PASSOVER

THE LAST SUPPER

Read Exodus 11:1–12:42

     "I am the LORD … when I see the blood, I will pass over you.”    Exodus 12:12b–13 NIV

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     After nine plagues and refusals by Pharaoh to let the descendants of Jacob leave Egypt, in the tenth and final judgment, God sent His angel to strike the firstborn male of every family in that country. Only those who put the blood of a lamb on the two doorposts and the lintel of their homes would be spared.

     The Lord promised them, "… when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." (12:13b) This event came to be known as the Passover. God commanded, "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance."(12:14) So even today the Jews observe this feast.

     Over fourteen hundred years later, Jesus sat down to the Passover meal with His disciples and said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you." ...That very night in the Garden of Gethsemane, being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.   (Luke 22: 20b,44 NKJV)

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     Thank You Lord, for giving Your Son for us, that we might enjoy eternal life in Your presence. Help us to tell the story of the cross to our children, just as the Israelites taught their children through this annual feast. May our lives radiate the message of Jesus the Passover Lamb.

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     "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out … out of the land of slavery.' "   Exodus 13:14 NIV