On Monday evening, I had the opportunity to participate in a Seder dinner...Messianic style:) For those of you unfamiliar with a Seder/Passover meal, let me offer a brief description:

The Passover is the Old Testament feast that celebrates and remembers God's liberation of Israel from Egypt. After Joseph saved Egypt from starvation (Genesis 41), the Israelites lived in Egypt as guests. Eventually, the Egyptians forgot about Joseph and enslaved the Israelites for about 400 years. Overburden with work and mistreatment, the Israelites suffered a great deal and called out to the Lord. God responded to their cry and raised a great leader, Moses, who challenged the Pharaoh and Egypt's power. The book of Exodus explains how God freed His people from Egypt. Because of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart, God punished Egypt with ten plagues (Exodus 7-11). During the last plague, God killed all the first-borns-humans and animals-in the land of Egypt. 
God have his people a way to escape the destruction: the blood of a perfect lamb could take the place of the first-born in the family. God gave Moses specific instructions to follow the night that God's punishment passed over the Israelite homes (Exodus 12). The were to sacrifice a perfect lamb and mark their door frames, make unleavened bread, and gather bitter herbs. The Israelites at this meal standing up, ready to leave Egypt at any moment. This celebration is now called the Passover because God "passed over" the homes marked with the lamb's blood. The Passover feast was to be repeated throughout generations as a memorial forever. 

I find this incredibly meaningful as I celebrate the death and resurrection of my Savior, Jesus Christ.  Check out the significance of the Passover meal with the events of Holy Week:

•  Exodus 12:1-2 - The feast marked a new year, a new beginning for the Israelites. In Christ, every believer is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old is gone and the new has come!
• Exodus 12:5 - A male lamb in its first year was taken into the home on the tenth of Nisan (the first month of the Jewish calendar). While in the home, it was closely inspected to see if there were any blemishes or disfigurements. If it was without defect, it was then sacrificed on the fourteenth of Nisan. Jesus Christ was closely inspected by: Pilate, Herod, Annas, Caiaphas. They could find no fault in Him. Christ was the "lamb without blemish or defect.
• Exodus 12:6 - The "whole community" of God's people was required to participate in the sacrifice. Accepting Christ's sacrifice is required for all who want to be part of God's community. (Romans 3:21-26)
• Exodus 12:7, 12-22 - The blood of the sacrificed lamb was applied to the doorframe-the lintel and side posts. Because of the covering of blood, the house was spared from God's plague. Christ shed his blood to rescue His people. We need to be covered, justified by the blood of the Lamb to be rescued from condemnation (Romans 3:25; 5:9). Christ is the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
• Exodus 12:14 - The Passover was to be kept as a remembrance forever. During the Last Supper, Jesus refers to the bread as "my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19
• Exodus 12:46 - God commanded Israel not to break any bones of the sacrificed lamb. To speed up Jesus' death, the Roman soldiers were going to break his legs. However, Jesus was already dead, so his bones remained unbroken (John 19:32-33)

I am always excited to share in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. May this Holy Week lead you deeper in the adventure, joy and abundance that Jesus Christ has for you!!