A Tale of Three Passovers

Well, thank you, Salem Congregational Choir for the beautiful special music. All in very fine voice.

I was reminded when I went over to drop off the stuff over there on the announcement table, there is a handout over there in case you were curious as to what is leaven. There's a little handout over there that shows some of the different little ways that they sneak leavening things into products these days in a lot of different ways. You know, it's just not as easy as just getting rid of the bread in your house. You know, you got to look at those things that can also then leaven in many ways. And there's a little list over there that allows you to kind of see what those things might be and if in case kind of brush up on it. I know it's a good thing to sometimes continually review. Well, a couple of years ago in the run-up to the 2016 election, presidential hopeful and then Ohio governor John Kasich found himself in a bit of a kosher pickle.

And some of you might have seen this story. In fact, you can find the video. I'm pretty sure it's still out on the internet and it's kind of interesting to look at. But he was out doing what hopeful politicians do. He was out, you know, shaking hands and kissing babies, basically. Rubbing elbows, visiting people in their neighborhoods, pointing at things so the cameras can see him pointing at things, nodding his head. You know, the important things that politicians do in a way of trying to get votes. But in the spring of 2016, he found himself in the Hasidic Jewish neighborhood of Boro Park in Brooklyn, New York. And while he was there, he toured a Jewish bookstore. He toured a Shmura matzah factory where they make the special matzahs for the Passover service. And they're expensive, extremely expensive matzahs. And he toured a Hasidic school. Well, following the tour of the factory that makes these Shmura matzahs, he's out there standing and he's flanked on both sides by these Hasidic Jewish officials. And, you know, everything looks great. He's got his box of very expensive matzahs in his hand. And, of course, the journalists are there and the news is there and they start interviewing him. And flanked on both sides by Hasidic Jews, he addresses the crowd that was gathered. And he says, it is a wonderful, wonderful holiday for our friends in the Jewish community. The Passover.

He then launched into a brief speech on the connections between the Passover and the blood of Jesus Christ. He was recorded as saying, the great link between the blood that was put on the doorposts, the blood of the Lamb, because Jesus Christ is known as the Lamb of God. It's His blood that we believe. And at that point, perhaps mercifully, a train went by, you know, and kind of cut off his address. And the Hasidic Jewish men, you can see it on the video. One of them just kind of looks off into space like, am I hearing what I'm hearing? Another one looks at another one and kind of goes, like, what is this guy, what is he doing, right? And Cassius seems pretty oblivious to the faux pas that he'd ultimately made. And as you can imagine, he took quite a bit of heat for his statements on that afternoon in New York, among a solely Jewish audience, you know, where he was gathered. Though, interestingly, he wasn't wrong. He was not wrong. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. The blood on the doorposts of ancient Israel, the evening of the Passover, is a type of the blood of Jesus Christ. He is 100% doctrinally correct in his statement.

However, he kind of inadvertently stumbled into this set of complications surrounding two Passovers that are listed in Scripture. And it's not hard, kind of, to see why he took the beating that he took in the media. He was roasting in the media over this. It's not hard to see why, given the fact that the majority of Christian churches today don't keep the Passover. Instead, they keep a counterfeit holiday of Easter, exchanging a biblical command for something counterfeit.

But most of what we see on the news, most of what we see on the internet, most of what we see in writings this time of year regarding the Passover, comes from a Jewish perspective.

Majority of it comes from a Jewish perspective. And sometimes we can find ourselves in this same muddy ground. We can look at examples of the Passover in ancient Israel. We can look at the examples of the New Testament Passover that we see Jesus Christ introduced to his disciples. And we can kind of look at, well, how does that compare to the Passover that we keep today in the churches of God? Sometimes we see differences. Sometimes we see similarities. You know, there's a common thread running throughout. Yet there are, as we recognize, aspects of both the Old and New Testament Passovers, which we no longer keep in the churches of God today. For example, last Passover, I did not kill a lamb and put its blood on my doorposts physically. So there's aspects of this that are different today. Passover has been on my mind quite a bit lately, not only because it's coming up in, I'm in Passover mode, but also because over the past month or so, I found myself examining a lot of questions and fielding a lot of questions on why we keep it the way that we do. Why do we do it this way and not this way? Why do we do it in this timing and not this way? Why is this service? Why do we do it in this order? Why should we have a meal? Should we not have a meal? What about the night to be much observed? Why can't our kids participate? How come they can't participate in the service?

In ancient Israel, all the circumcised males participated regardless of age. Why do we require in the church today that an individual is baptized to partake of the Passover? And so I thought, by way of review, it might not be a bad idea for us to take a look at it, the Sabbath before the Passover, to take a look at why we do what we do. What are the similarities? What are the differences between the Old Testament Passover, the New Testament Passover, and ultimately what we do today in the modern church? So I've entitled this message today a tale of three Passovers. And there is a handout with this message that will be coming out in a little while, but not yet, because as a teacher, I know the second I give you something, you're done listening to me and you're going to keep looking at this. So I know that that's how this works, so I'm going to wait until I'm ready to use it, and then we'll come back to it. Mr. Hansen's handout was a little different. That one was notes that you went along with. This is more mostly visual. Well, as we progress through the message today, we're going to focus on a brief overview of the Old Testament Passover, connect the New Testament Passover to it through its symbolism and its types, and then we're going to take a look at the differences between the two and really finish up with ways that we can answer questions that might come our way about how and why we celebrate Passover and the way that we do. The Passover itself, pisach to the Jews, is a holy day that commemorates deliverance. It is a holy day that commemorates deliverance. It memorializes liberation and freedom from oppression and bondage. We know that it was on the Passover that the Lord wrought his final plague upon the Egyptians. The Lord God, who declared the end from the beginning, made this known to Pharaoh. Let's go ahead and turn over to Exodus 11, and we'll see the words recorded that God told Moses to speak. Exodus 11, and we'll go ahead and we're going to pick it up in the latter part of chapter 10 here for some context. I think it's interesting sometimes to take a look at just how upset Pharaoh was at this point. We've reached this we've reached the point where Pharaoh kind of drew a line in the sand and said, okay, we're done here. Little did he know that God had drawn a similar line in the sand to tell him, look, we're done here. So Exodus 10, verse 27, we'll go ahead and pick it up, said, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not let them go. And then Pharaoh said to him, Get away from me, take heed to yourself and see my face no more. For in the day you see my face, you shall die. Moses said, You've spoken well, I will never see your face again. And so we have Pharaoh reached the point where basically he says, look, based on all of this stuff, based on everything that's happened, I want you out of here. In fact, I don't ever want to see you again. Ever again is too soon. And if I ever see you again, I'll have you killed. I don't know if it was from his own hand or if he would order somebody to kill him. But he just said, Look, don't come before me again, or it'll be your life.

Moses says, All right, I'll see your face again no more. But I want to stop there for a second purposefully, because I caught something on this reading that I hadn't caught before. I'd always assumed that Moses turned around and walked out right there. I'd always assumed that Moses said, Okay, fair enough. I'm out. But what does Exodus 11 say? Let's take a look at Exodus 11 verse one. The Lord said to Moses, I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. Okay, so he says, not only go ahead, but I'm going to run you out, you know, as much as possible. Get out of here. Speak now in the hearing of the people and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people. Then Moses said, Thus says the Lord, About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall ever be like it again. Verse 7, But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, Get out, and all the people who follow you, after that I will go out. What's he say next in verse 8? Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger. These words were spoken in Pharaoh's presence. The end was declared from the beginning.

Put yourself in Pharaoh's shoes and think what a night like that might feel like, after knowing that what was told to you before had all happened. It had all been followed through on. God didn't, you know, randomly say, Oh, I'm going to cause this and this and this and this, and then not follow through. But the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh will not heed you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And so Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

You know, we see God setting up this deliverance and liberation that Passover represents. Through a mighty hand and a devastating lesson for the Egyptians, a very difficult lesson for the Egyptians, the Passover symbolism is set up. God then spells out to Moses the instructions for the Israelites to ensure that they faithfully execute what it is that God's commands were. You know, this day is extremely important, and that's wrought with meaning.

It was very important for them to do it right. Exodus 12 and verse 3, as the instructions given, Exodus 12 and verse 3, says, Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the person. So it wasn't something where you had to kill a lamb, and then everybody, you know, if you're a household of two, you had to finish that lamb.

That's a lot of lamb, right? So, no, you could share it with people. You could, you know, share it with your neighbors. But take it according to the number of the persons. According to each man's needs, you shall make your count for the lamb. Verse 5, Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goat. So this wasn't something where you could look out in your field and go, you know, that one's been hobbling around for a little while.

It doesn't look good. I got to put it down. Well, and I got to do this, too. So I might as well just, you know, God said, you keep that one. I don't want that one. I want this one. I want the one that's without blemish. I want the one that means something to you if you lose it. Verse 6, Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. So this thing lived with them in their home, in their household, for a period of time.

Not in the home specifically, perhaps, but around the home, maybe in the home for a time. And they probably grew attached to it. And we just butchered some chickens in our house. My son's going to kill me for telling this story. Sorry, Aidan. But we just butchered some chickens in our house recently. And, you know, it's really hard when you grow attached to them.

And so the questions that we've been getting is like, is this one my chicken? You know, we'll see chicken in a meal and go, wait a minute, is this one mine? And he's like, he's like, adamant, I'm not going to eat it if it's my chicken. And I'm total, I can understand, I totally can understand. What's interesting, though, he'll totally eat Desmond's chicken. No problem eating Desmond's chicken whatsoever. So, but, you know, you grow attached to these sorts of things. And it's like that with the lamb in this situation.

It's just like that. You grow attached, you know, you start to you start to maybe like the lamb and pet the lamb and all that. Anyway, moral of the story.

They were instructed to select the lamb, which was a yearling lamb without blemish. It was perfect. They were told to bring it into their home for a few days. Then on the 14th day of the month of a bib at twilight, kill it. The blood of this lamb was to be painted onto the doorposts and the lintel of their home. And the door was to be closed, and it was to remain closed all night.

They were to eat of the flesh of the lamb that night, roasted with fire and with unleavened bread. They were to eat all of it, you know, as much as they possibly could, and burn anything that remained the next morning. They were to eat it dressed for travel, staff in hand, shoes on their feet. Their loins girded. Exodus 12, verse 29, Exodus 12 and verse 29, we'll go ahead and pick up the account as to what happened kind of next. Exodus 12, verse 29, says, And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the captive, who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. God acted. God followed through on what he said he would do. The final plague was poured out. There wasn't a house in Egypt where there was not at least one dead. You know, the firstborn of the cattle were dead. Didn't matter if you were rich, didn't matter if you were poor, didn't matter if you were the son of a quote-unquote God like Pharaoh. You were dead.

Pharaoh's own son, down to the very least in Egypt, God's judgment in this situation, was not a respecter of persons, and nor is it ever. The only individuals who were untouched were those who had followed God's instructions, who had painted the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and their lintels, and, as it mentions in verse 22, remained indoors until morning.

The Israelites had been delivered. They'd been redeemed, check, and made. God followed through on his promise that they would leave Egypt behind. He said, look, I'm going to take you out of here. And this was the follow-through to that promise. The Israelites plundered the Egyptians, and they left Egypt with a high hand. Integral to this Old Testament Passover are a number of types that pointed forward to the New Testament Passover observance. And they're intimately connected. The lamb is a type of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The blood of the lamb spares us from death.

Christ's sacrifice on our behalf spares us from the death penalty that we all deserve, that we've all earned. Israel's leaving of Egypt is symbolic to us as Christians leaving spiritual Egypt, leaving sin behind. It's to be a memorial, but it's not to be a memorial of Israel's experience, per se. It's instead intended to be a commemoration of the reality of Christ's sacrifice and our deliverance from our bondage to sin. The New Testament Passover, despite its many similarities and types, is different. It was open to all. All who didn't matter your birthright, didn't matter whether you were Israelite or not. It was open to all. It was available to all, provided they had committed to God through baptism. There were different emblems.

There were different foci. It was different focuses. It was under a new and different covenant. Let's go over to Luke 22 as we kind of examine this. Luke 22. The book of Luke is recorded as an attempt to provide kind of an orderly account of the events of Christ's ministry.

It goes hand in hand with the book of Acts. In fact, some of kind of referred to Luke as Acts 1 and Acts as Acts 2. But Luke 22, and we'll go ahead and begin in verse 7. Luke was a very detail-oriented physician, and the book of Luke is based on eyewitness accounts and information that he had opportunity to compile. It was written for a gentleman by the name of Theophilus.

Again, commonly considered to be paired together with the book of Acts overall. Luke 22, and we'll go ahead and begin in verse 7. Luke 22 and verse 7. Luke 22 and verse 7 says, Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. During the New Testament time, there was some description of words that went back and forth a little bit. Passover sometimes referred to the entirety of the season depending on the writer. Sometimes it referred to specifically the day of the Passover. And so in this case, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or that came the day of unleavened bread, this came the preparation day of the unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat. Christ sends two of His disciples, Peter and John, into the city of Jerusalem, with the many other hundreds of thousands of people who had gathered and who were there to go through this spring Holy Day season as well and had traveled. And as you might imagine, it would have been madness in the city of Jerusalem at these times of these pilgrimage feasts. It would have been madness as people came in for miles and miles around to come and keep the feasts in Jerusalem. And so as you might imagine, Peter and John are going, Yeah, where are we going to find a place this late in the game? I mean, where are we going to find a location here for this? Christ already had it worked out. Verse 9 of Luke 22. Verse 9 of Luke 22.

He says, So they said to him, Where do you want us to prepare? What do you want us to find? He said to them, Behold, when you've entered this city, a man will meet you, carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house which he enters. Randomly, there could be a lot of people carrying pitchers of water. But in this case, they found the right guy. Then you shall stay to the master of the house. The teacher says to you, Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? So what's really important, I think, in this particular section is Jesus Christ Himself identifies this as the Passover. He says, This is the Passover. This is what we're going to take. This is the meal that was undertaken by Jews throughout history and commemoration of their deliverance in Egypt. The meal was commanded by God next to this 12 to be done as a memorial. And by this point in time, some traditions had taken hold that were not necessarily expressed in the beginning. It had become a very ritualized meal that was very similar to what we see today in the Seder. Very similar to what we see in the Seder. In fact, Barclays talks about this in his book on Mark on page 333. It says that the setup was like this. The table itself was shaped like a square with one side open. It was low and the guests reclined on couches, resting on their left arms with their right arms free for eating. I like this. This is a great idea, by the way. Reclining on the left, able to eat with the right, seems very comfortable. Good way to eat, frankly. I think I would make more of a mess doing that, though, than I already do, so maybe not. But it says certain things were necessary, and these were the things the disciples would have to get ready. First, there was the lamb to remind them of how their houses had been protected by the badge of blood when the angel of death passed through Egypt. Two, there was the unleavened bread to remind them of the bread they had eaten in haste when they escaped from slavery. Three, there was a bowl of salt water to remind them of the tears that they had shed in Egypt and of the waters of the Red Sea through which they had miraculously passed to safety. Four, there was a collection of bitter herbs—horse radish, chicory, endive, lettuce, whorehound—to remind them of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. Five, there was a paste called caroseth, a mixture of apples, dates, pomegranates, and nuts. I'm sold. Charoseth sounds so good. To remind them of the clay in which they had to make bricks in Egypt, through it there were sticks of cinnamon—now I'm really in—to remind them of the straw with which the bricks had been made. And so all of these things had symbolism, and they all had things that were involved. Lastly, number six, there were four cups of wine. The cups contained a little more than a half a pint of wine, but three parts of—which is a lot of wine—but three parts of wine were mixed with two of water. The four cups, which were drunk at different stages of the meal, were to remind them of the four promises in Exodus 6, 6 and 7. The first, I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. Two, I will rid you of their bondage.

Three, I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. Four, I will take you to me for a people, and I will be your God. Such were the preparations which had to be made for the Passover. So when they're told to go and make the preparations, these were the preparations that they were anticipating. Every detail spoke of that great day of deliverance when God liberated his people from their bondage in Egypt. It was at that feast that he who liberated the world from sin was to sit at his last meal with his disciples. You know, we don't know with absolute certainty, we don't know with absolute certainty, whether Christ kept that Passover meal that night exactly as it's written in this.

Okay, in fact, I think you can make an argument that with the institution of the new emblems that he did not keep it in exactly the way that this was set up. We see at least in Luke's account two different cups of wine mentioned. We can speculate. I mean, we can guesstimate, but proof itself is a little bit more elusive. Again, whether he kept it exactly as custom dictated for the time or not, regardless of the preparations that needed to be made. Luke 22 in verse 12 goes on and says, then he will show you a large furnished upper room there make ready. So they went and they found it to them and they prepared the Passover. Verse 14, when the hour had come, he sat down and the 12 apostles with him. Then he said to them 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 and he gave thanks and he said, take this and divide it among yourselves for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. Suddenly the evening takes a slightly different angle. You know, it takes a slightly different angle. Disciples may have been wondering amongst themselves at that point, what exactly is he getting at here? Where's he going? Sounds a bit final. But then comes a curve ball. We see the institution of the new covenant emblems, bread and the wine. Let's go ahead and bookmark this spot, if you don't mind. We're going to come back to it. We're going to meander through a couple of other places here before we do, but we are going to come back to this. We'll read Luke 22, 19, and 20 real fast, because that's the two sections in here where those new emblems are established. Verse 19, and then he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

20, likewise, he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. Okay, so this was something that was new. This is something that was not part of the Passover itself in the disciples' eyes, and was something that shifted the fundamental nature of the Passover. No longer was this night about the physical deliverance of Israel out of the land of Egypt. It was about spiritual deliverance from sin, a type of Egypt. Christ sacrifices the Lamb of God, sacrificed for us, His body broken for us, His blood poured out for us, which reconciled us to the Father. His death gave us unparalleled access to the Father. Now, not only once a year could man come before His presence, we have constant access to the throne of God through Christ, our High Priest, and the Mediator of the new covenant. Let's go ahead and leave a bookmark here, and let's turn over to Hebrews 9. Let's turn over to Hebrews 9.

Hebrews 9, and we'll pick it up in verse 11. Hebrews 9 and verse 11.

Hebrews 9 and verse 11 reads, But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, he entered the most holy place, once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the uncleans, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Christ's sacrifice on our behalf has to work in our lives.

It has to work in our lives. We have to recognize that we were dead in our trespasses.

Our sin earned us the death penalty, and Christ took that penalty on him, and he died for us. If you want a visual, it's like we're standing at the gallows with a noose around our neck, and he walked up and loosened that noose and put it around his, and then was willing to then die on our behalf. Brethren, that death has to mean something. It has to mean something. It has to change us. It has to cleanse our conscience from dead works and propel us in service to the living God. It goes on in verse 15, Hebrews 9, verse 15, and for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant, by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Verse 16, for where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is enforced after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore, not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, you remember what he did? He took the blood of calves and goats with water, scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself, and sprinkled all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.

Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.

Verse 22, and according to the law, almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

According to the law, blood was necessary in order to cleanse sin. It had to be present. Moses sprinkled the people with it when they made their agreement. It was a way of agreeing and establishing a covenant. And according to Hebrews 9.23, for things that were copies of the heavenly things, blood of bulls and goats was enough.

But for things that were heavenly, it required a better sacrifice, a more serious sacrifice, a sacrifice that meant more.

Verse 24, For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. There, at God's right hand, interceding on our behalf, interceding on our behalf, appearing before God as our high priest, as our mediator, as a go-between. Verse 25, Not that he should offer himself often, not over and over and over and over again, as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with blood of another, he would then have to have suffered often since the foundation of the world, but now once, at the end of the ages, he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. So Christ, verse 28, was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. The death of Jesus Christ, on Nice and 14, in what we believe to be 31 A.D., changed things entirely. His institution of the new emblems changed things. Doesn't mean that the Passover doesn't have these ancient undertones. It doesn't mean that it doesn't have these types, these connections. But much like Christ magnifying and amplifying the law when he came, he took this evening of commemoration and he amplified it. He expounded on it. And this ultimately is where John Cascish found himself running a fowl a couple years ago on the way into his attempt to ascend to the presidency. The New Covenant Passover is directly connected to the Exodus Passover, but he was speaking to a group of people that don't recognize the validity of the New Covenant Passover of Jesus Christ. It's a tale of two Passovers, one steeped in tradition, in ritual, and to the Jews today, frankly, missing the spiritual application in its focus on physical deliverance of the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. The other, simple, solemn, and focused on the spiritual deliverance of God's people from their bondage to sin. So what about us? What about us today? How are we commanded to take of the Passover? What is the example that we're provided? The evening in which Christ was betrayed, he gave his disciples the following instruction. Let's go ahead and turn to John 13. You know, throughout the Gospel accounts, all four of the Gospel accounts include aspects of the evening of the Passover. Some of them include certain things and omit others. Some of them omit certain things and include others. John 13. And in this particular section, we've mentioned this before, but this is the evening in which Christ was betrayed. He only had so much time remaining. You know, his hour had almost come. He has this one last night with his disciples, and he really needed to impart a very important lesson on this evening. John 13. We'll go ahead and pick it up in verse 3.

John 13 and verse 3 says, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside his garments, took a towel and girded himself. After that, he poured water into a basin and he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. Then he came to Simon Peter, after the brash one, to Simon Peter, and Peter said to him, Lord, are you washing my feet?

Jesus answered, and he said to him, what I'm doing now you do not understand now, or what I'm doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this. Peter's response, you shall never wash my feet! Not going to happen! No way! Jesus answered him, if I do not wash you, you have no part with me. So Peter says, all right, fine, you can wash me, but here's the deal. Okay, it's kind of, I mean, this is not his exact words, but it's kind of, he's bargaining here. This is bargaining. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, so don't just do, don't, don't do this. Don't lower yourself to this point of servitude and wash my feet like some lowly servant. Give me a whole bath. Give me the whole bath. Bave me entirely. Bave me entirely, he says.

Also, my hands and my head. Verse 10, Jesus said to him, he who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean. And you are all clean, or you are clean, but not all of you. Verse 11, for he knew who would betray him, therefore he said, you are not all clean. So when he washed their feet, taken his garments, and sat down again, he said to them, do you know what I've done to you? And I would imagine at this point in time, the disciples could have pretty well honestly answered, no, no, we do not have a clue what just happened, or why you did this, or any of these things. I think they probably were pretty shell-shocked, to be honest. Verse 13, he goes on in John 13. He says, you call me teacher and Lord, and you say, well, for so I am. You know, he acknowledges, hey, I am your rabbi, and I am your master. He acknowledges it. If I then, your Lord and teacher, your master, your Messiah, your rabbi, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I've given you an example so that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who was sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. You know, this example was given to the disciples on this evening so many years ago. From what we can see scripturally, it doesn't appear that they washed each other's feet that night. It seems that Christ washed theirs, and then he continued with the lesson. It seems that way. We only have the words of Christ here that he's done this as an example, and that they should also do as he has done to them going forward from that night. So we in the churches of God, we take that as a command, that on the evening of the Passover we are to humble ourselves, and we are to wash the feet of our brethren, reflecting on the lesson that the Messiah, King of Kings, humbled himself and took on the role of a servant washing his disciples' feet. You know, additionally, I think it's interesting, if you look at the account by all intents and purposes, it appears that he washed the feet of Judas as well. He said, you're not all clean. The minute says, and he washed their feet.

He washed the feet of the man who only hours later would betray him for thirty pieces of silver.

Brethren, the example that's provided in this simple act is beautiful and sobering. It really is beautiful and sobering. Knowing that he was soon to be betrayed, he washed his feet anyway.

You know, John doesn't mention the emblems. John's account doesn't mention the emblems.

But if you turn back to the book of Luke, hopefully you kept a bookmark in Luke, Luke 22. We'll look at verses 19 and 20 again to see the emblems. Luke 22, 19 and 20, says, He took bread, He gave thanks, and 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. Likewise, He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you.

Okay? It talks about the betrayer being on the table, and they all started to ask the questions of, Well, who is it? Who is it? Who is it? Do this in remembrance of me. When we take of the emblems, we commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. We proclaim His death when we take of those emblems. And again, this is in stark contrast to the counterfeit holiday of Easter. Stark contrast, celebrated by the majority of the world around us where the focus is purely on His resurrection and a bunch of other pagan things that go along with what they think is the right—I'm sorry, it is. I was walking through the Walmart the other day in the toy aisle—or not the toy aisle, the Easter candy aisle in Walmart. Reese's Pieces now makes Reese's carrots.

Anything to sell candy, right? I mean, anyway, whatever, sorry.

Slight distraction there. But it's really sad to see what the world has done with what God intended and the counterfeiting that has occurred. It's sad. It's really sad to see that the focus is purely on His resurrection, that it's not on the fact that He died for us too. And I don't want to belittle the resurrection. That is hugely important. Hugely important. In fact, it's foundational to our faith. Don't turn there, but Romans 5, verses 9 through 10—I'll just read it here real quick. Romans 5, verses 9 through 10, much more than having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 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. His resurrection is essential. It is. It's important. It's crucial. But on the Passover, we focus on His suffering and on His death. Our part in that and the sacrifice that He made for us. He says, do this in remembrance of Me. Well, how often? I remember I went to church with a friend of mine one time after staying the night at his house, and I can't remember what denomination he was, so I apologize. But they did an every Sunday communion thing where it was the wafer and the wafer and the wine every single Sunday. Well, is that what God meant? Do it all the time. Every Sabbath we come together, we should do this. Or is it once only in our lifetime? Is it once a year? What does that look like? Well, for the answers to these questions, we have to go to the final place in Scripture where evidence and information about the Passover service is recorded, which is 1 Corinthians 11. 1 Corinthians 11, I can't say that word, I tried it twice, came out wrong both times. 1 Corinthians 11. There it is. 11.

And as we kind of move through this section in 1 Corinthians 11, we come down to, after kind of a rebuke of them regarding their behavior, he goes into in verse 23, in verse 23 of 1 Corinthians, says what he received. This is what he received from the Lord. He said, 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 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. In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. And we saw those exact words were outlined for his disciples on the evening of the Passover.

And so our understanding is that based on that, that was the timing, that was the frequency.

So on the same night that he was betrayed, he took the bread, he took the wine, he broke the bread, prayed over it, instituted the emblem, did the same with the wine, instituted the emblem. So because of all these things, because of all these locations, we decide, we commemorate the Passover on the beginning of the fourteenth of a bib at sunset. We come together in a solemn and a somber observance, commemorating and proclaiming the Lord's death and sacrifice. We wash one another's feet, humbling ourselves so that we don't take of the emblems with a sense of pride.

You know, we can't come in and somehow think that we're something great. We just have to wash somebody's feet. That should be a humbling experience for us, especially when I've got, you know, sock lint or something. It should be very humbling. But we don't take those emblems with a sense of pride. We then partake of the emblems. We take the bread and the wine, recognizing the suffering and the sacrifice that he made for you and for me. And then we sing a hymn, just as we see outlined in Scripture, like Christ and His disciples did. And from that example, we depart. So with all that established and reviewed, what about some of those questions that we set out to answer at the beginning? If I could have folks hand the handouts out at this point, I would really appreciate it. The handouts are coming around now. Hopefully. Coming around now. I apologize to fit everything on the sheet. It had to be very, very small. I have a few, very few selected blown-up versions that are a little bit bigger and maybe based on the number of blown-up versions that I get requested. I'll make more next time if I need to. But I've entitled this particular sheet a Tale of Three Passovers. And what I've tried to do is I have tried to set up a timeline that shows the Old Testament, the New Testament, and today based on the dates of a bib 14, 15, and 16, or nice in 14, 15, and 16, depending on the time frame of when it was. As you look at this, every box, every square is 1.5 hours. So as you go across, there's 24 hours between one dashed line and the next dashed line based on the number of boxes that are present. And there's plenty of copies. Enough one for everybody is fine. I've got tons of copies. I made lots. So what I tried to do with this, because in my mind I'm a very visual thinker, I have to have it lined out. I have to have it in a place where I can look at it and I can say, okay, this goes here, this goes here, and try to piece in my mind the puzzle together.

So using this, I essentially went through and tried to set up a timeline based on what I saw in Scripture for the Old Testament, for the New Testament, and then lined that up with what we do today. Okay? And so that if you go from top to bottom, Old Testament, New Testament, and then today from top to bottom on each of these days. Once again, so just so everybody's clear, the dashed lines represent sunset. So the dashed lines represent sunset, and then the Hebrew reckoning of the day, evening first, day second. Okay? So the darkened and shaded areas are the nighttime hours. The light areas with the boxes on them are daytime hours. Okay. So one of the questions that we often get, and one of the questions that comes forward on a regular basis is, should we keep the Passover on the evening of the 14th, the first part of the 14th, or should we essentially keep it the evening of the 15th? That's one of the questions that ultimately kind of comes up. And out of all of our questions that come up regularly, this is probably the one that has the most controversy in people in both directions. Okay? Relatively reasonable arguments could be made on both sides, and the timeline that I put together illustrates the way that I think the question is answered. As I look at the Scripture and as I try to piece it all together, this is the way to me that the timeline fits. And if you want to talk to me about that later, we totally can. But this is kind of the way that it fits from a timeline standpoint, and I'll try to walk us through some of that as we go through here. What I want to make clear, though, is whether or not it's 14 or 15, I'm going to tell you it's immaterial. In that regard, it's immaterial, and here's why. Because the example of Jesus Christ sets what we do today.

And so when we take a look at what Christ did, that's what sets what we do today. Okay? So immaterial in that regard, that what we do today is dependent upon what Christ did, and we can see from his example and his timeline what he did. Okay? So let's dig through this, though, just a little bit. So if you take a look at the Old Testament section here as we kind of go through this, as I look at my time to make sure I can get finished up on time here today.

The question really comes, was it done on the front end of the 14th of a bib, early on at the beginning of the 14th of a bib, or was it done later on in the afternoon hours of the 14th of a bib? Okay? Which ultimately puts the Passover meal itself on the 15th, because the Passover meal was to be eaten at night. Okay? So we see from Scripture, and we're gonna, we're gonna kind of jump through, we're gonna skip this first part real quick. We're gonna come back to it. We see that the Passover meal was eaten at night, that night, it states in Exodus 12 verse 8, the Egyptian firstborn we know were killed at midnight. Okay? We know they were killed at midnight, and we also know that the Israelites were instructed to remain in their homes until morning. They were not to leave their homes. So they did not leave Israel, or Israel, they did not leave Egypt, sorry, the night that the Pharaoh, that Pharaoh's kids were killed. They were to be in their homes until morning before they could come out. Okay? The remains of the meal had to be burned. They had to have time to collect Joseph's remains. They had to gather together by armies or divisions, as it states in a couple of locations there, which you can see. Again, I've cited all the scriptures here to look at. Exodus 12, 37 to 39, talks about 600,000 men. That is not including women and children. We're talking a number anywhere between about one to two million people gathering together to be able to process their way out. We know that the Egyptians had to bury their firstborn, that the Egyptians were spoiled, and that they were ultimately told to keep vigil on the night in which they left. If they could not have left by night, the night that Pharaoh's son was killed, then they had to have left, or had to have leave, leave left? Why can't I talk today? The grammar won't work. They had to have left—there it is—another night. We know that Israel left Egypt by night. We know that the march to Sukkoth is about—some estimates put it anywhere from eight to 20 miles.

And then we know that they camped at Sukkoth on the first day of 11 bread, essentially, according to Exodus 12, 37. Now, let's take a look at why I think it's in this particular way. Okay? If you take a look at Exodus 12 and verse 6—let's go back there real quick. Exodus 12 and verse 6.

Exodus 12 and verse 6—we read it earlier. So we took a look at the—took a look at this particular account. Exodus 12 and verse 6. Exodus 12 and verse 6 reads, Now, when you look into the Hebrew words that are used for at twilight, it's a little bit different than the word that is used for sunset, or the setting of the sun. Okay? It is the word—if you look at that particular phrase there in 12.6—it's the Hebrew word h-9-9-6, b'in, followed by a plural of h-6-1-5-3, arbu yim. So b'in-cha-arbu yim is the term used in Exodus 12.6, which essentially translates to between the settings. Between the settings is essentially what it translates to. Now, if you asked a Jew at Christ's time what that meant, they would tell you anywhere from about three in the afternoon until sundown. They would tell you that as the decline of the sun was going down, they would start the set and then they would finish the set, is what they would say, and anywhere between 3 p.m. and about 6 p.m. But, since I would much rather let Scripture explain itself, let's go ahead and turn to Exodus 16 and verse 12. Exodus 16 and verse 12, because I think God defines for us what b'in-cha-arbu yim means. Exodus 16 and verse 12.

It starts sliding around all over the place up here.

Exodus 16 and verse 12 is the account of the Israelites complaining, which, you know, it happened a lot. But in this case, this is the situation where they were complaining that they didn't have the food that they wanted, and God ultimately provides them with an incredible miracle. And they complain again that they haven't had meat, that they haven't had all these things. Well, come down to Exodus 16 and verse 12. God tells them, I've heard the complaints of the children of Israel speak to them saying, at twilight, again, this is b'in-cha-arbu yim, in other words, between the settings. So speak to them saying, between the settings, you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God. Okay, well, that could be anywhere from 3 p.m. to 6, right? According to the Jewish reckoning. Except for verse 13. Verse 13, so it was that quails came up at evening. This case is a different word. This is at sunset. This means specifically at sunset was when the quails arrived. So in this situation, it says, the quails came at sunset, but God just got done saying, between the settings, you shall eat quail. They couldn't have done that if they weren't there. It has to be some of the interpretations of ben-cha-arbu yim are between the setting of the sun and complete darkness, which is that little sliver on the front part of a bib14 that you can see right there. Okay, so in addition, timeline was that ends up working out according to the timeline. If you do it another way, if you end up killing the Passover lamb at 3 p.m. in the afternoon on a bib14, you eat the meal that evening. Passover occurs.

All the other things have to happen the next day. That means they're not leaving Egypt until the night of a bib16, which scripturally isn't correct. They left on a bib14 in the evening or bib15, I'm sorry, in the evening hours. So from an Old Testament standpoint, this is what we're looking at. Now, again, arguments can be made the other way, and trust me, they are. You could look anywhere online. There is arguments made until the cows come home, one way or the other. The reality of it is, though, we see Christ's example, and we see that Christ's example was prior to the early part of a bib14, is what we see Christ's example, which is why, as you go down that line there, you see that our modern Passover service lines up with the New Testament. Personally, I think it also lines up with Passover in the Old Testament. I personally think that we're right on just boom, boom, boom, boom down the line. Some will disagree, but I personally think that scriptural evidence shows that. So we keep the Passover at the same time that we believe Christ kept it with His disciples. Should we have a meal? Should we have a meal? Ain't you Israel had a meal? Jesus and His disciples had a meal? What about us? Should we have a meal? Well, Luke 22 and verse 20 seems to insinuate. If you go to Luke 22, Luke 22 and verse 20, hopefully you kept a bookmark in there. I didn't.

Sorry. There we go. Luke 22 and verse 20.

Luke 22 and verse 20 says, Likewise, He took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. So we see in a situation here with Luke 22.20, the emblems were instituted after supper was over or as the main part of the meal was done. Now, there are conflictions there as well. There are situations where the Greek is maybe a little bit more descriptive in other ways.

But I think what's really helpful to look at in this is Paul's commands in 1 Corinthians. So let's go over to 1 Corinthians 11 real fast. Because again, in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul is taking them to task over their behavior and over their conduct. And he says in Luke, sorry, in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 22, kind of building up to it, he said, verse 20, Therefore, when you come together in one place, it's not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others, and one is hungry, and another is drunk. Verse 22, What? Don't you have houses to eat and drink in? Don't you have homes 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? I do not praise you. And then he jumps into, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that on the same night the Lord Jesus was betrayed, took bread, and on goes the account. Okay. He goes on to tell them, Look, here's what I received. The same night that he was sacrificed, he blessed me, broke bread, blessed and drank wine, established the new emblems. He admonishes them, Eat at home, and then describes the service. So as a result of that, we don't believe that a meal is a requirement for a Passover today, that instead you come together for the emblems, and then we go home. We sing a hymn and we go home. So how does the night-to-be-much-observed factor in? Well, Exodus 12, verse 42. Exodus 12 and verse 42.

Exodus 12 and verse 42. Described this evening, describes the night to be much remembered, or the night to be much observed, as we've often called it, over the years.

Verse 41, It came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, on that very same day, this is verse 41, It came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. All the people in their divisions left the land of Egypt. Verse 42, It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, as solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. Again, looking at the timeline, A BIB 15, which is the night after we keep the Passover, and leading into the ultimately leading into the first day of unleavened bread.

So we look at this, though, okay, so we're not children of Israel, so do we have to keep this? This is something, you know, it says very specifically, this is to be a commemoration of a miracle that God had wrought. And there's a miracle that's been wrought in our own lives as well, that we have been brought out of the bondage of sin, that we have been brought out of the bondage of sin. And so, yeah, it takes on a different aspect for us a little bit as we look at it. We're focusing less on the physical aspects of things, though it's interesting, and I sometimes you commemorate that, and you read scriptures about the Exodus and some of those different things. But in addition to that, the focus is really on the spiritual deliverance from sin, all the while, again, commemorating that miracle that God had wrought for the nation of Israel. So we get together on this night, the night that Israel departed Egypt, we share a meal, and we fellowship in order to usher in the first day of unleavened bread. Okay, well, what about the order of the service? What was the order of the service? How should we do that? Well, scripturally, it's kind of honestly difficult to discern the exact order from Scripture.

John's account that mentions the foot-washing doesn't specifically mention the emblems. All the other accounts that mention the emblems don't mention the foot-washing specifically. You can speculate based on the timing of Judas's departure. You can speculate on the Greek. I actually asked somebody that knows a whole lot more about Greeks than me about the Greek words in these sections, and they said, honestly, they're kind of inconclusive. I went, well, okay. So, the moral of the story is it's uncertain. You can't prove it 100% either way. So, as a result, the decision was made to start with the foot-washing, because we know that it was done on the evening. We know that there were feet washed. We know that there were emblems taken. So, the decision was made to begin with the foot-washing, so that an individual be in the proper frame of mind to then take the emblems. Because otherwise, if you did them in reverse, someone could come in and take the emblems and bail. I mean, they probably wouldn't, but people could if you did them in reverse. So, we believe that the foot-washing comes first, because it puts us in a proper frame of mind, gives us the humble frame of mind to take of the emblems and to understand what it is that we're doing. So, the last question and the last thing that we'll look at here before we conclude today is, should children or un-baptized individuals be allowed to participate? So, should children be allowed to participate or un-baptized individuals? Well, we see in Scripture in Exodus 12, which I'm still in. Hopefully you are as well, because that'll save us the time for flipping. Exodus 12, verses 43 to 51, gives us the regulations of the Passover ceremony as it was described to Moses, and then ultimately then described to the people of Israel. Let's go ahead and turn over there and read through it. So, Exodus 12, verses 43 through 51.

Exodus 12, verse 43. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, this is the ordinance of the Passover, 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. A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.

In one house it shall be eaten. You shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. 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. One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you. Thus all the children of Israel did, and the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. And it came to pass on that very same day that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies. Okay, so at that time God had a covenant with the entire nation of Israel, had a covenant with a national covenant with the entire nation of Israel, made up by individuals, made up by, you know, individuals who had chosen to become circumcised, and any of those foreigners that chose to be part of the nation of Israel through the physical act of circumcision. Today we recognize God does not have a covenant with us as a physical nation. He doesn't have a covenant with us as a physical nation. We're born in the church that does not automatically bear us into the body of Christ. It does not automatically bear us into the family of God. Now, are we being called as children? Yeah, absolutely. But they're going to have to make that decision as kids. They're going to have to decide whether or not this is the life that they want to lead, whether or not they're willing to make that commitment to God. As we look through Scripture in the New Testament, we see that physical circumcision as a covenant with God was not a requirement of the believers that were grafted in. The Gentiles did not have to physically circumcise themselves to become a part of the church of God. Romans 2, verse 29, we'll go ahead and turn there as our last Scripture today. Romans 2, verse 29 helps to establish the connection. Romans 2 and verse 29 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 of God. Romans 2, 29 connects the concept of circumcision of the heart to being of the spirit. The spirit is not dwelling in a believer until baptism.

So baptism precedes the circumcision of the heart. And until a person has committed to God and become a part of the Israel of God, the spiritual Israel, the body of Christ, we believe that they are considered as a foreigner, quote-unquote—okay, I'm not trying to say that to be rude in any way—but we are considering them to be a foreigner, quote-unquote, in that regard until they commit to baptism, until they enter into that covenant with God, and until they are part of the Israel of God.

It is not based on birthright. It's not based on birthright. It's based on decision. So therefore, it is our practice and has been our practice for years that individuals who are not baptized, while they may come and observe the ceremony, are not to partake of the emblems of the bread and the wine. So I hope that this helps. I hope this helps understand why we do what we do, why we keep the Passover today in the way that we do, and helps to assure you that we're keeping it in accordance with what we see in Scripture. I hope you all have a very enriching Passover and Spring Holy Day season.