At other times, I've talked some about Passover, haven't I? But I thought that today I'd tell you some more about Passover, perhaps things you haven't heard before. It is so interesting. The story of the first Passover is a true story about something that happened about 3,500 years ago. But it is even more than just the story of something that happened a long time ago. I'll explain what I mean by that later on. But first I'm going to tell you about Passover itself. So, even if you've already heard some about Passover, I think you will enjoy hearing more about it. We find the story of the very first Passover in the second book of the Bible, the book of Exodus, when the Jews are exiting, leaving Egypt. But let's quickly get a little background before we actually talk about Passover itself. Let's go over what led up to this first Passover, why it happened, all right? OK, then. The Bible begins in Genesis, doesn't it? Genesis tells us about how God made the whole world. And later, there is a true story of Noah and the flood. Well, sometime after Noah and the flood, there was a man named Abraham. Abraham worshipped the Lord God, and one day God told Abraham, You will be the father of a great nation, and all the world will be blessed through you. Well, later Abraham had a son named Isaac, then Isaac had a son named Jacob, and God gave this same promise to both Isaac and Jacob. And Jacob had 12 sons. Do you remember the names of any of Jacob's twelve sons? Yes, there were Judah and Levi and Joseph and others. And Joseph's brothers were jealous of Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt, didn't they? But Joseph worshipped the Lord, and the Lord was with Joseph. And Joseph finally became almost the very most important man in Egypt, didn't he? Well, a big famine came, and there was no food except in Egypt. But Jacob and his family were living in the land of Canaan, so they didn't have food, did they? So Joseph brought his father Jacob and the whole family down into Egypt and took care of them there. You remember the story of Joseph and his brothers, don't you? Now, do you remember the other name of Joseph's father, of Jacob? Yes, Jacob's other name was Israel. And Jacob's great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, the Jewish men and women, were called the children of Israel. That is, the children or descendants of Jacob of Israel. Well, down in Egypt, the children of Israel begin having very big families, lots of children. Now, a while after Joseph died, there was a new king of Egypt who hadn't known Joseph. And there were so many of the children of Israel that Pharaoh, this new king of Egypt, got worried. Yes, Pharaoh was afraid the children of Israel might join with Egypt's enemies and fight against Egypt. So Pharaoh made the children of Israel to be his slaves. He wasn't good to them. And it was during this time that Moses was born. Moses was a great grandson of Levi, one of Joseph's brothers. You've heard of Moses before, haven't you? Well, finally it became the time that the Lord was going to have the children of Israel leave Egypt and go back to the land of Canaan. The Lord had promised this land of Canaan to Abraham many years before. So the Lord sent Moses and his brother Aaron to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And the Lord had Moses tell the king that the children of Israel were the Lord's special people, and that Pharaoh was to let his slaves, the children of Israel, leave Egypt. But Pharaoh didn't worship the Lord God, so he wouldn't do what the Lord said. No, he wouldn't let the people go. So then the Lord began sending plagues onto Egypt. These plagues were to show Pharaoh that the Lord was God, the only God, and that the Lord was powerful, and that Pharaoh should obey him and let the children of Israel go. Well, there were ten plagues. You remember about the plagues, don't you? Yes, the Nile River was turned to blood, frogs came all over the land, there was a great darkness for three days, and there were other plagues as well. But still Pharaoh wouldn't let the children of Israel go. Finally, though, the Lord told Moses about the last plague, the tenth one. And God said that after this tenth plague, then Pharaoh would let the children of Israel go. You see, the tenth plague was that all of the firstborn of Egypt would die in one night. both the firstborn people and also the firstborn animals would die. Oh dear, that would be terrible, wouldn't it? Wasn't there anything that the people could do so that their firstborn wouldn't die that night? Yes, there was. And the Lord told Moses what that was. And this is where the story of Passover begins. So this is what the Lord said that the people should do so that their firstborn would not die on that night. The Lord said to Moses, you tell the children of Israel that on a certain day they are to choose a lamb. It is to be a perfect lamb, nothing wrong with it in the way it looks. Then four days later, they are to kill that lamb and take its blood, and using a certain little bushy branch, they are to splash some of that blood on each side of and above the door of their houses. And the Lord told Moses, tell them that then they are to go inside of their houses and stay there. And the Lord said to Moses, you tell them that they are to eat their dinner then, all dressed, with their shoes on, holding their walking sticks, and all ready to leave Egypt when the time comes. The Lord said, anyone inside of the house will be safe. You see, when the Lord saw the blood around the door of a house, he would pass over that house, and the firstborn in that house would not die. Yes, the Lord would pass over that house. And that is where the word Passover comes from. And the children of Israel believed the Lord, so that's what they did. They killed a lamb and put its blood on each side of and above their doorways. Also, any of the Egyptians who believed what the Lord had said did that too. But many of the Egyptians did not believe the Lord, so they did not put blood around their doorways. Well, the night came when the firstborn all throughout the land of Egypt were going to die. And then the Lord passed over any house that had the blood around its door. Yes, the Lord passed over the houses of the children of Israel and the houses of any Egyptians who had believed and obeyed him, who had done what he had said for them to do. But in the houses where the people did not believe the Lord, and there was no blood around the door, then in that house the firstborn died, even in Pharaoh's house. Well, of course, in the middle of that night there was lots of crying when these firstborn died. But it was their own fault, wasn't it? If they had just believed the Lord, and put the blood of a lamb around their door, and then gone in and stayed in their house that night, if they had just done as the Lord had said, this wouldn't have happened, would it? Their firstborn would have been safe. But, as I just said, those Egyptians did not believe the Lord, and had not obeyed Him. So their firstborn died. And even though that is very sad, it was still their own fault, wasn't it? Anyway, in the middle of that night, after this happened, Pharaoh sent right away for Moses and his brother Aaron. And Pharaoh said to them, quick, take all of the children of Israel and leave. Take everything you have and get out of Egypt. Hurry. Well, the children of Israel were all ready to leave, weren't they? So they just grabbed their things and they all left. Why, they left so quickly that their bread didn't even have time to rise. So they only had flat bread, called unleavened bread, to eat for several days. And they went out into the wilderness. And the Egyptians who believed the Lord went with them. And the Lord led them with a pillar of cloud in the daytime and a pillar of fire in the nighttime. So they knew just where to go. Then at the right time, the Lord took the children of Israel to the land of Canaan, just as He had promised. Of course, the Lord always keeps His promises, doesn't He? So, that is the story of the very first Passover. But what do I mean when I say the very first Passover? Did the Lord have another Passover and save the children of Israel from slavery another time? No, but the Lord wanted the people of Israel to remember how he had passed over their houses that night and to remember how he had then taken them from being slaves in Egypt. So the Lord told Moses, every year you are all to have a celebration and remember how good I was to you to take you out of your slavery in Egypt. Then the Lord gave Moses the rules of how they were to celebrate this. This celebration was called the Lord's Passover or just Passover. They were to start their year at this time and they were all to gather together at that time and have a big feast and tell their children how good the Lord had been to them by passing over their homes on that night and how he had taken them out of their slavery in Egypt. And then for seven days, a whole week, they were only to eat flat bread with their meals, bread that hadn't risen, unleavened bread. Why only flat bread? They were to do this in order to remember how quickly the Lord had taken them out of Egypt. Of course, they would have other good food, too. These seven days were called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and this came the next day, right after Passover. And another thing, when they got to the land of Canaan and planted their crops, their very first crop of grain for the year would be ripe and ready to harvest around the time of Passover. So the Lord told them that then they were to have special ceremonies to thank the Lord for this first harvest of the year. This was to be called the Feast of First Fruits. This Feast of First Fruits was to be on the first Sunday after Passover. Think what a happy time the Jews would all have every year, feasting for a week, lots of good food. And they would be worshiping and thanking the Lord then as well. And since they were all together, they would get to see their friends all during that time. And all of the children there could play together too. What fun! And do you want to know something? Many of the children of Israel, who are now called the Jews, even now, still have a big Passover feast every year, and eat flatbread, which is called matzah, for a week, and tell the story of the first Passover to their children. Yes, all over the world, Jews still do this. But earlier, I'd said that Passover was more than just a true story of something that happened to the Jews a very long time ago, hadn't I? And I told you that I'd explained what I meant by that. This is something that I don't think the children of Israel would have been able to understand at the time. But you will be able to understand it now. You see, that first Passover was also a picture prophecy. A picture prophecy? What is a picture prophecy? And what was Passover a picture prophecy of? Well, that's what I'm going to tell you now. And I think you will find it very interesting. I do. A picture prophecy. A picture prophecy is something that points to something, that shows something that is going to happen sometime in the future. And we now know that Passover was a picture of Jesus. Yes. Passover pointed to the Lord Jesus when he would come to earth to die for our sins Passover is a prophecy But how did Passover point to Jesus? Well, let me explain what I mean You see it tells us in the New Testament in the Bible that about 1,500 years after that first Passover, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth. And there was a man who was a prophet, whom we call John the Baptist, who came preaching and telling the Jews to turn away from their sins. One day John the Baptist looked up, and he saw Jesus walking by. And John said to the people around him, look, there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Then, in another place in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul spoke of Jesus as being Christ our Passover. But what did John the Baptist mean by the Lamb of God? And what did the Apostle Paul mean by Christ our Passover? Well, the little Passover lambs were a picture prophecy of Jesus. Remember, those lambs were perfect. That is, perfect in the way they looked, weren't they? That means that there was nothing wrong with them. And the blood of those perfect Passover lambs had saved the Jews from having their firstborn die. And it had saved the Jews from being slaves to the Egyptians, hadn't it? But how were those lambs they picture prophecy of Jesus? Let's think about that. Well, first of all, Jesus was perfect, wasn't he? He was perfect in that he never did any sins So the little Passover lambs were perfect, and Jesus was perfect. Of course, they were perfect in different ways. The lambs looked perfect, and Jesus was perfect in the sinless way he lived. But they were both perfect, weren't they? Next, the lambs were to be chosen four days before Passover, weren't they? Now, do you remember about the triumphal entry when Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey? The people were all shouting and calling him their king, weren't they? It was as if they were choosing Jesus, wasn't it? Well, the triumphal entry was just a few days before Passover. So, the lambs were chosen before Passover? Jesus was chosen before Passover. Next, the Jews were slaves to the Egyptians, weren't they? Well, in the New Testament, it says that we are slaves too. Did you know that? Yes, we are. We're slaves to sin. Now, what does that mean, slaves to sin? That means that we are all sinners. We keep sinning and sinning, even when we don't mean to. And because of our sins, we should never be able to go to heaven and be with God someday, should we? But as we just said, Jesus never did any sins, did he? No, Jesus was perfect. And Jesus is called the perfect Lamb of God. You see, God the Father loves us so much that he sent Jesus to earth for us to save us from our slavery to sin and to make a way that we could be with God someday. So, the Jews were slaves to the Egyptians, we are slaves to sin. But what can we do about our slavery? Let's think a minute about that. How were the Jews saved from slavery, and how are we saved from slavery? Well, the Passover lambs were killed to save the children of Israel from their slavery to the Egyptians, weren't they? And Jesus, the Lamb of God, our perfect Passover lamb, was killed to save us from our slavery to sin. You can see now how the Passover lambs were a picture prophecy of Jesus, can't you? But why would Jesus, the Son of God, be willing to die for our sins? Yes, because he loves us so very much. Yes, 1,500 years after that first Passover, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. And just think, Jesus died on the actual day of Passover itself. Yes, on that Passover, the very day that the Jews were celebrating that many years before they've been saved from their slavery to Egypt by the blood of the Passover lambs. On that Passover is the very day that Jesus, the Lamb of God, Our Passover lamb died for us so that we can be saved from our sins, saved from our slavery to sin. We are saved by the blood of our Passover lamb Jesus, aren't we? By the way, sometimes people even suggest that in Egypt, at that very first Passover, when the blood of the Passover lambs was put on the sides and the top of the doorways of their houses, that perhaps some of the blood dripped down from the top onto the threshold, onto the bottom of the doorway. Then they say, with the blood on the top and bottom of the doorway, and the blood on each side of the doorway, this would make the shape of a cross, like the cross Jesus died on. Another picture prophecy. Be that as it may, though, remember, At the first Passover, anyone who believed God and sacrificed a lamb and put the blood around the door of the houses and then went in the houses with the blood of the lamb on the doorway, that they were saved. But they had to be in the house, didn't they? Well, Jesus is our Passover lamb, and he died as a sacrifice for our sins on Passover. And God promises us in the Bible that if we believe God, if we trust in Jesus to save us from our sins, he will. God will pass over our sins. That means God will forgive our sins and forget them. Why? Because of the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God. Because the Lord Jesus Christ died for us. Yes, we will be saved by the blood of God's Passover Lamb, if we trust in Jesus. We will no longer be slaves to sin. Aren't you glad? But what about the unleavened bread that is eaten at Passover time? Is that a picture prophecy too? Yes, it is. The Bible says that sin is like the yeast, the leaven, that makes bread rise, makes it not be flat. A little yeast is put into the bread dough, and that yeast grows and grows in the dough, making the bread rise. In the same way, when we sin, we begin sinning more and more. But when we trust in the Lord Jesus to forgive our sins, then we are like unleavened bread. That is, our sins are forgiven. Of course, then when we sin, we should ask Jesus to forgive us and help us not to sin next time. But we are perfect before God because of Jesus Christ. Then we are no longer slaves to sin. Instead, we are children of God. We are to serve the Lord. But I don't want you to get the wrong idea about risen bread. Risen bread of itself isn't bad. No, we eat risen bread all the time, don't we? And that's all right. The children of Israel, too, would eat risen bread, except at Passover when they ate flatbread. And why? That's right, to remind them that the Lord had taken them out of Egypt so quickly that their bread hadn't had time to rise. And at Passover, flat bread, unleavened bread, is also a picture to Christians that after having our sins forgiven by believing in Jesus, then we are to do what God says. And finally, do you think that the Feast of First Fruits might also be a picture prophecy? Yes, it is too. Remember, the Feast of First Fruits was celebrating the first crops of the year that were harvested. and about 1,500 years after that first Passover, after Jesus had died on the cross on that Passover day, then three days later it was actually on the Day of Firstfruits that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead was alive again. And on that day of firstfruits after Jesus rose from the dead, Mary Magdalene and Peter and John and others saw him alive. And later, hundreds of other people saw him alive too. So the Bible says that Jesus is the firstfruits of the dead, the very first one to be resurrected, that is, to be alive again and stay alive. And that is what we celebrate on Easter, isn't it? That the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. Yes, the Feast of Firstfruits is a picture prophecy of Easter, the day we celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead. But there is even more about the Feast of Firstfruits. You see, the Feast of Firstfruits is two picture prophecies, not just one. First, we saw that it is a picture prophecy of when Jesus rose from the dead, his resurrection. But then, as I just now said, the Feast of Firstfruits is also a second picture prophecy as well. What is that second picture prophecy? Well, remember, the Lord Jesus is coming back to Earth someday, isn't he? And you see, the Bible says that when the Lord Jesus does come back to earth, that then everyone who has trusted in Jesus to have their sins forgiven will then be resurrected themselves, will be alive again and stay alive. They will be like a sort of second fruits, won't they? Jesus was the first fruit of the dead, and those who believe in Jesus will someday be a sort of second fruits of the dead. How exciting! And these three special times, Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Fresh Fruits, these all three happen in the same week. And did you know that Easter time and the week of Passover are always around the same time of the year? Yes, they are. After all, Passover is a picture of Easter time. When Jesus died, it was then alive again, isn't it? Yes, that first Passover has many picture prophecies. Let's quickly see if we can remember them, okay? Well, first of all, let's remember that Jesus, the Lamb of God, actually died on Passover Day. Next, the firstborn of the children of Israel were saved from death by the blood of the Passover Lamb. And we are saved from our sins by the blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb. That is being called saved from spiritual death. That is saved from not being able to go to heaven someday and forever be with the Lord. Next, the children of Israel would only have their firstborn saved from death if they believed what the Lord God said. And we are only saved from spiritual death if we believe what the Lord God says. Next, a few days before Passover, the people chose their little lambs. And a few days before Passover, at the triumphal entry, the people, by what they were shouting, were saying that they chose Jesus. Next, the children of Israel were to go in their houses to be saved. And we are to believe in Jesus to be saved. Next, the children of Israel were saved from being slaves to Egypt. We are saved from being slaves to sin. Next, when the children of Israel left Egypt, they were to leave the bad ways they had seen in Egypt. And when we're saved from our sins, we are to follow Jesus and leave the bad ways we see around us, be unleavened, so to speak. And when we sin, we should ask God to forgive us and help us to follow him better. Next, the Feast of Firstfruits was to celebrate the first harvest of the year, and the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead, resurrected on the very day of the Feast of Firstfruits, becoming the first fruit of the resurrection. And lastly, when the Lord Jesus returns again someday, believers in Jesus will also be raised from the dead, resurrected, a sort of second fruits, So, I think you can see now how Passover is a picture of prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb of God, and of how we can be saved from our sins, can't you? Now, though you and I don't have to keep Passover, knowing about it from the Bible helps us to remember that Jesus died for our sins, that he rose from the dead and is still alive in heaven, that he will forgive and save everyone who trusts in him, and that someday he will come back, and everyone who trusts in him will also rise from the dead and be alive forever with Jesus. Isn't it good of God to have given us all of those Passover picture prophecies? Yes, the Bible tells us about them, and that helps us to remember about our Passover lamb, Jesus, and how much he loves us, doesn't it?