What is Passover?

Answer

Passover (Pesach in Hebrew) is a Jewish festival that celebrates the exodus from Egypt and the Israelites’ liberation from slavery to the Egyptians. The Feast of Passover, along with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was the first of the festivals commanded by God for Israel to observe (see Exodus 12). Commemorations today include a special meal called the Seder, which features unleavened bread and other food items symbolizing various aspects of the exodus.

Passover is among the most widely observed Jewish holidays. Along with Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost) and Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles), Passover is one of the three “pilgrimage” festivals in Scripture, during which the Jews were instructed to journey to Jerusalem and celebrate the feasts together. Passover occurs in the spring, during the Hebrew month of Nisan. In Western countries, Passover is celebrated in early to mid-April and always coincides with Easter.

The book of Exodus recounts the origins of Passover. God pledged to deliver His people from Pharaoh’s bondage «Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: », (Exodus 6:6). God sent Moses to the Egyptian king with the demand that Pharaoh “let my people go” «And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. », (Exodus 8:1). When Pharaoh refused, God brought ten plagues upon the land of Egypt. The tenth and most severe plague was the death of all the firstborn in Egypt.

The night of the first Passover was the night of the tenthPlague. On that fateful night, God instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a spotless lamb and mark their doorposts and lintels with its blood (Exodus 12:21-22). Then, when the Lord passed through the nation, He would “pass over” the households that displayed the blood (verse 23). In a very real sense, the lamb’s blood rescued the Israelites from death, preventing the destroyer from entering their homes. The Israelites were spared from the plague, and their firstborn children were spared. Subsequently, every firstborn son of the Israelites was dedicated to the Lord and required to be redeemed with a sacrifice (Exodus 13:1-2, 12; cf: Luke 2:22-24).

The Israelites in Egypt obeyed God’s command and observed the first Passover. Conversely, none of the Egyptians did so. Throughout Egypt, behind the unmarked, bloodless doorways of the Egyptians, the firstborn children perished at midnight (Exodus 12:21-29). “There was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead” (verse 30). This severe judgment ultimately softened the heart of the Egyptian king, leading to the release of the Israelite slaves (verses 31–32).

In addition to the directive to apply the Passover lamb’s blood to their doorposts and lintels, God established a commemorative meal: fire-roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread, as stated in Exodus 12:8. The Lord instructed the Israelites to “keep this observance as a permanent ordinance for you and your descendants” (Exodus 12:8).

mes-version/exodus-12-24″>(Exodus 12:24, ESV), even when in a foreign land.

To this day, Jews worldwide commemorate the Passover in obedience to this directive. Passover and the account of the exodus hold significant importance for Christians as well, since Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law, including the symbolism of the Passover « Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. », (Matthew 5:17). Jesus is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7;Revelation 5:12). He was sacrificed during Passover, and the Last Supper was a Passover meal (Luke 22:7-8). By (spiritually) applying His blood to our lives through faith, we rely on Christ to deliver us from death. The Israelites who, in faith, applied the blood of the Paschal lamb to their homes serve as an example for us. It was not the Israelites’ lineage, status, or character that saved them; it was solely the lamb’s blood that spared them from death (see John 1:29 and Revelation 5:9-10).