover symbols since they have not yet willingly come under the sacrifice of Christ.

19. What does it mean to "eat" Christ's body? What does it mean to "drink" Christ's blood? Is the bread and wine literally the body and blood of Jesus?

· The bread and wine are not literally the body and blood of Jesus; they are emblems Christ designated to represent His body and blood.

20. How does one eat or drink "in an unworthy manner"?

· 1 Corinthians 11:27 One eats or drinks in an unworthy manner by taking for granted Christ’s sacrifice.
· By not having deep respect for His sacrifice
· By not living a repentant way of life.
· We have to come to the Passover with reverence and accepting and believing in Christ’s sacrifice.

21. How does one examine himself? What does one look for in this self-examination?

· We have to meditate on our own lives and determine where we fall short of the glory of God based on Christ’s example.

22. What additional ceremony did Jesus perform and commanded His disciples to do likewise? Read John 13:1,3-17.

· Read John 13:1, 3-17. The foot washing.

23. What lesson(s) are we to learn from performing this ceremony?

· No one is greater than his master and we are all performing the same responsibilities that Christ performed by cleansing one another.

Summary

1. What does God want us to understand about Passover in our age? Does He consider the day on which He allowed His only Son to die worthy of man's remembering in the 21st century?

God wants us to understand that the Passover sacrifice was fulfilled by Christ’s suffering and crucifixion. He commands us to observe the Passover in remembrance of His Son and proclaim Christ’s death until He returns. 1 Corinthians 11:22-26.
God wants us to understand that the Passover sacrifice commanded in the Old Testament was fulfilled by Christ’s suffering and crucifixion. God commands us to observe the Passover in remembrance of His Son and proclaim Christ’s death until He returns. 1 Corinthians 11:22-26.

2. Summarize your convictions now about the meaning and value of commemorating Passover.

Christ commands His disciples to partake of the Passover yearly. In the Old Testament, Exodus 12:43, the Israelites were commanded to keep the Passover. We also learn in Hebrews 13:8 that Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, we ought to keep the Holy Days as God commands us to, understanding that the laws were never done away with, but rather changed in their meaning from physical to spiritual fulfillment. Christ died for our sins and therefore we have life in Him.

Related Online Resources

The Passover: Why Did Jesus Christ Have to Die?
Most of us have heard that Jesus Christ died for our sins, but what does that really mean? Why was His death necessary? What part does Christ's sacrifice play in God's plan for mankind? How is Jesus Christ's death reflected in God's holy festivals?

The Passover
Christ's supreme sacrifice by means of His crucifixion—which occurred precisely on the biblically commanded Passover date—is the foundation of the Christian faith. It reflects the all-encompassing love God has for His creation and His concern for the ultimate well-being of every human being.

Why Should Christians Keep the Passover?
Do you really know why Jesus had to suffer and die? What should the Passover mean for Christians today?

The Passover Bread and Wine—The Meaning of the Passover Symbols
When we partake of the bread and wine, are we merely following a tradition? Does this ceremony have meaning for us in our era? How important is it that we understand the meaning of the Christian Passover?

Personalizing the Passover: What About Unbaptized Young People?
Since the Bible teaches that observing the Passover is for those baptized, does this mean that the Passover is irrelevant for young people?

Booklets:
God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind
Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep?
What Is Your Destiny?
This Is The United Church of God: What Did the Early Church Believe and Practice?

Bible Study Course, Lesson 12, Passover section:
God’s Festivals: Keys to Humanity’s Future

Sermon Transcripts:
Spiritual Renewal and the Passover
A Repentant Spirit and the Passover Season
Passover and the Source of Peace

Vertical Thought magazine:
Personalizing the Passover: What About Unbaptized Young People?
Mysterious Festival Days

Good News magazine:
Why Should Christians Keep the Passover?
The Passover Bread and Wine – The Meaning of the Passover Symbols
’Christ our Passover, Was Sacrificed For Us’
The Biblical Festivals That Reveal Christ’s Role in God’s Plan
What Religious Days Did Jesus Observe?