Tag: Massiah

Scripture Focus: Exodus 12; Leviticus 23:4–5; Matthew 26:17–30; John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Revelation 19:7–9

As Passover begins at sundown on Saturday, April 12, 2025, we pause to remember a story of deliverance that God wrote into the very foundations of His covenant with Israel. Yet this deliverance was not just a shadow of things to come—it was a prophetic foreshadowing of a greater Lamb, a greater exodus, and a greater feast prepared for a Bride who has made herself ready.

The First Passover: A Sign of Substitutionary Deliverance

When the LORD instituted Passover in Exodus 12, He commanded each household to take a lamb, without blemish, and keep it until the fourteenth day of the first month. The lamb was not merely a ritual object—it was a substitute. It would die in place of the firstborn. Its blood was to be spread on the doorposts and lintel as a sign. The destroyer would pass over any home marked by the blood.

Here we see a vital gospel truth: Israel was not spared because of their own righteousness, but because of God’s mercy and provision. The blood of the lamb was the only difference between the spared and the struck.

Christ, Our Passover

The New Testament declares this plainly: “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7b). John the Baptist recognized this when he cried, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The Passover lamb was not just a memorial of Egypt—it was a prophetic picture of the Lamb who would come to bear the judgment of God for sin.

Every detail of the Passover lamb was fulfilled in Jesus:

• Without blemish (Exodus 12:5) — Christ was sinless (Hebrews 4:15).
• None of its bones broken (Exodus 12:46) — fulfilled in John 19:36.
• Slain at twilight — Jesus died at the ninth hour, the time of the evening sacrifice (Mark 15:34).

The Last Supper: A Betrothal Meal

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus sat at table with His disciples to celebrate Passover. But this meal, the Last Supper, was unlike any before it. The Lamb Himself was hosting. He took the bread and the cup, symbols of affliction and redemption, and redefined them in His own body and blood: “This is My body, which is given for you… This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:19–20).

In Jewish wedding custom, a man would offer a cup of wine to the woman he desired to marry. If she accepted and drank, she agreed to become his bride. Jesus offered the cup that night to all who would enter covenant with Him. It was not only a remembrance of redemption but a proposal. In doing so, He wove wedding language into the Passover.

The Bridegroom’s Promise and the Wedding Feast

Jesus then said, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). This is the language of betrothal. Just as the Jewish bridegroom would go to prepare a place for his bride and return for her, Jesus promised, “I go to prepare a place for you… I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:2–3).

Thus, the Passover is not only a remembrance of Egypt but a rehearsal for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7–9). We, the Church, purified by the blood of the Lamb, are the Bride who waits, watches, and prepares herself in righteousness (Revelation 19:8).

Ramifications for the Disciple of Christ Today

• Do we recognize the cost of our redemption? Passover demands that we never treat Christ’s body and blood as common or profane (Hebrews 10:29). To take communion without reverence is to forget the cross.
• Are we living as a betrothed Bride? A woman betrothed in Jewish culture would remain faithful, pure, and expectant. Our lives should reflect the holiness and anticipation of the Bride awaiting her Bridegroom.
• Are we ready for the feast? The parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1–13) reminds us that only those who were prepared entered with the Bridegroom. We are called to spiritual readiness, clothed in righteousness, with lamps burning.

Devotional Thought for Families or Small Groups

Read Exodus 12:1–30 and Matthew 26:17–30 together. Discuss the significance of the lamb’s blood, the cup, and Christ’s promise to return. Consider asking:

• Why did God command Israel to remember the Passover year after year?
• How is Jesus both our Passover Lamb and Bridegroom?
• What does it mean to be ready for His return?

Reflect: Take a quiet moment as a family or group to think on the Lamb who was slain. Consider the weight of sin, the wonder of substitution, and the joyful hope of the coming wedding feast.

Pray: Father, thank You for the blood of the Lamb that covers and cleanses us. Thank You for redeeming us from slavery to sin and death. Help us to live as Your beloved Bride—faithful, watchful, and filled with Your Spirit. May we long for the day when the Bridegroom returns and the marriage supper begins. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Come, Lord Jesus.