27 Days until Easter

27 Days until Easter

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the crowds filled the roads.  They were there to celebrate the Passover Feast.  They came from all over for this celebration.  The city was full of the excitement of the festivities and the sounds of the people and the smells of the food.  Homes were full of family and friends.  It was and is truly a special time for Jewish families.  Passover, or Pesah, is the oldest of Jewish holidays.  It’s a season that celebrates freedom and Spring.   Just as Spring delivers earth from the harshness of winter, so God freed the Jews from Egypt. 

In order to understand the celebration that was going on in Jerusalem the last week of Jesus’s life on earth with a bit more clarity, I want to look at the origin of the holiday by going all the way back to Exodus. The new Pharaoh in Egypt became intimidated by the growing Hebrew population, so he enslaved them. He used them for his own benefit and even though they were treated harshly, God still blessed them in number and they grew stronger.  To remedy the threat to his power, Pharaoh ordered the death of every Hebrew baby boy by throwing them into the Nile.  Of course, we all know that the Israelite, Moses, had a different fate after the princess found him floating down a river in a basket and spared him from Pharaoh’s orders.  Moses was adapted by the princess and grew to be loved by the palace.  But as a man he reacted in anger at the sight of an unjust Egyptian guard towards a Hebrew slave, and Pharaoh ordered his death. And in a turn of events, God used Moses to defeat Pharaoh’s evil and deliver the Israelites from captivity.  God sent Moses to Pharaoh and ordered the release of His people, but Pharaoh refused to obey.  And as a result, God brought judgement in the form of  plagues.  And even though Pharaoh was given the opportunity to change his mind before each plague, he remained hard at heart and unwilling to listen to God.  So just as Pharaoh had ordered the death of the Israelite babies years before, the last plague took every firstborn in Egypt with the final plague. God redeemed the Jewish people from slavery by having them paint their doorposts with the blood of the spotless Passover lamb.  That night in Egypt as dark and fog covered the land, an angel of death passed over the firstborn children of those who were obedient to God's instructions.  Passover tells the remarkable story of God's power to save.

“Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans and kill the Passover lamb.  Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin.  None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.  For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when He sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to strike you.  You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever.” Exodus 12:21-25

Below is a two minute video that shares the significance of Passover:

So at the end of Jesus’s ministry on earth, He enters the city of Jerusalem during the celebration of Passover.  And just like God saved the Israelites with the blood of the spotless Passover lamb, God offers salvation for the souls of man with the blood of the spotless Lamb of God.