Passover 2013

Passover in 2013 will start on Tuesday, the 26th of March and will continue for 7 days until Monday, the 1st of April.

Passover Feast - Pesach:

Passover commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as recorded in thebook of Exodus. On Passover, Jews also celebrate the birth of the Jewish nation after being freed by God from captivity. Today, the Jewish people not only remember an historic event on Passover, but also celebrate in a broad sense, their freedom as Jews.

The Hebrew word Pesach means "to pass over." During Passover Jews take part in a meal known asthe Seder, which incorporates the retelling of the story of Exodus and God's deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Each participant of the Passover Seder experiences in a personal way, a national celebration of freedom through God's intervention and deliverance. Hag HaMatzah or the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Yom HaBikkurim or Firstfruits are both mentioned in Leviticus 23 as separate feasts, however, today Jews celebrate all three feasts as part of the eight-day Passover holiday.

Time of Observance:

Today, Passover begins on day 15 of the Hebrew month of Nissan (March or April) and continues for 8 days. Originally, Passover began at twilight on the fourteenth day of Nissan (Leviticus 23:5), and then the next day, day 15, the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin and continue for seven days (Leviticus 23:6).

• See Bible Feasts Calendar for the actual dates of Passover.

About Passover:

Joseph, son of Jacob, after being sold into slavery in Egypt, was kept by God and greatly blessed. Eventually he was put into a high position—second-in-command to Pharaoh. In time, Joseph moved his entire family to Egypt and protected them there. 400 years later, the Israelites had grown into a people numbering 2 million. There were so many Jews in Egypt that the new Pharaoh was afraid of their power. To maintain control, he turned them into slaves, oppressing them with harsh labor and ruthless treatment.

Yet, through a man named Moses (great, great grandson of Jacob), God came to rescue his people.

At the time Moses was born, Pharaoh had ordered the death of all Hebrew males, but God spared Moses when his mother hid him in a basket along the banks of the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found the baby and decided to raise him as her own. Later Moses fled to Midian after killing an Egyptian for cruelly beating one of his own people. There God appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bushand said, "I have seen the misery of my people. I have heard their cries, I care about their suffering, and I have come to rescue them. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:7-10, paraphrased)

After making some excuses, Moses finally obeyed God and confronted Pharaoh. But when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, God sent a series of plagues to persuade him. With the final plague God promised to strike dead every first-born son in Egypt at midnight on the 15th day of the month of Nissan. But to Moses, the Lord provided instructions so his people would be spared. Each Hebrew family was to take a Passover lamb, slaughter it, and place some of the blood on the door frames of their homes. When the destroyer passed over Egypt, he would not enter the homes covered by the blood of the Passover lamb.

These and other instructions became part of a lasting ordinance from God for the observance of the Passover Feast, so that the generations to come would always remember God's great deliverance.

At midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, and that very night Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Up! Leave my people. Go." They left in haste and God led them toward the Red Sea. After a few days Pharaoh changed his mind, and decided to send his army in pursuit. When the Egyptian army reached them at the banks of the Red Sea, the Hebrew people were afraid and cried out to God.

Moses answered, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today."

Moses stretched out his hand and the sea parted, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground, with a wall of water on either side. And when the Egyptian army followed, it was thrown into confusion. Moses then stretched out his hand over the sea again and the entire army was swept away, leaving no survivors.

Jesus and Passover:

In Luke 22, Jesus shared the Passover meal with his apostles saying, "I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-16, NLT) Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover. He is the Lamb of God, sacrificed to set us free from bondage to sin. (John 1:29; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) His blood covers and protects us, and his body was broken to free us from eternal death. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

In the Jewish tradition a hymn of praise known as the Hallel is sung during the Passover Seder. In it is Psalm 118:22, speaking of the Messiah: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone." (NIV) Jesus said in Matthew 21:42, one week before his death, that he himself was the stone the builders rejected.

As God commanded the Israelites to always commemorate his great deliverance through the Passover meal, we Christians were instructed by Christ as well, to continually remember his sacrifice through The Lord's Supper or Communion.

More Facts About Passover

• Jews drink four cups of wine at the Seder. The third cup is called the cup of redemption, the same cup of wine taken during the Last Supper.
• The bread of the Last Supper is the Afikomen of Passover, or the middle Matzah which is pulled out and broken in two. Half is wrapped in white linen and hidden. The children search for the unleavened bread in the white linen. Whoever finds it brings it back to be redeemed for a price. The other half of the bread is eaten, ending the meal.
• Learn how to prepare the Passover Seder Plate.
• Check out these online guides for implementing a Christian Seder:
  • The Passover Seder for Christians (Haggadah adapted by Dennis Bratcher)
  • Passover in the Time of Jesus (By Daniel B. Wallace , Th.M., Ph.D.)

Passover in the Bible

• Passover in the Old Testament: Exodus 12; Numbers 9: 1-14; Numbers 28:16-25; Deuteronomy 16: 1-6; Joshua 5:10; 2 Kings 23:21-23; 2 Chronicles 30:1-5, 35:1-19; Ezra 6:19-22; Ezekiel 45:21-24.
• Passover in the New Testament: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 2, 22; John 2, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19; Acts 12:4; 1 Corinthians 5:7.
• More about Passover.

At the end of the biblical book of Genesis, Joseph brings his family to Egypt. Over the following centuries, the descendants of Joseph's family (the Hebrews) become so numerous that when a new king comes to power he fears what might happen if the Hebrews decide to rise against the Egyptians. He decides that the best way to avoid this situation is to enslave them (Exodus 1). According to tradition, these enslaved Hebrews are the ancestors of modern day Jews.

Despite pharaoh's attempt to subdue the Hebrews they continue to have many children. As their numbers grow, pharaoh comes up with another plan: he will send soldiers to kill all newborn male babies who were born to Hebrew mothers. This is where the story of Moses begins.

Moses

In order to save Moses from the grisly fate pharaoh has decreed, his mother and sister put him in a basket and set it afloat on the river. Their hope is that the basket will float to safety and whomever finds the baby will adopt him as their own. His sister, Miriam, follows along as the basket floats away. Eventually it is discovered by none other than pharaoh's daughter. She saves Moses and raises him as her own, so that a Hebrew child is raised as a prince of Egypt.

When Moses grows up he kills an Egyptian guard when he sees him beating a Hebrew slave. Then Moses flees for his life, heading into the desert. In the desert he joins the family of Jethro, a Midian priest, by marrying Jethro's daughter and having children with her. He becomes a shepherd for Jethro's flock and one day, while out tending the sheep, Moses meets God in the wilderness. The voice of God calls out to him from a burning bush and Moses answers: "Hineini!" ("Here I am!" in Hebrew.)

God tells Moses that he has been chosen to free the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Moses is not sure he can carry out this command. But God reassures Moses that he will have help in the form of God's aide and his brother, Aaron.

The Ten Plagues

Soon afterward, Moses returns to Egypt and demands that pharaoh release the Hebrews from bondage. Pharaoh refuses and as a result God sends ten plagues upon Egypt:

1. Blood - The waters of Egypt are turned to blood. All the fish die and water becomes unusable.
2. Frogs - Hordes of frogs swarm the land of Egypt.
3. Gnats or Lice - Masses of gnats or lice invade Egyptian homes and plague the Egyptian people.
4. Wild Animals - Wild animals invade Egyptian homes and lands, causing destruction and wrecking havoc.
5. Pestilence - Egyptian livestock is struck down with disease.
6. Boils - The Egyptian people are plagued by painful boils that cover their bodies.
7. Hail - Severe weather destroys Egyptian crops and beats down upon them.
8. Locusts - Locusts swarm Egypt and eat any remaining crops and food.
9. Darkness - Darkness covers the land of Egypt for three days.
10. Death of the Firstborn - The firstborn of every Egyptian family is killed. Even the firstborn of Egyptian animals die.

The tenth plague is where the Jewish holiday of Passover derives its name, because while the Angel of Death visited Egypt it "passed over" Hebrew homes, which had been marked with lambs blood on the doorposts.

The Exodus

After the tenth plague pharaoh relents and releases the Hebrews. The quickly bake their bread, not even pausing for the dough to rise, which is why Jews eat matzah (unleavened bread) during Passover.

Soon after they leave their homes pharaoh changes his mind and sends soldiers after the Hebrews, but when the former slaves reach the Sea of Reeds the waters part so that they can escape. When the soldiers try to follow them, the waters crash down upon them. According to Jewish legend, when the angels began rejoicing as the Hebrews escaped and the soldiers drowned God reprimanded them, saying: "My creatures are drowning, and you're singing songs!" This midrash (rabbinic story) teaches us that we should not rejoice in the sufferings of our enemies. (Telushkin, Joseph. "Jewish Literacy." pgs 35-36).

Once they have crossed the water, the Hebrews begin the next part of their journey as they search for the Promised Land. The story of Passover recounts how the Hebrews gained their freedom and became the ancestors of the Jewish people.