Passover | Power of the Blood
When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, the Lord commanded them through Moses and Aaron to spread the blood of a lamb on their doorposts and lintels. This way, the angels assigned to take the firstborn would know which houses to avoid—they would see the sign of faith and redemption found through this shedding of innocent blood.
Today we may not spread literal blood upon our doorposts and lintels, but the power of the blood, as found through our own Passover Lamb, has not lessened…
Join us as we discover how Passover and the redemptive Blood of our Passover Lamb—Yeshua, Jesus, our Messiah—are as important for Believers today as they were for the Israelites in Egypt!
Blood at Passover:
When Moses and Aaron told the Israelites that God desired them to sacrifice a lamb, in this case to eat the meat and spread the blood upon their doorposts and lintels, the first Passover was essentially set in place…
“Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
—Exodus 12:13
While spreading blood over the doorposts and lintels of our house might seem odd or even disgusting to us today, the sacrificing of animals was once necessary for the forgiveness of sins and for honoring God—replaced by Jesus’ sacrifice, repentance, and non-animal sacrifices of honor. While the location they were to spread the blood was new, such sacrifices were not a foreign concept to the Israelites. Even with their not being able to sacrifice to God as often as they once had…
Shedding and spreading blood for forgiveness, protection, or thanks. made sense to them. But even so, some biblical scholars believe that not every Israelite spread the blood. While many Egyptians who had seen the signs of the Israelite’s God may have spread the blood… following the protocol of faith laid before God’s children—though Exodus 12:30 may indicate that no Egyptian did, it appears certain that no one who directly served, or interacted with Pharaoh did…
Yet, ready or not. Obedient or not. The angels of the Lord came and took the breath from the firstborn of every house in Egypt that was absent of the spreading blood…
“And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.”
—Exodus 12:29
Those who implemented the blood did not awaken to personal grief. The firstborn of their homes were not taken.
Those who did not obey and seek the power of the blood—through obedience, faith, and His redemption—met with acute misery.
Is Passover for Today?
Today, the Blood of our Passover Lamb serves a deeper purpose than the first did. Jesus—our Messiah—not only covers the doorposts and lintels of our dwelling places—our bodies—with His Blood, but He restores us to Himself. This significance cannot be overlooked. To prosper in all that God sends us to do each year we need to be protected; protected in our call, in our bodies, and in our souls—our mind, will, and emotions.
The Blood of our Messiah, Jesus, cleanses, protects, and redeems year-round.
The power of the Blood never diminishes or runs out, instead it remains as powerful as ever!
Yet Passover and the Blood of our Passover Lamb are uniquely important because,
- God created Passover
- God ordained Passover as an EVERLASTING ordinance
- God provides special blessings and covenants AT Passover
- Sitting at the Passover table allows us to slip our feet under our Father’s table
- Jesus observed Passover and told us to consume the bread and wine to remember Him
- Jesus gave Himself as the TRUE Passover Lamb; Passover allows us to celebrate and accept it
- Jesus never told us to stop observing Passover
These are just a few of the reasons why Passover remains uniquely important, but the first two alone should be reason enough to say, “yes, Passover is for me.” After all, when our God says we are to do something, in every generation, forever… we are meant to do it.
Jesus certainly took away the curse of the Law. Every bit of legalism added by us. Our inability to complete every portion of His Law without stumbling or entirely missing the mark. But God still uses His Law, He still wants us to observe His ordinances. Passover is no exception!
Heaven and eternity with God may not be closed to us should we choose to avoid or ignore Passover. However, the blessings that come with Passover, the unique time of fellowship and covenant with God… those can be missed out…
God did not create Passover just to protect His children in Egypt. He did not even create Passover just so we might remember what He did for them.
He created Passover as a moed—an appointed time. One where we can meet with Him. Be refreshed by Him. And prepared for the days ahead as we receive blessings and covenants especially reserved for those who sit at His table. His Passover table.
Sit at His Table:
The choice belongs to each of us. Will we walk by our Father’s table and not partake of what He offers? Or will we take our place at His table? The Passover table is…
A place specifically set aside for us so that we might be blessed and readied.
A place where He prepares us for the season, with covenant access to His blessings and promises!
“Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?’
“And He said, ‘Go into 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.’”’”
—Matthew 26:17-18
Jesus observed one of the nights of Passover—seven days long in Israel and eight elsewhere—at a table with His disciples. He knew how close His time was to become the Passover Lamb and our Salvation. He knew and still chose to sit at His Father’s table…
Jesus not only understood the need to observe the Passover, at that time more than ever, but He also understood the prophetic significance of it. The power of the Passover lamb, but particularly the Passover Lamb He would become…
What is more, He not only observed God’s Passover, but He added further significance to Passover through His actions that night.
First, by partaking of what we now refer to as communion—which serves its own God-given purposes—but was officially on that night, the third cup of Passover. The third cup is also known as the “cup of redemption.”
And second, by refusing the fourth and final cup of Passover, the “cup of praise,” until He drinks it with His disciples in His Father’s Kingdom. [Many believe that this is the cup that Jesus will give to each of us when we first reach Heaven; Believers who celebrate Passover often leave the fourth cup undrunk.]
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’
“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, 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 26:26-29
The questions remaining are these…
Will we sit at our Father’s table?
Will we accept the place He has set before us and receive all of the blessings and covenant promise that come at this moed?
Will we take the time to fellowship with our God, placing our feet under His table so we might commune with Him?