Passover: An Event of Great Importance for Us All

You’re probably familiar with the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, “The Last Supper,” completed in 1498. The exquisite mural is displayed at a former monastery in Milan, Italy, with limited public viewing. However, many of us have seen reproductions in homes, churches, museums, and other public settings. I remember my mom having a framed, lighted copy that hung in our living room when I was a boy.

 

Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper"
(Wikipedia image)

The da Vinci masterpiece depicts Jesus Christ and His 12 disciples just moments after He announced that one of them would be betraying Him. As familiar as that emotional scene has become in Western culture, many of us aren’t nearly as familiar with its context. 

Jesus with His closest followers had gathered in a large upper room in Jerusalem to observe the traditional Passover Seder, the annual commemoration of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, ending four centuries of slavery. Wine, bitter herbs and unleavened bread all were – and still are – among elements used to symbolize that momentous event, with traditional prayers and blessings recited during the meal.

 

Besides Jesus’ announcement of His impending betrayal, probably the most notable part of that gathering was His striking departure from the standard Seder “script.” After taking the unleavened bread, giving thanks, and breaking it, Jesus stated, “This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). The disciples might have wondered, ‘What’s He saying?’

 

Then, after the supper was completed, He took the cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20). Again, looks of bewilderment must have filled the disciples’ faces. ‘What?!’ In both statements, Jesus was declaring Himself to be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. At the time the disciples might not have understood His meaning, but within days they would. 

 

For instance, one prophecy the disciples would have recognized was Isaiah 53:5-7, “He was pierced through for our transgressions…. Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.” We see this manifested during Jesus’ mock trial and His crucifixion. The Roman officials marveled that Jesus did not protest or offer a defense. And He was literally pierced on the cross – His hands, feet, and side.

 

The “new covenant” of which Jesus spoke referred to Jeremiah 31:31,33-34, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…. I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people…. For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.” No longer would animal sacrifices be required for the sins of the people. Christ paid the price – for all, and for all time.

 

As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:10-11, “The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” We owed a debt we could not pay – and Christ paid the debt He did not owe.

 

Having this perspective can bring new understanding and appreciation of the sacrament of communion regularly observed in Christian churches and denominations. We eat the morsel of unleavened bread which represents Christ’s body given for us, and we drink the fruit of the vine which represents Jesus’ blood shed to cleanse us from the impurities of sin. But rarely do we realize that this sacred practice was instituted during a Jewish feast, the Passover Seder. 

 

We “Gentiles” might not observe Passover and may never have witnessed or participated in a Seder meal, but in many respects they’re as important for us as they are for faithful Jews who take part in them. The next time you gaze at a photo of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic “The Last Supper,” think about Jesus and His disciples engaging in their final Seder meal together.

 

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end at that table – or at the cross. It proceeds to the now-empty tomb, heralding Jesus’ resurrection from the dead which we observe every Easter. Because of this we can join with Paul in declaring, “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God. He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

 

As followers of Christ have declared through the centuries, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”

The Long Weekend That Changed Everything

Another Easter weekend is upon us, starting with the somber Good Friday observance and concluding with the celebration of Easter. Can you imagine what the world would be like – indeed, what life would be like – if Jesus Christ had not come? If He had not be crucified? If He had not risen from the grave?

Some “what if” ramifications immediately come to mind: There’d be no Christmas. Or Good Friday. Or Easter. Calendars wouldn’t be divided according to B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini).

 

But those are just the start. We wouldn’t have Jesus’ teachings, such as the “Golden Rule” – “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31) – or His declaration of the second greatest commandment, to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31). Who would have told us, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35)?

 

We wouldn’t have His teachings and parables, which not only imparted wonderful life principles but also enriched our language with such common phrases as the “good Samaritan,” “prodigal son,” and “born again.” There would be no references to “walking on water,” “doubting Thomas,” “salt of the earth,” “light of the world,” or “judge not lest you be judged.”

 

Some of the greatest works of art never would have been created – Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, “The Last Supper,” Michelangelo’s “Pieta,” and many others depicting the life and passion of Christ. Crosses, prominently displayed at churches around the world and worn as symbols of faith by Jesus’ fervent followers, likely would have had no meaning.

 

The significance of Jesus’ life is beyond measure: His feedings of the multitudes. Changing water into wine and raising Lazarus from the dead. His unforgettable “sermon on the mount,” including the Beatitudes and its paradoxical declarations that “the poor in spirit…those who mourn…the meek…the merciful…the peacemakers” and others are “blessed.” The name Judas wouldn’t have become synonymous with betrayal. The Virgin Mary wouldn’t be revered by millions around the globe.

 

As impressive as all of these are, they barely begin to answer the question, “What if He had not come?” Because the influence of Jesus’ life, teachings, death, burial, resurrection and ascension transcends the physical world. His most life-changing, transformational impact is found deeply rooted in the unseen spiritual realm. 

 

Countless books have been written about this, but consider the following: Were it not for Jesus, what definitive answers would we have for the problems of sin, guilt, justice, and ultimately, separation from God? Where would we find the capacity for genuine, complete forgiveness? How could we experience the hope (not “hope-so”) of eternal life, the assurance that we’re not moving from the land of the living to the land of the dead, but from the land of the dying to the land of those who live eternally?

 

Central to the Gospel is Jesus’ familiar promise of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” As the apostle Paul asserted in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

But we know that Jesus’ death – commemorated on Good Friday – was not His final act. As each of the gospels confirms, He arose on the third day, as He had promised. When Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with traditional burial spices, they encountered not a corpse but an angel, who declared, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:5-6).

 

How important is this claim? Paul didn’t mince words when he stated, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins…. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” But then he gave an immediate reminder, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:17-22).

 

No leader of any other religion or belief system could make such a claim. As the old hymn affirms, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone.”

 

Best of all, we don’t have to wait until the moment of death to enjoy the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection. When He ascended from earth, He left His Holy Spirit not only to guide His people, but also to live in them: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy…through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Paul in Galatians 2:20 expresses it this way: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me.” 

Literally hundreds of other Bible passages support and expand on these truths. Some might immediately come to your mind. The bottom line is this: Jesus did come. He was crucified. He did rise from the dead. And to this day, millions of men, women and children can experience the assurance we find in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” And in response, we can all add a hearty “Hallelujah!”