What is Passover?

Passover in Hebrew is Pesach

Passover in the temple times was very different to how it is now.

Whilst the temple stood, the term Passover meant mainly the “Pesach lamb” offering which was presented, and eaten later.  The focus was on preparing, inspecting, keeping and presenting this passover lamb.  There was a meal where this lamb was eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 

It’s a reminder of the first Passover in Egypt, as the last plague swept over Egypt, the children of God and anyone who would join them were kept save in thieir houses as the angel of death passed over those who had the blood of the lamb on their door, and were safe inside eating the meat of the lamb with bitter herbs.  Even before this first Passover they were asked to keep this festival in perpetutity as an ever lasting memorial. Exodus 12:14  It starts before the temple is built and endures after the first and second destructions.  

Now without a temple or sacrifices this term implyes wholly to the meal, and the prayers and serice in a prescribed order. This meal is called a sedar, and the order of events is printed in a hagadah.  

You will find things in a passover service that may look like rituals, and traditions. Some may be strange to you, however each element has been chosen specially to represent something from temple times that we can no longer physcially do. As followers of Yeshua, we can sometimes look at his teachings and assume that because he ‘spat in the face’ of Parisaic traditions, that he thinks the same of all tradition.  I have personally been very critical of each of these items and scrutenized over each of them, If I could not see how it represented requirements of a Passover I was willing to cut it out entirely.  Since my first Passover in 2012 I have added back all of these items eventually but at first I was convinced to cut them out.  

To a christian the Passover story looks like a story of freedom from oppressor, freedom from slavery.  freedom from bondage.  but we somehow forget what God bought them too.  The next part of this story is about the giving of the Law, as a Ketubah a Marriage Covernant.  We were paid for with a price, we were called to be a bride, to accept the terms of our marriage covernant to uphold our side. Its an invitation to a new level of Intimacy, and invitation to trust Him, an invitation to walk in His ways, even if they are foriegn to you, and an invitation to be introduced to Torah, and to be guided by it.  

Even the New Testmant is interesting in its description of freedom, slavery, and bond servants.

For me passover is a line in the sand, it’s and act of obedience to God to leave bondage and trust him in my heart. To put behind me my way of doing things, my trust in the world systems, and walk in his ways and only trust in Him.  It’s willful rebelioun and defiance against any system that places itself in God place. Its a time to look at my life and see where i have put my trust in the world systems, and governance, and a time to remember that although I live in this world, I am not of this world.

By the time you are sitting at a passover meal the feast of Unleaven Bread has already begun.  This festival requires preparation in your home.  You are asked to purge certain items that seem arbitary but not do these things at this come with a punishiment of “cut of from Israel” (Exodus 12:19-20) read more about Unleaven Bread

Passover is the first of the 7th feasts of the Lord