Passover – a season of gladness

How do you think of Passover season – the Passover itself and then the seven days of Unleavened Bread, including Wavesheaf Day, on the first day of the week when our Master Yeshua went to heaven to be accepted in behalf of the early spring harvest? (Lev. 23:9-11).  Is this a joyous time for you? Or are you nervous that you’re not ready, or burdened by anything?

Remember eventually that whole Passover and days of Unleavened Bread season was eventually called simply “the Passover.” Note what Ezekiel was inspired to write, about what appears to be the Millennial period ahead and note, they will also still be keeping Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread.

Ezekiel 45:21  "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.”

Perhaps we can compare it to how we often call the entire seven day Feast of Tabernacles AND the eighth day holyday in the Fall, as simply “the Feast.”  Here’s another one:

Luke 22:1  “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.”

Back to my topic: Is your Lord’s Supper/Passover bread and wine service a sad meeting? Or is it a solemnly joyful service? MANY Passover services I’ve attended were mournful, sad, nobody saying a word to each other, like being at a funeral. But at Jesus’ Passover, they were talking, even arguing who was the greatest, and more. And when you think  about the Passover, it expresses GREAT JOY of the love of our Father to offer his only SON and the JOY of Jesus who offered HIMSELF for us, for you and for me (Gal 2:20) because it says for “he loved ME and gave himself for ME”

The holy days are seasons of our GLADNESS, and of our JOY when we remember the full picture.

Numbers 10:10  “Also in the day of your GLADNESS, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am YHVH your God."

Though we’re remembering the death of our Lord, we also remember He was raised from the dead and the risen Christ is now our life (Col 3:3, 4), imperfect as we still are. So Passover service should be a service full of SOLEMN JOY. Yes, you can talk, yes you can say “hi” to those assembled as you come in. You can smile. You can express joy. You SHOULD express joy to be keeping Passover. We were wrong to tell everyone to be quiet, say nothing, just come in and sit down. Dead wrong.

So as we come to Passover service and the Days of Unleavened Bread, let’s do so with tremendous peace, lots of heartfelt joy, and also be well prepared, having examined yourself that you fully value what Yeshua has done for you as 1 Cor. 11:26-32 tells us.

            NOTE:  you can once more just hover your mouse over a short scripture in my blogs (don’t click the mouse, just hover) and in a second or two the scripture will show up for you. I love this feature for a short passage!

The Unleavened Bread is NOT about you, but about JESUS

This is also why the Unleavened Bread does NOT picture us, having put sin out. NO, Unleavened Bread pictures Yeshua and ONLY him. Note that Unleavened Bread is bread that has NEVER ever BEEN leavened, therefore picturing a life that has never sinned, ever.

But WE were full of sin and had to discard our old life as we discard leavened bread, but we still sin. We still have “leaven,” which sometimes pictured sin, so the Unleavened Bread we eat for each and all of the seven days, cannot be about us, but about the Sinless One, the Unleavened Bread of Jesus Christ, who never ever sinned and has never sinned since then. Even during the days of Unleavened Bread, we will all surely fall short and sin. So the Unleavened Bread cannot picture you and me putting sin out – but pictures eating of Christ, the Bread of Life.

As you eat of that Passover Unleavened Bread, and thereafter, imagine taking in the Bread of Life, the Bread from heaven, which is Yeshua. We eat of HIM and “his flesh” – or else we have no life.

I recommend we read these passages in John 6 during your Passover service, along with others of course.

John 6:32-40   Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."

35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

John 6:48-58

“I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"

53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven — not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."

GOD SO LOVED The WORLD (John 3:16) – and so should we

Another thing:  we all need to quit thinking of our calling from God to be a matter of “us versus them,” like the rest of the world are our enemy. They’re not. The Son of God came to die for them as much as He died for us. He came to die for the whole world and any who would ultimately accept Him as Savior.

John the Baptist said, “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” – not just the sins of God’s Elect. John 1:29.

We are not to love the world’s WAYS, the “Kosmos” of the world, but absolutely we should have a deep concern and even affection for all of humanity, as God does. But we can’t be friends of the world’s ways – as what 1 John 4:4 means.           

 It helps me to think of people not yet called by God, like this: I see him or her as a future brother or sister in Christ. They just haven’t been called yet. 

One of the things Yeshua was deeply criticized for was this: he had friends among those the Pharisees considered to be awful sinners! Do YOU? Look at these (hover over the scripture): Matthew 9:10-11;  Luke 15:1-2; Luke 7:34;  Luke 19:7. 

DO YOU have close friends who are not part of your corporate church? You SHOULD. Passover should teach us that. How can your light shine if you are never with people of the world?        

Remember there are going to be an “innumerable multitude” from every nation and tribe, who  will come to God in the last days, as Rev. 7:9-10 clearly shows. Many, many of them will even die for this but they will remain faithful.

Never ever assume that the only ones who will be in the first resurrection are only those who are part of your corporate church group or beliefs! You may be greatly surprised to see some in that first resurrection who – presently – keep Christmas, or Sunday, or other doctrinal errors. But God will call many of them to repentance and I hope you will accept them gladly. They are FUTURE family of God, who don’t know that yet.

So LOVE them. Be friendly, even invite them to your church services. And let your light so shine (Matthew 5:16) so they end up glorifying our God in heaven.

So come to Passover in solemn joy.

Praise be to you dear Father. Glory to you, Lord Yeshua our Master and King.

Have a wonderful Passover season.