CHRIST OUR PASSOVER

1 Cor 5:7 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:

The word, ’Easter’ is found only one time in the Bible.
Acts 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

The word so rendered in this passage is ‘pascha’ or ‘the Passover feast’. I have no idea as to the reason for this interpretation by the translators, but perhaps it had to do with the intense anti-semitism that existed at the time the translation was made. However, it is not my intention to dwell on the negative aspects of the present day customs of ‘easter’ but rather to rejoice in the positive significance of the events of that great fulfillment of God’s purpose in Christ.

Each Sunday, on the first day of the week, we meet to observe the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Those who wait for only one day of the year to do this, are robbing themselves of untold blessings. During the time of the Passover, we have an annual observance of the event.

What is the significance of the ‘Passover’ to us? When Israel was in bondage, the last of the plagues sent upon the Egyptians was that of the Death Angel, which spread death over all the land. Only those who had applied the blood of the paschal lamb escaped this plague. God had promised, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you."

When we consider that the plague of death is pronounced upon all men, the significance of Christ, our Passover becomes clear.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

There was no other way for those in Egypt to escape than by the blood of the prescribed lamb. Neither is there any way for men now to escape, than by the blood of our Passover, Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

For this reason, we should not limit our observation to the empty tomb but rather look upon the entire work of Christ; His death, burial and resurrection. This is what Christ, our passover means to me.

freddie