Passover Season Practices, Symbols, and Lessons

In less than two weeks now, we will be observing the Passover, the memorial of the death of our Savior Jesus Christ. In past sermons, we discussed the need to examine ourselves and to ask the question, am I worthy to take the Passover? We saw that we are worthy only because God and Christ deem us or count us as worthy when we have examined ourselves and when we truly do have a repentant heart and mind. We know that there is no requirement for absolute perfection for us in this physical, fleshly life because we know that only Jesus Christ was completely perfect without sin.

But nevertheless, we are to strive for perfection and we are to walk worthy of our wonderful calling. We also discussed in another sermon the importance of having a clean heart before God and asking God to create in us a clean heart for God and for all His ways. Brethren, we observe the Passover because we are instructed to do so in God's Word.

There are certain specific practices, symbols, and lessons that God wants us to learn and to review every Passover season. So today's sermon is entitled Passover Season Practices, Symbols, and Lessons. Passover Season Practices, Symbols, and Lessons.

What practices and symbols does God use to teach us during this upcoming Passover season? What are we to learn personally and collectively from observing these practices and symbols each year? First of all, let's talk about the practice of foot washing. We will be washing one another's feet. There are lessons that God wants us to learn. There are a couple of reasons why Jesus Christ instituted the foot washing service on the evening before He was taken and crucified.

So let's go to John 13. Let's consider this foot washing service that we'll have on the night of the Passover. What does God want us to learn by washing one another's feet? John 13. Let's begin reading in verse 1. Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come, that He should depart from this world to the Father. Christ had no illusions that it was His time to be taken and crucified.

He knew what was going to happen. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. He's talking about to the end of His physical life. He loved them to the very end. He died for them. And supper being ended, other translations say, during supper, 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. Now this was a very deliberate act. This was not something that was normally done. This was a very deliberate act, and it was done for an example that we would follow. He rose from supper, He laid aside His garments, He took a towel, and He girded Himself. And after that, He poured water into a basin, and He began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

So we'll all have a towel. We'll be here. We'll wash one another's feet. Just as Jesus Christ did, the evening He was taken and crucified. He was crucified the next day, but He was taken later that night. So a first lesson, surely, that we can glean from this is that we are to learn humility. We are to learn humility and also service. Humility and service. True service is impossible without humility. Christ was truly humble. He humbled Himself to wash His disciples' feet.

With pride, service is hollow. When someone serves out of pride, to be seen of others, to look good, it is a hollow service. It's not worth a whole lot, really. It has so much to do with our attitude and the way we serve. Service should be done with humility. The disciples were arguing on the Passover night about who was greatest. Mr. Kegel gave a sermon recently and discussed that somewhat. They were arguing about who was the greatest.

Did that trigger the foot washing, or did it follow the foot washing? Either way, this practice is evidence that Christ's disciples didn't get the message. They were arguing over who was greatest. They didn't get the message, and they had not yet been given the gift of God's Spirit. We have God's Holy Spirit. God has blessed us with His Spirit. We're to understand the lesson of humility. We are to become humble people.

We are to become a people that are yielded and surrendered to God and also willing to serve one another. Service is a very important subject, and that was the main topic of Mr. Kegel's sermon. So I won't need to go into that in much greater detail. But we do need to be willing to serve one another.

Serving is very, very important. The Bible says in Ephesians that we were created for good works. Serving people certainly is a good thing. Serving one another, being unselfish, being humble in the way we serve one another, not to be seen, but to serve. That is the important thing, and that should be our focus, to truly try to help someone else. So humility and service are very important lessons. There's another lesson that's also very important, and that is the lesson of cleansing. We need to be cleansed during the Passover season. We need to have our sins once again washed completely away in the blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christ cleaned up the disciples when He washed their feet. Let's look at John 13 again. We'll pick up where we left off. Verse 6. Then Jesus Christ came to Simon Peter, and Peter said to him, Lord, are you washing my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this. Christ's disciples are to understand what this service was about, but Christ knew that Peter didn't really have much of a clue. Christ understood that. Peter said to him, You shall never wash my feet. Now, Peter probably thought he was humble by taking the approach that he took, but Christ didn't see it that way. You shall never wash my feet.

No doubt, he probably felt, you know, Christ, you know, I don't deserve to have you wash my feet. But it's the way he said it that really showed he didn't get it. He didn't get it. You shall never wash my feet. Exclamation point said it kind of huddily. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with me. Wow! Probably could have knocked Peter over with that statement. Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Peter was an impetuous one, and he thought he had things figured out. But Christ said, No. He said, He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet. It wasn't Christ's purpose to wash his entire body. His feet were dirty. You know, from a physical standpoint, it was his feet that were dirty, trotting through the streets. He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but 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. 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 know, no doubt Peter humbled himself and then had his feet washed. But he still didn't really grasp the lesson. And so Christ said, Do you understand? Do you know what I've done to you? Verse 13, 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. But frankly, there aren't too many churches that observe this service. There aren't many churches around the world that do. I know there are few that do, but relatively few. This is a practice that we are to follow, according to Christ's words. You ought also to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. How much clearer does it need to be made? This is something Christ said himself. This is what you are supposed to do. We do the foot washing for good reason, because Christ tells us to. 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. Of course, we know the Father sent Jesus Christ to come and die for mankind. And we know that for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. The Father loved all of us so much that he was willing to sacrifice his Son for us. And greater love has no man than this than the man who lays down his life for his friends. And that's what Jesus Christ did for each and every one of us. Christ said in verse 17, if you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. We all like to be blessed, don't we? Well, there is a blessing in the foot washing.

When we bless, when we do the foot washing, Christ says we will be blessed for doing these things.

So, the second point is cleansing. We need to be cleansed. And only through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can we truly be cleansed. Also, we should consider that we as God's people are to help each other. We wash one another's feet. It is a great service to others when we desire to help them be clean. Now, I'm talking primarily spiritually. It's a great service to others when we all have a desire to help each other be clean. In a right sense, you know there's a scripture that talks about you have to get the plank out of your own eye before you can see clearly to get the speck out of someone else's eye. Again, it speaks to the humility that we should have when we try to help a brother. If we go to them in humility, then we will be received. Well, at least we should be. If we go to them haughtily, as though we are better than they, then it's not so easy for them to receive any help that we might be willing to give, even if we're right. So, our attitude, again, has so much to do with whether or not we can help someone. If our desire is to be clean, we won't mind the cleaning process, either. If you have a mind that wants to be cleansed, then you won't mind if someone gives you some helpful criticism. Even if they do it in a bad way, you know, if you're truly humble, you will try to see the truth in what they're telling you, and you will try to make adjustments based on the truth. In Galatians 6, verse 1, Paul is talking to God's people here. Galatians 6, verse 1, he says, brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, if he's caught in a trespass in a sin, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. If we have a haughty attitude, then we will be tempted. If we have a vain and a prideful approach, we will be tempted, and we will surely sin as well.

But when we try to help someone with a spirit of gentleness, then good results will follow.

So we must serve one another with an attitude of service and humility if it's going to be helpful.

And we ourselves must be willing to be cleansed. You need to be willing to be cleansed. If you think you're already clean, then so much more. You need to be cleansed. Some people hate to have their feet washed more than they hate washing someone else's feet.

Are we willing to clean or serve others, but not willing and humble enough to be cleansed ourselves by our friends, by our brethren? It does take humility to actually have someone wash your feet. It's a rather humbling thing to have somebody wash your feet. It's also humbling to wash another person's feet. My wife, Barbara, said this lesson was really brought home by her for the first time when she washed a very close friend's feet.

Now, this may be something women do. I have never done this, but she knows every single person's feet she's washed over the years. I mean, I've never made a list of every person's feet I've washed, but for whatever reason my wife has, that's okay. I mean, that's her, and that works for her.

But she told me about a lesson she learned when she washed a very close friend's feet.

They had a very spiritual friendship. They were very close together. They would gently correct each other when their conversation and their attitudes weren't exactly right. And she had never washed a close friend's feet before, and she said it was an immediate lesson that she basically learned as she was washing the person's feet that, you know, that's how we are to be one toward another. We have to be close for one thing to each other in order to really help one another. See, that's a good reason for you not to be so introverted. That's a good reason for you to get outside of your shell and get to know people. Because the more you know people, the better you can help people. The better people will receive any correction that you might be able to give in a right attitude and in a right way. Because we should all want to grow and improve, and we can help each other if we're willing to do that. We are a brotherhood in this room right here today. We are here to help one another, so it is imperative that we learn to know each other, and we become friends with each other. It's very important that we do that. We are most effective in helping each other and cleansing each other when we are close to the person, and they know that we love and respect them. If they know that we love and respect them, then it's going to mean a lot more what we tell them and what we say. We all need to improve, don't we? We all need to grow and become better people. So why should we not help each other? The point is, a lot of times, people don't try to help someone because they know they won't take it very well.

I don't know how many times I've run across that in the years of my ministry that sometimes it's difficult to tell people anything because of their attitude. You know they're just not going to take it in the right spirit, and it might make them matter, you know? It might cause more of a problem. So sometimes you don't say anything. But we shouldn't be that way. We should be willing to be corrected. We should be willing to help one another. I found that fasting helps before Passover. That's something my wife and I have generally done sometimes shortly before Passover, sometimes right before Passover. But fasting helps you have a better attitude, a more humble attitude when you come here on Passover evening, when you've sacrificed a little bit of yourself in preparation for the Passover. Foot washing also shows us, as does the taking of the bread, and we'll talk more about that later, that we as God's people, as Christians, are to be interconnected. We are to be entwined. Now we really are. We're not supposed to be loners. We should be entwined. We should know one another. We should help one another.

So my wife told me of another lesson that she learned in washing feet. She washed an elderly woman's feet. And I've washed an elderly man's foot before, and I think I basically got the same impression that she did. But she brought this out to me. She said, I thought I was being kind and gentle when I washed this elderly woman's feet, but she had very arthritic feet, and I was hurting her. Cleansing done in humility and love will be as gentle as possible. So when you wash someone's feet, be mindful that if they have arthritic feet, don't crunch on their feet. You know, be mindful of that. You might even ask them. I mean, so most people don't have arthritic feet, but if they're older, if they're in their 80s, 70s, 80s, some perhaps younger, it's okay to tell people, too, that, you know, I have my foot hurt. So be careful when you wash it. But, you know, I think it's a good lesson to learn. You know, we should be mindful of things. You know, we should try to be gentle with one another. So those are some lessons from the foot washing. Let's talk about some lessons from drinking wine. Drinking the wine at the Passover. I'd like to share four lessons in this regard. The first one is, we are cleansed and forgiven by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

When we drink that wine, let's realize that it is symbolic of being cleansed and forgiven by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Wine is a purifier. It's a cleanser.

So it helps clean us, and it shows that we are forgiven because we've accepted Jesus Christ's sacrifice for us. Christ shed his blood. In Romans chapter 5 verse 9, Romans chapter 5 verse 9, Romans 5 verse 9, much more than having now been justified by his blood. We have been justified or made right because we have been forgiven. That's the only thing that makes us right when it comes to our sins. If our sins are not forgiven, then we are not right.

We are not justified. Our sins need to be forgiven, and they're only forgiven when we repent of our sins and when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. Much more than having now been justified or forgiven by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

We shall all be saved from wrath through Jesus Christ. There's coming a day of wrath upon this earth. The book of Revelation clearly brings that out. There is a day of the Lord coming upon this earth because of the sins of mankind, because of their unwillingness to humble themselves and to obey God. And so God is going to pour his wrath upon those who have refused to repent of their sins. So it is important that we come to pass over with a repentant heart, repentant mind, and that we realize that we are cleansed and forgiven through the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. Humility is also needed here to realize that one can't do it on their own. We can't save ourselves. We can't forgive our sins. We have to be washed or cleansed continually. Continually. Not just one time. At baptism. Yes, we do go under the watery grave at baptism, and our sins are forgiven and we're completely clean before God. But being fleshly and weak, we do sin. And oftentimes it doesn't take long before we've sinned, so we must continually be cleansed. Humility is a thread throughout the entire Passover service and season. It isn't just a lesson of the foot washing.

Cleansing is linked to getting rid of and keeping sin out of our lives. We go on to keep the days of unleavened bread after we observe the Passover. We put leaven out of our homes. We get the leaven out because God tells us to. He instructs us to do that. So we do observe the days of unleavened bread, which pictures putting sin out of our lives. Leaven pictures sin. That's why we put leaven out because it pictures sin. And we have a desire to put sin out of our lives. In 2 Peter 2, it underscores how important it is to be cleansed. Brethren, do cleanse people with a heart to follow God and an appreciation of the cleansing and sacrifice of Christ, do they want to wallow in the dirt and in the mire and in the mud? Is that a desire we have?

Of course, we don't desire to wallow in the mire, but when we sin, we are wallowing in the mire.

2 Peter 2. 2 Peter 2. Whenever we sin, we have descended into the mire. We have gone into the dirt spiritually, and we need to repent. And we need to ask God quickly for forgiveness when we sin. In 2 Peter 2 verse 18. 2 Peter 2 verse 18. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, talking about false teachers, they allure through the lust of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. He's talking about the fact that some people, even though they've been baptized and converted, sometimes they allow Satan to tempt them into sin, and they go back into sin. He says, While they promise them liberty, these false teachers, they themselves are slaves of corruption, for by whom a person is overcome, he is brought into bondage. Satan brings us into bondage when we sin. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. Now that's talking about if someone gets entangled and doesn't seek repentance and God doesn't grant repentance, then it's worse for them because this is their day of salvation.

Once a person has received the Spirit of God, it is their day of salvation, and they must remain faithful to God. Otherwise, the lake of fire awaits them. That's what the scripture teaches. Verse 21, for it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the holy commandment that was delivered to them.

But it has happened to them, according to the true proverb from Proverbs 26 verse 11, a dog returns to his own vomit. Now I've seen that happen. You know, that's a sick thing to watch a dog go back to its own vomit. I'm sure many of you have seen that. It's disgusting.

That's what he's saying happens when we as people return to our sins. You know, we go back to the vomit, the sin that we came out of. And a sow, a pig, and I've seen many pigs wallowing in the mire. I used to take care of pigs, and it was quite an experience for me as a young man to take care of pigs. I have no desire to eat pig. None whatsoever. A dog returns to his own vomit and a sow having washed to her wallowing in the mire. You know, once in a while we'd hose these pigs off. They were so filthy and dirty, but it wouldn't take long before they were right back wallowing in the mire.

We are not to be like that as God's people. We're to come out of sin. We're to put it out.

So the first point is we are cleansed and forgiven by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Secondly, another lesson we learned from the wine is that we overcome Satan by the blood of the lamb. And again, the wine is symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ. Let's go to Revelation 12.

We overcome Satan by the blood of the lamb. Revelation 12, verse 10.

Then I heard a loud voice, saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ, have come. For the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him, they overcame the accuser of the brethren, by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony, the word of God, that they were living by. And they did not love their lives to the death. They were willing to give their lives in order to be faithful and obedient to God. So they overcame Satan the devil by the blood of the lamb. When we take that wine, we show that we have yielded to God. And Satan has no hold on us. Satan has no hold on you, who have resisted him, and have obeyed God, and followed him. And when you're there, pass over evening.

Satan has no place with us, pass over evening.

We overcome Satan by the blood of the lamb.

A third lesson we learn is that we are reconciled to God by His death, His shed blood, but we are indeed saved by His life. We are reconciled to God by His death and by His shed blood, but we are indeed saved by the life of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5 verse 8. Romans chapter 5 verse 8.

Here the Apostle Paul instructs us in this regard. Romans chapter 5 verse 8 through 10.

Verse 8, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified or forgiven by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. We shall be saved from wrath through Jesus Christ.

We don't have to fear the lake of fire. When we have humbled ourselves and accepted Christ as our Savior and when we have repented of our sins, for if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Remember, Jesus Christ was resurrected during the days of Unleavened Bread. Christ was resurrected during these days. We should reflect on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We obviously don't observe it like others do in terms of the way they observe it and even in a pagan way, using symbols on Easter Sunday. No, we don't do that, but we do acknowledge the fact that Christ was resurrected during the days of Unleavened Bread. And we certainly do live because Christ lives in us. We are saved by the life of our Savior Jesus Christ. Acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ and repentance are necessary for that sacrifice to kick in. In Acts 2, verse 38, remember what Peter said to those who said, What shall we do when they were pricked in their hearts and they realized that they had sinned and had crucified the Savior Jesus Christ? What shall we do? Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the gift of the Spirit that makes us a true Christian, that sets us apart and sanctifies us.

The blood of Christ symbolized us being cleansed inside and out. Does the communion of the blood that's discussed in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 16 also symbolize our willingness to share in the sufferings of Christ and to accept His purpose in our lives? Let's go to 1 Corinthians 10 for a moment. 1 Corinthians 10. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 16, The cup of blessing, which we bless, the cup of the wine that we will take, the little tiny cup of wine, it's a cup of blessing, which we bless. We'll pray over the wine. We'll ask God to bless the wine. It is a cup of blessing which we bless. Is it not the communion or the fellowship or sharing of the blood of Jesus 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.

Let's read a little bit further. We all partake of that one bread. Observe Israel, after the flesh, are not those who eat of the sacrifice partakers of the altar. What am I saying, then, that an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrificed, they sacrificed to demons and not to God. You know, these are pagan rituals and practices that the Gentiles were involved in. They were not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. We are to come out of all that kind of demonic practice. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the Lord's table or of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? Of course, we're not stronger than God Himself, and in Jesus Christ, we do what God tells us to do, because God knows best. Father knows best. To be crucified with Christ is talked about in Galatians 2. Let's go to Galatians 2. This is a very meaningful verse in the book of Galatians. Galatians 2, verse 20. I know this meant a lot to me when I was in the process of being counseled for baptism. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. When we go under the watery grave, it is symbolic of being crucified with Jesus Christ. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. We have to have faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and we have to live by faith, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Christ loved us and gave Himself for us. He now lives in us. He enables us to do His will. He enables us to put sin out of our lives. We are saved by the life of Jesus Christ. If Christ had not been resurrected, we would not have salvation. The sacrifice, the death, wasn't enough. The Father resurrected His Son. He is now at the right hand of God. He intercedes for us. He is our elder brother.

He makes intercession for us when we sin. He pleads our case. He knows how difficult it is to be flesh. He sympathizes. He was tempted in every point as we are.

Yet He was without sin. So He knows how difficult it is to be completely faithful.

So it's a wonderful, wonderful thing to have a Savior as Jesus Christ. He is the perfect sacrifice.

In Romans 12 verse 1, it shows that we are to become a living sacrifice. It's not enough to go under the watery grave to die to Christ. We must also live in Christ. We must allow Christ to live in us. We must live differently. We must be better people because Christ lives in us.

Romans 12 verse 1, I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. It is reasonable that you sacrifice yourself. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That is what we should always be striving to know.

The perfect will of God, and then putting it into practice in our lives.

We are to become living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God. We are to become holy, even as God is holy. So, brethren, we need to focus on the blood of Christ, and the need for forgiveness and our appreciation for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Now, a fourth lesson that we learned from drinking the wine on Passover evening is that we realize that the wine represents a renewed commitment to God. Again, it's just for baptized members. It's for people who have made the commitment. Their covenant is renewed this Passover evening. The wine represents a renewed commitment to God, to Christ, and to also the body of Christ. And it points to the fact that we are to become the very bride of Jesus Christ. This important lesson to learn is that the wine represents a renewed commitment to God.

It points to the fact that we are to become the bride of Jesus Christ. And it is a commitment, not only to the Father, but to the Son, and to the body of Christ, to the Church of God. So, those are four very valid and important lessons that we should learn when we drink of the wine. Now, let's consider the unleavened bread.

I've got, I think, two or three lessons in regard to the bread. The first one is that God and Christ are not leavened, but they are perfect in every way. God and Christ are not leavened, but they are perfect in every way. The Father is perfect, the Son is perfect, they are perfect in every way. There is no sin in God. Christ is the perfect sacrifice because He never sinned. Only He could pay the penalty for your sins. Only He could pay the penalty for your sins. Only He could pay the penalty for my sins. The blood of the sacrifice wasn't offered with leaven because Christ wasn't leavened. Let's see that in the Old Testament in Exodus 34.

If we go back to Exodus 34. Exodus 34. The instructions regarding this sacrifice are in Exodus 34.

You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left until morning.

These are the instructions regarding the sacrifice. You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven. Nor shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left until morning.

We are to be His body. We are to become a part of the body of Christ. We are to be like Him. Jesus Christ is the head of God's church. Because He didn't sin, we know that we are saved by His life.

The life and the body were what made the blood so precious.

The life and the body of Christ were what... that's what made the blood so precious. Because Christ, even in the flesh, did not sin. He was a perfect sacrifice. In Romans chapter 5 verse 18. Let's go back to Romans chapter 5 and read just one verse here. Romans chapter 5 verse 18.

Therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all man. It's talking about Adam's offense, Adam's sin. It's certainly including Eve's sin as well. Therefore, as through but man was the head.

And God holds him even more responsible in that regard. The man wasn't actually deceived.

He knew better. He went along anyway. He was willing to follow his wife into sin.

He didn't stand up. He didn't do the right thing. He wasn't counted. Therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. Even so, through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. It was through the man Jesus Christ that brought this perfect sacrifice. And we are justified by the life of Jesus Christ. Verse 19 says, I guess I will read a couple other verses. For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So also by one man's obedience, many were made righteous. We are counted righteous because we have accepted Christ as our Savior and because we are walking worthy. We are striving to put sin out of our lives. We have repentant hearts and minds. It's not complicated, brethren. There is simplicity in Jesus Christ. There is simplicity. This is simple. This isn't difficult. This is simple. It's laid out for us in his word. It's simple. Of course, God has to open our minds to understand it. Once he does, it's simple.

Therefore the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so, grace might reign through righteousness, to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. We know that Christ did not do away with the law of God. He states that very clearly in Matthew 5. Think not that I came to destroy the law. He didn't come to destroy the law. He came so that we might write his laws in our hearts and in our minds so that we might walk more faithfully. So Matthew 5 clearly shows that Christ did not come to do away with the law, and yet what do so many churches preach? They say the law is done away. They say the law is nailed to the stake, to the cross. That's completely false.

That is Satan's deception upon this world. And we need to realize that the law of God is in effect today. God wants us to keep his law. That's why we're here on the Sabbath, because this is the day that God sanctified. This is the day he set apart. This is the day Christ observed. This is the day the apostles kept after Christ had already died. Some 20, 30 years later, it's very clear in the New Testament scriptures that they were observing the Sabbath. They were keeping the annual Holy Days. They were observing the Sabbath days long after Christ had died. If the law had been nailed to the cross, they would not have been keeping the Sabbath at that time.

Clearly, they were. And we are to keep God's Sabbath today. It's sanctified and made holy at creation. So, this first point, again regarding the bread, is that Christ and the Father are not leavened, but they are perfect in every way. They never sinned. Why would they do away with the law of God? Does that make any sense? Of course, it makes no sense whatsoever.

A second lesson that we learn from eating the unleavened bread is that Jesus Christ, the unleavened bread that came down from heaven, is to live in each and every one of us. Now, we talked to someone about that already, but taking the unleavened bread Passover evening symbolizes us accepting the responsibility to take Christ into our lives and to become like him.

We should take on His very actions, His attitudes, His thoughts, the way He lived His life.

We are to put on the mind of Christ. We are to bring every thought into captivity, and to the mind of Jesus Christ. So, we are to keep God's law. Taking in His very actions, His attitudes, and thoughts in living as He lived. Now, brethren, we eat the physical bread at Passover, and it is unleavened bread, and it actually becomes a part of our physical bodies. We ingest that bread. It symbolizes that we need to take in the true bread of life. We need to take in Jesus Christ and make Him a part of our spiritual body and mind. He must become a part of our spiritual cells. He must become a part of our DNA from a spiritual perspective. Those cells, those spiritual cells, must replace the carnal cells that we have now. These fleshly cells should be replaced. We are no longer to walk in the flesh, but we are to walk in the spirit. So, we are to put on the spiritual DNA. So, when we take that bread, when we ingest it, it's symbolic. We get nourishment from bringing Christ into our lives. Spiritual nourishment. And we are changed as a result of that. The nutrients from the bread of life must enter and become a part of us. We can't do that without first being in an attitude of humility and service. That's why the foot washing comes first. We keep the foot washing service first to help us be in a right attitude.

And then the wine and the bread is to follow. And the cleansing of the wine also goes beforehand.

So, Jesus Christ, the unleavened bread, came down from heaven and He is to live in each and every one of us. That is a lesson of the days of unleavened bread. Taking that unleavened bread in on Passover evening. Now, that leads to a third point. A third lesson that we learned from ingesting a little bit of unleavened bread. And that is, the church collectively is the body of Christ. The church collectively is the body of Christ. Christ is the head of the church, but He says that we are all members of His body. Now, we don't have time to go to all the verses today. We don't have time to belabor it, but we need to realize that we are all a part of the body of Jesus Christ. We are a part of the church of God. We have a responsibility to God, to Christ, and to His church. And a lot of people, frankly, don't see that. They become independents.

They don't see how important it is to actually fellowship. The Scripture says, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. You can't just stay at home and get all that you need. I'm not saying you can't be a Christian, because if God gives you a spirit and you're at home, you're still a Christian, but you're not learning the lessons that you need to learn by being here amongst God's people and assembling together. So someone who is led by the Spirit will realize that, you know, unless they're sick, if they can't be here because of physical illness or some other very good reason, they will be here assembling together. We are a part of the body of Christ. Now, we are only one small piece of that body, and when we break the bread, we all take of that bread. It's all blessed. We take in a piece of that, each and every one of us. We must realize that in humility, we must realize that we are just a small piece in humility, and we should act like we know that. No one is a big cheese here. You know, I'm not a big cheese. You know, I'm just a person. I'm a man. You know, I'm just one who's been called to serve. To be an example, but, you know, I'm not to be put on a pedestal. I'm not to be considered anything great. I'm simply a man who is striving to obey God, just like you. So, we are to be humble and learn that lesson when we eat the bread, that we're all a part of the body of Christ. We serve one another in the body of Christ. We can't do it without Christ, and we can't do it without being a bigger, without being a part of a bigger whole as a whole church. We serve each other. We are not islands to ourselves. We shouldn't want to live on a deserted island by ourselves. We should want to be amongst God's people. We are a part of something bigger than any one of us could ever be on our own. Each piece is a part of the body of Christ. We are not just members of a body. Each and every member is a member of His body, the body of Jesus Christ. That's not to be taken lightly. And God hates division. God hates the splitting up of His church. God hates it. It's very clear in His Scriptures. He hates it with passion. We should hate it with passion. We should learn to yield ourselves one to another, submitting one to another in the fear of the Lord, sticking together as God's people, setting an example, being faithful, being true. And if there is a problem in the body, we should help each other. We should try to restore each other. We shouldn't split from each other and become separate. Does that make sense?

Is that a godly way? Only under very extreme reasons, such as back in 1995, when it was very, very clear that we could not continue and observe the truth of God as a part of our former body.

God had certainly moved on, and He showed us where to go.

You know, God will show us where to go if we have faith in Him and look to Him.

Now, I'm not saying that others who aren't here today aren't a part of the body of Christ. That's not what I'm saying. But I am saying God hates division, and God hates splitting off.

He hates it, and we should hate it. And if we don't, there's a problem.

God is certainly the judge. God looks on the heart. God will judge all people for what they do based on their heart and their mind. And I'm not the judge of that. And God loves all people who have His Spirit, no matter what group or organization they're a part of. And we should have the same approach. We should love all people if they chose to separate from us. We should love them regardless. We should have compassion toward them. We should care for them. We should pray for them. We should hope for the day when we all come back together in unity. Because that's what Passover is all about. We're to be unified in Christ, not divided. Although the body can function with hurting, with disease, and with amputated parts, is that the best way? I don't think so. The Church is not as effective. It's not as efficient. It is not as strong.

It's broken. It's fractured. Of course, we must learn to go on, to compensate, to do our best, and have faith that God will one day put us all back together. Humpty Dumpty couldn't do it?

God can.

Don't be the cause of spiritual disease, of pain, or amputation in the body of Christ. Don't you be a part of that. Take your part in what you add to the body seriously.

Taking the bread symbolizes that we are all a part of the body of Christ. We are a part of the body of Christ. We are a people who want to obey God. I want to obey God. I want to serve Him. I want to become more and more like Him each and every day of my life. I don't want to get further away from God. I want to be drawn closer to Him. I want to reflect His character in the way I live my life, and in the choices that I make, and in the decisions that I make. I know I am to become love as God is love. So I hurt. You know, I'm still hurting over the split that occurred a year ago. I'm hurting. I'm still hurting. You're all hurting. It's not healthy for the body.

I pray for the day when we can come back together as God's people and rejoice with God.

Taking the bread symbolizes that we are all a part of the body. And there will be other people taking unleavened bread that night.

They're still a part of the body. It's just that we're fractured.

All right, let's go on to a last lesson. One of the themes of the bread is unity. We've talked about it some. It is unity. It is a lesson that we should learn. We must continually kill the self and let Christ live in us. His love, his character, and his obedience must live in us. It must permeate us and flow out of us. Taking in the bread symbolizes that we must make sure that what we add to the body is unleavened. What you add to the body should be unleavened. That's how we will get unity. We are to become a church without spot, without wrinkle, or any such thing.

So we have to take responsibility for ourselves.

We must not add leavening to the body of Christ. We must not be responsible for leavening the body with our sin and having it leaven the whole lump. A little leaven leavens the whole loaf. So our leaven that we may feel is of little or no consequence can have devastating effects. In other words, don't take your sins lightly. There are no little sins.

All sins are big. Don't take your sins lightly. In 1 Corinthians 5, verse 6, and I'm sure we'll read this again throughout the Passover season. 1 Corinthians 5, verse 6. And you know, this was after there was immorality in the church that was being allowed in the church.

And he says to the congregation in Corinth, a church that was divided, a church that was fractured, had schisms, had cliques. He said, Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven is the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed 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. Your glorying is not good. You need to repent of your sins. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Each part must continually deleaven itself. Humility, cleansing each other and being cleansed by the blood of Christ.

Letting Christ live in us are all a part of being a piece of that unleavened bread.

Not leavened bread, but unleavened bread that we are to bring to the body of Christ.

We must put sin out of our lives, not just for the good of ourselves and our own individual families, but for the good of God's Church, so that we might become without spot or wrinkle. Without blemish. Remember, the Passover Lamb was to be without blemish. The Church is to become without blemish. The entire Passover service points to Christ. It points to humility. It points to an interconnectedness, as does the entire Holy Day season.

Humility in foot washing is an unleavened attitude.

Having no yeast, having no pride points to being unleavened.

It is cleansing each other and helping us get rid of sin.

The service is symbolized by the foot washing points again to the interconnectedness of the body. We wash one another's feet. It doesn't matter who we get in line with. We're willing to wash anyone's feet. It doesn't matter. We love each other. We're all a part of the body of Christ.

The wine points us to the sacrifice of Christ and how His blood is essential for that process.

It is preceded by the bread.

Where does it...

The bread is first. The wine is first. I'm trying to remember.

Anyway, I don't want to misspeak here, although I've done it hundreds of times. No, not hundreds, but many, many times. But the point is, just as we take the bread... Okay, we do take the bread before the wine, correct? We take the bread before the wine. We must first have the proper attitude of humility and service and a willingness to be cleansed and be a part of the body and take in Christ before we are truly cleansed. Now, all this points to Pentecost also, when you stop and think about it. What we do during Passover and days of Unleavened Bread points to Pentecost and the need we have for the Holy Spirit to be in us and thriving. They are all interconnected, both spiritually and physically, just as the spring holy days are themselves through counting Pentecost from the Sabbath within the days of Unleavened Bread. That's when we begin to count Pentecost, during the days of Unleavened Bread. We can't get to Pentecost without first having the days of Unleavened Bread, just as we can't have God's Spirit without the sacrifice of Christ in an effort to put out sin from our lives. So we do need to put sin out of our lives.

And just as the seasons are interconnected, the Passover season, the day of Pentecost, they're interconnected. So are we, as the broken pieces, to be intertwined and connected into one body, one Spirit, one faith, one Lord, and one baptism. In Ephesians 4, it says this very thing.

Ephesians 4, verse 1. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is unity when we keep the Passover the way we do. It grieves me that some are not going to be observing the Passover with us this year. It grieves my heart. I believe we should all be together, observing the Passover together. Bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. So there is unity, and we are to walk in unity. I pray for the day when we will truly live up to our name, the United Church of God. So again, as we leave talking about the bread, each piece on the tray was once a whole flat loaf, and just like a little jigsaw puzzle, we fit together as one. That's assuming that every piece was eaten. Of course, you know, the analogy breaks down, I'm sure, to some degree. But if we had just one loaf of bread, one, and we broke it up, and we all, there was enough there in one loaf, and we all ate it, it would all go back together as a jigsaw puzzle, in a sense. We are to be unified together. We're fit together as God's people and learn to become unified in our love and approach one toward another.

So, brethren, I hope you found today's sermon helpful. I hope it will help you in preparation for observing the day of pass... or the evening of the Passover, as well as keeping the days of 11 bread. Now, we could talk a lot about the days of 11 bread. In fact, I have about a couple of pages and a half or so on the days of 11 bread, which we really didn't have time to get to.

We've talked about it before. It's nothing new. I know we're all putting 11 out of our homes.

There are many lessons to be learned from putting 11 out. So, just think about it while you're putting 11 out of your homes. Think about the lessons that you should be learning.

And we'll talk more about those during the days of 11 bread. I've got some material for another sermon during the days of 11 bread. So, we'll talk more about that later. But again, I hope and pray that we will learn the lessons that we can learn from this Passover season, from the symbols and the practices Passover evening. The Passover is a time of year that is rich with meaning and purpose for all those who are willing to learn and to put into practice the lessons of the Passover season.