"Passover, in the original language connotes this brooding and protecting power, not based on the goodness of the people...but on the receiving of the blood of the Sacrificial Passover Lamb, Jesus Himself."

When God speaks--every single time God speaks--He adds new mystery yet to be uncovered. Do you disagree?

Think of the prophecies you've received. As soon as God gives you a prophetic word, you learn the "what" of God's will. Isn't it true then, that your next questions include the, "who, when, where, why, and how" of the prophecy just given to you? I'm pretty sure it does.

Why should the celebration of PASSOVER be different? Passover is not just a feast, it's prophecy. It's meant to make you ask more questions--not just simply give you one answer.

I'm not a "feast keeper," as it were. What I mean is, I don't keep the Jewish feasts each year though I do believe God continues to speak through them, and I have organized or attended a few PASSOVER Seders myself.

In the PASSOVER story, as is true in the entire Bible, you have the original meaning, of course; but then you also have the prophetic, the hidden or mysterious meanings--the secret code, so to speak.

Who doesn't love a good mystery with secret codes? I love a good mystery story. I also love stories with multiple levels of meaning. It's the prophetic, the hidden and the mysterious messages encoded in the Bible that make the study of each story so great--so passionately and mystically GRAND!

THE ISAIAH PROPHECY

One of my favorite examples of this comes from Isaiah's famous prophecy. Even today, the Jewish community argues about its meaning:

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

At the time of Isaiah's prophecy, there was a civil war between "brothers." Israel and Judah (with other countries involved) were battling against one another. In this case, Judah was the "good guy." After all, "The Lion from the Tribe of Judah"--Jesus Himself--would come through this specific tribe.

So the sign to encourage Judah's king was Isaiah's prophecy that a virgin would conceive, have a male child, and He would be named "Immanuel" (which means, "God with us"). It was a promise for the future--a simple prophecy that a child, Immanuel, would be born to a woman who was at the time of the prophecy, still a virgin. Said another way, it could have been both a prophecy for a soon-to-be-born child and a longer prophecy for hundreds of years later.

However, the most important part is the "hidden" or mysterious meaning--the prophecy referred to the promised fulfillment of the Messiah, the Christ--who would be called, "Immanuel." "PASSOVER," in a very real sense, was also one of HIS NAMES. He would also be named "Jesus"--but no matter the three names we've given (and there are many more), HE would be the PASSOVER LAMB HIMSELF.

So, again, Isaiah's prophecy includes all of the above--that Judah would prevail in this war; that God would be with Judah; and most importantly that virgin, who we now know as Mary, who had "known no man," would hundreds of years later conceive a male child, Jesus. Jesus would quite literally be, "God with us," because He Himself would be the "I AM" walking on earth.

Matthew completely mystifies the reader by telling them how everything fit together. He explains Isaiah's words like this:

To Joseph, the angel said, "She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place (Matthew reminds us) to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel--which means, God with us.'" (Matthew 1:21-23) (Emphasis added).

Oddly enough, the angel claims that the child--who was commanded by the angel to be given the name "Jesus"--was the one-and-the same child as the prophesied "Son" who was to be given a different name--"Immanuel."

How strange! I love this stuff! I sometimes wonder if, around the house, Mary actually called her Son "Immanuel," because after all, that was prophesied to be one of HIS names.

PASSOVER--FOR ISRAEL AND FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

Every time the Bible speaks of PASSOVER--from the time of Jacob onward--Passover involves Israel (Jacob's new name). Centuries before the original, or the first PASSOVER was to come into being, God put Israel's grandfather, Abraham, into a deep sleep, and then prophesied an odd and not-so-encouraging word to him--even as Abraham was very old and still childless:

"Then the LORD said to him (Abram), 'Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.'"--Genesis 15:13-14 (emphasis added)

I don't know about you, but if God gave that promise to me, would I be thanking Him, or asking, "So what did I do to deserve THIS?"

Clearly demonstrating His foreknowledge of the future--400 years ahead of time--the Lord prophesied the first Passover concerning Israel who, as a person, was actually two generations from even being born. In fact, first Isaac would have to be miraculously born in Sarah's old age, and THEN Jacob (later named Israel), would come into being. And then--the promised slavery for 400 years! Great promise, huh? And then the deliverance.

It sort of reminds me of my life! How about you?

When the proper time came--four centuries later, just exactly as it was prophesied (some might even say it was planned on purpose by God), Pharaoh, predictably refused to let the Children of Israel go.

God then initiates Passover--which was both a holiday and a prophecy. He commands Moses to tell the people to take into their homes, bond with, and then sacrifice either a one-year-old lamb or a one-year-old goat. They were to then sprinkle some of the blood on their doorposts. Not all of the blood was required, just some of it. Another prophetic picture.

Through obedience to this command, Israel's first-born children would be spared from death, though Egypt's first-born were not spared. Not even Egypt's first-born cattle were spared.

Again--Israel obeyed the command and the practice of Passover and as a result their first born were spared. Everyone got out of town in one day--with great riches. Again, this is exactly according to the 400-year-old prophecy by God. That's the story. But there's more, MUCH more...

THE PROPHETIC, MYSTERIOUS AND HIDDEN MEANINGS OF PASSOVER

Just as most countries and ethnic groups celebrate national holidays (Holy Days), God used this prophesied event to create one of His own holidays for Israel--PASSOVER. But with God, though Passover is forever about Israel and cannot be separated from it, it is also about God and the Gentiles (everyone who is not from Israel or even from the Tribe of Judah). In other words, Passover is about those who are Jewish and those who are not. Those who are not, we call Gentiles, even today.

Here is the original command by God through Moses:

"The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD--a lasting ordinance." (That's what most people call a Holiday) Exodus 12:13-14 (emphasis added)

God used His own prophetic Word, and His plan to carry out HIS own promise; the deliverance of Israel. Then he pre-determined that this deliverance would become a holiday and a perpetual sign regarding Israel as a nation. But it was a prophecy for all nations as well.

PASSOVER CLUES

While many miss the hidden symbols, some of them become obvious--even to the casual observer. Christ, the Passover Lamb, loves to play hide and seek after all--but His "Way" is to hide all that He does in plain sight!

God gives these first PASSOVER instructions:

"The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats...Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat...along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover." Exodus 12:5, 7-8, 11

Here are some of the clues in the celebration of PASSOVER--hidden, some might even say mysteriously--in plain sight:

• It must be a person's free choice to choose a spotless lamb for his Sacrifice.
• He, the Messiah, would appear as a male just prior to deliverance.
• He would have no flaw and would be young--thus a young lamb, not a grown sheep or goat.
• He could be seen (and sacrificed) as either a lamb, or a goat (what we now know as a scapegoat) who would take on HIMSELF the sins of the people and HE (the goat) would later be led outside the camp to die in the desert. Jesus was to be tested in the desert, as it turns out.
• Only some of His blood was needed. It only takes a drop of blood to cleanse all of Mankind--at least for those who would, of their free will, receive the Messiah.
• The blood is over the doorposts of your life--your body, your soul, your mind, and your spirit.
• As odd as it sounds, the Passover teaches that "He" must be eaten. Jesus completely stunned His followers with this saying, "unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood you have no Life in you" (John 6:53-58 paraphrased). This sounds nearly barbaric, on its face, but Jesus was speaking in a parable. In this same passage He gives the context of His parable. He clarifies that just as the Father is in Him, so we "feed" (symbolically) on Christ--and thus become one with Him. The Holy Spirit accomplishes this when He fills us, of course.
• Bitter herbs must also be eaten because the sacrifice of this lamb would be "bitter" to all mankind.
• No Yeast is a symbol of no sin, and that no sin would later grow in HIM. It's interesting that some movie-makers today want to portray Christ as someone who sinned, just as we sinned.
• When you choose THE sacrifice, eat HIM in haste and for Him to take you suddenly and catapult you from where you are, into the desert before you inherit the Promised Land.
• He will remove you in a day from one desert of slavery, and take you with riches through another desert of testing--into a promised future.
• One only needed to apply the blood. You didn't need to be worthy, just obedient.
• One of the most important symbols in the Passover, and often missed is this: God knew ahead of time just how long they would be slaves, and exactly when they would be delivered from slavery. This is why prophecy works, by the way. God knows the future.
• God knew that the vast majority who applied the blood would neither appreciate nor enter into the fullest part of their promise. Yet the Lamb's blood kept them from death anyway. How profound. Today we call that grace!

In other words, God knew ahead of time that His people didn't deserve this good treatment. Yet because they applied the blood (symbolizing accepting Christ), they were preserved from death. In our case, we are preserved from eternal death. We are given beauty instead of ashes. Eternal life, instead of eternal death. And we receive wealth and riches that we have neither earned nor deserve.

There is so much more that we have no time to explore. But now there is a bit more to be learned at this time. Jesus, just before His death stood above the City of Jerusalem and wept:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who continue to kill the prophets and to stone those who are sent to you! How often I have desired and yearned to gather your children together (around Me), as a hen (gathers) her young under her wings, but you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken (abandoned, left to you destitute of God's help)! And I tell you, you will not see Me again until the time comes when you shall say, 'Blessed (to be celebrated with praises) is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!'" Luke 13:34-35 AMP (emphasis added) (see Psalm 118:26; Jeremiah 22:5)

As we think of Passover, we see death working its way through Egypt and an angel taking a glance at the blood, and telling death to stay away. But no, it's more than that. It's like the brooding of a mother hen over her chicks, covering all of the people.

It's not a Passover in the sense that the spirit of death would only see blood and PASS OVER it one time and one time only. NO! Instead, the picture is closer to what Jesus said while looking over Jerusalem, "I wanted to gather, protect and brood over you, just like what happened in the Passover. I wanted to be your complete and ongoing covering, not based on your goodness but instead, based on your acceptance of Me" (Matthew 23:37 paraphrased).

The word used for PASSOVER is not in other Semitic languages, except in passages derived from the Hebrew Bible; the Egyptian word "pesht" corresponds, "to extend the arms or wings over one protecting him." It reminds one of Psalm 91 and the "hiding under His wings."

"He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." Psalm 91:4

So, Passover, in the original language connotes this brooding and protecting power, not based on the goodness of the people, for there "is none good, not even one," but on the receiving of the blood of the Sacrificial Passover Lamb, Jesus Himself.

Many see the weeping of Jesus in the "O Jerusalem" passage as a curse. "...I longed to gather you," Jesus said, "but now your house is left to you desolate because you wouldn't have any of it" (see Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34) (paraphrased).

Instead, Jesus pronounces a temporary desert experience, once again, but more importantly, He prophesies blessing to Israel and all who would receive HIM as the Christ:

"And I tell you, you will not see Me again until the time comes when you shall say, Blessed (to be celebrated with praises) is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!" Luke 13:35 AMP

Jesus is blessing Jerusalem with a stated prophecy. Let me put it in modern language:

Jesus: "I prophesy this to you Jerusalem and to everyone else. The very next time you say to me, 'Blessed is He (Jesus; Yeshua) who came from God,' then I will gather you like a Hen gathers and protects its chicks. And I'll be your PASSOVER Lamb and I'll become yours SUDDENLY. And no eternal death will come to you. You will gain eternal life, because you accept my blood" (Matthew 23:37 paraphrased).

That's a great promise!

Finally, we note this about how Jesus shared His heart regarding THE PASSOVER:

"When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. And He said to them, 'I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.'" Luke 22:14-16

Though Jesus knew that the Passover referred to HIMSELF, He eagerly desired to eat the very meal referring to HIS OWN SACRIFICE. He wanted to bond with His followers one last time BEFORE He "suffered."


Blessings,
Steve Shultz