Passover

Welcome to Worship in the Word with Pastor Robert Morris. Today we're starting a new series called Passover to Pentecost, where Pastor Robert is sharing about 50 days that changed the world. The first message of this series is about the Feast of Passover, and Pastor Robert has so much to share with us, so let's join him now. I'm beginning a new series called Passover to Pentecost, 50 days that changed the world. So we're going to talk about Jesus rose and then he was on the earth 40 days and the disciples were then praying and fasting and seeking God for 10 days and then Pentecost came. So we're going to talk about that during this time, all right? So I just want to just give you a little background on Passover day.

I want to talk about it. I want you to know that when we think of Passover, many times we think of a day and it is a specific day on the Jewish calendar. But it's not just the day. It's like Christmas or a birthday.

It's not that we're celebrating the day, we're celebrating what the day represents. The day is the 14th of Nisan, is how you pronounce it. Most people incorrectly pronounce it. It's spelled N-I-S-A-N. Most people say Nissan.

That's a car you drive, okay? That's not a month in Israel. So it's Nisan and it's the 14th day.

So even though it's a day though, we're celebrating what happened. It was about 3,500 years ago, almost 3,500 years ago that Passover was implemented. And it was about 2,000 years ago it was fulfilled by Jesus. And that's what we're going to look at. There were three major feasts in Israel.

I'm going to lay a foundation and give you a background here. Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles. Now you say, Pastor, I've heard about seven feasts.

There are seven. Three are included in Passover. Then there's Pentecost. And then three are included in Tabernacles. In Passover, you have Passover, unleavened bread, firstfruits.

All three of those happened the weekend of Passover 2,000 years ago, around 2,000 years ago. Jesus fulfilled, and I'll show you in the message, Passover, unleavened bread, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Firstfruits. Fifty days later, Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came and fulfilled Pentecost. Tabernacles will be fulfilled. In Tabernacles, the three feasts are the Feast of Trumpets, which is the second coming, the trump shall sound and the Lord will return, Day of Atonement, which is the judgment, and Tabernacles, which God then Tabernacles with us.

That's heaven. He lives with us for all eternity. He dwells with us, our Tabernacles with us. That feast will be fulfilled. Now, I want you to understand, even though you weren't alive when Jesus was on this earth, when He fulfilled Passover, you can partake in the fulfillment of Passover, unleavened bread, and firstfruits by receiving Jesus as your Savior. You partake in the fulfillment of that feast.

Even though you weren't alive in Acts chapter two, when the Holy Spirit came, you can partake in the fulfillment of Pentecost by receiving the Holy Spirit into your life, opening up your life for Him to control your life and to lead you every day. Even though you may not be alive when the Lord comes back, if you believe in Jesus, you will partake in the fulfillment of Tabernacles, of Trumpets, Atonement, and you follow me? So that's what I want you to understand. By the way, let me just say, you don't hear me preach a lot on end times because there are a lot of different views, but let me just tell you two things that are for sure about the second coming. Number one, Jesus will return. That's for sure. Number two, no one knows when.

That's for sure. No one, Jesus said, no one knows the day. I heard Pastor Jack Hayford say, he said, I've thought many times, I wonder if some people have figured it out and the Lord had to move it. Because there's one thing we know for sure, no one knows when. So, but we know He will return. But we are not to live focused on that.

I think we get so caught up in that. As a matter of fact, the disciples said the same thing. They said, but when's the kingdom coming?

When are you going to restore the kingdom? You know what he said? It's not for you to know. He said, I'll tell you what you should concern yourself with. You should concern yourself with being witnesses to me to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. That's what you should be concerned about. You should be concerned about with winning people to Jesus.

That's what we need to be concerned about. So we've got these three feasts, seven feasts, three times a year. Israel, Washington, Israel was to come together, planting firstfruits and harvest. God brought them together. But let me tell you now what the word Passover means. Years ago, I was sharing this with Debbie. She didn't know where the word came from, but the word comes from two words put together. Pass over.

Many, many people have never thought about that. They hear the Passover. It comes from Passover.

Okay, so let me show you. We'll be in Exodus 12, because that's the implementation of Passover, and then we'll see New Testament fulfillment. Exodus 12, verse 23, for the Lord will pass through, this is not the word yet, to strike the Egyptians. And when he sees the blood on the lentil, that's the upper doorpost, and on the two doorposts, those are the two sides, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.

Do you realize what good news that is? That the Lord will not allow the destroyer to come into your house? That's what we're celebrating when we celebrate Passover, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. By the way, this was the tenth plague, and you might not know this, but every plague was a judgment on the ten major gods and goddesses of Egypt. In every one of them, here's one of the scriptures, Numbers 33, 4, also on their gods, the Lord had executed judgments, plural, ten plagues.

Ten major gods and goddesses, ten plagues. In every plague, he would say, no, you're not the God of water, I'm the God of water. I can turn water into blood. No, you're not the God of the animals. No, you're not the God of light and darkness. I'm the God of light and darkness. I control that. No, you're not the God of life.

I control life and death. He's basically letting them know I'm bringing judgment. So you need to know that God brought judgment, but the destroyer came. So God said, I'll pass over. I won't let the destroyer come in. And then Exodus 12, 13, it says, now the blood shall be a sign for you.

I'm going to come back to that. On the house is where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Now, here's something that maybe you've never seen. He said the blood will be a sign to you. I would have thought that he would have said the blood will be a sign for me to pass over your house.

He doesn't need a sign, an outward sign, because he knows your heart. You see, it took faith to kill a lamb and put blood on your doorpost. It took faith to do a lot of things God told Israel to do, like to walk around the city seven times and not talk and then shout on the seventh time. That took a lot of faith. What he was doing was he was trying to see faith. So God knows what's in your heart. But here's what he says.

It's so wonderful. This blood will be a sign to you. I just want you to know that the blood of Jesus is a sign to us that the destroyer cannot come into our houses, that the plague cannot come into our houses.

It's a sign to us. So there are, when the word Passover is used in Scripture, it's referring to one of three subjects. So I talked about a day, but really it's the day involves these three.

So these will be the three points, so you can see them in a moment. But when the word Passover is used, it's either referring to the festival of Passover, the meal, or the lamb. The festival, the meal, or the lamb.

All right, so here's point one, the festival. I'll show you the Scripture in Exodus 12. Then I'll show you a New Testament Scripture referring to the festival. Exodus 12 14. So this day shall be to you a memorial, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord.

Let me just stop for a moment. You might not know this. The root word of the word festival is feast. That's the root of the word. So in other words, a festival is when you come together to feast. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast, a festival, by an everlasting ordinance. And then in Matthew 26 2, Jesus said, you know, after two days is the Passover. He's referring to the festival. And the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.

Here's what I get out of this. God wanted His people to come together and celebrate. He likes His people to come together and celebrate and feast. You know, there's a lot of preaching on fasting, and I think we should preach on fasting, but where is the good old preaching on feasting? I mean, let's have some preaching on feasting, you know. Let's have some feasts. Leviticus 23 verse 9 says, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land which I give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits. Remember, there are three feasts Jesus fulfilled already at Passover.

Passover, unleavened bread, firstfruits. You shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf.

Watch when he waved. When is this brought forth? On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. Now, if you don't realize this, if you didn't know this, Jesus was resurrected on the day after the Sabbath. He was crucified on Passover in the tomb on the Sabbath, raised the day after.

So on the day after, firstfruits. Let me show you the New Testament fulfillment of firstfruits, unleavened bread, and Passover. 1 Corinthians 5-7, Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. In other words, God's taken the leaven, which represents the law, the sin, the death that the law brought.

He's taken that out. So we're now unleavened. We fulfill the unleavened bread because he did, for indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. There's two of the three, unleavened bread and Passover. 1 Corinthians 15-20, But now Christ has risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

They're your first three fasts. Christ fulfilled all of them. Passover, unleavened bread, firstfruits. Now, every week, every Sabbath, there's a Sabbath meal that Jewish people observe, and it points to Christ. On Passover, there's a little bit of difference, but on Passover, they were to take three pieces of unleavened bread, three pieces.

Think about this, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three pieces. They were to take the middle piece, that's the Son, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and they were to break it. Jesus, at the Passover meal, many people won't realize the Last Supper was a Passover meal, broke bread, said, This is my body. They were to take that middle piece of matzah, break it, wrap it in a cloth. You remember what happened to Jesus' body when they took it off the cross? They wrapped it in a cloth. Then the father of the household, the Jewish father, takes it and hides it somewhere in the house. And then, on the day after the Sabbath, in early in the morning, when the sun's coming up, the children go looking for it. They bring it out, unwrap it, and wave it before the Lord as a first fruits offering. Jesus was sacrificed on Passover, wrapped in a cloth, and brought out at sunrise on the day after the Sabbath. He fulfilled it all.

He fulfilled every scripture about Jesus, about Him. So, number one is the festival. Number two is the meal. Exodus 12 11, And thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, your staff your hand, because they're going to leave quickly.

He delivers us quickly. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. He's not talking about a festival here or a day. He's talking about a meal. Luke 22 15, Then He said to them, With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. He's not saying I've desired to eat this day.

He's saying I've desired to eat this meal. Now, when they're eating that last supper, during the supper, He talks about His body and His blood. Matthew 26 26, And as they were eating, so they're eating a Passover meal, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is My body. Then He took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you, for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for their measure of sins. By the way, where it says He gave thanks, that's the word Eucharisteo, which we get the word Euchariste from. It just simply means gave thanks. It comes from right there, those two words. This is Passover meal before He's crucified.

Three years before this, during the first year of His ministry, crowds are beginning to follow Him. He makes a statement that's pretty strong. John 6 53, many people still don't understand this statement to this day. Then Jesus said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

Now, if you've come from a background where you receive the Euchariste every day or every week, this might upset you a little bit, but please stay with me. This is not referring to the Lord's Supper, because the Lord's Supper doesn't save you. In other words, somebody can't just live this horrible sinful life, walk in, take a wafer and a little juice or wine, walk out and have eternal life and live however he or she wants. This is referring to salvation. This is three years before the Lord's Supper. Now, is this a type of communion?

Yes, certainly it is. But it's not what it's referring to. It's referring to salvation.

But how do I know? You need to know that the Bible is a treasure hunt. It is so fun to search things and find treasure in the Scripture.

Please hear me. The Bible is a spiritual book written by a spirit, two spirits. So if you try to understand with your natural mind, you never will. But if you'll search the Scriptures, you will see all sorts of treasure. We, a few weeks ago, some of our friends were doing a scavenger hunt. The first clue, let me tell you what it was. So the first clue was, after you've done Proverbs 24-3, you might want to go here to fill it. You can also get fudge and popcorn here.

And you can mail a letter here, but it's not the post office. Debbie said, where's furniture? Just like that.

Where's furniture? Well, Proverbs 24-3 talks about wisdom builds a house. Well, I knew that much. The elder, he knew that. We knew that.

We knew Wills would build a house. She didn't, she, Debbie didn't know that part, I have to tell you. But she didn't know that part. But it builds a house. So after you build it, then you might want to go here to fill it with furniture, obviously.

But here's the part she knew. You can get fudge and popcorn there. And you can mail a letter there.

They have a post office in there you can mail. So that's kind of what the Bible's like. It's a hunt, okay? So the very first thing you do when you're trying to figure out the meaning of something is you read the context. So Jesus said, if you don't eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you. Well, we need to find out what that is because we want life, right? Okay, so you read the context and that's verse 53. Here's verse 56.

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. Okay, I've got a clue now. I've got a key. Can I tell you something?

Please hear me. There's always a key to understand every scripture in the Bible. There's always a key. The key here is, oh, wait a minute, whoever does this abides in God and God abides in him. There are two abidings, God in you and you in God.

Does everyone see that? Whoever does this abides in me and I in him. So whoever this is, God abides in you. So how do I abide in God and have God abide in me? I immediately thought John 15, if you abide in me, you're very much fruit.

But that doesn't tell me how to do it. So I just kind of searched the word abide and here's this scripture, 1 John 4 15, whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. You know how you eat his flesh and drink his blood? You confess Jesus is God. You confess Jesus is the Son of God. Now I do need to say to you though that you need to confess him publicly because Jesus said this in Matthew 10 32, whoever confesses me before men, him I also would confess before my Father who is in heaven. Don't try to be a secret disciple. Jesus died for you publicly. You need to live for him publicly. I used to preach these crusades and I'll never forget one night, had the athletes and the cheerleaders and all these young people there from the schools and the head cheerleader begged, she was dating the captain of the football team, she begged him to come forward and give his life to Christ. He said no, I'm gonna have fun first.

He died later that night in a car accident. You're not guaranteed tomorrow. I am begging you today to confess Jesus is the Son of God publicly because that's the only way you're gonna have life in you. So that's, we got the festival, the meal, and number three is the lamb. In Exodus 12 again verse 21, then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families and kill the Passover lamb. So it's not referring to a day, it's not referring to a festival, kill the festival or kill the meal, it's referring to a lamb. Luke 22 7, then came the day of unleavened bread when the Passover must be killed and just so you know who the lamb is, John 1 29, the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Here's something interesting, the lamb Passover is the 14th day of Nisan. On the 10th day you were to separate the lamb from the rest of the lambs. The one, the Passover lamb, you were to separate him. On the 10th day Jesus was entering Jerusalem. What we call the triumphal entry, but you know what he knew?

He was being, what's happening? He was being separated so he'd be the sacrifice. Back in Exodus 12, look at verse 7, and they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two door posts and on the lentil, that means the upper door post, some call it the mantle of the houses where they, I want to show you an image that our graphic artist team created and I'm hoping you never forget this. I'm hoping this image stays in your mind forever.

25, 35, I don't know how long years from now you remember this image. So I want to show you an image of a door that could be like a Jewish door in Egypt. So here's the door and you can see the two door posts and the lentil. The Lord told them, I want you to put the blood on the two door posts. So they would put the blood on one side of the door and then they would put the blood on the other side of the door and then they would put the blood on the top door post or the lentil and that blood though, maybe you've never thought about this, would drip down. So three places they would apply the blood and yet it would drip down.

So there's four places where the blood is. Now I want you to think about Jesus on the cross and I want you to think about the nails in his hands, the crown of thorns on his head and the nail in his feet. Jesus Christ is the Passover lamb and you need to always know this if you're a believer in Jesus, the blood of Jesus stands guard at your door and the destroyer cannot come into your house to get your family because Jesus is at your door.

But you have to confess Jesus is the Son of God. We want you to take a moment and think about what Pastor Robert shared today and really listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. If you want to connect with us or check out some of Pastor Robert's other messages, visit pastorrobert.com and if you haven't already, go follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter so we can be a part of your community. Well thank you so much for tuning in to the beginning of this series. Next time Pastor Robert is sharing about how to see people the way God sees them. We hope you will join us then. Have a blessed day.