Why, When, and How to Observe the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread

Brethren, we observe God's annual holidays, all seven of them, of course, and we know, as we observe them, that they remind us of God's plan of salvation. I really appreciate the sermonette when, in the sermonette, Mr. Step mentioned how really what we desire is to be in God's family. That really touches my heart, and I think it touches all our hearts, because it's that relationship that God wants with us. And that is so important. That's what we desire the most. And to be that, God has outlined a plan of salvation, which is summarized, basically, or highlighted with the key stepping stones with the Holy Days. And now, at this time of the year, we are again beginning that festival season, that annual festival season, with the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. As we look at the situation and then we live in, at the time that we live in, when I listen to the news, brethren, I actually don't get much joy. It really, it really saddens me to hear some of the decisions and some of the things that are being done around the world by different leaders. It really saddens me. And we are clearly stacking up a big catastrophic series of events that we, mankind, have created them. But for God's intervention, there would be no hope.

And so the situation we live in is very serious. And it's so serious, you're going to reach a point that God's work will be destroyed. Turn with me to Daniel 12, verse 7. Right at the end of verse 7, there's a very sober statement that I just want to read that to you as a reminder, because it says, a very sober statement. And at the end of that verse, verse 7 says, and I'm reading into the text because it's giving a series of times, but it says, when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered.

This statement, it gives me goose pimples because the depth of the significance of this statement is just enormous. Because it says the power of the holy people has been completely shattered. That's as it reads in the New King James Version.

Now, what is the holy people? I think prophetically it could very well be, and I believe it is dual, physical and spiritual. And I think the physical people, or not I think, we all know the physical people being Israel, the sons of Abram, Isaac and Jacob, the descendants. And indeed, these nations have had, over the last 200 years, great power. And because of that, God's work, and in fact, the Bible has been distributed in many languages. Even not just from people in God's church, but the Bible has gone out. God's Word has gone out. But the spiritual significance of it is that the holy people is the church of the living God, that spiritual organism.

And we have a little power. A door has been opened to do the work around the world. But the implication is, if it's dual, which I believe it is, that means that when the physical nations will lose their power, completely shattered, and therefore, spiritual Israel, the church of God, will not be able to do its spiritual work. So its power will be completely shattered. So it's Icedietus dual. Now, that is very, very... what is the word? Terrible to think about. And if you just turn a few pages ahead into Amos chapter 8 verse 11. Daniel's age, or Amos 8 verse 11. And says, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord of Lord God, that I will send a famine on the land. A famine on the land, but not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of yearning the words of the Eternal, of the Lord. Now, it does not say of reading, because the Bible is everywhere, and people can read. But O yearning means that the Gospel will not be able to be preached. And there's going to be a time when the power of the holy people will be shattered, and this work will not be able to be done as it's done today.

And therefore, you and I know, as it reads in Matthew 24, 14, that we've got to preach the Gospel as a witness to the whole world, and then the end will come. So the Gospel is being preached to the whole world, to the whole world, brethren. I'm involved. God has put me into a position to serve in the Portuguese area.

This week, Mr. Aaron Booth came to me. He looks at responses on the Internet and things like that. I think it was Monday or Tuesday. No, it wasn't Tuesday because I was elsewhere. But maybe it was Wednesday. He came to me and said, Do you know that this specific Portuguese website link article has the most number of people looking at it at this moment than all the other articles of UCG in all other languages.

And he said, and not only that, two Portuguese articles are amongst top ten being most watched now on the website around the world. It's amazing what they can track, but it just shows, brethren, that the work is being done in many other languages.

And if this door is closed by the enemy, by Satan, then the Gospel will not be preached around the world. And you know it's so easy to stop the Internet. Maybe it's not, you think, but it is. All you have is to shoot down a couple of satellites or whatever it is, or close down a few servers and things like that, and bang!

So, we live in very serious situations. And now, as we are starting a new season of annual Holy Days, which basically paid to us a great hope of being in the family of God. It is really right for us to really take a bit of time and consider why, why we keep God's only days. You know, it was particularly now, as we get to the past seven and eleven bread, by what authority do we keep them? By what authority? And how to observe them? And so, let's look at these by starting first by seeing who has the authority to tell you and I to keep God's holy days and how?

You see, because you look at the world and it says, oh well, we keep these other holy days. In fact, I was reading a review on the Sabbath booklet because we are reprinting it in Portuguese and we are just doing some autographic corrections, you know, on the previous version. And I was reading and there was a section about, for instance, that the Catholic Church says that nowhere the Christians can find in the Bible. And that was an instruction to change the Sabbath to Sunday. I mean, they plainly openly admit, say that, right? And then they say, but we changed it. And the mere fact that everybody else is doing it, they're just following us. But the point that kind of struck me when I was reading the translation, it was as part of that article on the Sabbath article, it says, mankind believes, therefore, that they have the authority to change what God told us to do. You see, God tells us to do something, but we, mankind, have the authority to change it to something else. In other words, we are saying that man's leaders have greater authority than God. Think about it. Wow! I mean, I've never thought it to this point, but it's actually in the booklet saying that, but I've never kind of... That struck me to say that. I mean, to read and extract that meaning. But it's true. So let's look at Leviticus 23 to see where we get authority to keep God's Holy Days. And you and I have gone through these, so a lot of the scriptures I'm going through today, and scriptures we've covered before, and all that you have studied before, so there's nothing new, but it's good to do a revision and come in with a slightly different angle. And it says, And the Lord spoke to Moses, starting in verse 1, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, The Feast of the Lord.

And what's the Feast of Day? You know, people today say, No, these are the feasts of the Jews. But that's not what the Bible says. They are the feasts of God. Sure, the Jews are the only ones that are keeping them today, but God gave them to mankind. And it says that you will proclaim to be holy convocations. What is a convocation? Convocation is a meeting. Now, some of you work or have worked at companies, and you know, you work for, say, for an enterprise, for a company, and your boss comes to you and says, Tomorrow, which is XYZ, let's say, for instance, next Wednesday, whatever, we're having a team meeting at this time.

And you as an employee, what are you going to tell him? No, I'm not going to go, because I decide to have my team meeting on the following day.

Do you think your boss is going to be happy with you? Of course not. You see, that's a convocation. That's a meeting. A convocation is a meeting. So God has appointed a meeting, a fixed time period, for us to have a meeting with him. But it's not only a convocation, it was a meeting. It's not only an assembly. It was that we ought to assemble. We can say, Oh, well, now I'll just have the meeting at home. You all have there with the boss, but I'll stay around in my pajamas. Of course, you can't do that, unless maybe today people have work from home, and they have webcasts and things like that. But the point is, you don't do that. But it's not just a convocation. It's a holy convocation. And it's holy because God has set it apart as holy. It's a holy convocation. So we have, God spoke directly. We have a message from God Himself, yes, from the Father through the Word that spoke to us. From the Father is an instruction, a command from the Father through the Word. It's a feast. It's an appointed time. In other words, it's Moed, the Hebrew there, for appointed time. It's a convocation. In other words, it's a sacred assembly, and it's holy because God is there. And therefore, God has the authority to do this. So by what authority do we keep the Holy Days? By God's authority. And then, in the New Testament, we read in Colossians 2, verse 16 and 17.

In Colossians 2, verse 16 and 17, Yaphol is writing to the Colossians in Colossae, which are Gentiles, not Hebrews, and He's saying to them, let no man judge you. Let no man tell you what to do. As far as what you eat or drink or regarding keeping the festivals. You know, it's God's Holy Days or a new moon, which the only new moon that falls on the Holy Days is the Day of Trumpets. So the new moon, which is the Day of Trumpets, or the Sabbath. In other words, the annual Holy Days, not the Sabbath, the Sabbath, plural. Let no man post judgment on you regarding that. Why? Because these days are a shadow of things to come. They point to God's plan of salvation. But the body of Christ.

And you can see that in some Bibles it says the substance, but it has a literal translation, which is body. And the word is in Artelics, which is not in the original, so therefore, but the body of Christ. The Church of God. So let nobody tell you what to do as far as God's Holy Days, but God's Church. And what does God's Church do under the inspiration of God's leadership and through his ministers, through God's Holy Spirit, through the Christ being the Head?

We are to obey God's commandments. And that's it. So, who does the authority tell us to keep the Holy Days? God. Through his leadership. He tells us to do that. So, that is the first question I ask. So the second one is, now let's look at how to observe and look at it in a little bit more detail about these Holy Days. And we will start with the possible. So first, let's look at how it started in Exodus 12. And so, in Exodus 12, we have the instruction to the Jews.

Well, I have to use the wrong word. To the Israelites. Because the Israelites teach people to keep the possible before Mount Sinai, before the Old Covenant. Because the Old Covenant came later. The Old Covenant came when they got together, most probably, we believe, during Pentecost, when they received the Ten Commandments. And the Old Covenant was sealed. This was before the Old Covenant.

And, yeah, in Exodus 12, you know that they already had nine plagues. So now the time came for the tenth plague. And you know very well the story about the firstborn of Egypt dying. Not only just the firstborn of people, but the firstborn of capital as well. So, here's the story. He says, well, this month shall be your first month. So, maybe to the Egyptians that was the sixth month or the seventh month, or whatever it was.

He says, no, it's no more that month. It's now the first month, this month. Okay, fine. So, it says, and on the tenth day, you'll take the slam. You keep it separate. So, on the tenth day, you are to separate, put the slam apart that you read in verse 3.

And then it says, you keep it from the tenth day. You keep it separate, nicely separate, until when? Until the fourteenth day. You can read that on verse 6, until the fourteenth day. Now, in God's way of counting, when do you start a day? You and I know it's a sunset, right? So, you separate the slam, and you keep it until the fourteenth day. Once the fourteenth day starts, in other words, after sunset. That's when we get that, which is called twilight. You know, when it's kind of, you still see, but it's not pitch dark yet, but the sun has already set.

It's that twilight. At that moment, you're to kill that lamb, and you're to take the blood, as it says, look in verse 6, until the fourteenth day of that month, and then you'll kill a twilight. And then, they'll take the blood, verse 7, and put it on the two doorposts, and on the lintel of the houses where they eat. So, on the door, you put it on the side, and at the top, you put this blood.

Right. And you know the story, and it says, and then, they shall eat the flesh that night, roasted in fire, with a leavened bread. Now, the days of a leavened bread have not started yet, but they were to eat that with unleavened bread. And we'll come to it. Why? Later, in a moment. And you already probably know why. But, we'll come to it a little later. But, they went to do that, and they were not to leave anything behind. And it says in verse 12, it says, For I'll pass through the land in Egypt at night, and I'll strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

So, in the middle of that night, and we know it's at midnight, well, maybe you have it in the same page, in chapter 11, verse 4, it says it's at midnight. And you can go on the same chapter, round about, let's have a look, verse 29. Yeah, verse 29. And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. So, you can see, let's go back through the sequence very clearly.

On the 10th, they put the lamb aside. As the 14th started, after sunset, they were to kill it, they were to put the blood on the door. And at midnight, the Lord would pass over. The passover is actually when the Lord passes over, right? And it will be at midnight, on the 14th. The Lord's passover is the 14th, at midnight. And then, it reads a little bit further, yeah?

And it says in verse 22, at the end of verse 22, And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.

So, they stayed in a house until the morning. I bet they did. I mean, after seeing all those nine plates and seeing the firstborn dying, I am not going to dare get out of my house. And look at verse 28.

This is a very unique situation when they abide. When they abide, because quite often they were disobedient. But now, they obey. So, what do they obey? They put the lamb out, separated it on the 10th. As soon as sunset, the 14th, came, they killed it at that twilight, where there was still a little bit of light. Then, they put the blood on the door posts and on the lintel. Then, they ate it, roasted, in other words, barbecued. It was not broiled. It was not something that was roasted in the fire. It was a barbecue, in other words. Then, they went out to leave the house until the morning, and at midnight, the Lord passed over. That all is still on the 14th.

That all is still on the 14th. Look at Leviticus 23 verse 5. Leviticus 23 verse 5. You may want to keep a note or a marker on Exodus, because we might be going there a few more times, if I remember correctly. We're going to go there Exodus 12 a few more times. So, keep a tab of that. But let's look at Leviticus 23 verse 5. Leviticus 23 verse 5, it says, So, from twilight onwards is the Lord's Passover. That's the 14th. That day. And we know it was at midnight that the Lord actually passed over their house, because they had the blood. But the houses that did not have the blood, the firstborn were killed.

That's very clear. Now, let's look at Jesus Christ's example. And then we're going to follow up on Matthew 26. Matthew 26. Matthew 26.

And he says in verse 2, You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Now, this is very important for us to understand.

The Passover is coming up. And what he's saying is, it is the Passover. And on that day, the Son of Man will be delivered. In other words, He will be betrayed, will be delivered, and He will be crucified. All on that day of the Passover.

Okay? So, we read a little bit further in verse 17. He says in verse 17, Now the first day, now the word day is in italics, which means not in the original. So, it's the first of, and the word feast is also in italics. So, he says, on the first of the unleavened bread. What do you mean the first of unleavened bread? Now, it's, you have to be practicing unleavened bread to understand it. Really. You have to be practicing to understand. For instance, at the home office, a few weeks before the days of the unleavened bread, they give you a schedule of by when you have to deliver your office, and by when you have to have the rubbish out, because the utility trucks, whatever it is, are coming on XYZ to take the rubbish from outside, and therefore, you have to have everything out of your office into that container, and all the vacuum cleaners, empty, etc., etc., by a certain date, so that the utility takes it out, so it's not anymore at the home office.

But that is not done on the first day of unleavened bread. That's done before. Do you follow that? You probably do that in your homes, too. That's why I say you have to practice it to understand it. When you understand it, you understand that in that society, they have to take the leaven out of a city before the first day of unleavened bread. Therefore, they probably had a schedule or a time typo that said, when the first of unleavened bread comes, that means when the first day you're going to have it all out, so the utility company of Jerusalem or whatever it is, can actually take it to whatever they had to burn it, get all burned. So, you see, they had to have a way of doing this. It's just kind of logical if you practice it, you love it. And so that's what happened. And that time they came, so it was not yet the days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but they had some sort of a local municipal or city schedule that they had to do something. That's what we can reasonably assume from this. And therefore, they came to Jesus saying, where do you want us to prepare the Passover?

You see, when you practice it, then it starts making sense. It starts actually being logical. And it says, in other words, it's not that you had the days of Unleavened Bread first, and then the Passover is somewhere in the middle of the days of Unleavened Bread, no. But they had to take all the leaven out, so for that city, timetable, whatever it is, they already had all the leaven out. And then they said, right, where do you want us to prepare the Passover? Because they had taken all the leaven out. And then Jesus said, going to the city to a certain man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is at hand, I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. Now, there's two points here to underline. Number one, people say, some people say, oh no, Christ could not keep the Passover because he had to do it before he died, before he kept another meal just a little bit early. But after all, it says here, Christ says, I will keep the Passover. So Christ kept that Passover. It was not another meal, like some people say. Secondly, another important point, nobody questioned that, hey, you're keeping it on the wrong day. Because they all accepted that as being the right corrector.

There was no question, he said, no, no, no, you got the wrong day. They all knew when it was. There was no instruction, he says, well, we're going to do it one day earlier or anything. No. So they all knew it. So the disciples did, there's Jesus, they directed them, and they prepared the Passover. What do you mean? They prepared the hall, they prepared the tables, the chairs, everything. Just like you and I do before sunset. Probably on the 13th of Nisana, the day before, because Passover was at the beginning of the sunset on the 14th, so they prepared it on the 13th. They had everything prepared, laid out. Okay. So they prepared a Passover. When evening came, that means sunset. After sunset, when evening came, then they sat and took the Passover, that was on the 14th, after sunset, when evening came.

So we'll just continue on. And then we read a bit later that then, in verse 26, 27, 28, then he introduced the symbols, which we'll go into a little later. We'll discuss that a little later. But the point that I want to show you is, yeah, an important sequence. I want to highlight an important sequence that he introduced the symbols. You can see that in verse 26, 27, 28, he introduced the symbols of the bread and the blood. And then, in verse 31, he says, All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. And you know the situation. Peter said, No, not me. No, not me. You remember that. You remember the story. Now, when did Peter say, No, not me? Was after, remember, it was after they had changed, or Christ had instituted new symbols of bread and wine. Can you see that? There's a sequence here. He instituted the symbols of bread and wine, and then Peter says, No, not me. And Christ says, You're going to deny me three times. You know that. And then he denied him three times during that night.

And then we have the situation in the morning. You can read that, for instance, in John 18, verse 25. John 18, verse 25.

John 18, verse 25. Keep your finger there in Matthew, because you're going to come back to it. John 18, verse 25. It says, Now Simon Peter stood and warned himself. Therefore, they said to him, You are not also one of his disciples, are you? And he denied it and said, No, I'm not. And then you see in verse 27, and the rooster crowed. And then they led Christ, and it was early morning. So it was that night. So you can see the sequence. They, Christ kept the Passover. He then introduced new symbols. Then there was the story about Peter saying, Ah, not me. And he says, Well, you're going to deny me three times. Then Jesus was betrayed. Then Peter did deny you three times. And then we roost the crowed, and then he's kind of coming into the morning. All of this is still on the 14th. See, all of this is still on the 14th. So let's go back to where you were in Matthew 26. And I want to show you an interesting thing you may have not noticed. So Matthew 26, verse 28.

Let's just have a look. No, no, no. Sorry. It's not Matthew 26. We're back in John. It's John 18, verse 26. So we're back in John. So let's go back to John. Sorry. My fault. John 18, we read verse 25.

Ah, yeah, verse 28. Sorry. Verse 28. John 18, verse 28. John 18, verse 28. Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled. The Jews, the community, did not go in. This is early in the morning of the 14th, and it says, But lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.

Strange, isn't it? The Jews had not yet eaten the Passover. What do we have? We have two acts which were deemed or by colloquialism that they were eating the Passover. One, they were eating privately in their homes, according to the commandment. Then, in the afternoon, they sacrificed lands, and then they had what we nowadays call the night to be much remembered, a meal. They had a meal which they then started calling it the Passover, colloquialism. And indeed today, the Jews, a lot of Jews keep the Passover on the 15th. And you can see where the difference is right here already.

When Christ said, I'm going to keep the Passover with you, nobody questioned it. Because they were keeping it privately in their homes, according to the commandment. But the community, as a society, they were doing something also as a group on the following night. Can you see? This is where today people bring, but they were keeping the Passover on the following night after Christ had done this.

But it's because, it's like today, the Jews keep the Passover on the 15th, not on the 14th. And they are already doing that, but Christ did not do that. Christ kept it on the 14th as per commandment. Can you see that? It's an important point to actually see that Jesus kept the Passover on the 14th. And you and I are to do and imitate Christ. Look at John chapter 19, just one chapter ahead. Verse 19, verse 14. And it says, Now it was the preparation day of the Passover, and by the ninth hour, and he said to the Jews, Behold your king.

About the sixth hour, I beg your pardon, the sixth hour. It was six in the morning, and he says, Yeah, he's your king. And they cried away with him and crucified him. But remember, Christ had already taken the Passover, but now he has been betrayed, and now he's going to be taken to be crucified, also still on the 14th. It's important for us to understand. And then, there was the preparation day, because it was going to be a Sabbath. The 15th, the next day, the first day of the 11th bread, would be a Sabbath, which was a high day.

As you can see, for instance, in verse 31, of John 19, verse 31, says, Now because it was a preparation day, that the body should not remain on the cross, on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day. It was an annual Sabbath. It was an annual Sabbath, which in that case was on a Thursday, or sunset, the night before. And then look at verse 42, and it says, verse 42, And there they lay Jesus, because of the Jews' preparation day, for the tomb was nearby.

So what do we have here on the 14th? Look at the chronology of what happens on the 14th. On the 14th, they get together with Christ, they eat a Passover, Christ changes the symbols, they talk, and then Peter denies, says, No, I'll never leave you.

But then Christ is betrayed, all still in that night of the 14th, Christ is betrayed. Then, in the morning, he ends up being crucified. At three o'clock, actually about three o'clock, he dies on the stake. And then, sometimes just before sunset, it says, yeah, they lay Jesus, verse 42, because the tomb was nearby. So they lay Him there, still before sunset, also on the 14th. So everything on the 14th, there is Him taking the Passover, there is Him eating the meal, changing the symbols, being betrayed, Peter denying in three times, the cock crowing early in the morning, and then He is crucified, He dies, and then He is putting the tomb, too, all in one day from sunset to sunset.

Can you see that? All in one day, a very clear sequence there. Now, there is one thing that Jesus did do additional, that is important for us to remember, is that He introduced, so He instituted, a new ceremony, which is the foot washing, which was not kept by the Jews before.

So let's look at that, which is in John chapter 13. John chapter 13. We're going to start reading in verse 1. Now, before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that it was His hour had come, that He would should depart from this world, to the Father, having loved His own, and then He loved them, and supper being ended. So now, before the Feast of the Passover, in other words, it's a colloquialism, because it was before the days of 11 bread.

It's like I say, I go to Brazil for Passover, but it's not just a Passover. I go for Passover and 11 bread for the Passover season. But, you know, they're just using that. It was before the Feast. The Feast day is actually the 15th, but that whole period. But now, as we saw in the sequence, on the 14th at night, Christ ate the Passover.

Now, look at verse 2, and supper being ended. Now, this is important. This is important. That's the supper being the seder, the actual Old Testament Passover ceremony.

So, they sat at the table, and they add the Old Testament Passover ceremony. But, you know, it's like if you have friends at home, you have your meal, and you sit at the table, you have a meal, and the meal is finished, but you still sit at the table and talk. And maybe you still nibble a bit of bread, or whatever it is, or have some things to talk about. What Kathy and I, my wife always does is, we have a little bread that she makes, and we have a little bit of olive oil, and we dip the bread in olive oil. So, instead of using butter, we dip that. It's very traditional, probably of this time, they did something like that. They dip the bread in a little bowl with olive oil, and it's actually delicious. I don't know if you've tried that. It really is delicious. So, but they were sitting at the table, but supper was ended. And it was the meal, the main meal, the Old Testament, or the Old Covenant, Passover, had been fulfilled. In other words, they had eaten that meal. And the devil already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot's Simon's son to be trained. 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 gooded himself, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel. Two important acts. One is washing the other, one is wiping. Very important. Sometimes we don't think about the significance of wiping as well. So it is an important point. But anyway, so, and then he did that, and then Peter's, and you know the story, Peter says, now, and then, okay, fine, okay, then wash my whole body, and he says, now, now, if your feet are clean and all that. But the point I want to mention to you is, look at it in verse 10. And Jesus said to him, this is to Peter, he who is birthed needs only to wash his feet, but he's completely clean, and you are clean, but not all of you. What do you mean by not all of you? Because Judas was there. Christ washed Judas's feet.

And now let's go on reading in verse 18. I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I've chosen, but the Scripture, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.

Who is eating bread with him? It's Judas. And he has lifted up his heel against me. In other words, he is betraying Christ. And look at verse 21. Now when Jesus had said these things, he was troubled in spirit and testified and said, Most assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray me. That's Judas.

Now look at verse 25. And then leaning back on Jesus, that's the apostle that loved him and and Simon Peter, and they were there. And then he says, Lord, who is it? And then Jesus answered, It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. So you can just imagine the scene. We're all sitting at the table and we're eating bread and dipping bread in the bowl. You know, say, when he says I dip and somebody else dips it, you know, and in another scripture says, He will dip it with me. So Christ dips his hand with him. They both dip it. But in this scripture says, He then Christ took his own bread and says, Well, take, take mine. See, it's not a contradiction. He's one. He's adding to it. He says, Well, take mine. And he gave it to him. So he said, OK, thank you. And he ate it. And having dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas, his chariot, the son of Simon.

Now, after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, What you do, do it quickly.

But no one on the table knew for what reason Christ said this to him, to Judas. For some thought, because he had money, but he's going to do something else. Verse 30, But receiving the piece of bread, that's Judas, he then went out immediately. And it was night. See, it was already past twilight. It was already dark. He had eaten the meal. He was already alive. Then Christ gave him the piece of bread. And immediately he left. This is an important point to understand the sequence. It's very important to understand the sequence, because what we have is Judas feet were washed by Christ. After that, they went and sat down. They talked a little bit more. They dipped bread. And then Christ gives Judas some bread. And then Judas leaves. It's important for us to understand that.

Now let's go back to Matthew 26. Matthew 26, verse 20. Matthew 26, verse 20.

Matthew 26, verse 20. When evening had come, he sat down with the twelve.

Now, as they were eating, he said, Surely I say to you, one of you will betray me.

When was this happened?

You know this, what happened after the food washing.

See, they were eating. They were sitting at the table. They were still nibbling. The main kneeler finished.

But this discussion about, you know, one of you is going to betray me is after the food washing. Clear? We saw that. And as they were eating sorrowful, and each one of them began to say, Is it I? Is it me? And then he also said, He who ducked his hand with me in the dish will betray me. So he that put his hand in the dish, at the same time as Christ puts his hand in the dish, will betray me. And then we see that in John he said, Christ then took his own piece of bread and gave it to Judas. See, they're not contradicting. They're just adding two things that happened. And the Son of Man indeed goes just as it's written of him, but woe to that man in whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas was betraying him, said, Rabbi, is it I? Is it me? And he said to him, You said it.

And that's right. And then that's probably when he gave him the piece of bread, and then he took it, and he left immediately. Then, after that, because we know after this Judas left immediately, then, verse 26, And as they were eating, yeah, they were nibbling this piece of bread. After the mind severed, the mind completely completed, but they were still eating, they were eating. Jesus took bread, blessed it, and broke it. And then he says he took the cup, and he says, Okay, thanks, and gave it to them, say, drink. So, after that, he then introduces the symbols of the new covenant, Passover. So, we have a sequence. At the meal, they had the Old Testament Passover. When that was finished, Christ then introduced the new covenant symbolism. First, the foot washing, then Judas left, then introduced the bread and the wine. And Judas did not partake of the bread and the wine.

So, that's important for us to understand the sequence. So, what is it a meaning for us today? First, Christ is our Passover. 1 Corinthians 5 and 7, Christ is our Passover. But look at 1 Corinthians 11. This is very important. 1 Corinthians 11. I come across a lot of people, and they say, Oh well, we're going to have the Lord's supper.

Read with me in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 20. Now, starting in verse 17, it says, I do not praise you. There are divisions, and there will be divisions amongst you. But then in verse 20 it says, Therefore, when you come together in one place, Now, he's talking about the Passover ceremony. He says, It is not to eat the Lord's supper.

It is not to eat the Lord's supper. When I hear people saying, Well, we're going to have the Lord's supper. It cringes to me, because Paul says, Yeah, clearly, it is not to eat the Lord's supper. Why? Because that supper was ended. That is an old covenant symbolism. The new covenant symbolism is the foot washing, the bread, and the wine. And that's why it says, Don't you have houses to eat and drink? Shall I praise you for that?

And then it says, verse 23, For I received from the Lord that which also delivered to you, That the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, The same night that he was betrayed, he took the bread, and he said, And when he had given thanks, he said, And then take eat. This is my body, which is broken for you, Do this in remembrance of me. And in the same manner, he also took the cup after the supper. See, this is after the supper, after the meal, saying, This cup is the new covenant of my blood. This too, as often as you drink it, which is on the day of Passover, He remembers softly. For as often as you do this, which is on the day of Passover, You proclaim the Lord's death. And so we can see very clearly, number one, that we're not eating the Lord's supper, But we're eating the New Testament symbolism. We take you to the New Testament symbolism, which is the foot washing, the bread, and the wine.

And this is what we do, and this is why we do it this way. And we have a situation as well, that some people are superstitious, thinking that our sins are saved up until the day of the Passover. And then they've got to come to the Passover to wash away their sins. So they never come to church during the year, but the Passover, they've got to come to church. Because, wow, you've got to have your sins washed out.

You see, it's like it's only the service that counts, the ceremony that counts. You see, we've got to confess our sins to Christ. One John, Chapter 1, Verse 9 says, confess, and you'll be forgiven. And we have to come before Christ every day. Why? Because it's a new and living way. Christ now is at the right hand of the Father through that veil. And when we read in Hebrews 10, and he says, in a new and living way, we come to him. And our conscience is cleansed. As you and I recognize we've got a problem, we've got a sin, and we've got to confess to God, not to man, to confess to God. We get on our knees, and yeah, maybe admit the error with the person that we've offended. I think that's the right thing to do. And then, but confess to God, and get on our knees, and go through Christ to God's throne. At that moment, don't wait a year. Don't wait until the next passover. You do it straight away. Cleanse your conscience straight away. We've got to do that. That's a new and living way that we have.

And then there is other symbolism, you know, that when Christ says, I am the bread of life. When we take that bread, which is symbolic of the body of Christ, which is symbolic of the sufferings. You see, we've got the bread and the wine. There's two basic symbolisms, yeah. The bread, which is the sufferings and the pain that Christ went through till he died. Which was all on the 14th from the moment he was betrayed. That emotional betrayal and physical pain and all the being spat on the face and all that stuff that he went through. That represents the body by which we are healed because of our sins. And then there's the blood, which is his death, which is what happens at three o'clock. But the symbolism of the bread and the wine is not just his death. It's all the suffering and the death. So it's the body and the wine. It's important for us to understand. And so, as we take the bread, we take Christ's sufferings with him. You read the Phoenic in Romans 8 that if you suffer with him, you'll be glorified together with him. So we take those sufferings. But the bread also means we take the bread of life. And Christ said, I am the bread of life. And it was that symbolism of the bread. And that's why it's unleavened the bread during the post-suffer because it represents Christ, which has no sin. And he is the bread of life, which is symbolic of Christ living in us through his Holy Spirit. So I hope that is clear, that the Passover and the sequence is very clear. I'll try to go through it carefully. Now, who can take the Passover? When you go to the Old Testament, it says you've got to be circumcised. Exodus 12, verse 43 to 48 says you've got to be circumcised. But if you're a foreigner, if you are circumcised, then you can take the Passover. If you're circumcised, what does that mean? It meant that they accept the God of Israel, the true God. They left the old religion. They accepted the true God. That's what it meant when they circumcised. But for us, it's the circumcision of the heart. And you wrote, no, for it's Romans chapter 2. Let's look at Romans chapter 2, verse 28 and 29. Romans chapter 2, verse 28 and 29.

Romans chapter 2, verse 28 and 29.

It says, for he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that is outwardly in the flesh, but is it a Jew who is one inwardly? And the circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter. You see, we've got to be circumcised in the heart. So therefore, the practice in the church is that you need to be baptized, which is symbolic of that circumcision of the heart. But you know, brethren, just because you're baptized does not mean that your heart and my heart are right.

God looks at the heart. And yes, to take the ceremony of the new covenant of Passover, you need to be baptized. But remember, brethren, God looks at the heart. It's the circumcision of the heart. And therefore, don't be, and I'm not saying that you are, but don't be kind of self-assured that, well, because I'm baptized, I'm okay. God looks at the heart. We've got to be in a repentant, pliable, malleable attitude, like we heard in the sermon, all the time, to be pleasing God, to do the things that are pleasing in His mind and His heart. That is so important that we should have that attitude of being pliable, delicate, of circumcision in the heart. And then we move on to the night to be much observed, which is in Exodus 12.

Verse 40 to 42. Exodus 12, verse 40 to 42. It says, Exodus 12, verse 40 to 42. Now the Sir John of the Children of Israel, who lived in Egypt, was 430 years. And it came to pass at the end of the 430 years, on a very same day, it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt. When did they leave Egypt? It was night, because it says, it is a night of solemn observance of the Lord, for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. Did they leave Egypt on the 14th? No, because at night they were not to leave the houses. They were to kill the lamb, they were to eat the meal, they were to put the blood on the doors, they were to wait for midnight for the Lord to pass over, they were not to leave the houses till the morning. I know Pharaoh told them, I get out, but you obeyed God then, not what Pharaoh said. And you stayed in the house because God said, don't leave the houses. And it says, they obeyed.

And then you had probably about three million people, you had to organize them to actually get together. You try and get your family, maybe your 15, 20 people organized to do something, you know it takes time. I imagine three million. So they organized, and then the following night, which was the 15th, which is the night to be much observed, which is a full moon, then they left.

And it says, verse 42, it is a night of solemn observance. That's why we observe that night. And we have a meal together. And that then became like a meal together, and then colloquially they start calling that the Passover and things like that. But that is a night of solemn observance.

Now look at Numbers 33 verse 3. Numbers 33 verse 3. And they departed from Rameses. It was they left that town where they were in Rameses.

They left Egypt, Rameses, in the first month. On which day? On which day? Read it yourself. On the 15th day of the first month, on the day after the Passover, the children of Israel went out with bulbous in the sight of all the Egyptians. They left on the 15th, not on the 14th. And look at the Autonomy 16 verse 1.

And observe the month of Abib, the Passover of the Lord, and in the month of Abib, that the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. So they left Egypt by night, which night? The 15th. Numbers 33 verse 3 says they departed on the 15th. So you can see we got the sequence very clear and very correct. On the 14th they kept the Passover. They did all that. They did not leave the houses till the morning.

At midnight the Lord passed over. So the Passover was at midnight, passed over. Then they stayed there. During the day portion they prepared everything and spoiled Egyptians and all that. And by night, the following night, the 15th, they left Egypt very clearly. And we do that in the Church of God. On the 15th we have the night to be much observed. And one of the things that I encourage you as conversation topic is to talk about leaving Egypt. Now what I mean, talk leaving Egypt.

Because Egypt to them was slavery. And Egypt means sin. So what does it mean when I say you talk about leaving Egypt? You talk about leaving the slavery of sin. In other words, talk about how God called you and brought you into his Church so that you can leave the slavery of sin of this world.

That is a good topic to discuss on the night to be much observed. So, brethren, we need to put out leaven because of the meanings we've seen. We've also, because it means putting away sin. And we must change. We must keep the days of 11 bread. The final scripture I want you to turn to is in 1 Corinthians 11. 1 Corinthians 11. Verse 28 and 29. Paul is writing to them on this day of around the Passover and he's saying to them.

1 Corinthians 11. Verse 28 and 29. He says, But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment himself, not discerning the Lord's body. Brethren, we must analyze ourselves. We need to discern the Lord's body, which is Christ's sacrifice, but it's also the Church, which is us. We need to discern, not the other person, but ourselves. Remember, brethren, this means that we have to change.

We really have to change. It's not the other person, it's me. Examine ourselves. It doesn't say examine the other person, examine me, myself. And that's part of the preparation for the days of 11 bread. That is the most important part, brethren, preparing ourselves spiritually. Sure, we have symbolism that we're going to do and take the living out and all that. Yes, do that. But please don't neglect the most important part, which is the spiritual preparation. That is the most important. And so, in summary, brethren, what do we got? God gives us physical things to teach us spiritual lessons. We've seen a lot of physical symbolism, like baptism, foot washing, bread, wine, laying on our hands.

For instance, there are many symbols, anointing of the brethren when they sing. That all physical things that illustrate spiritual lessons. We looked at some of those related with the Passover today. Those physical things are commanded by God. They are symbolic, but they have enormous spiritual lessons to us. And we look at the foot washing, which represents humility and being teachable and malleable and pliable. And the bread, which represents us to have Christ living in us and understand the sufferings that Christ went through and that we have to go through.

And the wine that He died for us so we can be part of the family of God as His children. And then we have the night to be much observed, which is leaving slavery, the slavery of sin. And then we have the days of 11 bread, which is for seven days completely living without sin with Jesus Christ living in us, which is the bread of life.

So brethren, as you and I prepare for the Passover in days of 11 bread, physically and spiritually, please make sure that as you do this, do it with the mind to prepare yourself spiritually first and foremost so that you may enjoy the maximum benefit from the spring festival season and that you are doing it in the way that is pleasing to God.