Exodus 12:7-13The first observation I gleaned from the book, The King in His Beauty by Thomas Schreiner. His book followed certain themes through every book of the bible. Notice how Dr. Schreiner tied Passover to Communion using Exodus 12.
“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
Thomas SchreinerWhat struck me about this commentary was the statement, "The Lord could have rescued Israel simply by destroying the firstborn in Egypt." God, in his wisdom, chose to rescue Israel after he had the Israelites sacrifice a "Passover Lamb," paint the blood over the door frame, and eat a meal. God then institutionalized this practice as an annual celebration commemorating the birth of Israel. In rescuing Israel in this particular manner, God was both glorifying himself and teaching Israel. Through the ceremony, God was reminding Israel about his redemption of Israel. God was emphasizing that he was delivering Israel because of His great mercy and not because they were a great people. They were just as sinful as the Egyptians. God because of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob chose to hear their prayers and deliver them. In a like manner, God chose us not because of the righteous works we do for him and not because of our innate righteousness: he saved us according to his own mercy (Titus 3:5).
The Passover was particularly significant. The Lord could have rescued Israel simply by destroying all the firstborn in Egypt. The Passover events, however, reminded Israel that they deserved judgment as well. The Lord would "pass over" the firstborn in Israel only if blood was applied to the lintel and the doorposts of the house. The Lord impressed upon Israel that they were not inherently better than the Egyptians. They were rescued from the wrath of the Lord only if they responded in faith to his instructions by putting the blood of lambs on their houses. It is easy for us to read the story abstractly, but it is quite violent, for lambs were slain and their blood was applied to houses. Certainly the Passover represents "redemption" and "liberation" for Israel. It probably signifies substitution as well, for the blood of the lamb is spilled instead of the blood of the firstborn. According to the NT, Passover points ahead to the sacrifice of Christ, whereby he gave his life for the deliverance of his people (1 Cor. 5:7). The Lord's Supper almost certainly is a Passover meal (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20), and the blood of Jesus represents the new covenant where the blood of "the lamb of God" (John 1:29) has been shed for his people.
(pp. 33-34, The King in His Beauty)
A second observation I made concerns the commandment, "And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover." The Israelites were supposed to eat the Passover meal with their belt fastened and with their sandals on their feet. This practice was to remind them of what they left behind. As we read about the nation, we realize that the Israelites were deeply entrenched in Egyptian worship. The eating of the Passover meal in haste was to remind the Israelites that they were to leave the Egyptian life behind and they were to become a "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6).
This practice has parallels for Christians celebrating communion today. Communion is a time to reflect on what Christ has done for us. He spilled his blood and died for our sins. He intends for us to become like Israel, "a royal priesthood, a holy nation" through sanctification (1 Peter 2:9). Christians, in remembrance for what Christ has done for them, are to put off the old self and put on the new self. (Ephesians 4:22-24).
A third observation I made about the connection between the Passover and Communion was in the next passage, where Moses elaborated more about unleavened bread.
Exodus 12:15Unleavened bread was not the bread of choice for Israel during most of the year. However, leaven bread, like our sourdough bread, took time to prepare. The point of unleavened bread during Passover was to remind Israel again of what they supposed to leave behind. Jews have practiced this "removal of leaven" from their houses for centuries. Even in the modern day, my wife told me she knows about a practicing Jewish family that spend the day before Passover searching their house from top to bottom for leaven. They followed this command about the Passover very closely.
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
Because this feast of unleavened bread was practiced for centuries, leaven took on more significance and acquired different meanings as time went by. At the time of the New Testament, Jesus referred to the teaching of the legalistic theology of the Pharisees as leaven (Matthew 16:23). Paul also referenced leaven in his epistles. When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, he referred to leaven as a metaphor for not dealing with the sexual immorality in their midst. Members of the Corinthian Church were boasting about their liberality concerning sin, They thought they understood their freedom in Christ, but Paul pointed out that sexual immorality would spread like leaven in the church. He condemned the Corinthian church for their lackadaisical approach to sin and disciplined the man who was guilty of the immorality
1 Corinthians 5:8The festival in the above passage concerns communion. This "removal of leaven" becomes a metaphor during Communion for Christians to examine their own lives. In the following passage, commentators differ whether "unworthy manner" means personal sins or sins against fellow believers during the worship service. In either case, both meanings are appropriate during communion.
Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 11:27-29To summarize, communion is a time when we remember three aspects of our walk with Christ.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
- First, we should worship in humility. God is merciful. He saved us not on the basis of who we are or what we have done, but according to his own mercy.
- Second, we should worship God in joy. God called us to become "a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." We should put off our old selves and live like children of the King. We should worship as a new people and celebrate our new lives in Christ.
- Third, we need to worship God in love and harmony. We must remember that sin like leaven spreads. Sin can take over our lives and it can take over a church. We need to reflect on what Christ has done for us on the Cross and consider our response to his sacrifice. The Cross is not an excuse to sin more freely, but it should result in a response to live in purity in our own lives and in harmony and love with other believers.
