Passover Part 2

Today's message is going to be a second and final message in a series that I'm giving specifically focused on the technical aspects of the timing of the Passover service, as well as the keeping of it.

Part number one, here about two weeks ago now, we covered why we keep the Passover when we do, with the emphasis on the when. And in that message, we covered the timing of the killing of the original Passover lamb in Exodus chapter 12. We looked at the fact that it took place at twilight, as that word is translated into English, but in Exodus 12 it comes from a Hebrew word meaning between the two evenings, and that gives us our our timestamp, our marker for the Passover at the beginning of the 14th, between the two evenings, between sunset and dark. And then we saw that what Jesus Christ did on the final night with his disciples, as well, was the Passover, which he kept at the same timing at the beginning of the 14th, and it is what we do today in the Church of God. And so that is why we keep the Passover when we do in the United Church of God. And today for this message, I want to cover the topic of why we keep the Passover how we do, in terms of the things that we do and the order and the format of the Passover service.

But before we delve into that subject, I want to briefly look at a scripture that came up to me as a question, actually, after my last sermon, because sometimes it's a section of scripture that's used to show a different timetable for the Passover than how it is that we observe it. And the person said, well, I see what you're saying, and I agree. I'm just curious what your thoughts are on this scripture, because it's often used to point maybe in another direction. So I want to begin today by looking at that as follow-up from last message. Deuteronomy chapter 16 is the question.

Deuteronomy chapter 16, it's a section that takes place approximately 40 years after Israel walked out of Egypt. They're nearing the end of their wilderness wanderings, preparing to enter into the Promised Land, and God is reiterating to them once again the importance of keeping his feasts and how these things will be done when they enter the land.

So Deuteronomy chapter 16 in verse 1, this is a section of question, and it says, 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 as I mentioned, this passage sometimes is used to justify keeping the Passover on a different timetable than how we do, because it seems like it could be saying that Israel came out of Egypt on the same night as the Passover.

But what we'll see is the fact that Deuteronomy 16 is addressing both the Passover and the days of Unleavened Bread together as a package in a season in the month of Abib, and it's not in conflict with what we do today. And as you remember, there's places in the Bible as well where Passover and Unleavened Bread, in terms of the feast, are used in interchangeable terms.

So instead of listing out the exact dates of keeping both days to begin with, it says, You observe it in the month of Abib, because that's when the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. Okay, that's the season. That's the time frame. But also, as we understand, we don't observe the entire month of Abib, saying this is a season by which you came out. And Passover and Unleavened Bread occur side by side in that context in the month of Abib. Verse 2, Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where the Lord chooses to put his name. And so verse 2 gives us further confirmation that it's not speaking individually of the Passover alone, it's also speaking of the days of Unleavened Bread, because the Passover sacrifice was to be a lamb or a goat from the flock only. And this is referring to the sacrifice from the flock and from the herd. And if you look at Numbers 28, 16 through 19, what we see is that there's instructions there for the days of Unleavened Bread and the sacrifices that were made during that time, again, came from the flock and the herd. So what we understand, we're talking about a season of timing in which this festival season takes place and includes the Passover and the days of Unleavened Bread as it's being described. Verse 3, it says, you shall eat no leavened bread with it, seven days, you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is the bread of affliction, for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste, that you remember this day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life, and no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain over until morning. Verse 5, you may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates, which the Lord your God gives you. When they came up into the land, you remember there was the pilgrimage feast three times a year, they went up to Jerusalem. In the Passover, days of Unleavened Bread, again, was a pilgrimage feast to Jerusalem. So the males three times a year were to appear, and the Passover was kept at that time in that place. Verse 6, it says, but at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. And again, the question is, what time did they come out of Egypt? The context of this passage is set in verse one, which says, in the month of Abib, the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

And so that's the time frame that Israel came out. It was the month of Abib, and it's the time that these days are to be kept. And we keep the Passover in the days of 11 bread. We observed the month of Abib in recognition ourselves of when God brought Israel out of Egypt. And for us, it's when God brought us out of spiritual Egypt.

And he called us out of sin, and we came under the blood of the sacrifice of his son, that those things were done in our lives. So I just wanted to at least look at that and address that quickly, the fact that it is not in conflict with the timeline in which we keep the Passover beginning at the front part, the first of the 14th, at evening between the two evenings. Again, this is referring to the season, and there's some details that are here, and there's some details that are not. And you have to go to the whole package of Scripture, and you see Passover is on the 14th, Days on 11 bread are on the 15th.

And so we covered those things extensively last time. That's as far as I'll take that today. So, brethren, why do we keep the Passover how we do in the United Church of God? You know, we come together on that night. We take of the bread, we take of the wine, we do a foot washing. Why is it that we do those things? Is there a scriptural basis for that? Or is it merely the commandments or the traditions of man by which we would do those things? Because just like everything else we are to do as the people of God, the source must be the Scripture, not our own thoughts or concepts of what sounds nice.

These are the feasts of the Lord, dears of feasts of Yahweh, right? The feasts of God. And it is God and Jesus Christ who show us how we keep these days. So what I'd like to do today is ask and answer four questions that will help us to understand why we keep the Passover how we do. And as we go through these questions, we're going to see how they agree and what their connection is to Scripture.

And we're going to see that, indeed, these aren't just simply traditions of men and how we keep the Passover. It is, indeed, the instructions of God the Father and Jesus Christ. So question number one, why don't we slaughter a literal Passover lamb for the Passover today? We could call it New Covenant Passover.

Those who partake of it are those who are part of that covenant relationship with God. Why don't we slaughter a literal lamb year after year for the Passover today? Because in Exodus chapter 12, that was the instruction for the Passover, right? To kill a literal lamb, to consume the lamb, to eat it, and all the ceremony that was involved around that. Why don't we do that today? Let's notice the original instructions quickly. Exodus chapter 12 and verse 5. We will see that a lamb was to be killed, and we will see that a lamb, frankly, has been killed. Exodus chapter 12 and verse 5, this was the instructions for the first Passover, says, Your lamb shall be without blemish, the male of the first year.

You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the 14th day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight, again between the two evenings, the beginning of the 14th. Verse 8 says, Then they shall eat the flesh on that night, roasted in fire, with unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs, they shall eat it. And so this is the command that was fulfilled from the very first Passover, all the way up through the final Passover that Jesus Christ kept with His disciples before His crucifixion.

You know, there was a lamb selected, it was killed, it was prepared, and it was eaten. When we come forward to the New Testament and we see the Passover observance there, we find there's no instructions to kill a lamb. And the question may be, why not? Because that was the original instruction.

Why? And Christ ate with His disciples an original Passover service before He died. Why don't we kill a lamb as part of the Passover today? As part of answering that, let's go to John chapter 1 and verse 29. John 1 verse 29. Understand that these are the commandments God has given for us to live by, and as God who has organized and orchestrated what we do and as God who brings even the fullness of these things to pass.

John chapter 1 and verse 29 says, we're talking now the ministry of John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord, opened the door for the ministry of Jesus Christ. John 1 29 says, the next day John saw Jesus coming towards Him, and He said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Identify Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Brethren, we do not slaughter a physical lamb each year at the Passover observance because God the Father Himself has provided a lamb for the slaughter for our Passover. And it is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is our Passover. He is our atoning sacrifice.

1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 6. And the Apostle Paul wrote about this as well, the identification of Jesus Christ and the role He fulfilled as that lamb.

1 Corinthians chapter 5. The context here is the days of unleavened bread.

And in verse 6, Paul says, Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? He says, Therefore purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. Notice why. Why are you truly unleavened? Okay, is it just about putting yeast out? Well, that's a symbol, right? That's a type that points to a spiritual fulfillment. But he says, You truly are unleavened, for indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. And so here Paul boldly proclaims that Jesus Christ is our Passover. He is the perfect Lamb of God, the one without fault, without blemish, the one that the Father sent as the sacrifice for the sin of the world. He is our Passover, and it's only by coming under His blood that we truly become spiritually unleavened, as God would desire. You recall that the ancient Israelites could only be saved by God's judgment from taking the physical Lamb by slaughtering it, by putting the blood on the doorposts and on the lentil. And when the destroyer passed over that night, they were spared. Right? Their firstborn was spared the judgment. It came upon the Egyptians who were around them, and the firstborn of Egypt died. Likewise, in the New Testament it teaches us that Jesus Christ is the quintessential Passover Lamb, and through His blood, by coming under His sacrifice, God does not attribute our sins to us. The penalty is removed, and God passes over that and sees us as clean because we have come under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ ourselves.

Romans 6, verse 23, it should be a memory scripture for us all. It says, the wages of sin is death. Right? And what's a wage? Well, a wage, when I worked a job on an hourly wage, the wage was you put in this effort for the certain amount of time. If you fulfill your end of the agreement, this is what this is your payment. Well, the wages of sin, we've all put our time into that, haven't we? And your wage that you receive is death because sin is the transgression of the law. So the wages of sin is death. We've all earned it, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, the grace and mercy that God extends by coming under the Passover sacrifice that He provided. When we come under His sacrifice at baptism, we're released from the death penalty. And again, God passes over that judgment, that penalty that we had upon ourselves, because Jesus Himself has taken upon Himself our sin. And it says, He has become sin for us all. He has become sin in our place. We find that in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Let's go there next. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I understand this is foundational to most of us that have kept the Passover year after year, but as Mr. Lafferty spoke, the foundation, we need to check our foundation. We need to know that our foundation is solid. It comes from the Word of God. And we did know why we believe what we believe, because the structure that we build is built on the foundation of the Word of God. And it has to agree. Jesus Christ took upon Himself and became sin in our place. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 18. Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation of God through Christ. Father sent His Son into the world to die. Verse 19. It says, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the Word of reconciliation. Paul says this is the gospel we preach. This is the Word that God has given us. It's the Word of reconciliation that God wants a family. We are His children, and sin cuts us off from God. And He sent His Son to reconcile the world to Himself. That we would come under the blood of His sacrifice, be justified in the sight of God, made clean, and that relationship would be established as God intended from the beginning. Right? He's our Father. We're His children. So He's reconciled. That's what Passover is about. That's what this season is about. It's about putting out the sin that is a stumbling block to the relationship, and it's about being reconciled to God and to one another. Verse 20. Paul says, Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us, we employ you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He, God the Father, made Him Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

So again, the point is the Father sent the Son and made Him to become sin in our place, and it's only by coming under that sacrifice that we might become the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. And that happens through the symbolism, the fulfillment, the blessing of the Passover. So, brethren, when we acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Passover, this becomes very personal, because He wasn't just another lamb that had to die, right? Another year, another lamb. That was a type, and that was real. God had given that to them, but it pointed to something of a greater fulfillment. It was the one who would come and die in our place, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, without spot. He was the Son of God. He was the one who had been God with God from eternity. The one who divested Himself of His glory, came in the flesh, died for mankind, again, so he could be reconciled to God. And so the point is, this isn't just another lamb. This is the one through whom all things were created. And as Revelation 13, 8 tells us, He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. It's a plan that existed and a sacrifice that God knew would need to be made before mankind even walked the earth. He gave mankind a choice, right? Tree of life, tree of knowledge of good and evil. And He said, please choose life. You know, He was not indifferent. He said, choose life. But man had to make a choice. And He knew with our carnal human nature what kind of a choice we would make. His Son was slain from the foundation of the world, and Jesus Christ Himself came in the flesh, even knowing what He would have to endure on our behalf. And so we don't literally slaughter a physical Passover lamb each year at the Passover today, because Jesus Christ has fulfilled that role as our personal Savior, as our Passover for sin, and His sacrifice was sufficient once and for all. Not a repetitive year after year sacrifice. So I hope that's clear. Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Question number two, why do we partake of the bread and the wine at the Passover service? Why do we take of bread and wine? Because as we read earlier in Exodus 12 verse 8, the Passover lamb was to be consumed. Right? What did that mean? Well, it was eaten. It was killed, it was roasted by fire, and it was consumed. The people ate that lamb as part of keeping of the Passover. And if you killed the Passover, but you did not eat it, then you really weren't partaking of the Passover. And that's clear from Scripture as well. You know, the first Passover, they painted the blood, the destroyer passed over, and every Passover subsequent after that, you killed the Passover, you ate of the Passover, that was keeping the Passover. If you didn't eat of it, you really weren't partaking of the Passover. And the instructions for keeping the Passover today still includes the eating of the Passover lamb. But the method by which we do that has changed, brethren, because we can't literally consume Jesus Christ in that way, can we?

So he instituted the symbols of the Passover for how we keep them today. But the lamb died for our sins, and we still partake of the lamb as a part of a Passover service that hasn't been done away with. But the method by which we do it has been changed by Jesus Christ himself. Last night of his life, Jesus kept an original, tight Passover with his disciples. Lamb was killed, lamb was cooked, day eight. Why? Well, because Jesus had not been killed yet, had not died yet for the sins of the world. But what we also find is on that same evening, he instituted the symbols that we use to commemorate his sacrifice today as we keep the Passover. So let's go to Luke 22. This is where we wrapped up the message last time, and it's important in demonstrating that what Jesus kept with his disciples on that last night was indeed the Passover. Luke chapter 22 and verse 7 says, Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. Again, we find all throughout the Bible this feast season Passover and days on unleavened bread, that the terms are used interchangeably, but it's applying to those days. He says it's when the Passover must be killed. Verse 8, And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat. So he said to them, Where do you want us to prepare? And he, Jesus Christ, said to them, Behold, when you have entered a city, a man will meet you, carrying a picture of water. Follow him into the house which he enters. Then you shall say to the master of the house, The teacher says to you, Where is the guest room that I may notice eat?

Right? If you're going to partake of the Passover, you're going to eat of the Passover. Then I may eat the Passover with my disciples. Then he will show you a large furnished upper room, and there make ready. So they went, and they found it just as he had said to them, and they prepared, guess what? The Passover. Right? This is what they're doing. This is the focus of Christ sending them on ahead. Verse 14, In the hour had come, they sat down, the twelve apostles with him, and he said, With fervent desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and said, Take this, 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 so, brethren, I see no way that I can look at this and be honest with the Scripture and say that what Jesus Christ did was anything but the Passover. It clearly was. And I understand there's conflict between the timing of when Jesus Christ kept it and when the Jews of his day kept it.

All I can say is when Christ kept it is an agreement with what we believe Exodus 12 tells us to do, which is to keep it at the beginning of the 14th. And we're not Jews, we're Christians, which means we do what Jesus Christ did. We follow the example that he set, not the traditions of men.

Carrying on, verse 19, Jesus said, he says, He took the bread, He gave thanks, He broke it, and He gave it to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Verse 20, likewise, He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant, notice, new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. So these symbols of the bread and the wine were given by Jesus, and they represented Him as our Passover. Right? Just as you ate the physical lamb, you consumed the physical lamb, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb, who was slaughtered for us, said, Here's the bread, represents my body, here's the wine, represents my blood. He says, Take it, eat it, drink it, do this in remembrance of me.

So the Passover bread, the unleavened bread that we partake on that night, is unleavened because Jesus Himself was unleavened. He was without sin. Right? It's everything that was done in terms of the lamb, in the Exodus 12 Passover, the selection of the lamb, what it had to be, first year, lamb in its prime, without blemish. These things all pointed to Jesus Christ. He was without blemish, without spot, and He was perfect. He was unleavened, which is why we can be unleavened if we partake of Him. Our partaking of the Passover bread indicates that you and I understand that Jesus Christ had to put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself. That term, the sacrifice of Himself, is found in Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 26. It says that Jesus put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. The Father sent Him, but He laid His life down willingly. And He says, you know, no one takes it from Me.

I have the power to lay it down. I have the power to take it up again. He willingly laid His life down as the sacrifice for sin. And it reminds us of the price that had to be paid for Him to do that.

You know, we break the bread at the Passover service. And, you know, especially if the microphone's close to the plate where you're breaking the bread, people might say, you know, sounds like bones are breaking. And that's not the symbolism. Jesus Christ's body was broken His flesh. His bones were not broken. Again, that was the Old Testament Passover. He did not break its bones. Prophecies in the Psalms, not one of His bones would be broken. You come to the New Testament, it was fulfilled. He died without one of His bones broken, but His body was mutilated. There's a Psalm prophecy that says, I can count all my bones. Literally means as He hung on the stake, He could look down, He could see His ribs, you know, exposed because the flesh had been torn away through how He had been brutalized in those hours leading up to that point. And the bread reminds us, in the broken, on 11 bread, what our sinless Passover, Lord and sacrifice had to do on our behalf and what it is He endured for us on account of sin. The wine represents Jesus Christ shed blood for the remission of sins. And so when God the Father forgives sins, He does so through the blood of Jesus Christ because we have come under that blood in covenant. And covenant's important, and this term in here, the blood of the New Covenant, is important, and we'll talk about it a little more as we go forward. But we've come under that blood in covenant through baptism, through baptism, the remission of sins coming under Christ's sacrifice. We enter into covenant with God the Father through that, and our sins are forgiven. Indeed, the Bible shows that the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sins. That's 1 John chapter 1 and verse 7.

And additionally, Revelation chapter 1 verse 5 tells us that Jesus Christ loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. And so the point is, He instructed His followers the take of the Passover symbols that night as a memorial to His sacrifice. It's a remembrance, and that's what we do when we come together. It's a memorial to the death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to the sacrifice that He made. It is a memorial service in that way, and it's a remembrance of the fact that His body was shed and His blood was spilled for us. And because it is a memorial, because it is a remembrance, it is done in a very solemn and irreverent way. The Passover is the most solemn and reverent evening that we observe as the people of God. Again, because of what it represents, His life laid down for us. His body broken, His blood spilled, and Jesus said, do this in remembrance of Me. Now, we find similar wording in the other gospel accounts as well. Let's look at one other here. Matthew chapter 26 in verse 26. Matthew 26 verse 26, these symbols, the partaking of them, are to be done in remembrance and memorial to His sacrifice.

Matthew chapter 26 and verse 26 says, and as they were eating, eating the Passover, as we understand, Jesus took bread. He blessed and broke it and gave it to His disciples, and He said, take, this is My body. And I want you to notice the instruction here is to consume the bread, to eat it. They're partaking of the Passover lamb. He says, this is My body. It's representative of My body. Verse 27, and He took the cup, and He gave thanks, and He gave it to them, saying, drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. Again, Jesus Christ instructed them to partake, to take the wine, to drink of it, because of what it represented, His blood, the blood of the new covenant that was shed for the remission of sins. And so now we're talking about, if you're going to come under that sacrifice, a new covenant relationship with God. Right? And that's prophesied in the Old Testament. We see fulfilled in the New, where God puts His Spirit in us. We have our sins forgiven.

It is a new covenant relationship through the blood of Jesus Christ.

It's important also, brethren, that we understand that we don't sacrifice the lamb, Jesus our Passover, year after year after year. We don't kill a lamb at the Passover over and over and over again, because Jesus died once for all of humanity, and that one sacrifice was sufficient. What we do at the Passover, year after year, is keep a memorial to His death. And we partake of the symbols that He gave us to partake of in remembrance of Him. And so again, eating the lamb was central to keeping the service. If you did not eat the lamb, you weren't keeping or partaking of the Passover, right? To go back to the Old Testament, you read through, to eat it was to partake of it. And if you didn't eat it, you didn't partake of it. And there were actually certain people who could partake of it and certain who could not. But the point is the same today, because, you know, I don't see any instruction in the Bible that does away with the process of taking of the lamb. In fact, just the opposite. Jesus' own words on that night as our Passover clearly instructed us to partake of Him. John 6, verse 47. There's a whole run of Scripture here, and just for time, I'll just hit a few highlights. But John 6, verse 47, Jesus here in His ministry is introducing the concept that, you know, you're going to have to eat and drink of me.

And, you know, we want to be careful not to say this is a literal. We understand this isn't a literal eating and drinking of His flesh and His blood. What we take at the Passover are symbols that are representative of His flesh and His blood, but also the representative of His life that He gave in sacrifice, not just the flesh and bones, but the words He taught, what He demonstrated, His example, how He lived. So the point is we partake of Jesus Christ ongoing.

That's part of the symbols of the Days of Unleavened Bread, that you eat unleavened bread every day. You're to put the sin out, the leaven out, and you partake of the unleavened day after day after day. So this is a process of everyday lifelong, but the Passover as a memorial does indeed still have its point in its place. John chapter 6 and verse 47, most assuredly I say to you, He who believes in me has everlasting life. Of course, the words of Jesus here. Verse 48, He says, I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread I shall give is, notice, my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. Christ said, the bread I give is my flesh. It's what I am laying down for you to partake of that you may have in eternal life.

Verse 52, the Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? And Jesus said to them, most assuredly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. It's literally that important, brethren.

Whether or not we're willing to acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Passover sacrifice, as the bread of life, you know, as the one who literally died for our sins, whether or not we're willing to partake of him, because he says, if not, there is no life within you. Again, the partaking at the Passover is representative of what we ought to be doing each and every day. But it is a point of time, God said, bring this to remembrance. Verse 54, whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. As the living father sent me, and I live because of the father, so he who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever. Because you see, more than just some water and flour, maybe some oil, you know, that's all in leavened bread is, but we're talking truly the living bread, the spiritual bread, that is Jesus Christ, and who he was and what he represented, and what his father had sent him to do and to teach. We partake of that daily. But he also laid his life down for that cause as our Passover, and we do indeed partake of him. Passover itself, brethren, symbolizes our annual rededication to the process, again, of allowing Jesus Christ to live on in us in a continuing ongoing basis. And it's a very intimate and a personal service, right? That's why it is sober. Because even if there was no one else on earth except for Paul Moody, he would still have to die for me. And he had to die for each and every one of you, and it's personal, it's intimate, and it's direct. Christ, our Passover is impressed on us. When we follow the clear instructions he gave on that night, eat the bread, it's my body, drink the wine, it's my blood, and do this, he said, in remembrance of me. Now, the Bible also shows we have to be careful because it warns us not to take that ceremony lightly because it is significant. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians 11, this book has quite a bit to say about concepts of Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, as we've already seen today. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, here the Apostle Paul is addressing the congregation in Corinth, which is largely a Gentile congregation, and they were apparently having difficulty understanding the significance of the Passover. And as a result, they were keeping it in an unworthy manner, and the Apostle Paul had to write and confront them on the matter. And actually issued a warning. He said, you're on dangerous ground because the way they were trampling, if we can use that word, the Passover, was not being mindful of what it truly represented in the body and the blood of Jesus Christ. So he's warning them. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 17. 1 Corinthians 11 verse 17, the latter part of this book, transitions into the Passover. 1 Corinthians 11 and 17, Paul says, Now in giving these instructions 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 that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you that those who are approved may be recognized among you.

Verse 20, Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's supper.

So the point is, when we come together at the Passover, it is not to eat a meal unto the Lord.

Lord's supper is actually an unfortunate translation, but it's we're not coming together to eat a meal unto the Lord. This isn't a Passover meal that we are coming to do in observance in these things. It's not a Passover seder. It's not a supper that we're doing when we come together as a church on that night. Verse 21, it says, For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others. One is hungry and another is drunk. What do you not have houses to eat and drink in? 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 this? He says, I do not praise you. This was an unacceptable behavior because they weren't properly honoring the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at this gathering.

Some were drinking the wine unto drunkenness, the wine at the Passover. Some were drinking unto drunkenness. Others were not even getting to eat as they were coming together here. They were keeping a meal. And the point is, for the sake of their very salvation, Paul is telling them, you better set this matter straight because you are not discerning the Lord's body. And if you take on Passover in such a way that you take lightly and trample underfoot these things, then you are on dangerous ground. What's in our heart when we come before God at the Passover? Verse 23, Paul says, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took blood. Excuse me, took bread. What was the same night in which he was betrayed that he took bread? Well, it was the Passover. Again, Luke 22, we read through that process that he went through. Same as Exodus 12. So, on that night in which he was betrayed, he took bread. Passover is the context of Paul's instructions. And they're important instructions because he received the principles from Jesus Christ himself. Probably the three years he was in the desert in Arabia. You can go look to Galatians chapter 1 for that, following his being struck down on the road to Damascus. But the point was, Paul said, I received these instructions from Jesus Christ himself, and he had already delivered them to the Corinthian church once before. And this is what they should have been doing, not this drunken gathering.

All right? So again, verse 23, For I received from the Lord that which I already delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and he said, Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And 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.

The Greek here, the words translated remembrance of me in the English, the remembrance, and the Greek means to bring to mind. So that's what we're doing when we take the bread, we bring to mind Jesus Christ's sacrifice and what he endured on our behalf. When we drink the wine, we bring to mind what it is that he did and what it means to come under his blood of that sacrifice. We do it in remembrance of him. Verse 26 says, For as often as you drink this bread, eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. As often as you do it. And it doesn't mean week after week after week it's not communion or some such thing as that that you would see every week you take the bread or the wine or you take it whenever you want. Again, you have to at times there's something lost in translation to the English. You got to look into what the original text was. And a careful study of the Greek words here shows that it means as often as you eat it according to the prescribed manner. You know, as often as you eat it according to what you're to be doing. So it's on the Passover. It's an annual observance. And it's not something that we do time after time. By eating and drinking the symbols of the Passover on their appointed night, we too proclaim the Lord's death. We're declaring Him as our Passover, as the one who died for us till he comes. Verse 26, 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. It's not saying, am I worthy to take the Passover? None of us are worthy of the blood of Christ. But do we approach it in a right and worthy and reverent and respectful manner? This is the blood, the body of the Son of God. Verse 27, 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, you know, what's in the heart, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. And so the context here isn't a church potluck, as some might try to explain. It's not a potluck gotten out of hand. This is the Passover observance of the people of God on that night and its instructions for keeping it in a reverent and honorable and worthy manner. Again, it's not a drunken meal, brethren, it's a dignified service because of what it represents and whose sacrifice it represents. Verse 29 says, for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. That's the reason we're there. Verse 30, for this reason many are weak and sick among you and many sleep. And that could be physically, that could be spiritually. Verse 31, for if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. You might say, well, eat what? Here's the bread, here's my body, take eat, do this in remembrance of me, here's my blood, drink this in remembrance of me. And he says, when we come together to eat, he says, wait for one another because of something we do together as the people of God, something we do in unity.

I don't have it in my notes, but I think 1 Corinthians 10, give me a second, I'll find you the verse.

Verse 16. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 16.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? Again, that word can kind of trip us up in English a little bit. The word communion in the Greek actually means fellowship. Okay, so that cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the fellowship of the blood of Christ, meaning we take it together? The bread which we break, is it not the communion or the fellowship of the body of Christ, which is we are. For we, though, many are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread. So it's something that we do as a spiritual body. We are the body of Christ, and we take of this together. So again, in verse 33 of 1 Corinthians 12, he just says, therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let them eat at home. It's not the point. This isn't a meal. This isn't what we're doing. Eat at home, lest you come together for a judgment, and the rest I will set in order when I come. And so clearly, the apostle Paul took the Passover ceremony very seriously, and he wanted to make it clear to us that we should not only observe what Christ commanded properly, but as Christians, we should also understand the deep meaning of the eating of the bread and the drinking of the cup, if we're going to properly discern the Lord's body.

And that's why we partake of the bread and the wine at the Passover. And for the last two questions, I'm going to move through these fairly quickly, because I know we're getting short on time. Question number three, why do we wash one another's feet at the Passover? And again, this can be a simple answer. And for me, the simple answer of my last two sermons of why we do what we do and when we do it is because we're Christians, and we follow Christ's example, and we do what he said, and we don't follow the traditions of men. That's the package, but we need to be able to see it for ourselves as well in the Bible. So why do we wash one another's feet? Well, again, we follow his example on that night. John 13, verse 1. Excuse me, let me catch up with you here.

John 13, verse 1 says, Now before the feast of the Passover, now we're talking about the feast, and days of leavened bread were often called the feast of the Passover. These were together in time. So we're talking the feast of leavened bread before it is arrived, which would be Passover. When Jesus knew that his hour had come, and he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And it says, In 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, 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. Then he came to Simon Peter, and Peter said to him, Lord, are you washing my feet? And Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this. Peter said to him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. And Jesus said to him, He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but he is completely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you. For he knew who would betray him. Therefore he said, You are not all clean. Verse 12, For when he had washed their feet, and 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 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 is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, bless her you if you do them. So the act of washing someone's feet, we understand that was typically the job of the lowliest of servants. When you went to someone's house, the master of that house, the Lord of that house, didn't generally bend down, take water, take your sandals off, and wash your dirty feet. That was reserved for the servants. And you can maybe imagine the pecking order in the servants. It's like, well, you're the new guy. You get to wash the feet. So what Jesus is doing here is, he's showing in like a reversal of roles that the one who was God with God and came in the flesh is now kneeling down before his disciples in humility and service. And he's washing their feet. And he says, this is the example by which you are to live, in humility and service before one another as well. Now, I hope we understand that the foot washing is not a symbol of the covenant. Okay, the blood symbolized Christ's body. The bread symbolized his body. The blood is the wine. Okay, so we understand those represented him directly. But what he is teaching on the Passover night is, I am a servant, and as my people, you will be a servant as well. So we follow his example in the getting down before one another in service and humility and washing one another's feet on that night. It helps to instill the mind of Christ in us. That's why we wash one another's feet at the Passover service. Final question number four is, who may partake of the Passover?

Who may partake of the Passover? And we're talking about in the New Covenant context, who may partake of the Passover? It's an important question to answer because not just anyone can take of it. It is meant for everybody, okay, but those who can take of it, not everyone can take it in the time and in the place and in the condition that they are. It's not just everybody come as you are, who can partake of the Passover? Well, if we go back to Exodus 12, we understand in the Old Testament who could keep the Passover. So let's look there quickly for the last time. Exodus 12 verse 43. Who could take of the Passover? Exodus 12 verse 43, and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, this is the ordinance of the Passover, said, no foreigner shall eat it, but every man's servant who is bought for money when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. So he's saying, if you're not an Israelite, you can't eat it. And he's saying, if you were a foreigner who wasn't an Israelite and you bought him as a servant in your house, the only way they were going to eat it is if they were circumcised, if they became as like an Israelite. Okay, verse 45, in a sojourner, a hired servant shall not eat it. In one house it shall be eaten, you shall not carry any of the flesh outside, nor shall you break one of its bones. Verse 47, all the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it. And he shall be as a native of the land, for no uncircumcised person shall eat it. So again, we have the principle expounded here that actually keeping the Passover involves eating the Passover, right? So, you know, if you didn't eat it, you didn't keep it. If you weren't circumcised, you weren't to come near and eat it, or keep it in this manner. Not just anyone could do so. They had to be a circumcised Israelite. If you were male, you were circumcised, and your household was considered as part of Israel in that way. If you were going to keep it, and a foreigner and a stranger could not accept through circumcision. And we might ask why. Okay, what was the big deal about physical circumcision in the Old Testament? Well, circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham, and the descendants of Abraham. Okay, that sign of the covenant was circumcision. And so, you must be in a covenant relationship with God in order to keep the Passover.

And that was the point. It was the Lord's Passover, and God could say who could keep it and who couldn't. And he said, you have to be my circumcised people, my covenant people, if you're going to partake of it. And if you're not one, and you want to be included, you have to become as my covenant people. We've already read in more than one place that the Passover symbols of the bread and the wine represented the blood of the new covenant, the wine did. Okay, Christ said, this is my blood of the new covenant. It's a covenant that is sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ, and those who are permitted to partake of the Passover today under the terms of the new covenant are those who are in covenant relationship with God through baptism. Scripture calls that circumcision of the heart, and it's not just a physical circumcision, it is a spiritual circumcision of conversion of the heart. Romans chapter 2, let's just understand what spiritual circumcision is, Romans chapter 2 and verse 28. Romans 2 and verse 28, it says, for he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. He says, if you're going to be identified as a Jew under the new covenant, it's not going to be from circumcision in the flesh. Those who were descendants of Abraham, the physical Jews, were proud of the fact that they were descendants of Abraham, and they could prove the fact that they were the covenant people and descendants of Abraham. But he's just saying, you know what, in this context, he's not a Jew who's one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God. And so those who were circumcised in heart are the ones who received the praise from God. Right? They're acceptable to God because they've come under the covenant sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and they may partake of the blood of the new covenant. Their sins have been forgiven. Clausements chapter 2 and verse 8.

Clausements chapter 2 and verse 8, again, the focus on circumcision of the heart. Paul says, beware, lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him, in Jesus Christ, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in him, in Christ, who is the head of all principality and power. In him, in Jesus Christ, you were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by the putting off the body of sin of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Verse 12, buried with him in baptism. Baptism. That's where the circumcision takes place. Buried with him in baptism, in which you were raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, being dead to your trespass and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. And so, brethren, it is when you repent of your sins, when you are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, that you become spiritually circumcised at heart and of the heart, and you enter into a covenant relationship with God. And then it is that point you can partake of the Passover, which is Jesus Christ, the bread and the blood, the wine, of the new covenant.

So only those in covenant relationship with God are permitted to keep the Passover. It's consistent from the Old Testament through the New Testament. The Lamb was slaughtered, then a Lamb has been killed for us. The Lamb was consumed, then the Lamb is consumed today through the symbols. You had to be in a covenant relationship, his covenant people to partake of it. You must still be God's spiritual covenant people to partake of the blood of the new covenant, which is Christ.

If you're baptized, again, been circumcised at heart, you may partake of the Passover with the congregation this year. If you're not circumcised, you're still welcome to come, to observe, to see what it is that we do to understand the significance of what it is to the people who have entered into a covenant relationship with God. But it's not for you to participate in the symbols otherwise. And if there's questions, you can come and ask, and we can talk about those things. But let's just understand this is a covenant relationship by which we take the bread and the wine. And so, brethren, the Church of God still keeps the Passover observance today. We keep it on the same night that Jesus Christ kept it with His disciples on the beginning of the 14th of the bib, and we also keep it in the same manner in which He instructed us to keep it on that night before His death. And we keep it reverently, solemnly, and we keep it according to His instructions in remembrance of Him.