THE PASSOVER Before and After the Cross

By Kathy Beardsley, March 23, 2024

The Passover is the key to the covenant of grace.

Passover:—”The name given to the chief of the three great historical annual festivals of the Jews. It was kept in remembrance of the Lord’s passing over the houses of the Israelites Ex. 12:13 when the firstborn of all the Egyptians were destroyed. It is called also the “feast of unleavened bread” Ex. 12:17 &c; Lev. 23:6; Deut. 16:16; 2 Chr. 8:13 &c; Ezra 6:22; Matt. 26:17; Mark 14:1; Luke 22:1; Acts 12:3 because during its celebration no leavened bread was to be eaten or even kept in the household Ex. 12:15. The word afterwards came to denote the lamb that was slain at the feast Mark 14:12-14; 1 Cor. 5:7. A detailed account of the institution of this feast is given in Ex. 12:1-13:1ff. It was afterwards incorporated in the ceremonial law Lev. 23:4-8 as one of the great festivals of the nation….It was primarily a commemorative ordinance, reminding the children of Israel of their deliverance out of Egypt; but it was, no doubt, also a type of the great deliverance wrought by the Messiah for all his people from the doom of death on account of sin, and from the bondage of sin itself, a worse than Egyptian bondage 1 Cor. 5:7; John 1:29; 19:32-36; 1 Pet. 1:19; Gal. 4:4, 5.” (Easton)

Let us look at why the Covenant of Grace and the Passover are connected. Many understand the “Covenant of Grace” or “New Covenant of Grace” to be the law of the Old Testament representing the old covenant which is then replaced with grace in the New Testament as the new covenant. First, to understand what the law was, it is clarified below.

• The Law of Nature is the will of God as to human conduct, founded on the moral difference of things, and discoverable by natural light Rom. 1:20; 2:14, 15. This law binds all men at all times. It is generally designated by the term conscience, or the capacity of being influenced by the moral relations of things.
• The Ceremonial Law prescribes under the Old Testament the rites and ceremonies of worship. This law was obligatory only till Christ, of whom these rites were typical, had finished his work Heb. 7:9, 11; 10:1; Eph. 2:16. It was fulfilled rather than abrogated by the gospel.
• The Judicial Law, the law which directed the civil policy of the Hebrew nation.
• The Moral Law [the Ten Commandments] is the revealed will of God as to human conduct, binding on all men to the end of time.

1. 1. It was promulgated at Sinai.
   2. It is perfect Ps. 19:7
   3. Perpetual Matt. 5:17, 18
   4. Holy, just, good Rom. 7:12
   5. Spiritual Rom. 7:14
   6. Exceeding broad Ps. 119:96
   7. Although binding on all, we are not under it as a covenant of works Gal. 3:17.

The Old Covenant: The Ten Commandments:—are set apart as the moral law and the rest (sacrifices, offerings, and so on) are ceremonial ordinances and judgments. Ex. 21:1 &c.

Ex. 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.

Ex. 34:28 ¶ And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Deut. 4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

The New Covenant: COVENANT OF GRACE THROUGH CHRIST, the eternal plan of redemption entered into by the three persons of the Godhead, and carried out by them in its several parts. In it, the Father represented the Godhead in its indivisible sovereignty, and the Son his people as their surety John 17:4, 6, 9; Isa. 42:6; Ps. 89:3. The conditions of this covenant were,

On the part of the Father

• all needful preparation to the Son for the accomplishment of his work Heb. 10:5; Isa. 42:1-7
• support in the work Luke 22:43 and
• a glorious reward in the exaltation of Christ when his work was done Phil. 2:6-11 his investiture with universal dominion John 5:22; Ps. 110:1 his having the administration of the covenant committed into his hands Matt. 28:18; John 1:12; 17:2; Acts 2:33 and in the final salvation of all his people Isa. 35:10; 53:10, 11; Jer. 31:33; Titus 1:2.

On the part of the Son

• his becoming incarnate Gal. 4:4, 5 and
• as the second Adam his representing all his people, assuming their place and undertaking all their obligations under the violated covenant of works;
• obeying the law Ps. 40:8; Isa. 42:21; John 9:4, 5 and
• suffering its penalty Isa. 53:1ff.; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13 in their stead. Christ, the mediator of, fulfils all its conditions in behalf of his people, and dispenses to them all its blessings. In Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24 this title is given to Christ.

On the part of the Holy Spirit/Ghost

• At the time appointed, after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit/Ghost descended upon Jesus empowering him to heal all manner of infirmities and work more miracles (aka signs and wonders) than were recorded. Luke 3:22; Acts 10:38; John 20:30, 31

The gospel of Jesus Christ is his coming in the flesh to ultimately be sacrificed on the cross for our sins and after three days in the tomb rise again to glory. The LORD (God the Father) promised this and it was fulfilled.

Prophesied in Isaiah 42:6
“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;” Isa. 42:6; 49:6-8; Luke 2:32

Speaking of Messiah (Jesus) the angel Gabriel explained it to Daniel

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease” Dan. 9:27a

The “he” in Dan. 9:27 is Jesus—the lamb of God (John 1:29, 36). The one week (70^th week) began upon Jesus’ choosing of the twelve apostles followed by his three-and-a-half years of ministry at the end of which he was “cut off” i.e. sacrificed on the cross. Because His sacrifice was perfect and final the sacrificing required under the law was no longer necessary, hence, “causing the sacrifice and oblation to cease.”

At the final Passover supper that Jesus ate with his disciples (commonly known as The Last Supper), Jesus symbolizes with the use of the bread and cup what he says to them in 1 Corinthians 11:24, 25 “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” As the only one who could save us, Jesus was his Father’s covenant—given, confirmed, broken, and resurrected. His sacrifice made salvation by grace through faith possible.

FYI: All of the above also verifies that Jesus is the covenant that is broken (symbolically) in the midst of the seventieth week contrary to the false teaching that an Antichrist (alleged to be the “he” in Dan. 9:27) makes a covenant with Israel for seven years and breaks it midway through.

“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” Eph. 2:5

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Eph. 2:8, 9

By grace through faith and “that” (grace) is not of yourselves, it is a gift. It is not a gift of choice to choose whether or not you want to accept. It is a gift you were chosen to receive because of your faith when the LORD drew you to him (John 6:44) and you will not want to refuse. Because of the “freewill” teaching many struggle with that concept—as I once did, but no longer.

Conclusion: God’s grace through His covenant (Jesus), through His Son’s (Jesus) blood on the cross, and through our faith in Him (Jesus) is the greatest gift we could ever receive. Jesus—the covenant, the Passover Lamb, the ultimate gift of grace. How will you honor Him?