The Full Picture of Passover
Indeed, the cost is great. This story of one man and his family is the shadow in which we walk. It is the essence of Passover. The lamb was required so that death would pass-over.
“And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’ And the people bowed low and worshiped.” (Exodus 12:26-27)
But Paul, as we have already read, says this shadow has a reality, a substance which is the Messiah.
A thought obsesses you on your way home, knowing that you’re going to have to face the horrified faces of your children, “The cost, O God, is too great.”
In fact, it is stated that a specific portion of this festival bread, the afikomen, is the representation of the Passover lamb. Passover: It’s Observance, Laws, and significance declares, “In our days, the afikomen is symbolic of the portion of Pesach meat consumed by each Jew,”14 and elsewhere, “Some rabbis15 are of the opinion that the afikomen is eaten in commemoration of the Pesach offering.”16
Is it, therefore, merely coincidence that Jesus identified himself as the matzah during His last Passover on earth?
“And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me’” (Luke 22:19).
We are reminded of Jesus’ words, “I am the bread of life; he that comes to Me shall never hunger…”17 Leaven represents sin in Scripture, and by identifying himself as the unleavened bread, Jesus reminds us of his sinless nature. Like the lamb in our story, he was innocent—no blemish in either could be found.
But many other traditions have developed around the matzah bread as well. The rabbis have set down very specific regulations concerning the appearance of the matzah. If it is to be found suitable for use in the first place, it must be striped, as was Jesus, for the prophet Isaiah says, “And by His stripes we are healed.”18
Likewise, the baking process intentionally makes the matzah appear bruised, as was Jesus. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities…”19
Category: Biblical Studies, Summer 1999