Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach on this Passover, (Happy Shabbath and Passover). 

Because tonight is the first night of Passover, the regular Torah / Bible reading cycle is interrupted with a special reading.  Shabbat Pesach (Passover), Exodus 12:21–51; Numbers 28:16–25; Joshua 5:2–6:1; John 1:29–31.

“Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb’”  (Exodus 12:21). In today’s reading, Moses instructs the Israeli People concerning the details of the first Passover offering.  Each family was required to choose a lamb, slaughter it, and place its blood on the top and sides of the door frame. “Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe.”  (Exodus 12:22). 

This lamb's blood on the doorposts caused the Angel of Death to pass over those within the house, and they were spared the plague that fell upon Egypt, the death of the firstborn. (Similar to the red thread around Rahab’s house in Joshua 2:18 and the area of protection God and His son gives when you enter into the given covenant with them).

 “When Yahweh goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the door frame and will pass over that doorway, and He will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”  (Exodus 12:23) 

In the final plague upon Egypt, the slaying of the firstborn, the good deeds and righteousness of the people did not save them from God’s judgment.  The sign of the blood on the lintel of the door saved them.  Likewise, unless one is perfect like Enoch, we are not saved by our works; but by faith in Messiah Yahshua's offering for us.  However, with that faith comes obedience to the covenant requirements.  Live by the righteous instructions given and, if fall, seek forgiveness through His blood and have the faith He is capable of and does forgive.  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  (Ephesians 2:8) 

This Friday evening at sunset, the eight-day celebration of Passover begins.  Jewish people will mark the beginning of this prophetic holiday, which foreshadows the salvation wrought for all mankind by Yahshua, with a ceremonial meal called the Seder, during which the story of deliverance from slavery in Egypt is retold. 

Passover: When Death Lost Its Sting.

“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”  (Isaiah 53:5) 

Around the world, as the Jewish People (all 12 tribes) commemorate their exodus from slavery in Egypt and celebrate the saving power of the God of Israel, Believers in Yahshua,  both Jewish and Gentile will celebrate freedom from slavery to sin.  This freedom, the salvation of Israel and all mankind, was accomplished through the death, burial, and resurrection of Yahshua HaMashiach (the Messiah) as the sacrificial Passover Lamb.

“Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.”  (Hebrews 9:28)

Though Yahshua endured an agonizing death to atone for the sin of the world, He rose again on the third day.  Because He was completely sinless, death could not hold Him.  Had He not borne our sins, He wouldn't have died at all.  In fulfilment of Scripture, Yahshua became our guilt offering [asham], paying the price for sin once and for all.

“…though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.”  (Isaiah 53:10) 

While the guilt offerings on the altar of the Temple were a method for receiving grace and forgiveness, they could only cover unintentional sins. Intentional (malicious, premeditated) sins fell under the curse of the law; the perpetrator was cut off.  Sometimes that meant death and other times, banishment from the community.  I would say, unintentional sin is through a life of trying to keep the laws of God; but a mishap occurs.  It is not for ignorance or claimed ignorance of knowing God has a different way, yet choosing not to follow it.  That is disobedience and delayed obedience is also disobedience. 

Yahshua’s death and resurrection removed all sin for all time.  As Yochanan (John Baptist) said when he saw Yahshua coming toward him at the Jordan River, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).

Because Yahshua became our Paschal offering, we who accept and live by the instructions given, are no longer under the curse of the law (eternal or second death).  While that includes intentional sin, this does not give us license to continue sinning deliberately.  God requires that we repent and make restitution.  Failure to do so indicates that we are not turning back to following Him, that we are not drawing close to Him; but staying distant.  Sin distances us from God. 

The Passover Lamb: When Being Passed Over Is a Miracle.

“Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast, as you really are.  For Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed”  (1 Corinthians 5:7).  

Passover is rich in lessons for all Believers in Yahshua. Lessons one misses by not observing and studying.  Psa 119:104  Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.  Psa 111:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. 

Were you ever passed over as a child when the sports team was being chosen?  For a child, being passed over could be devastating.  Likewise, as adults, being passed over for a promotion, raise, or a prestigious role can be very frustrating.  But being “passed over” during the first Passover was a miracle of deliverance.  God’s judgment of Egypt would pass over those who had enough faith to follow His plan for salvation.  That plan involved selecting an unblemished lamb, killing it, and placing its blood on the doorposts and lintels of their dwelling places.  Today, 3,500 years later, we are able to celebrate the Passover in all of its prophetic fulfilment.  We have the opportunity to place the blood of the perfect, chosen Lamb of Yahweh God, Yahshua, over our hearts and homes, so that by faith, we too will be spared from the Divine judgment due to the spiritual fall in this world.  This, too, is a miracle of deliverance.

“The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you [pasachti], and there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt”  (Exodus 12:13).  

In Hebrew, the word for I will pass over, pasachti (וּפָסַחְתִּי), comes from the word pesach, which means to hop, to skip over or spare, and to pass over. 

Yahshua Is Prepared for Burial.  

“Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Yahshua.  With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.”  (John 19:38) 

A Few weeks ago, on what the world instituted as “Good Friday”, Christians remembered the horrific death that Yahshua suffered on our behalf.  Believers also read how Yosef (Joseph) of Arimathea and Nakdimon (Nicodemus) came to Pilate to ask for Yahshua’s body.  However, we must put those events into their proper Jewish context.  Yahshua was actually executed on the day that the Passover lambs were being killed in preparation for the start of Passover.  Have you wondered why the Bible does not record crowds of people at the crucifixion (unlike he film versions)? 

Since Yahshua’s death, burial and resurrection occurred in a Hebraic context, examining Jewish customs surrounding death, burial, mourning, and resurrection can further our understanding of his death and resurrection.  The Jewish burial customarily takes place within 24 hours, so in keeping with Jewish practice, they sought to bury Yahshua right away.  They also prepared Yahshua’s body for burial with tahara, ritual purification.  In this ritual, the body is cleansed, and then dried and dressed in takhrikhim, a simple white shroud (Mark 15:46–47).

 “Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.  Taking Yahshua’s body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.  This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs”  (John 19:39–40). 

Although Yosef and Nakdimon carefully prepared Yahshua's body for burial, when the women came to the tomb after High Shabbat had ended, it was empty and the burial linen was left to the side.  Yahshua had already risen from the dead.   When Yosef and Nakdimon performed the mitzvah of preparing Yahshua’s body for burial, they were performing the duties of the Khevra Kadisha an organization that ensures the body is correctly prepared for burial and protected from desecration. 

By wrapping Yahshua in linen, they were practicing the custom of takhrikhim, providing the proper burial garment for the deceased.  Since the Sabbath (annual one NOT weekly Friday evening one) was quickly approaching, there was insufficient time to complete the preparations before the holy day of the Passover began; therefore, Yahshua was placed in a sealed tomb until the close of the High Sabbath day.  Thus, Yahshua was buried in a rich man’s tomb in fulfilment of the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53:9 “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”  

A table set for Passover.

More important than how Yahshua was buried is that He rose from the dead and gained victory over death.  Hallelujah!   Both spiritual and physical death have been defeated through Yahshua’s victory, as Saul of Tarsus (Paul) said:  “But Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits [bikkurim] of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a man [Adam], the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Messiah all will be made alive.  (1 Corinthians 15:20–22) 

If Death Is the Result of Sin, How Could Yahshua Die Sinless?

Many wonder how Yahshua could die since He was sinless.  Others wonder if He conquered death because He was the Son of God.  To answer those questions, we must first understand that, originally, God did not create mankind to suffer death.   The first book of the Torah, Bereisheet (Genesis), reveals death as the judgment of God upon mankind for their spiritual fall in the Garden of Eden.   After Adam and Chava (Eve) failed their test of obedience, God said:

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground [adamah], since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return”  (Genesis 3:19). 

Hand-harvesting wheat for Passover.

The name Adam comes from the word for ground or earth, adamah, since man was taken from the ground.   This Hebrew word play reveals a spiritual truth: sin has brought physical death to all of mankind and with it, a return to the earth (adamah).  Thus ends a person’s physical existence on earth, with the breath of God separating from the body.  Yahshua’s death, however, was not due to His own sin, since He was sinless.  He died when He took upon Himself the sins of the world.  He could die because He actually took those sins on Himself.  He could rise again because his offering of His sinless life was effective.  “But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins.  And in Him is no sin” (1 John 3:5).

The gospels of Mark, Matthew and John report that Yahshua was handed over to the Roman soldiers, who clothed Him in a ragged scarlet cloak,  pressed a crown of thorns on His head, and mocked Him saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Many Christians believe an inherited but untrue belief that the Jews killed the Messiah.  This was one of the physiological tactics to get Christians to distant themselves form the Jews and their system of keeping God’s commandments.  Even to thinking God had cast them away and adopted Christians as His people.  God sacrificed His son to redeem us the same way a sacrifice was made to redeem them from Egypt.  Had that sacrifice not taken place there would be no redemption for us.  The Jews or Romans were simply the earthly tool to accomplish the prophecy.

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.  1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 1Pe 1:21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 

Resurrection: A Jewish Belief.

Traditionally, the rabbis believe that every Jew will be resurrected and experience spiritual life.  As is written in Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), “The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it”  (Ecclesiastes 12:7) 

Chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews describes the great men and women of faith.  Some women received their dead back to life again, while “others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection”  (Hebrews 11:35).  The Tanakh (Old Testament) also describes a resurrection from the dead and subsequent judgment.  The Hebrew prophet Daniel gives an account of what will happen in the last days:

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). 

Kria: The Jewish Custom of Rending the Garments.

“Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days”  (Genesis 37:34).   

In Judaism, seven immediate family members are expected to observe a seven-day mourning period: the father, mother, daughter, son, brother, sister, and spouse.  These seven mourners participate in a special tradition.  To symbolize how death rips the fabric of life, their garments are symbolically ripped just before the funeral.  In this tradition called kria, the parents and children rend the garment on their left, closest to the heart.  Spouses and siblings tear their garments on the right.  While this may seem like an odd tradition, it dates back to Biblical times (Genesis 37:34). 

In fact, at the moment of Yahshua’s death, the Heavenly Father also seemed to observe kria in His grief over the death of His son Yahshua the Messiah: “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The earth shook and the rocks split” (Matthew 27:51).   It was also the institution of Yahshua as the intercessor between man and Yahweh god rather than the High priest going in annually into the holy of holies to intercede for humans. 

The empty tomb.

Thankfully, Yahshua’s death wasn’t the final word.  Just as He promised, death couldn’t hold Him (John 2:18–22; Matthew 26:31–32).  "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25).  The sting of death is sin (1 Corinthians 15:56), and in Yahshua, death has lost its sting!  Therefore, those who follow Yahshua can live confidently without any fear of death or dying, knowing that when they pass from this life, their lives continue eternally with their loving Father in Heaven. 

Though we were dead in our trespasses and sin and so undeserving of being called His friends, in the immensity of His love, He reached out to us and offered us eternal life.  On this First Evening of Passover, may we once again be overcome with gratitude for all that Yahshua suffered for on our behalf.   "Yahweh God presented Messiah as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood, to be received by faith"  (Romans 3:25). 

Scriptures to note:

Exo 12:2  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

Exo 12:14  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

 Exo 12:15  Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

Exo 12:16  And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. Exo 12:17  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

Exo 12:38  And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. (mixed multitude being non blood line descendants of Jacob / Israel i.e. Jew and Gentile).

Exo 12:46  In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. (Hence why Messiahs legs not broken as other two crucified with Him). 

Jos 5:2  At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. Jos 5:3  And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. Jos 5:4  And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.  Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? (this yoke of circumcision which was not done for forty years is what paul speaks of in Acts 15:2,6) 

Jos 5:9  And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.  Only when completely out of Egypt and entered into the promises land are we out of danger of returning.  Get far away from traditions of men and mindset of the world and enter God’s Promised land and renewing of your mind).

Jos 5:15  And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. 

Joh 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Joh 1:30  This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. Joh 1:31  And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 

Happy Pesach and Unleaven Bread Holy days.