The Feast of Passover signifies redemption.

The Jewish nation was under the yoke of slavery for over two centuries when God intervened and redeemed them. The descendants of Abraham were nomads, moving from one place to another in search of something permanent. God promised Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan - a land flowing with milk and honey - as an eternal possession. They sojourned in this area but never actually occupied it. The land was occupied by other tribes predominantly Philistines who were the elect of God at that time. This is exemplified in Melchizedek. However as the Philistines disobeyed and wandered away from the purposes of God, this election was handed over to Abraham. In the sojourn period there had been famines and God did allow the Abrahamic descendants to take shelter in the human Kingdom of Egypt with the condition that they return to Canaan to occupy it. (There are three typological kingdoms portrayed in the Bible. Canaan - Kingdom of God; Egypt - The Kingdom of Man; and Shinnar - the Kingdom of Evil Ones) Thus the elect exists both in human and divine dimensions. It is part of the sojourn to be in Egypt until they make their abode in Canaan.

God gave a promise to Abraham when there was famine in the land of his sojourn.

Gen 12: 10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

But Abraham returned from Egypt (actually he was driven away) back to Canaan. But when Isaac desired to go down to Egypt, God forbade him.

Gen 26: 26:1 Now there was a famine in the land--besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time--and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar.

   2   The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to
        live.

3. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.

So when Jacob found that there was severe famine in Canaan and his son Joseph was the ruler of Egypt, he decided to pack up things and migrate to Egypt. God allowed him to go down to Egypt and promised to bring him back.

Gen 41: 4 "I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes."

What we infer here is that Jacob never wanted to leave Egypt even after the famine. They settled there by choice. As a result they grew to become slaves. This slavery was not simply physical slavery, it was essentially a mental slavery - it was a cultural conquest. In spite of all their physical hardships they did not want to leave. They became slaves to the living style of the new country. Jewish People had first to be redeemed from their intellectual exile before they could be freed from the burden of their physical slavery. After living in Egypt for over two centuries, the Jews felt quite at home there and identified with the local culture. Despite all their hardships, they had no real desire to leave Egypt. All they wanted were civil rights and equality.

Even when they became physically slaves, they were not really leaving Egypt. Several points in the desert life of freedom, they wanted to go back to Egypt and its styles. Egypt provided them with Egyptian dreams, which were seldom realized. The dream lived on. Meanwhile they remained slaves physically and slave mentally. And that brought forth spiritual slavery. They were trapped in Egypt even when they were on their way to Canaan.

• The theological term, "redemption," is one, which is borrowed from the commercial world. It means to buy back. In the divine sense, the Creator of Israel had to obtain the people of Israel from Pharaoh in much the same way that each person must be regained from sin before he can truly belong to God. Pharaoh had to give his consent in order that they may be free. This fight is done in the Egyptian soil. Once out of Egypt, the binding forces of Egypt have to be broken before they actually enter and occupy Canaan. Most adults never made it.

Freedom isn't a goal unto itself, but a means to an end. 'This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. For while freedom enables one to carry out very important and worthwhile responsibilities, it can also be misused for destructive purposes, such as harming other individuals and society as a whole. When freedom is viewed as an end in itself and dispensed indiscriminately, it can bring about the demise of civilized society. The redemption of Israel was accomplished by a mighty act of God for a purpose - to serve him so that through them the whole world can be redeemed. We still have the feeling that redemption is for us to go the heaven. Our redemption is for others to go to heaven. Otherwise it is being a slave to Satan.

Selfishness and consequent tyranny of people or nations or kingdoms demands severe punishments. All men truly deserve to be punished with death. But God in his mercy delays or covers them. This is costly for man and for costlier for God. It is this principle that is portrayed in the Passover.

"Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household…….And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two sides posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it."
-Ex. 12:3-8

 

• Why was the blood of the lamb significant?

• The Primal Principle of Blood and Sacrifice.

The Primal principle behind the redemption is the shedding of blood and sacrifice.

This principle is also found in all religions. Rig-Veda of the Hindus states it very clearly thus:

"The gods sacrificed Purusha as the sacrifice.
This is the earliest principle.
Through this the sages obtain heaven"
Rg Veda, Purusha Suktha v.16

Gods came to be gods because of this sacrifice of Purusha. The sages attained heaven though this sacrifice. Every man can attain heaven even today though this primal principle of the sacrifice of the Son of Man. It is this primal principle of service, which is the root of all creation that is exemplified in the system of sacrifices in the ancient religions. Like every other ritual, this also came be empty of substance by misuse of selfish persons.

 

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. (NIV)

There is a progressive revelation of this in the bible for redemption, which is individual to the world.

 

• Pascal Sacrifice as self-sacrifice.

Secondly, for the shepherds sheep was their wealth. It meant a physical or financial sacrifice. This sacrifice was made more real because the lamb lived within each Hebrew household and became part of the family and was loved. It is common among the nomadic shepherd kids to have their own kid lamb pet which practically lived with them. A special bond existed as a result between the two. The shepherds loved their sheep naturally. A one-year-old playful lamb living within the household was dearer. Thus the sacrifice of this lamb was very painful - it was as though he himself was being sacrificed. The extent of this sacrifice can only be understood by those who live in the nomadic cultures like that of the Baqquara of Africa.

• Pascal Sacrifice as an expression of rejection of idolatry

Thirdly, most idolaters object to killing sheep, cattle etc., holding this species of animals in great estimation because of their association with pagan gods. In India even today killing a cow is considered sacrilegious because cow is the vehicle of Shiva and is worshipped. For Egyptians Ram (God with Sheep head) was a powerful god of life. The act of sacrificing a ram or lamb or other cattle was an abomination to the Egyptians. Moses tells Pharaoh, 'Behold we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians,' etc. (Exodus 8:26); 'For every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians' (Genesis 46:34). Law commanded to offer sacrifices only of these three kinds: 'You shall bring your offering of the cattle, of the herd and of the flock' (Lev. 1:2). Thus the very act, which is considered by the heathen as the greatest crime, is the means of approaching God, and obtaining His pardon for sins. The Passover sacrifice was a defiance of the gods of Egypt. The lamb was to be slaughtered in full view of the public's eye, at "rush hour" when all the Egyptians are returning to their homes in the afternoon.

The sacrifice was in the open - outside of the gates - and the blood was placed on the outside of the Hebrew homes as a clear indication of their declaration of rejection of Egyptian gods. This act in itself liberated the Israelites from the mental bondage of Egypt. Their homes were transformed into temples for God with a united family standing against the idolatry.

The effect of redemption, however, was not merely to release the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt, but to release them to the opportunity to serve God. This is what is represented in the seven-day festival that follows Pesach.

The paschal lamb that was used of God to signal the rescue of his people - anyone who took refuge in the blood of the lamb. This is what makes it a relevant in the messianic context.

In the first century, a lamb was chosen by the high priest outside of Jerusalem on the tenth of Nissan. Then the priest would lead this lamb into the city while crowds of worshippers lined the streets waving palm branches and singing Psalm 118; "Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord." The Pascal Lamb was indeed the symbol of the Messiah.

Jesus the Messiah entered Jerusalem this same day, on a donkey (which is the vehicle of the kings during the festivals), probably right behind the High Priest's procession of the Pascal Lambs. The crowds that had just heralded the entrance of the sacrificial lamb heralded the entrance of the Lamb of God. Thus Jesus identified himself to the real Passover sacrifice (John 12:9-19). All Israel knew that Jesus claimed himself the title of Messiah and what they did not realize was that he claimed himself to be the Passover Lamb - the Suffering Servant.

Just as the lamb was kept within the temple for three and a half days Jesus remained within the temple teaching and preaching and healing until the Last Supper time.