The Passover is one of the most important events and festivals in the Bible. It remembers the night when God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. For more than three thousand years the Jewish people have celebrated it, and it lies at the very heart of the Christian faith, because Jesus died at Passover time and is called "our passover" (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The first Passover (Exodus 12)
After nine plagues, Pharaoh still refused to let Israel go. God announced a final judgement: the death of every firstborn in Egypt. But he gave Israel careful instructions for being spared.
- Choose a lamb. Each household was to take a lamb on the tenth day of the month — a male, one year old, "without blemish" (12:5).
- Sacrifice it. On the fourteenth day, at twilight, the lamb was killed.
- Mark the doorposts. The blood was put on the two side posts and the top of the door frame with a bunch of hyssop.
- Eat the meal. The lamb was roasted and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, in haste — dressed and ready to travel.
God promised:
"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you." (Exodus 12:13, KJV)
At midnight the Lord struck the firstborn of Egypt, but passed over every house marked with blood. That night Pharaoh let the people go.
The meaning of the symbols
- The lamb without blemish — a perfect substitute whose death spared the firstborn.
- The blood on the doorposts — the sign of protection; safety came not from being an Israelite but from sheltering under the blood.
- Unleavened bread — bread made without yeast, because they left in haste. Yeast later became a picture of sin, and Israel removed it from their homes during the feast.
- Bitter herbs — a reminder of the bitterness of slavery.
A feast to remember
God commanded Israel to keep the Passover every year as "a memorial" (12:14). It was followed by the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. Parents were to explain its meaning to their children: "It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt" (12:27).
By the time of Jesus, Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem, where pilgrims came from far and wide. Families shared a meal of lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs and cups of wine, retelling the story of the exodus. Later Jewish tradition developed this into the Seder meal, still celebrated today.
Jesus and the Passover
The connection between Passover and Jesus is deep and deliberate.
Jesus died at Passover
All four Gospels place the death of Jesus at the time of Passover. John the Baptist had already introduced him as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
The Last Supper
On the night before he died, Jesus shared a Passover meal with his disciples. He took the bread and said, "This is my body which is given for you." He took the cup and said, "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:19–20). He was giving the old feast a new meaning: just as the lamb's blood brought rescue from Egypt, his blood would bring rescue from sin and death.
Christ our Passover
Paul writes: "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast… with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:7–8). Peter speaks of being redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19).
Even details echo: no bone of the Passover lamb was to be broken (Exodus 12:46), and John notes that none of Jesus' bones were broken at the cross (John 19:36).
The Lord's Supper
When Christians share the Lord's Supper (Communion or the Eucharist), they remember Jesus' death just as Israel remembered the exodus. Jesus said, "this do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19).
Lessons from the Passover
- God rescues his people from slavery and death.
- Rescue comes through a substitute — the lamb died so the firstborn could live.
- We must trust God's provision — the Israelites had to apply the blood.
- Salvation calls for a new life — leaving Egypt behind, putting away the "leaven" of sin.
- Remembering matters — telling the story to the next generation keeps faith alive.
Continue with the Ten Commandments explained, or read about the ten plagues and the feasts of Israel.