Passover: a Time to Remember

“Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to put His name You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.” Deuteronomy 16:2-3

“Remember,” such a funny word. I have a hard time remembering things. I have to make lists, leave notes, create visuals, and even phone reminders, so that I can recall important tasks I need to get done. When I do remember, things get accomplished, and I feel good about myself. 

Remembering Jesus, all He has done, should be at the top of our to-do list. Yet, it’s not usually Jesus we remember. We think of the past, our failures, our wounds, and the sins of others. To counteract this, God established a holiday, a yearly feast for His people to help them remember how He brought them out of Egyptian bondage. Think of the traumatic memories that Egypt held for them: abuse, compromise, slavery, exhaustion, and utter brokenness. They were now given a new memory: deliverance, and their reminder: Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

For New Testament believers, Jesus fulfilled this by becoming our Passover Lamb. He caused death to pass over our lives and set us free from past trauma. He is the Unleavened Bread and the Lamb slain, without sin, who we are to feast on daily!  

He first mentions this with His disciples in John 6, telling them that He is “the Bread of Life” and to eat His flesh and drink His blood. At His command, many were appalled, because only pagans drank the blood of their offerings. They believed that by drinking the blood, the spirit of the offering would fill them. For the Jews, it was forbidden in Mosaic Law to consume blood at all. Yet, Christ’s blood is pure and holy.

The night before His betrayal, which was also the night of the Passover Feast, Jesus again commands them to eat His flesh and drink His blood “in remembrance.” He says in Luke 22: 15-20,

“With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “ This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise, He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” 

John the Baptizer, upon seeing Jesus approaching him at the Jordan, declared Him to be “the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.” If He took it away by shedding His blood for us, why do we remember it? Why do we remember the sins of others instead of remembering His Deliverance?

What if this Passover and the rest of this year, you remember Jesus and what He did for you instead of your sins and the sins of others? You would be free! You can never move forward by looking back. Your life will always follow your focus.

This is why we take communion. We drink the juice and eat the little crackers to remind us of the redemption, victory, extravagant mercy, and unmerited favor found in our Savior! He has won! He has conquered. He is the offering we are to consume and remember!

 This Passover, I challenge you to remember Jesus’ overcoming instead of your shortcomings. Remember His sacrifice, remember His obedience, and remember His love. Remember that you are the house of God, His temple, and that His blood has been poured out and applied – atoning for ALL your sin. Through remembrance, let your awareness of Jesus be greater than the awareness of sin, for He has TAKEN IT AWAY!  

Happy Passover Beloved,

His Yielded Vessel