The New Testament Passover

As I've been mentioning many of the past Sabbaths, it's just a few, just a couple short weeks until we'll be observing the New Testament Passover. There's a passage from Hebrews 8 that I'd like us to open our Bibles to right from the gate today, Hebrews 8 and verse 6. This passage that we're turning to speaks to a new covenant that you and I are under today. And with this new covenant comes some changes to how we observe and follow the example of Jesus Christ, including the keeping of the Passover.

This is again in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 6. The writer here says, "...but now he..." This is speaking of Jesus Christ. "...has obtained a more excellent ministry, and as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second, because finding fault with them, he says..." And then he quotes Jeremiah chapter 31. He says, "...behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, and the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws into their mind and write them on their hearts." This was one of the aspects of the change into the new covenant, no longer the law written on tablets of stone, but on our hearts of flesh.

Another change from the Old to the new covenant. And he continues and says, "...I will be their God, and they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, No, the Lord, for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins, and their lawless deeds. I will remember no more." In that he says, a new covenant, again emphasizing the newness of this covenant, he has made the first obsolete.

Now, what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. If you'll turn to the next chapter, Hebrews 9, verse 11, we'll continue the thought. Hebrews 9 and verse 11. Here it says, "...but Christ came as high priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, another of the changes from the old covenant to the new, not with the blood of goats and calves, that's the old covenant, but with his own blood, he entered the most holy place once and for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot?" Note that because we're going to be looking at another passage, this aspect that he offered himself without spot. We're going to see what else was offered here shortly, without spot. So it says, he offered himself without spot to God, clings your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. And for this reason, he, Jesus Christ, is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the internal inheritance.

And if you'll flip one more chapter ahead to Hebrews 10 and verse 1, continuing the thought, Hebrews 10 verse 1, For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, it was a shadow, it wasn't the reality the old covenant was, but the new covenant is the reality, for having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. We know the old covenant sacrifices, they never completely washed away the sin.

They were a covering of the sin as God had commanded, but a better covenant, a better sacrifice, would be offered on mine in your behalf. That would take away sin, as we continue to see in Hebrews 10 and verse 9. Jump ahead to verse 9. Then he said, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God. He, Jesus Christ, takes away the first, that he may establish the second. And with this establishment of the second comes a change in the Passover that you and I observe.

The Old Testament Passover was changed, and Jesus Christ himself established a new covenant or New Testament Passover. Continuing in verse 10. By that, we will, by that, will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, those same physical animal sacrifices, which then it says, can never take away sins.

But this man, Jesus Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. I wanted to open with this because all that we have read through this section in Hebrew speaks to a new covenant which you and I are under. A covenant established in blood that can fully cleanse us of our sins, unlike the previous covenant.

Therefore, as new covenant Christians, we must understand the difference between these two covenants, and one such difference is with the Passover. So for today's sermon, let's explore why it is that you and I observe the New Testament Passover. We'll explore why it is that you and I observe the New Testament Passover. So we continue to dive into Scripture today. I want to be just up front.

We're going to be turning our Bibles a lot. We're going to be doing a lot of reading of Scripture today, which is a good thing. Because when you compare the Old Covenant to the New and you look at the New Testament Passover that we observe, it's important that we stick to Scripture. God Himself has revealed through the words that we have here this change and this difference. And so I just want to give you a heads up and a fair warning. And with that, let's dive right into Exodus 12, verse 3. Let's go back to the first time the Passover is referenced here and given by God in Exodus 12, verse 3.

This will help us to compare and contrast a little bit the Old Testament or Old Covenant Passover with the New Covenant Passover. Exodus 12, verse 3. Actually, in verse 1 it says that the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. So this came directly from God. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. And then in verse 3, he says, Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.

And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons. According to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish. That reference that we saw in Hebrew saying that Jesus Christ was without spot. So we see the connection immediately to the aspect of Christ was without sin. Therefore, the lamb of Exodus 12 was also to be without blemish.

And male of the first year you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Keep that in mind, too, because we're going to look at some other scriptures that speak to this being, Passover being on the fourteenth. And we're going to look at a little bit of change that occurred. The fourteenth day of the same month and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.

This word twilight is pretty common to us, but some other translations have used the wording between the evenings, which is confusing because what does between the evenings mean? But twilight, you and I have used that. It means the going down of the sun. Between sunset and dark, that time period, maybe you've been on the beach or maybe you've been on your back deck or something, when the sun is hitting you, but as it goes down and as it sets, you still have light. You could still do some things. I've done many a yard project in that small amount of light that we still have left, knowing that the day is about to run out.

And that's that time period that it's speaking to here at twilight. That time between sunset, when the sun is no longer visible, but until complete dark has occurred. So it's a small amount of time, but that's when the sacrifice was to be killed at twilight.

Verse 7 says, and they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. And they shall eat the flesh on that night, roasted in fire with unleavened bread. Let's note that as well. Some have asked, why do we eat unleavened bread at Passover?

Because technically, unleavened bread hasn't started. It's not until the next evening. And this is where this comes from, and we'll see the unleavened bread that was also... In other passages, it also refers to unleavened bread should be eaten with the Passover that night. So this is why we do what we do. And with bitter herbs, they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire.

Its heads with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. This is not our Passover. It's not the Church of God's Passover.

It's the Lord's Passover, as we see here. It belongs to God. So just as we have just read the original instructions for observing the Passover while Israel was still in Egypt, we know that they followed these instructions. They put the blood on the doorposts and on the lentils of their homes.

And at that night, the firstborn of the Israelites were saved from death, where the firstborn of Egypt died. This was the way the Passover was intended to be observed and was for quite some time until at some point the responsibilities of killing the Passover lamb was transferred to the priests in the temple. This happened when the Passover... Well, one of the instances that we have recorded was when the Passover was reinstituted during King Hezekiah's time.

If you'd like to just put in your notes, we're not going to have time to turn there today, but this is 2 Chronicles, chapters 29 and 30, when King Hezekiah reinstituted the Passover. And you got to remember, the kings of Judah, they'd have some good kings, they had some very, very bad kings. And so often with the bad kings came idol worship, Baal worship. They were getting away from God and the instructions that he had given previously.

And so a new king, a good king, would rise up. And in the case of King Hezekiah, the Passover was brought back forth, cleaned the temple, everything was thrown out, and they purged the temple and the Passover was brought back. And in that, we can see where some would bring their lambs to the temple, where it could be then killed by the priest. But prior to this, and this is an important note to make, we cannot find any account or command where God instructed his people to bring their lambs to the temple.

We don't see that in Scripture anywhere, but we did see that King Hezekiah instituted this. We also see during the time of Josiah, another good king that was following bad kings, did a similar thing. And this is in 2 Chronicles chapter 35, if you want to put that into your notes.

So both two good kings instituted a time when the lambs would be brought to the temple, the Passover lambs, and be killed by those there, the priests. Both were good intentions by these kings, but again, we have no recorded command from God saying that this should be the way it should be done. A third example we will turn to is in Ezra chapter 6. Let's turn forward a little bit to Ezra chapter 6, because this is the third account that we have in the Old Testament of where the lambs would be brought to the temple to be killed, the Passover lambs. Ezra chapter 6 and verse 19. Again, this seems to be following the example set by King Hezekiah and King Josiah.

And here in the book of Ezra chapter 6 and verse 19, we have recorded a similar example as to what was in Chronicles of those other two kings. Ezra 6 and verse 19, we have recorded, and the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover again on the 14th day. If you look in for King Hezekiah and King Josiah, both of them said it was kept on the 14th. Here in Ezra, we see that it was also kept, the Passover was kept on the 14th day of the first month. Verse 20, for the priests and the Levites had purified themselves. All of them were ritually clean, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity. Remember, this is now about 515 BC. The temple, the God's people were in exile. They were in captivity. They've now come back to Jerusalem, and they've started to repopulate and rebuild the area. And so here, as they come back, they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants that were of the captivity, is what we have here. It goes on to say, for their brethren, the priests, and for themselves.

Verse 21, then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the filth of the nations of the land in order to seek the Lord God of Israel. And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy. I want to note that seven days, because we're going to see later on a combining of the Passover, which is one day, a separate feast with the seven days of Unleavened Bread to make it an eight-day feast, which some Jews still observe today in that way. So make note of this, that in Ezra's time, there was a separation between Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria towards them and strengthened their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. So at some point, it became a tradition to have the Passover lambs killed by the priests through the day of the fourteenth. This would be considered more of a temple Passover. So the Passover kept at home would be more of a domestic in the house. This is one that was kept in the temple, a temple Passover.

We could speculate because of the sheer number of lambs that would be killed before each person's Passover lamb. It could mean that the eating of the lambs occurred towards the end of the fourteenth, because you've got this huge number of lambs being brought before the priests and the Levites on behalf of all the men and all those who were to give a lamb for a Passover. And so towards the end of the day on the fourteenth is most likely when this would have all wrapped up. It could have even spilled potentially into the fifteenth when the days of Unleavened Bread would have started. But at a minimum, the lambs would have been killed on the fourteenth and probably eaten on the fifteenth or that evening separate from what we see at twilight as recorded in Exodus. So just keep that in mind that this change facilitated something that might not have been the way that it was ever intended to be. I think it's quite easy to understand as we read through this that the sheer magnitude of this many lambs would make it more difficult. You can't just, in that little time between sunset and when it gets dark, you can't kill thousands of lambs or maybe even potentially hundreds of thousands as the the nation of Israel was that size. But again, I want to point out that nowhere do we have recorded in God's word that the lambs should be killed by the priests in the temple on behalf of God's people. We only have some examples of that happening, but no instructions from God.

Now, with that in mind, let's fast forward to where we have recorded in the New Testament the Passover that Jesus himself instituted. Let's turn to Luke 22 starting there in the New Testament. Luke 22. I feel myself speaking kind of fast. I'm going to try to slow down again. This is a lot of information as we kind of work through it, but again, I think you'll see the tie-in and the connection between the Old Testament Passover, the New Testament, and some of the changes.

Luke chapter 22, and we'll start right at the beginning of verse one.

Right from the beginning, we're going to see how the Jews categorized the two and concatenated Passover with Unleavened Bread right here from the get-go here in chapter 22 verse one. It says, Now the feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. So you see a kind of a confusing statement here. The feast of Unleavened Bread, which is also called Passover. There was concatenation, this combining. Some would refer to the day of Passover, the feast of Passover, and the Unleavened Bread. Some would refer to that the whole, both feasts as just Unleavened Bread. Some would refer to it just as Passover, where we still have that designation, the separation of the two. But it says, Now the feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes thought how they might kill him, and that's Jesus Christ, for they feared the people. Again, this shows how they kind of concatenated the two days together. But you and I know these are two separate feasts, as we have outlined in Leviticus 23. But this, by this time, they had become merged into one feast, really. Could this have occurred? Because, again, the killing of the lambs all the way through the day of the 14th facilitated where it flowed into the 15th. And so in their minds, this was the only way that they could handle the aspect of killing the Passover lamb, still observing the days of Unleavened Bread. Could that have been the problem that was created, and therefore became their practice, their tradition, combining these two? Keep that in mind, maybe, as we continue looking through here in John chapter 2. Because John chapter 2 points, I think there's something here that is quite interesting for us to consider with this aspect of tradition, combining of these two Holy Days together into eight days, and also how it's referred to, and which Passover did Jesus Christ observe. This is John chapter 2 and verse 13.

It says, Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Notice that he doesn't just call it the Passover, but he refers to it as the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

I'd like us to consider and think, was John making a distinction here between the traditions of the Jews, calling this the Passover of the Jews, and the Passover, and comparing it and contrasting it with the Passover that was described in Exodus chapter 12? Remember, the Jews often keep the Passover at the beginning of the 15th. Still today, many sects still do this today, and they, some sects at the time of Christ did that. They kept the Passover at the beginning of the 15th, but we've already looked at where the Passover was to be observed and kept on the 14th. So, could John have been describing here a different Passover than the one that should be observed? Keep this in mind as we look to verse 23, same chapter, same book of John, chapter 23. It says, Now when he was in, speaking of Christ, was in Jerusalem at the Passover. So here it just says the Passover, not the Passover of the Jews or anything else, and it's referencing Christ. When he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs, which he did. John uses a little bit of a different terminology here. Was there a reason?

Maybe he was focusing more on the fact that there's two different Passovers being observed and being referenced here. The Passover of the Jews and the Passover that Christ kept. Let's look at some other, because this isn't the only phrasing. Let's look at, again, to flip ahead to John, chapter 6 and verse 1. Again, remember, this is the same Gospel writer. This is still John. This is, we're not comparing two different Gospel accounts. Maybe the writers had some differing views of how they said it. This is still John and the way that he referred to the Passover in different ways. We see this again here in John, chapter 6 and verse 1. Here he records, after these things, Jesus went over to the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed him, because they saw signs which he performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Again, referencing a feast of the Jews. Let's flip ahead to John 11, verse 45. Another account.

John 11, verse 45. In this account, we're going to see that John, in one single verse, refers to the Passover in two different terminologies, two different ways. John 11, verse 45.

Then many of the Jews who had come to marry and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in him. Those miracles that Christ performed. The way that he described the coming kingdom of God, the way that he stood up against the Pharisees, the way the Pharisees tried to trick him, but he could always refute their tricks and their trickery that they tried to do. Because of that, many things had seen the things Jesus did and believed in him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did when the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, What shall we do? For this man works many signs. If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. More worried about their own skin, weren't they, than following God or even believing in Jesus Christ. They wanted to counter what he was saying. They were concerned. They were afraid for their own power, their own might, and their own influence that they had over the Jews. Go forward to verse 53, John 11 verse 53. Then from that day on, they plotted to put him to death. Therefore, Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with his disciples. And here's that verse again by John with the two different ways he describes it, verse 55. And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover. Two different ways in one verse that John described the Passover to purify themselves. We know from just what we read through this passage, John is focusing on the Pharisees and their desire to kill Christ. Is that maybe why he used different terminology here? Could this be why he makes a differentiation between the two Passovers? There's a last passage in John 12. Flip one chapter ahead, John 12 and verse 1.

John 12 verse 1. Then six days before the Passover, just those two words, the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom he had raised from the dead.

In John chapter 12, John starts diving into the last Passover that we have recorded that Christ would observe. The Passover that began this final steps of the process, the one where we, if we read just a little bit in verse 3, the one where Christ is anointed with costly oil. So here is John identifying that this is the Passover, the one that is to be observed by you and me on the 14th, that same Passover that Christ observed himself. I share all this, all these passages, to help spell out the distinction I believe John is making here. Now, is this something that I can say 100% is accurate and that it is doctrine as far as is this something that I can't, that there's no other way to look at it. It's beyond a shadow of a doubt. I can't say that it is, but using this, using these passages, other historical references, other accounts that we've already read in the Bible, and understanding the traditions of the Jews, which are well recorded in all kinds of writings, and that these traditions many times were different than what had been instructed by God, I think it begins to build a case that even during Christ time there was a difference in the Passover that the Jews observed and the Passover that Christ himself observed.

Setting this stage should help us to understand the context of what we're about to read in the preparation of the New Testament Passover and the Passover meal and the symbols itself.

Let's turn back to Matthew chapter 26 and read about read one of the accounts speaking to this setup. Matthew chapter 26 and verse 17.

Matthew 26 and verse 17 It says, Now this sounds confusing again, doesn't it? On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, have you ever seen in God's Word where we were to sacrifice the lamb on the first day of Unleavened Bread? It's not in God's Word anywhere. This has never been a tradition of the Jews. It's not been a tradition of ours. It's not anywhere recorded. So how do you explain what's happening here?

I don't know if in your Bibles, but in some of my Bibles and some of the online references I also use to verify this. Notice that in that very first sentence, the word day and the feast of are both in italics, meaning that they were not in the original transcripts. The word day. So let's read this again. Now on the first day in italics of the feast of, in italics again. So if we took those words out, which were not in some of the early original manuscripts, the sentence could also be read in this way. Now on the first of the unleavened bread.

Again, now we're going back to seeing how it was described, where Passover was sometimes used to describe Passover and Unleavened Bread. Sometimes Unleavened Bread was used to describe Passover and Unleavened Bread, and it now fits again with what we've already seen, but also it helps us to understand that they're also talking about Passover here in this phrase, not the first day of Unleavened Bread. So now on the first of the Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover? It's important for us to understand because it could be used as a combining of these Holy Days. Again, these feasts, rather, not the Holy Days, but rather these feasts, the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, combined together as eight days. I don't know if you've ever done that, but if you ever Google the Passover of the Jews or Passover, Jewish Passover, many of the references will say it's an eight-day feast. Well, we know from Scripture it's not an eight-day feast. It's a one-day feast of Passover, followed by, on the next day, seven days of Unleavened Bread. Where did this idea come from? Where did these traditions come from? And so, as it's important that we understand this, and that the eight days the Jews today keep, is what they call the Passover, these eight days.

In verse 18, this is Christ's response, and it says, as you go into the city, he told them, Christ did, you will see a certain man tell him, the teacher says, my time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house. So again, he refers to Christ himself, says, I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house. We don't see Christ going to the temple. We don't see him taking his lamb or any instructing the disciples to take their lamb to the temple. There's going to be a Passover meal that is eaten with his disciples. And this is at the beginning. Now, this is still on the 13th, because the 14th hasn't started yet, but it's about to. And so, he's encouraging and directing his disciples to go prepare for the Passover.

And what's important to notice here, and in the other accounts that we have in Mark and Luke, is that the disciples don't question Christ here. They're not confused by the statement where he says, we're going to go do it on the 14th, the beginning of the 14th. We're going to do it in our house. We're going to do it in a home, not go to the temple. We don't see anywhere here that it was confusing or not understood by the disciples. Again, because they understood the Passover that Christ kept, they understood the aspects that he observed and the way that he observed it. So, there is no questioning in Matthew's account or Mark's or Luke's, just that they go and they do as they were instructed. And again, all this is about to take place on the 14th of the month, not on the 15th. Continuing, or let's look at Luke chapter 22 again, verse 7.

We're going to read another one of the accounts to what we just read.

Luke 22 and verse 7.

Here Luke records, Luke 22 verse 7, then came the day of Unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. Again, not on the Passover, the Lamb does not get killed on the first day of Unleavened bread. You see this grouping together. Then came the day of Unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John saying, go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.

And then verse 14, when the hour had come, he sat down with and the twelve apostles with him.

Then he said to them, with fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover, this one evening, this Passover with you before I suffer. So it's very important that we note that as well, that Christ himself said, I want to eat this Passover with you. Not the Passover at the temple, not another type of Passover, this Passover with you before I suffer. And as we continue, it's look to John 13, because we're going to get into this New Testament Passover now. What are the differences? What are the new symbols that were instituted with this Passover that Christ kept with his disciples? John 13 verse 2. This is one of the aspects that's recorded only in the Gospel account of John. This is the example of the foot washing. John 13 and verse 2, And supper being ended, the devil, having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside his garments, took a towel and girded himself. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. Verse 12, So when he had washed their feet, taken his garments, and sat down again, he said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? You call me teacher and lord, and you say, Well, for so I am. If I then your lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, again, a change in the New Covenant or New Testament Passover, for I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.

Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who was sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

So we have the account and the recording of the foot washing, which you and I observe, and we take part in that at each Passover that we keep. Let's look at the other aspects. Let's flip back to Luke chapter 22. I should have kept my finger there, too. Luke 22 verse 17.

Again, it's important that we're looking at God's Word. What does he say?

What is the instructions that we have recorded in his Word?

Luke 22, as we go through this whole comparison, this whole why do you and I observe the New Testament Passover? It's all right here. It's very clear. Luke 22 and verse 17. We get into the two symbols that it was also changed and instituted here by Christ. Luke 22 verse 17. Then he took the cup and gave thanks and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And he took bread and 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. Likewise, he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Not the old covenant anymore. It's a new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. We know that after taking the symbols, they sang a hymn, and the New Testament Passover was complete as far as the service goes. The teacher, Jesus, implemented a deeper and more personal Passover that was to be observed from that point forward by those who believe in Christ. But a more physical and spiritual event still needed to take place on the 14th of Abib. This event is a vitally important change to the new covenant because without it, we'd have no new covenant. Without it, you and I would have no hope of salvation or eternal life.

Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb without spot, had to be sacrificed for each of our personal sins.

Let's turn and read through parts of what's recorded in Mark chapter 15.

Mark 15. We know that before the passage we're about to read, we know that Christ kept the Passover with his disciples. They sang a hymn. They went out to the garden where where Christ prayed to God. We know that's also where he was betrayed by Judas, where he was arrested and taken as a prisoner, where later he was tried in a mock trial.

No charges, no real charges against him, nothing that would stick, yet the Jews wanted blood. They wanted his death. They wanted him to die because of everything that we have recorded here that we've seen throughout, the way that he spoke against their traditions and the things that they had done.

And so Pilate could find nothing wrong with him but consented and gave him over, after being scourged horribly to the point of being unrecognizable.

We then get to the point here in Mark 15 and verse 16. Mark 15 and verse 16. Then the soldiers led him away to the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison, and they clothed him with purple, and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and began to salute him, hail, king of the Jews. Then they struck him on the head with a reed and spat on him, and bowing the knee, they worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took the purple off him, put on his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. In verse 24. And when they crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. Now it was the third hour, and they crucified him. So on our clocks today, this would be about 9 a.m. in the morning, that he was raised on the post or stake and crucified 9 a.m. And the inscription of his accusation was written above the king of the Jews. With him, they also crucified two robbers, one on his right and the other on his left. So the scripture was fulfilled, which says, And he was numbered with the transgressors.

And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. Likewise, the chief priests, also, and these are the Jews who wanted his wife, the chief priests also, mocking him themselves with the scribes, said, He saved others, himself he cannot save. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe, as if they would have, even if he had performed another miracle. Even those, it goes on to say, even those who were crucified with him, reviled him. Now, when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. So this would be from about noon to three o'clock on our count on our clocks today. Darkness, complete darkness. We're not just talking like an overcast day like today. This would have been true darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eli lama sabach tani, which is translated, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Some of those who stood by when they heard that said, Look, he's calling for Elijah. Then some ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink, saying, Let him alone, let us see if Elijah will come to take him down. And Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last.

Miracles occurred at that exact moment. Matthew records those miracles in Matthew, chapter 27, and verse 51. This is another important aspect of the change of the covenant. Matthew 27 and verse 51. These miracles, one of them, well, all of them, unbelievable, but one with significance to you and me today. Matthew 27 and verse 51. Actually, 51, let's see. Actually, let's read 50 again to pick up where we left off in the previous account. Matthew 27, verse 50, says, And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. This veil that was in the temple that separated the holy of holies from the remainder of the temple, the veil that only one time a year the high priest was allowed to go past at the day of atonement, that one time, that veil, this huge thick veil, was torn in two from top to bottom, symbolizing the access that you and I and all who are baptized and believe in Jesus Christ now have before God. It wasn't just a high priest. You and I can go before our amazing Father anytime and talk to repent, to ask for help that we need. This is extremely important between the two covenants that this veil was torn from two in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. These amazing miracles. And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the graves after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, truly, this was the Son of God. These are unbelievers. These are people who were dividing and casting lots for his clothes hours earlier. These are people who, after seeing and after hearing and after understanding everything, suddenly realized what had just occurred. Many times through the Gospel accounts, we see Christ proclaiming to those around him that he was the Son of God. We can go through many different accounts. We don't have time to do that today, but many accounts where he said, I am the Son of God. They questioned him, are you? And he would say yes. All these different times that he was trying to help people to understand and was acknowledging who he was. And he did this right up to the very end of his life as he was hanging on that stake when he proclaimed, before all those who were witnessing, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This comes from Psalm 22 and verse 1.

That's important that we consider as we recognize this phrase that Christ uttered just before his wife ended. Psalms 22 and verse 1.

Some have wondered about this connection or wondered why Christ would say this statement just before dying. But Psalms 22 provides the answer.

Psalm 22 and verse 1 starts right off by saying, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from helping me? And from the words of my groaning, verse 6, I am but a, I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. All those who see me ridicule me. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head saying, he trusted in the Lord. Let him rescue him. Let him deliver him since he delights in him. But you are he who took me out of the womb. You made me trust while in my mother's breasts. I was cast upon you from birth. For my mother's womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help.

Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They gape at me with their mouths like a raging and roaring lion. I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It has melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potcher and my tongue clings to my jaws. You have brought me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me. The congregation of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O Lord, do not be far from me. O my strength, hasten to help me.

Verse 27, All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nation shall worship before you. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who cannot keep himself alive. A posterity shall serve him, and it will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation. They will come and declare his righteousness to a people who will be born, that he has done this. Another amazing account that we have, tying the Old Testament to the New Testament of who Christ was, the life that he lived, the way that he was treated up until the moment he died. Is this the only reference that we have, though, to the New Testament Passover, the Savior that we have? It's not. Let's look at 1 Corinthians, chapter 5. There's another passage that supports why you and I keep the New Testament, or New Covenant, Passover. This is 1 Corinthians 5, and we'll be looking at verse 6.

Remember that the Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the church in Corinth. This is someone who was not there at the Passover with Christ. He was not one of the 12. Yet we're going to see how he describes it perfectly accurately. The gospel accounts hadn't been written at this point, so it wasn't like he read the book of Matthew, Mark, or Luke and drew this out of them, this teaching. It wasn't like that at all. We know that Christ was taught, or that Christ taught Paul in the desert for three plus years, and this is one of the aspects that had to have been taught to him. He even acknowledges here in a little bit where he got this teaching from. Remember, he wasn't one of the 12, but yet he is now going to describe that original Passover. You've got to remember, also, that Corinth was a dreadfully sinning city. There was sin that wasn't even spoken of. It didn't even have words, some of the sexual sins, and nobody even could describe. There was no word even created yet to describe some of the level of the sin, the sexual sins that were going on in the Church of Corinth. And as we know, the influence of society was starting around us, even, was starting to have an impact here on the Church in Corinth, and therefore, Paul wrote his letter of concern, acknowledging these aspects and also the Passover. In 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 6, he says, Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven, leavens the whole lump?

Again, a little sin comes into a congregation and it spreads. It takes hold and it can create problems for the entire congregation. He says, verse 7, Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed, Christ our Passover, here again, referencing who our Passover is, is Jesus Christ. It's the only account you'll see in the New Testament of this. Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. 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. Flip ahead to 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 16.

To continue the thought of what Paul is speaking to about this Passover, 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 16. Here again, the apostle Paul says, The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

For we, though many, are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread.

And then chapter 11 and verse 17. Again continuing the thought. 11 verse 17. Now, in giving these instructions, Paul says, I do not praise you since you come together, not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear there are divisions among you, and I, and in part, I believe it. There are factions, there are divisions, there are problems among the church in Corinth, and Paul's calling them out right now for it.

He says, verse 19, For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore, when you come together in one place, speaking of the Passover, he says, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper.

He gives specific instructions. It's not to come together and for you to eat the Lord's Supper. This is another one of the reasons, another reason why we do not come for a meal on our Passover evening. It's not to eat the Lord's Supper. And he goes on to describe it. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others, and one is hungry and another is drunk. This was some feast that they were having, isn't it?

They show up to partake in the symbols and to keep the Lord's Passover, and they are getting drunk. Some have showed up with food, and this wasn't a potluck like you or I share. If somebody brings a nice dish and they want to share it at our potluck, that's great, and that's how it should be.

Some people were bringing their filet mignons and their grape poupan, and they were keeping it to themselves. Others were showing up with their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a brown paper bag, and that was all that they had, and some didn't have food at all. And they were keeping their things separated, because, well, this is what I brought. And not only that, but they put the cherry on top.

They're getting drunk, indulging in wine at Passover, losing control, losing their right mind, and Paul is just pointing all this out. Because you want to come together, and it seems like the church in Corinth reached out to maybe times of old. Like, let's have a meal. Isn't that what the example we've seen and we've heard? Maybe let's have a meal ourselves. And they wanted to institute it, but it went horribly wrong, and nowhere do we see that it is to do it.

In fact, Paul says, it is not to eat the Lord's supper in verse 20. For in eating, one takes his own supper ahead of others, and one is hungry, and another is drunk. And he says, what do you not have houses to eat and to drink in?

He's saying, before you come to Passover, you have a home. You should eat and drink there before you come here. And then he goes on to say, or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in all this? I do not praise you, for I receive from the Lord that which I also deliver to you. And this is where he says that he received this instruction from Jesus Christ himself.

He says, that for I receive from the Lord that which I also deliver to you, that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed, so the same night, or the same day, the 14th of Abib, Christ instituted the New Testament or New Covenant Passover, and the same day he was betrayed and died. It says, on the same night in which he was betrayed, when he was arrested and given over to those, it says, and when he was betrayed, he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me.

In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the New Covenant in my blood, this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. With all of these things that we've read today in mind, this is all why we approach this Passover that you and I observe, this New Covenant Passover in a way that we do here in the United Church of God.

This is the most somber and special evening of our years for those who are baptized.

It's a memorial of the suffering and the death of our Lord and Savior. Therefore, each of us put a great deal of thought and effort into the night that when we come together and we observe the Passover. As ministers of Jesus Christ, we work to give you meat and do season. We think about topics to share and pray that God will inspire messages for us to reflect on, to think about, to consider as we approach this time of the year. Each of us are admonished to examine ourselves, you and me, according to God's Word and the things to take pause, to prayerfully consider how you and I are reflective in our lives of the life that Jesus Christ instructs that we're to put inside of ourselves. It says to be clothed in Jesus Christ. Are we doing that? Are my clothes reflective of Christ living in my life? During this time, as we reflect and we consider, God opens our mind to see those aspects that aren't quite measuring up. Those things that could need to be changed and so that we can come and not take the Passover in an unworthy manner. I, as a pastor and others in the congregation, we put thought into the service that we're about to have in a couple weeks. Pre-planning, pre-thought, we make sure that all of our ducks are in a row, that the room, we have the things that we need for it, that somebody's going to bring the wine, somebody's going to bring the bread, that the building will be organized, the chairs will be set up for both the service and for the foot washing. So thought goes into this night because of how solemn and special it is. And on the night of Passover, this is why we ask those with responsibilities to come at a certain time so they can set things up. So that it's not running around last minute and it's not, oh we forgot this, oh no. They come at a certain time so they can begin preparing and setting things up. And this is also why I ask that this one time of the year that each of the members show up to Passover at a certain time when the doors open if you don't have a responsibility. This one time that you come in and instead of fellowshiping like we do before and after church, which is such a blessing for us as family, this one time of the year, we don't do that. We are ushered in and we sit down in our seat as we get here and we open our Bibles and we read through some of the passages that we read through today or other ones that are important to you as you consider this Passover that you're about to take. And then once the service is finished up, each of us quietly and somberly gets up and we exit the room. We don't, again, hang out in fellowship. We don't gather in a corner and laugh and tell stories and things like often maybe we do on the Sabbath because this is a service with we have little or no fellowship.

And this doesn't mean that we have to be coming in like just dragging ourselves in or feeling unworthy to take it. That's not the point. The point is that we have a Savior who gave His life. You and I have the down payment on eternal life because of our Savior, our Lord and Savior, our elder brother, Jesus Christ. It's a time to take it very seriously, to reflect on the cost that it took. The Son of God, His life, was given for me and for each one of us here.

That's why we do approaches differently than we do a normal Sabbath day because of the recognition, the memorial aspect of what this means for each of us. That's why we come in and we sit down quietly after the service. We exit quietly, recognizing as we would the importance of to be reflective. Not saying again, though, to go the other extreme that we can't give a hug.

You can't fellowship as far as like saying a kind word to somebody, it's good to see you and those types of things because we are thankful to be here. This is our family. There's no other place I want to be on Passover than with my family. That's how important this is. So we are appreciative that we're here together. We do give hugs and we do say hello and things like that, but we keep in mind the importance of the weightiness of this evening, what it means. Often, in a worldly sense, when I know there's a memorial in the evening and when I'd have to go to work and I'd go to work in a suit and tie, which was abnormal for me, it was a reminder to that that evening I'm going to go to a visitation. I'm going to go to a funeral and through the whole day that's kind of my mindset as I go through that day knowing that there's something a memorial to go to. Often, I approach Passover the same way that day. It feels different. I think for most of us it feels a little bit different when we wake up that day knowing Passover is that evening and that's that mindset that we should put on as we come here and as we enjoy the evening, as we're thankful for the blessing that we can partake in this New Testament Passover. That's that mindset that I encourage each of us to consider and each of us to take, that we be aware of why we are here, that we be aware of what this evening represents, and that we somberly approach this evening in a special way.

As we conclude today, I hope that you can see clearly why it is that you and I observe the New Testament Passover. This is a special and wonderful time of the year when we gather as family and consider the suffering and the death of our Savior. Jesus Christ himself set the time of the New Testament Passover by His example on the night before His death. The Passover of Jesus Christ is the most important event of the year for all Christians. The Church keeps it on the correct day, the same day Jesus was betrayed and the day in which He instituted the symbols of His body and blood, and the day on which He gave His life to take away our sins and to reconcile us to God. By participating in the celebration, the Christian proclaims the Lord's death until He comes. It's a final passage to read through. Let's turn to 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 13. The Apostle Peter also reflects on the life that was given for you and for me here in 1 Peter 1 verse 13. It's a good way to kind of just exit this message, considering the words of Peter here and what was given, what it cost for you and I to be able to partake in this Passover. 1 Peter 1 verse 13. He says, Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy for I am holy. And if you call on the Father who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot. As a side note, John 1.29, John the Baptist refers to Christ. He says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

That's how John the Baptist referred to Christ. But here continuing on in 1 Peter 1 verse 20. He, indeed Jesus Christ, was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who through him believed in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the spirit and sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. Because all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man is the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flowers fall away.

But the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. And the final five verses in one chapter ahead, 1 Peter 2 and verse 21. For to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who when he was reviled did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, who himself bore our sins in his own body on a tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed.

For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.