"Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the
plains of Jericho." (Joshua 5:10).
"Now Josiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the
first month." (2 Chronicles 35:1).
"And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month." (Ezra 6:19).
The Meaning of the Old Testament Passover
The Old Testament Passover is a memorial to God passing over the houses of the children of Israel when He killed the firstborn of man and beast in
Egypt, during the night of the fourteenth. The Passover is not a memorial to the exodus of Israel from Egypt.
" For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and
against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over
you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD
throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance " (Exodus 12:12-14).
" Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the
Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of
you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the
LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. It will
come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall be, when your children say to you, What do you
mean by this service? that you shall say, It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered
our households. So the people bowed their heads and worshiped " (Exodus 12:21-27).
The Meaning of the New Testament Passover
The New Testament Passover is a memorial of the death of Jesus Christ as the true Passover Lamb. We eat the broken bread and drink the wine in
remembrance of the sacrifice of His beaten body and shed blood. This sacrifice makes possible the forgiveness of our sins. By partaking of the Passover symbols of bread and wine, we are
proclaiming our continual faith in Jesus' sacrifice.
"Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover,
was sacrificed for us." (1 Corinthians 5:7).
" The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world " (John 1:29)!
" Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your
fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. " (1 Peter1:18-19).
" For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and
when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. In the same manner He also took the cup after
supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
" So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve
apostles with Him. Then He said to them, With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; . . .. And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and
gave it to them, saying, This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood,
which is shed for you. " (Luke 22:13-15, 19-20).
" So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.. . .
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body. Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to
them, saying, Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of
the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom. " (Matthew 26:19-20, 26-29).
" So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover. . . . And as
they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body. Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to
them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the
vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." (Mark 14:16, 22-25).
Sharing in the Death of Jesus Christ
Each year at Passover the eating of the bread and the drinking of the wine, are reminders that we share or participate in the death of Christ.
" The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion
of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. " (1Corinthians 10: 16-17).
The Greek word translated in 1 Corinthians 10:16 as "communion" is koinonia 2842:
- 1) fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse
- 1a) the share which one has in anything, participation
- 1b) intercourse, fellowship, intimacy
- 1b1) the right hand as a sign and pledge of fellowship (in fulfilling the apostolic office)
- 1c) a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, as exhibiting an embodiment and proof of fellowship
Taken from The Online Bible
The New American Standard Bible translates 1 Corinthians 10:16 as:
"Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of
Christ?"
When a person accepts the sacrifice of Jesus and is baptized, he shares in the death of Christ, his "old man" is crucified with Jesus.
" What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in
it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no
longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised
from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also,
reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:1-11).
When we partake of the Passover symbols, we again participate or share in the death of Jesus. For the Christian, Passover is a reminder of the
commitment we made to God at baptism.
The Fifteenth Day of the First Month
The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Hebrew Calendar. The first and the seventh days of the feast are
Sabbath days. No regular work is to be done and a holy convocation or assembly is to take place. Leavened bread products are avoided and not eaten throughout the week long festival. They
are replaced with unleavened bread.
" And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened
bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. " (Leviticus 23:6-8).
" And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. On the first day you shall have a
holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. . . . And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. " (Numbers
28:17-18, 25).
So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you
shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the
twenty-first day of the month at evening. (1) For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut
off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread. (Exodus 12: 17-20).
The Fifteenth Day of the First Month is the Exodus
Israel left Egypt during the night of fifteenth day of the first month. They began leaving Egypt at twilight, 24 hours after killing the Passover
lambs.
" These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the LORD. And these are their journeys according to their starting points: They departed from Rameses in the
first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians
were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had killed among them. Also on their gods the LORD had executed judgments. Then the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at
Succoth. " (Numbers 33:1-5).
" Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by
night. " (Deuteronomy 16:1).
" But at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at the going
down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. " (Deuteronomy 16:6).
The Night to be Much Observed
Israel was to observe or celebrate their departure from Egypt each year. This celebration was to occur, on the anniversary of their exodus from Egypt.
The celebration began after sundown, at the beginning of the fifteenth day of the first month. This was the time of day Israel began to leave Egypt (Numbers 33: 1-3; Deuteronomy 16:1,
6).
" Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. A mixed
multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds--a great deal of livestock. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened,
because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves. Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and
thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years--on that very same day--it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout
their generations. " (Exodus 12: 37-42).
Traditionally this night is known as The Night to be Much Observed. This is based upon the King James translation of Exodus 12:42:
"It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be
observed of all the children of Israel in their generations."
Israel was to remember the day on which they left Egypt. Unleavened bread was eaten for seven days, from the beginning of fifteenth to the end of the
twenty-first day of the first month, in remembrance of the exodus from Egypt.
" And Moses said to the people: Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of
hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of
the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this
service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened
bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, This is done because of what the LORD did for me
when I came up from Egypt. It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD'S law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has
brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year " (Exodus 13: 3-10).
" You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you
came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. " (Deuteronomy 16:3).
" Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from
the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation
for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat--that only maybe prepared by you. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same
day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the
fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since
whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all
your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread. " (Exodus 12:15-20).
Deliverance from Slavery
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He was delivering them from slavery.
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of
your yoke and made you walk upright." (Leviticus 26:13).
" And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an
outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. " (Deuteronomy 5:15).
" Then you shall say to your son: We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. "
(Deuteronomy 6:21).
" You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing
today. " (Deuteronomy 15:15).
" But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this
thing. " (Deuteronomy 24:18).
The New Testament Meaning of the Night to be Much Observed
As Israel was in bondage and slavery in Egypt, so we were in bondage and slavery to sin. Freedom from the bondage of sin comes through the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ. During the New Testament Passover service we remember and commemorate the death of Jesus Christ which makes spiritual freedom possible. During The Night to be Much
Observed we are celebrating our freedom and deliverance from spiritual Egypt, sin. The eating of unleavened bread through out the coming week is a reminder of our freedom and
deliverance from sin, and it is a continual reminder that once out of slavery we should not return to it.
As the Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians, we were slaves of sin.
" Jesus answered them, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. " (John 8:34).
Leaven represents sin. Unleavened bread represents righteousness.
" Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may
be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice
and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. " (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).
The Connection Between Romans 6, Passover and The Night to be Much Observed
When baptized, we share in the death of Jesus by being "baptized into His death." When we partake of the Passover each year, we also share in the body
and blood (the death) of Jesus Christ.
" What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in
it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? " (Romans 6:1-3)?
On The Night to be Much Observed Israel began their new life by walking out of Egypt (Joshua 5:6; Judges 11:16). In like manner, this night
pictures the beginning of our walk in the newness of life. A life committed to walking in obedience to God.
" Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life. " (Romans 6:4).
The Night to be Much Observed is a time to remember our freedom from the slavery of sin, just as Israel received freedom from slavery in
Egypt.
" For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed
from sin. " (Romans 6:5-7).
But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And
having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak inhuman terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of
uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free
in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and
having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord." (Romans 6:17-23).
The whole Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-7), starting with The Night to be Much Observed, is a reminder that we are dead to sin, it
should no longer control our lives. A Christian going back to sinning, after being set free from it, is like those Israelites who once freed from Egyptian slavery, wanted to return to it
(Numbers 14:1-4).
" Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no
more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be
dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your
members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall
not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you
present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? " (Romans 6:
8-16).
Conclusion
The Old Testament Passover was a memorial of God passing over the houses of the children of Israel when He killed the firstborn of Egypt. The
(Christian) Passover is not a memorial of Israel's exodus from Egypt. The New Testament Passover is a memorial of the death of Jesus Christ. We eat the broken bread and drink the wine in
remembrance of the sacrifice of His beaten body and shed blood.
Israel was to observe or celebrate their departure from Egypt each year. This celebration was to happen on the anniversary of their exodus from Egypt.
The celebration began after sundown, at the beginning of the fifteenth day of the first month, a full day after the death of the Passover lambs. This night is known as The Night to be
Much Observed. For Christians The Night to be Much Observed is a celebration of our freedom and deliverance from spiritual Egypt, sin.
Footnotes:
(1) The instruction to eat unleavened bread starting on the "fourteenth day of the month at evening, " "until the
twenty-first day of the month at evening," means they were to start the Feast of Unleavened Bread at the end of the fourteenth day at sundown. The Feast was to continue until the
sundown on the twenty-first day of the month. As we have seen in Leviticus 23:6-8 and Numbers 28:17-18, 25, the Feast of Unleavened Bread clearly starts on the fifteenth day of the first
month, and is seven days long. This would make the twenty-first day of the first month the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. After sundown that night, it was permissible to once again eat
leavened bread.
In Leviticus 23:27, 32 we find a similar description on how to observe the Day of Atonement. The tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of
Atonement. We observe this day as a Sabbath, along with fasting. In verse 32 we find instructions on when to begin the Day of Atonement: "It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and
you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath. " The Day of Atonement starts at sundown on the ninth
day of the seventh month, and ends 24 hours later at sundown on the tenth day.
Written by: Calvin Lashway
