Perhaps it is because we tend to refer to this meal as the Last Supper that we lose sight of its connection with the Passover. How is one to contemplate on the deliverance from Egypt, protection from the evil one, atonement from the Holy One, and fellowship with our heavenly Father expressed in a communal meal when we have reduced the whole affair to a tiny cup of juice and a scrap of bread consumed in a cold pew?
Of the five general types of sacrifices (burnt, peace, trespass, grain, and sin), the peace offering resembles the Passover the most. The peace offering is also referred to as the fellowship offering because of the fellowship it brought with God and the company they enjoyed with one another.
It would be a mistake to judge later Passovers by the requirements God gave Moses in Egypt, for there are many differences between them. The original Passover was eaten with feet shod, staff in hand, in expectation of the Exodus. In the days of Jesus, the memorial Passover was eaten while reclining in celebration of their deliverance from slavery and their rest in the Land.
What was the ultimate purpose of the Passover? Was it only for protection from the destroyer? Surely, the plague was …
The blood was to be a token, a sign or mark, that those in the house belonged to Jehovah God and were safe from the destroyer. If you are familiar with eschatology at all, you have probably heard of the mark of the beast. Many theories abound as to what it may be, but no one knows for sure. However, from a Scriptural viewpoint we can confidently affirm that whatever the mark of the beast winds up being, it will only be a pale imitation of the mark of God.
When Jesus came to be baptized, John looked up at Him and proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”[1] Years later, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”[2] An understanding of the blood of Jesus Christ requires an examination of the Passover, and what better place to start than where it all began.
We were ransomed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. His blood ate away like acid the cords that bound us. The ropes of sin could not longer tie us down to death, division, and a destroyed destiny.
Intercession is importunate. It is to continually beset somebody with repeated and incessant requests, like the woman who pleaded with the unjust judge, “Avenge me of my adversary.”
The Greek word translated “redeemed” in 1 Peter 1:18 is lutroo.[1]. It means “to ransom.” We were ransomed. We know what it means to be ransomed. If someone gets kidnapped, then you have to pay a ransom to get him or her back. What is the usual threat if the ransom demand isn’t met? Murder!
“Let not sin…reign.” All we have to do to give sin the upper hand in our lives is nothing. If we are simply passive, we will let sin reign. We cannot afford to be passive about sin. We need to take a proactive stand against it.
The Bible Philes 