Pesach [Passover]

"Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household.… Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight."

- Exodus 12:3 & 6 // NLT

Jesus is the Lamb of God.

If you read my post on Instagram last week [Palm Sunday], we talked very briefly about Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Today, we're going to dive deeper into the significance of this momentous day as we come to the end of Holy Week [but who says it has to be the end of us remembering it...right?].

Passover [Pesach] is a Jewish feast that celebrated the Israelite's exodus from Egypt and their freedom from slavery. It is one of the three pilgrimage feasts [Passover, Pentecost and Sukkot], and is couple with the Feast of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits - all celebrated in succession.

On the 10th day of the first month [Nisan - which is March/April on the Gregorian calendar], a family was to take a lamb into their household. This lamb was to be big enough for the household to eat. The lamb had to be a year old and needed to be without any defects or blemishes. They would keep the lamb until the fourteenth day, when they would kill and eat the lamb as part of the Passover meal. The day the families picked a lamb for their households was called Lamb Selection Day. Pilgrims would eagerly make their pilgrimage to Jerusalem to get a lamb that had been especially bred by the Sadducees for this occasion.

In John 12.1, we learn that Jesus arrived six days before the Sabbath to a city called Bethany, a town on the Mount of Olives [this would have been a Friday]. He spent his Sabbath with Mary, Martha and Lazarus [whom He had raised from the dead]. On Sunday, the first day of the week, He walked to a small city - also around the Mount of Olives - called Bethany, where He looked over Jerusalem, mounted on a donkey and rode into the city as their King on a donkey.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me." Matthew 23.37 // NLT [Jesus Grieves Over Jerusalem]

The day Jesus entered Jerusalem was a very busy Lamb Selection Day. Him riding into the city on this day was as per the customs and laws God gave the Israelites for Passover, which was deeply symbolic of Him being their Passover lamb being brought into their home [or the city of God] to redeem them for good.

Did you know that a donkey is the only animal in the world that bears a cross on its back?

"Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet He is humble - riding on a donkey - riding on a donkey's colt." - Zechariah 9.9 //NLT

Jesus would have been tortured, crucified, and He would have then given up His Spirit on the fourth day of the Passover week [Thursday], making it 3 full days to the Sabbath - the final day of Pesach [Passover]. He rose on Sunday, the first day of the week according to God's calendar, which was the Feast of First Fruits - the celebration of the first harvest of crops.

Our Saviour's entered into a Sabbath rest after fulfilling His purpose - to save us all - and He rose as the First Fruit of mankind - the first to rise from the dead after defeating death and sin. We [those harvested into salvation and those who are connected to Jesus as their vine] follow in His victory and become the next fruits of the Lord - His redeemed.

Yahweh is a God of order, carefully orchestrating all of His ways so that we may see Jesus, His love and His salvation.

You might be reading this with eyes open and a heart full of gratitude to our eternal King and Saviour, Jesus. If so, never lose that adoration and gratitude for the One who saved you.

If you're reading this and are learning about Jesus for the first time, or maybe you've heard about Him but never quite believed in Him for yourself, this is what I'd like you to know:

God orchestrated this plan before He even made the world... before the foundations of the earth were laid. He knew we would fail Him by choosing sin over Him, and He knew we would not be able to pay the penalty required to restore the relationship with Him. We damaged the road, and the only one that could fix it is God Himself. He didn't have to, but He did it because He loves us. He loves you. The world promises many ways to spirituality, fulfilment, and love. Jesus is the only way to all you are searching for. He is the way, truth and life. If you'd like to know more about Him, get in touch with me by emailing lifewithapurposeau@gmail.com. I'd love to have a conversation with you and introduce you to the Friend and King that saved my life - the One that died so you could live in Him [both in this life and the next].

Way. Truth. Life John 14.6

LWAP is a community, so let's do this together. Comment your thoughts below.

God bless, and Jesus loves you.

Pam.

Jeremiah 29.11