We must look to Jesus as our Passover Lamb to live
Scripture Text: Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 (ESV)
· The first Passover - described in Exodus 12:21-27
“The celebration… was always marked by excitement and the high hope that it would be fulfilled by God’s intervention once more. It was observed as “a night of watching unto the Lord” in the conviction that “in that night they were redeemed and in that night they will be redeemed in the future.” Jesus came to the city fully aware that He was to accomplish the Passover in His own person.” - William Lane
1. We must Partake of Him & feast on His death
“I sat in an Orthodox Jewish classroom – listening to a brilliant Jewish man, not a Christian, lecturing – describing the marriage customs of the first century Jewish people… he described how a young man would reach marrying age – the young man and his father would pick out a family that had a daughter – a godly family that had a daughter that would be an appropriate wife – the son had never met this young girl. The young man and his father would go to this girls’ family’s house and the son and the father would sit and negotiate the bride price, because the loss of a daughter was an enormous loss. When they had arrived at the price that was to be paid for this young girl – 14, 15, 16 years of age – the young man would then ask her to marry him – but he did it in a very Jewish way. The young man’s father would take a flask of wine – he would pour a cup of wine and hand it to his son. The son would turn to the young woman and with all the solemnity of an oath before almighty God Himself – that young man would take that cup of wine and say to that young woman “this cup is a new covenant in my blood, which I offer to you” in other words “I love you, I’ll be your faithful husband – will you be my bride”. Tears came to my eyes as I recognized Jesus at the last supper with His collection of Jewish disciples who knew the Passover liturgy since they were old enough to think. And suddenly in the middle of the liturgy, after the third cup, completely out of place, Jesus, on His way to pay the bride price, turns to those disciples and says to them in the language of the culture “this cup is a new covenant in my blood – I love you, will you be my bride?” and every single time you sit in your fellowship or your community in your church and your elder or your pastor or whoever leads the service, turns to you and offers you the cup, Jesus in the language of the culture, says to you, “I love you”. - Ray Vanderlan
· In Jeremiah 31:31-34, the New Covenant was prophesied.
“If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But He perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from Him, our profound rebellion, our death; and He sent us a Savior.” - D.A. Carson – A Call to Spiritual Reformation.
2. We Must Hope in Him for the future
Questions for Application:
1. How are we partaking of Christ in our lives?
2. Where can we see our dependence on Him expressed in our daily living?
3. How can we “feast on His death” as our Passover Lamb?
4. Are there ways we are removing ourselves from the safety of the “house” God has provided us and trusting our own merits, righteousness or worth instead of trusting His blood alone to cover us?
5. How can we practically look to our great hope of being with Jesus again in the Kingdom of God?
