THE PASSOVER

The name "The Passover" was given to the chief of the annual festivals celebrated by the Jews. The feast was in remembrance of the Lord’s action recorded in Exodus 12:1-20’ when the first born of all the Egyptians were destroyed. It is also referred to as the "feast of unleavened bread"
Exodus 23:15.

"Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) "

Mark 14:1.

"After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death."

Acts 12:3.

"And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) This name was given because during the celebration no leavened bread was to be eaten or kept in the household "

The name later came to be used for the lamb that died at the feast, Mark 14:12;

"And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?"

1 Cor. 5:7,8).

"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Exodus 12:1-6 tells us that the lamb used for the Passover was to be selected on the tenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan, that is during March-April today. The lamb was to be taken to the priest to be checked for faults and blemishes, then on the fourteenth day of the same month this selected lamb was to be killed within the temple area, then taken back to the persons home, where it is cooked and then eaten during the evening by the household

This feast was done in remembrance of the Passover event which took place while the Jewish nation were in Egypt. The original Passover involved roast lamb, unleavened bread and a dish of bitter herbs. Exodus 12:8-20.
The death of the lamb was to remind the Jews of the blood that was applied to the door posts in Egypt to stop the angel of death killing their first born children.
The unleavened bread was to remind them of their sudden departure from Egypt, there being no time to prepare a normal loaf.
The bitter herbs taken with the feast were to remind them of the time that they were slaves of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
During the many years that followed after their departure from Egypt the Jews had added the drinking of four cups of wine mixed with water as part of the feast.

Today, where it is celebrated, the normal course of the Passover meal had now become as follows:-
The master or senior person of the household gives a blessing followed by a prayer.
The first cup of wine with a dish of herbs and sauces is now offered round the table.
The story of the institute (beginning or start) of the Passover Feast is now recited (read or from memory), then Psalm 113 is sung, followed by the second cup of wine being passed round.
A prayer is now made followed by the eating of the main meal of roast lamb, with the unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Following the meal a further prayer is offered and the third cup of wine passed round.
Psalm 114 to 118 is now sung and the fourth cup of wine is drunk to complete the feast.

The passover, though done as a reminder of the past, is also an example of the coming plan by God to provide the Saviour of the world