Easter and Passover: The truth is in the details
“These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.” Leviticus 23:4
Easter time is my favorite holiday. It is a time where we see the religions of Judaism and Christianity converge. When we think of Easter, we think of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day. It is a celebration for us, as it reminds us of the victory we have in Christ. Is there more that we can learn? How does this Christian holiday merge with Judaism? What are the “details” that are mentioned in the title of this ripple?
There is more that we can learn, and it has everything to do with the Jewish holiday of Passover. The referenced scripture is where God instructs Moses and the Israelites to honor celebrate the Passover every year. It was not a one-time thing. With that being said, Moses had to know that this must be very significant in God’s eyes. What is the significance?
God was trying to teach the Israelites how to trust Him and to teach them of things to come. First, He was teaching them to trust Him. The original Passover occurred while the Jews were still slaves in Egypt. God had told Pharoah to let His people go but Pharoah refused. The tenth and final plagued the God passed onto the Egyptians would prove to be the most brutal. God was sending His death angel to Egypt to kill the first born of each Egyptian family. God told the Jews how to make sure that they did not feel the wrath of His final plague.
God told His people that they were to find a lamb that is not over a year old. This lamb is to be without blemish. They are to take this lamb into their homes on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Nisan and begin inspecting the lamb during the week for any blemishes. This lamb is to be inspected until the 14th day of Nisan, and on this day, they are to kill the lamb. They were then to take the blood of the lamb and apply it to the three sides of the front door facing of their house. God told them that if the blood is applied as He instructed then the death angel would pass over their home, and they would be safe. However, if the blood is not applied then the first born of their home would die just like the Egyptians.
That night, the death angel did come just as God told them. If the blood was applied to the doorposts, he passed on to the next house. If it was not applied, then death came. Notice something here. You will not find anywhere in scripture where the death angel looks to see who is in the houses. It does not matter. God does not care who you are, what your status in this world is. He doesn’t care if you are rich or poor. He doesn’t care if you are male or female, young or old, or what race you are. What matters is whether the blood is applied. The punishment was for everyone. No person could be excluded. Everyone participated in one way or the other.
What was God teaching the Israelites? Faith and trust in Him. How strange is to be told that you must smear blood on the door facing of your house. They had never done anything like this before. For some, it may have seemed so odd that they refused to do it. They may have felt foolish. It was also something so simple. How can something this simple save my family from God’s judgement? It can’t be that simple. There must be something more that I need to do. But there wasn’t. God’s way was the only way to escape death and judgement. There was no other option given by God. No plan B. The Israelites had to completely trust God and His plan.
Sounds familiar. In order for me to escape God’s wrath and judgement on my sin, the blood of Christ must be applied to the door of my heart. The heart is the doorway to my soul in the eyes of God. There is no plan B. There’s no other entry to my heart. For salvation, it is God’s way which is the only way.
Is there any other convergence of the Passover and Christianity? There is but we will save that for next time.