Christ Our Passover
1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Exodus 12:1-8
April 21, 2024 The Fourth Sunday of Easter
First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa
- Introduction-Passover starts this Tuesday
Jesus died on Passover, and in the structure of how these holidays are determined sometimes they take place at the same time, and this year one starts long after the other is finished. Easter is behind us but Passover starts this Tuesday. Let’s take a look at some of the symbolism of this holy season still honored by Jewish people around the world.
- Set the Stage
Exodus-making sure that they don’t take Egypt with them when they left
We are all familiar with the episode of the Exodus in chapter twelve of the book of the same name. Moses, once of prince of the Empire of Egypt himself, is now God’s man of deliverance for the Israelis after over four centuries of slavery. Slavery, by the way, that was predicted by God to Abram centuries before in Genesis 15:13. After a series of confrontations and miracles, God tells Moses to leave Pharaoh alone and prepare to leave. He instructs the people to sacrifice and lamb, and to cover the door frame of their homes with the blood of the lamb. What God says next is chilling. In verse 23 we find: “For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.” Everyone and everything else lost their firstborn son. This national calamity for Egypt was the opportunity for deliverance for Israel, and they left Egypt forever and honor the God of deliverance every year.
- 1 Corinthians-the leaven is all about purity of life
It may have been around Passover when the Apostle Paul wrote the church in Corinth and mentioned that Christ was our Passover Lamb, the final one. But look at the context. Paul made comment about the removal of leaven-yeast that could decay and corrupt over time, as a symbol of the command of purity of life from the Lord. He wrote this right in the middle of a scandal in the church. Corinth, as a city, had a reputation for decadence but here, in the church, was someone having an affair with his step-mother. Even the corrupt Corinthians were shocked. Paul demanded that we put a stop to this because, like yeast, our behavior affects others and the behavior of others affects and influences us. People had become complacent, and that is a dangerous state.
- Main Point-prayerful self-examination needed for refreshment and purity of life
There’s a verse in the Old Testament about becoming complacent. It’s Zephaniah 1:12 “And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, ad punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart ‘the Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.”‘ The idea that God has never acted, and He won’t act any time soon is dangerous. Especially since complacency comes from a lukewarm heart. People don’t try to be lukewarm or complacent, they just get tired and we start to become indifferent to what is going one in ourselves and in others near us. Just as the people in Exodus were to remove the leaven, anything that corrupts, we are to take the time periodically to prayerfully reflect on our lives and ask ourselves about what influences us? How do we influence others? Is there a purity about our lives that stands in contrast with the world, and if not, why not?
- Application-schedule times to be alone and pray (Peter on Exodus)
The application to this is to make sure that you take time to pray and examine yourself, your thoughts, words, actions and habits. Plan this ahead of time otherwise the busy nature of life will always keep you too busy. There’s a story about and business executive giving a presentation to the company board. He place some large rocks into a glass jar, then some smaller rocks, then some pebbles. He then asked if the people thought there was room for more. They were skeptical until the executive took out a bag of sand and managed to put all of it into the jar. He then asked if there was room for anything else. They all said, ‘”no.’ That’s when he added about a quart of water. Now it was full. He asked the board to come up with the moral of the story, so to speak. One suggested that the wise do not easily give up, another said that we can fit so much more into our schedule and be more productive if we only try. The executive disagreed. He said that point to the demonstration was that if the large jar was your life, then you need to place the big rocks in first, or you will never get them in. Reflecting on your life in prayer is a big rock, it is our way of being prepared for our exodus, which, according to Peter, is when we leave to meet the Lord (2 Peter 1:15).
- Conclusion
There’s much to be said about the relationship between Christ and the Passover, but for now let it suffice that the symbolism of removing the yeast from the home has a very powerful counterpart in our spiritual lives. Just as the home is to be free of the corrupting influence of bad yeast, so our lives are to be free of corruption in thought, word and deed. This requires periodic self-examination, and a time to prayerfully reflect. It is the way to keep ourselves ready for whatever God has next for us, and to refresh us and keep us away from bad influences.
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