03.09. Christ Our Passover

CHRIST OUR PASSOVER The Jews’ Passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him (John 11:55-57). The question ’What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?" was asked by three classes of people: strangers, Christ’s friends and His enemies. In asking this, they proved that they were blind. The Beginning

Let us go back to the beginning. What were the coats of skin with which the Lord God clothed the first pair in the Garden of Eden? A type and a shadow.

What were the firstlings of Abel’s flock which he offered as a sacrifice to God? A type, and a shadow.

What was the altar which Noah built on Mount Ararat after he came forth from the ark and upon which he offered clean beasts to the Lord? A type and a shadow. When Abraham took his only son, Isaac, into the land of Moriah to offer him as a burnt offering to God, and was stopped by the angel of the Lord, who provided a ram for a substitute, What was this? A type and a shadow. The children of Israel had been in Egyptian bondage for four hundred years when God sought to deliver them by the hand of His servant Moses. He brought nine great plagues upon Egypt, but Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to let Israel go.

One day God said to Moses, "Take a lamb without blemish, and kill it. And . . . take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast . . . and the blood shall be to you for a token . . . when I see the blood, I will pass over you." The children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses, and that night the destroying angel passed through the land. Everywhere there was tragedy, heartache and death, except in those homes where the blood was on the door.

What was that? The first Passover? Yes, and more. A test of faith? Yes, and more. An example of God’s delivering power? Yes, and more -- much more!What was it? It was a type, a shadow of One who would someday come into the world and deliver man from a greater bondage than the bondage of Egypt -- One who would deliver him from the bondage of sin and Satan. When the Lord passed over Egypt There was weeping everywhere, For an angel smote the first-born Of each family dwelling there; But some houses he passed over, As His Word had said before, And death entered not the portals Where the blood was on the door.

We are in a land of danger, And death lurks on every hand, But that soul has perfect safety Who obeys our Lord’s command, For secure in God’s pavilion He can watch life’s breakers roar; For God’s angel guards the dwelling Where the blood is on the door. Not the blood of lambs or cattle Sprinkled over any part, But the blood of Christ the Saviour Can redeem a human heart;

Then when death these ties shall sever, And we walk on earth no more, We may live with Christ forever If His blood is on the door. A Twofold Purpose

God commanded Israel to keep the Passover throughout their generations. He gave it to them for a twofold purpose: to remind them of His delivering power and to point to the Coming One. He wanted them to look backward in remembrance and to look forward in expectancy. He wanted them to look backward with thanksgiving and to look forward with praise.

They were faithful in keeping the feast of the Passover, but there came a time when they forgot to look backward and failed to look forward. The Passover had degenerated.

ThanksgivingThe Passover degenerated as has our Thanksgiving, a day instituted by our fathers in the early years of our country, a day on which people should gather in their homes and churches and praise God for the yield of the land and thank Him for the gifts which His bountiful hand provides.

But, alas, our Thanksgiving has degenerated. It has become a day of feasting, a day of games and sports. During the last few years it has been juggled in the hands of politicians. Some want. to observe the third Thursday of November and others wish to recognize the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving. This discussion has not been motivated by the desire to give thanks for the yield of the land, but rather to decide which day will be the most practical for their games and gate receipts, and enable merchants to sell the most merchandise.

Christmas The Passover degenerated as has our Christmas, a day set aside for celebrating the birth of our Lord, a day in which we present gifts in memory of the fact that God so freely gave His only begotten Son that the world might have life. Our Christmas has degenerated. It has become a day of reveling and mirth, a day of feasting and drinking. There is perhaps no day in all the year more dissipated than is Christmas.

Thousands celebrate this day without any real knowledge as to why it is a holiday; thousands of others observe it without remembering its real intent; without remembering Jesus, God’s wonderful gift to the world. The Sabbath The Passover degenerated as our Sabbath has. Originally a day instituted by the Almighty as a day of rest, a day of worship, the Sabbath has degenerated into a holiday rather than a holy day. It has become a day of feasting, sports and games. Many churches dismiss or shorten their services so that their communicants may have more time on the golf course or at the ball game.

Many professed Christians, who have too much religion to attend in person such Sunday games, stay at home beside their radios and listen to men who are desecrating the holy Sabbath of God. The Passover The Jews continued to keep the Passover, but they forgot to look backward; they observed the feast, but they failed to look forward. The Passover had degenerated into a great religious picnic, a great national holiday. It was a day to which the politicians looked forward, a day on which they could rub elbows with the multitude and gain influence for their cause. It was a day to which the merchants looked forward, when great crowds came to the city, and they could raise their prices and sell their wares at larger profits. The real meaning of the Passover was forgotten.

God Never ForgetsMen may forget, but God never. Days may degenerate with man, but never with God. He still longs for the people of America to gather in their homes and churches on Thanksgiving Day to thank God for the yield of the land, and His bountiful gifts.

God still longs on Christmas, when men present their gifts, for them to remember that He freely gave His only Son to die that they might have life -- everlasting life.

God still says, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." That commandment is just as binding today as the day He wrote it with His own finger on a tablet of stone and gave it to Moses.

God never forgot the Passover. Each year when Israel met on that occasion, God looked backward to that night in Egypt and remembered its significance. Each year God looked forward to the time when at the Passover He would fulfill His promise and send the Lamb of God to die for all the world. That far-off day was a type and a shadow.

Another Passover

Another Passover was at hand and many had come up to Jerusalem to the feast, but this year there was a new interest. It was the young Prophet of Galilee. His mighty works and messages had stirred all who had heard Him, and His fame had spread throughout the land.

There were strangers who came up to the feast, who had heard of the Galilean, and they hoped that on this occasion they might see Him. When they did not find Him in the Temple they asked one another, "What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?"

There were also at the feast friends of Jesus, who had heard Him in Samaria of Galilee.

They were expecting to see Him at the feast, but when He did not appear in the Temple court, they asked, "What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?" The chief priests and scribes were there. They hoped on this occasion to find something against Christ, that they might destroy Him, for they hated Him. But when they saw Him nowhere about the Temple, they asked, "What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?" With the strangers it was a question of curiosity. With His friends it was a question of anxiety. With the chief priests and scribes it was a question of hate. But whether the question was prompted by curiosity, anxiety or hate, in asking it, they proved they were blind. They did not fathom its meaning. They did not understand.

He Could Not Miss It

They asked, "What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?" They did not know that He could not miss that feast. They did not know that He had been on His way to that feast for more than four thousand years.

He had started to that feast when He walked through the garden calling, "Adam, where art thou?" It was the cry of a brokenhearted father for a lost child.He was thinking of this feast when He said, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head." There is scarcely a page or a chapter in all the Old Testament in which you will not find the footprints of the Son of God on His way to the feast. On The Road He was coming to this feast when He passed the altar of Abel and accepted his sacrifice.

He was on His way when He paused on Mount Ararat to receive the offering of Noah.

He was on the journey when He passed through the land of Moriah and provided a ram for a substitute for Isaac, whom Abraham was about to offer as a burnt offering. On The Way Jacob saw Him one dark night as He crossed the Brook Jabbok at a place called Peniel.

Jacob wrestled with Him throughout the night, but as the day was breaking, He touched his thigh, changed his walk, transformed his life and went on His way to the feast.

He was journeying to this feast when He paused at the house of the Israelite on the night of the first Passover. When the death angel came, He pointed to the blood drops on the door post and on the lintel.

Moses saw His shadow, and heard His stately steps as He passed Mount Sinai on His way to the feast.

Elisha said, "He will be there, for I saw Him pass in a fiery chariot with horses of fire," and Elijah, the first "hitchhiker," caught a free ride to the city of God.

Other Witnesses

Job said, "I did not see Him but I know He will be there, for I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.’" The Psalmist said, "He will be there, for I heard Him say, ’Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, 0 my God.’"

David said His journey would lead him through the valley of the shadow of death, and he planned to secure Him as a guide when he passed through that valley.

Isaiah knew He would be there, for He saw Him coming from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah.Malachi said, "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple."

John the Baptist heard Him coming and sprang forth before Him, saying, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."

Yet there were many who stood around the Temple that day and asked one another, "What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?" They were blind. He could not miss that feast. The Birth Of Christ He was on His way to the feast that night when the angelic choir sang:

"Glory to God in the highest, On earth peace, Good will toward men."

He was coming when the angel said to the shepherds, "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

He was on the road to the feast when the wise men saw His star in the East and came to worship Him.

"On that night when in Judean skies The mystic star dispensed its light, A blind man moved in sleep, And dreamed that he had sight.

"That night when shepherds heard the song, Of hosts angelic choiring near, A deaf man moved in slumber’s spell, And dreamed that he could hear.

"That night when in the cattle stall Slept Child and mother, cheek by jowl, A cripple moved his twisted limbs, And dreamed that he was whole. That night when o’er the new-born Babe The tender Mary rose to lean, A loathsome leper smiled in sleep, And dreamed that he was clean. That night when to the mother’s breast The little King was held secure, A harlot slept a happy sleep,And dreamed that she was pure. That night when in the manger lay, The Sanctified who came to save, A man moved in the sleep of death, And dreamed there was no grave.

-- Author Unknown -- The Journey Continues Jesus was on His way to that feast when He met Nicodemus and talked to him of the new birth.

He was on the journey when he paused to rest on the well curb in Samaria and talked to the woman about the Water of Life.

He was coming when He passed the pool of Bethesda and healed the man who had not walked for thirty-eight years.

He was on His way to the feast when He stopped beneath a sycamore tree in the city of Jericho, and said, "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down, for to day I must abide at thy house."

It was on this same street that Jesus encountered blind Bartimaeus, brought daylight into his blind eyes, and sent him away a healed and happy citizen. Will He Be At The Feast?

"What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?" He could not miss that feast. It was for this cause that He was born. It was for this purpose that He came into the world.

He was on His way to this feast when He healed the woman of the issue of blood, when He raised Lazarus from the dead, when He met the bier at the gate of the city of Nain, when He raised the dead boy to life, when He interrupted the funeral and sent the mother and son away rejoicing.

He Came To The Feast Jesus came to the feast, but why was He there? Not for any social privileges it might offer. Not to gain political prestige with the rabble. Not to appease physical appetite or desire. Not to satisfy the curiosity of the strangers.Not to gratify the admiration of His friends. Not to defy the hatred of the scribes and Pharisees. Not as a type and shadow of something yet to come. Not to sprinkle the blood of bulls and goats on a material dwelling.

Why Was He At The Feast?

He was there as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.

He was there as the Passover Lamb of which there had been many types and shadows.

He was there to sprinkle the blood of the Son of God upon the door posts of the hearts of humanity.

He was there to enter once into the Holy Place and obtain eternal redemption for all.

He was there to die that we might have life, and have it more abundantly.

He was there to taste death for every man.

He was there to bear our sins in His own body on the tree. He who knew no sin was there to be made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

He was there to suffer without the gate that He might sanctify the people with His own blood.

Christ Our Passover

Though each step of the way grew darker and more palling, He never for a moment swerved from the purpose for which He had come.

He willingly submitted to the sinful men who came to arrest Him.

He spoke kindly to Judas who betrayed Him.

He patiently received the crown of thorns.

He humbly wore the purple robe and carried the reed down the streets of Jerusalem, a mock king, while Herod and the rabble ridiculed Him.

He staggered under the heavy Cross to the hill called Calvary.Without force, of His own accord, He stretched His hands for the cruel nails, and held His quivering feet still while they drove the spike through the skin and flesh into the wood beneath.

Like a sheep before her shearers, He was dumb when they lifted the heavy Cross and dropped it into the socket in the rock.

Oh, that you could see Him, that I could see Him, as He hung upon the Cross! Oh, that we could fully realize who it was that died upon that tree! It was Jesus -- the man. But it was also Christ -- God.

God And Man Have you seen the picture the poet has painted of that tragedy, which showed that Christ was both God and man? His holy fingers formed the bough Where grew the thorns that crowned His brow.

He grew the forest whence there sprung The tree on which His body hung.

He died upon a cross of wood, Yet built the hill on which it stood. The nails that in His hands were driven Were made from iron that He had given. The spear that spilled His precious blood Was tempered in the fires of God. The tomb wherein His form was laid Was hewn from rocks that He had made.

-- Author Unknown --

It Is Finished

Hanging upon the middle cross, Jesus, the God-man, our Passover Lamb, clenched His hands over the nails and, looking down upon the vilest, guiltiest sinners taking part in His crucifixion, said, "Father, forgive them."

Then He cried with a loud voice, "It is finished," and dismissed His spirit. Instantly the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. A way was made into the Holy of Holies, and since that day, no bishop, no pope, no priest nor anyone else can come closer to the great throbbing heart of God than you or I. Thank God, He came to the feast!

* * * * * * *