Central Abbotsford

In my newsletter four weeks ago, I mentioned the following: “Passover, of course, represents a new beginning for Israel, as they broke free from the slavery of Egypt. And Passover’s close ties to Easter also symbolize a new beginning – the new life found in Christ. But I’ll talk more about those in April…”

Well, it’s April!

And, as we approach Easter through this Holy Week, it also happens to be the week of Passover. (As an aside, though these two holidays often coincide, this is not always the case. Passover is based on the Hebrew calendar which is lunar, so its observance moves around quite a bit. This year, the final day of Passover is Easter Sunday. Next year, Easter falls in the middle of Passover. In 2027 they are almost a month apart!) When Passover is referenced in the Scriptures, it does not only indicate a new beginning of the year, or the seasons, but much more.

In Numbers 28:16-17, the LORD reiterates to Moses that  “On the fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover, and on the fifteenth day of this month is a feast. Seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.” Of course, as I mentioned last month, the Passover was instituted in Exodus 12 as a remembrance of God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

Jesus, being an observant Jew, of course observed the Passover. In Luke 22:7-8, we read: “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.  So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.’” This Passover, it is clear, is tied to what He was about to do, for in verse 15 He said to them “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” 

Lest we lose sight of Jesus’ intentional connection here, Paul makes it clear in the second half of 1 Corinthians 5:7, when he stresses that “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” But, there’s an interesting thing that jumps out when you read that verse in its entirety, which is: “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

In addition to Passover being referenced in all of these verses, something else is mentioned: bread without leaven. Why would that be?

Throughout the Scriptures, leaven is a word picture that (often, though not exclusively) represents sin. (If you are not familiar with what leaven is, it is an agent that causes bread to rise. The most common leaven that most are familiar with today is yeast.) Leaven is something that spreads throughout its host. Perhaps the fact that leaven causes bread to “puff up” also played into this imagery – just a thought!

Regardless of the contours of the metaphor, it is clear that Paul is tying the effects of Passover to the removal of sin from our lives. Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. We will observe this reality at our Good Friday services this weekend, and then celebrate and rejoice at the Easter services that will follow. The effect of His sacrifice is that He has taken the penalty of sin – of all sin for all those who claim His name as that Lamb. 

And so our call, as we reflect on the truth of what this accomplished, is to respond with a life that is dedicated to cleansing out the old leaven – working as God works to defeat and destroy the sin that remains in our lives.