Passover / Easter - Calvery
Last week we looked at the Original Passover, and had a quick overview look at what it was all about. Now we look at the fulfillment of that festival and what it was really actually pointing forwards to, John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” This is that wee pet lamb that enabled death to pass right over you and leave you alive, Passover in the flesh as it were.
Now I have a list of some 25 main points that make up the critical elements of the Passover, and then there is a huge list of Bible Verses that show that Yeshua/Jesus was the complete fulfillment of every single point and particle. I have full faith in the scriptures and that my wonderful Jesus is the fulfillment of Passover.
It is of interest that Calvary and Passover were at the exact same time almost 2000 years ago. How the Watchtower translates these verses is very interesting in light of the fact that the Passover lamb was roasted vertically on a pomegranate stake. “As Jesus said: “Whoever does not accept his torture stake and follow after me is not worthy of me.” (Mt 10:38; 16:24; Mr 8:34; Lu 9:23; 14:27). They clearly see this connection that Yeshua/Jesus is the Passover Lamb.
There is a debate as to whether Calvary was Wednesday or Friday. Let us look at this one for a quick moment. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. In Hebrew this is called the House of Bread. Now John 6:48 “I am that bread of life,” is a quote Jesus made, which he says that he is from Bethlehem, and he is the Son of God, thus tying together bread with bread, with a hint of manna as he was and is from Heaven as well.
Now bread comes from three ingredients, grain, oil, salt. You crush grain to get flour, crush olives to get oil and crush rock salt to get seasoning salt, and the Garden of Gethsemane is also the place of the Olive Press, this is where Jesus got squeezed far more than any other has or ever will be squeezed. So no matter how big your problem, Jesus can understand as he has gone way further, so why not cast your burden upon him for he careth for you.
Now Jesus tied Bread and Manna together in John 6:58. Now Manna is an interesting product God sent it daily, but try to keep it overnight and it rotted, stunk and grew worms, well that is except for Sabbath. Friday Manna kept right through Sabbath till Sunday. Now Acts 13:35 “Wherefore he saith also in another [psalm], Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Points us to Yeshua/Jesus who in his death would not see corruption, just like the Manna, safe and preserved on Sabbath. Now John 19:39 says that Yeshua/Jesus was wrapped in about 100 pounds of funeral lotion to curb odor and to preserve, so this also aided the Manna in the tomb to stay perfect. Thus on Resurrection Morning, the Bread came from the Tomb still fresh and perfect. There is also a hint connection to the Shew Bread in the ancient Sanctuary, and that lasted a week without suffering decay in any manner, and it also had fragrant herbs sprinkled on it as well. Therefore Calvary was Friday.
At the Last Supper, Yeshua/Jesus developed Passover to a fully Eternity Festival. Blood sacrifice was no longer needed as the Lamb of God had come, it was no longer future, it was a reality and history now for us, so no more blood sacrifices are needed. Now Yeshua/Jesus used the unleavened bread and the cup, which we now call Holy Communion, Ordinances, The Lords Supper, the Table, and a few other names to identify this new festival.
The Bread portion given you was to be fully consumed, just like the Lamb that it referred to, and the cup was fully consumed to represent the blood applied once to doorposts, but now to the doorposts of your heart. In this format it will go on forever (Matt 26:29) when we have Passover with Yeshua/Jesus fresh and new in the Heavenly Canaan or Promised Land. Please note that there is no yeast/Sin in Yeshua/Jesus so no yeast in the cup or the bread clearly representing his sinless life for us sinners to partake of.
In John 6:51, Yeshua/Jesus refers us to eat his flesh so that we can live, very interesting concept. Now add Rev 22:2, where the tree of life has leaves to be eaten so that they will heal the nations. Now John Chapter 1 starts out by giving us “The Word.” In Matt 4:4, Yeshua/Jesus stated that we are not to live by bread alone but by God’s Word. So the Bible is “The Word.” Therefore linking these back and hitching them up, we are to eat Yeshua/Jesus daily, as our Passover, and when the sting of death through sin hits us, Yeshua/Jesus is our Passover. Now pages of a book are called leaves, and Jewish people were admonished to eat, consume, digest a leaf or two of scripture every day. So how much scripture do you eat and digest every day?? Is it not now time to get back to the book and Yeshua/Jesus, The Word.