Passover: As Though I Myself Was Delivered
Yes, I’ve been writing a lot more than usual. These past few days I’ve been feeling such joy and peace in our wonderful Lord Yeshua (Jesus). Perhaps it is the time of year? I will try to space my posts in the future, but today is the evening of Passover, the beginning of my favorite holiday, and how can I be silent?
“Your favorite holiday?” you ask, “Not Easter? Not Christmas?”
Don’t get me wrong, I do love Easter, and yes, even Christmas (the spirit of it, not the worldly celebration of it). But for me Passover is the best for it speaks of everything God has done, is doing, and will do. It powerfully points to deliverance from God—through the blood of the Lamb.
But my favorite part of Passover is when we read the Seder (the ceremonial meal with scripture readings, prayers, and stories, read by the Jewish people all over the world). I’ve been to a lot of Seder’s where things get changed, and people add passages from the New Testament. But whether they change it or not, one part of the Seder is kept by all those who celebrate the feast: some type of paraphrase of [biblegateway passage=”Exodus 13:4″].
In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of His hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
This verse was written for future generations. The heart and soul of the Passover Haggadah (retelling of the Passover story) is this first person emphasis—even now, 2,000 years later.
I was in Egypt.
I was a slave.
I was delivered—by the mighty wonders and miracles of God.
Even as I write these words, my eyes fill with tears. Do we really appreciate just what God has done for us through Yeshua, the Passover Lamb? Do we really meditate on this:
“For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast…”
1 Corinthians 5:7–8 NKJV
This is the power of Passover for me. Just as the blood of a lamb on the doorposts of each Jewish home shielded my people from the Angel of Death, so today, the blood of Yeshua on the doorposts of our hearts (marking the entrance to all of who we are: body, heart, soul, and mind), shields and turns away the wrath of God from us.
Today I’m looking forward to celebrating the Passover Sedar with friends. We will read through the traditional Haggadah and retell to each other this wonderful true account of God’s deliverance of our people—of us.
Perhaps these words have been ringing through my ears to remind me of the victory I have in Messiah, or perhaps it is just to encourage you.
I don’t know what your Egypt is—the place of your bondage, the place where you feel imprisoned and helpless, and long for deliverance. Take heart by dear friends, deliverance is yours in Yeshua. He is your cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.
May each of you have a blessed Passover and may these thoughts be encouraging as you prepare for Easter this week.
For Meditation: [biblegateway passage=”Psalm 145″]
Postscript: I just want you to know that I am not unaware of the terrible things happening right now worldwide, particularly in Syria and Egypt. As we rejoice in our Savior, I pray that we will also remember to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering terrible grief, loss, and injury. May the comfort of our great God and Savior be real to them at this time.
