04/05/2014 

Written by Matthew Thompson

7 Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

 Two feasts were actually celebrated during this time; The Feast of The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During their enslavement in Israel, the Jews were instructed to spread the blood of a lamb over their doorposts to spare them from the final plague of the death angel. The sparing of their children that night and the resulting deliverance from Egypt was celebrated by The Feast of the Passover. 

As part of the plague, God told the Israelites not allow their bread rise, because He knew they would have to flee quickly in the middle of the night before they had a chance to bake it. (As seen in Exodus 12:24) This mandate of God, as well as the blessing of the annual harvest, is celebrated along with the Passover and referred to as the feast of Unleavened Bread. During this time, people from all over Israel would descend upon Jerusalem to celebrate these two feasts. To us it would be like having Thanksgiving dinner and an Independence Day cookout all rolled into a multi-day celebration. 

In God’s perfect timing, this celebration would serve as the backdrop for what has come to be known as “The Lord’s Supper.” Through it, Christ would take upon Himself the role of the sacrificial Lamb. And through His resurrection, He would make provision for His people and for a coming harvest. Jesus was about to take everything the disciples thought they knew about God and turn it completely upside down.