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HOUSMAIL
HM129
20 March 2008 PASSOVER 2008 Passover
this year will be celebrated on 19 April. The
corresponding Jewish date will be 15 Nisan, commencing at sunset on Saturday,
with the traditional feast eaten Saturday night. Prior
to that on 14 Nisan will be the "Day of Preparation", on which all
leaven is to be removed from Jewish homes, in readiness for the next seven
days which is called the "Feast of Unleavened Bread". Saturday
afternoon 14 Nisan is this year's anniversary of the day on which, in New
Testament times, the Passover lamb would have been slain. However today Jews
no longer eat a Passover lamb at the feast because they don't have a temple
in which to kill the lamb. The Old Testament is very specific that the lamb
can only be slain "in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place
his name in". (Deuteronomy 16:6) i.e. No temple - No
Passover sacrifice!!! When
the temple veil was rent at the Crucifixion of Jesus, it could be clearly
seen that there was no sign of the presence of God in the Holy of Holies. The
temple was revealed as finally DESOLATE - abandoned by God. (Daniel 9:27, Luke 13:35) And that state of
desolation was reinforced in AD70, when God removed even the temple itself,
and "not one stone was left upon another". (Matthew 24:1) The
destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70 wasn't just a fulfillment of an
ancient prophecy by Daniel. Of course it was that - but much much more, it was God's final declaration that the OLD
MOSAIC COVENANT had been superseded by the NEW COVENANT, in which regular
animal sacrifices have been replaced by the "once for all time"
sacrifice of Jesus. (Hebrews 9:26, Hebrews 10:10) In
2008 the Jews will again celebrate Passover without a lamb. Sadly the vast
majority will keep the feast in ignorance that they don't ever again need to
kill a lamb since "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us". (1 Corinthians 5:7) The
Apostle Paul urges all who know that to: "keep the feast, not with old leaven,
neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened
bread of sincerity and truth." On
Passover night, all over the world, Jews will again take time out to remember
how God "passed over" their blood sprinkled homes and spared them
from the plague which slew all the firstborn of Egypt. But
that isn't really what it is about, is it? For those who will look beneath
the surface, that ancient historical event was actually a prophecy about
Jesus. It foretold even the date of His death and the time of day at which it
would happen! And more important, it told us why it would happen and what it
would achieve. At
Calvary Jesus accomplished a new EXODUS! (See Luke
9:31 Interlinear Greek text) If
we have REPENTED we have purged our "homes" of the
"leaven" of sin. His "sprinkled blood" has saved us from
the death due for our sins. And we have been called out of "Egypt"
to follow Him to the promised land. Of
course Christian discipleship is not about keeping feasts! Nevertheless we
are encouraged to remember "Christ our Passover" in a simple ritual
which reminds us that:
*
Gods laws will be
written in our hearts and minds, *
The penalty of our
sins has been remitted; our sins will be remembered no more. (Hebrews 10:16-18) Spare
a thought on the Saturday morning and afternoon to remember that terrible
suffering of the cross, endured FOR US. Spare a thought on the Saturday night
to rejoice in the salvation it has made possible for us. And spare a thought
on the Sunday morning for the EXODUS we have undertaken to journey with Jesus
to the Promised Land - the EVERLASTING KINGDOM OF GOD! Allon |