Quick! Name a holiday that was established to commemorate an event BEFORE the event took place? . . . Passover! Any others? . . . The Last Supper! Wasn’t that one also a Passover meal? Think about the implications of this.
God is the One who controls history, who lives beyond time, and who speaks into being things that are not as if they were. So He alone is able to actually count His chickens before they hatch! In fact, He is so sure of His prediction that He tells Moses and Aaron to set their calendars by it. It is the Passover, and this remarkable feast for Israel has also become a cornerstone for followers of Christ in the church today. Let’s look at TEN significant details of the Passover, and see how each was fulfilled in Christ.
1. THE FIRST DAY (B.C.)
Make this the first month of the year for you, because it’s going to be that much of a defining moment for this nation. The Jewish calendar revolves around the Exodus Event, and in particular it begins with the Passover. When you tell the story of Israel coming out of Egypt, the story begins with the night of the Passover, when the blood of an unblemished lamb kicked off the most remarkable deliverance the world has ever known.
1. THE FIRST DAY (A.D.)
Israel was freed from the bondage of slavery. But through the Anointed Messiah, we were all freed from an even more devious and enslaving enemy—the enemy of sin and death. And so, just as Israel built its yearly calendar around the Passover, so disciples of Jesus begin our week by meeting on “the first day of the week,” or “the Lord’s Day.” Jesus Himself rested on the seventh day, but knew in advance that the Resurrection was arriving as the very first thing on the first day of the week. Therefore, the early church met early in the morning—before sunrise—on the first day of the week. That’s partly because Sunday was a work day for them, and they had to get their meeting done in time for slaves to serve their families by the time they awoke. And partly because that’s when their Lord arose. No convenient, sleep-in sort of approach to church for them. No. They built their schedules around the New Passover. “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Corinthians 5:7)
2. THE HOUSEHOLD (B.C.)
It starts in the home. God specifically tells them that this special feast and solemn deliverance is to be located within each household. He doesn’t say to meet in the village square, the synagogue or the Temple, in Jerusalem or even in the back yard. This is to take place very specifically behind the door of your house. Prepare an entire lamb, He says. One lamb per household. And if your household is too small to eat an entire lamb in one meal, then invite your nearest neighbor, according to the number of people and what each one can eat. Note: Proverbs tells us, “Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.” (Proverbs 27:10) We don’t need to travel distances to share this lamb. Be a neighbor. Know your neighbor well enough to know how much each person will eat. While we’re at it, love your neighbor as yourself.
So it is no surprise that this first of feasts is to be celebrated by each house. Households are intended to naturally believe and function together. No wonder Joshua was able to boldly declare on behalf of his family, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)
2. THE HOUSEHOLD (A.D.)
A lesson for the church today is also that a church is more than just your family circle; it is your family and your neighbors. Back in Bible times, a household consisted of family plus those who worked for or lived with the family. In the NT it is called an “oikos.” An oikos has to do with your circle of influence, not just your blood relatives. An oikos was intended to be the central means of community and hospitality.
So, how does that circle of influence spread from just a nuclear family to become an oikos? Here is the formula: Household = relatives + hospitality. That’s the model for the Passover, and it is the model for the church, which is called the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).
The word for “hospitality” in Greek is “philoxenos,” means “a lover of strangers.” If we love strangers, then we welcome them into our household as guests, or perhaps as long-term members. Hospitality was the most important gift in the eyes of the Church Fathers in the early church. A widow would be supported by the church if she has shown “a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.” (1 Timothy 5:10) The NT writers also say, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2) “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:9)
In New Testament times, it was common for whole households to follow the lead of one of the parents in coming to faith. ”...a devout man who feared God with all his household, ... (Acts 10:2) ... you will be saved, you and all your household. (Acts 11:14) ... she was baptized, and her household as well... (Acts 16:15) ... Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. (Acts 16:31)... he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. (Acts 16:34) ... believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. (Acts 18:8)
Inspecting the faith of a man’s household was even a significant credential to his leadership within the church as a whole: “(An elder) must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?” (1 Timothy 3:4-5) “Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.” (1 Timothy 3:12)
YOUR ENCOUNTER
At the Passover, it was only those who were under the roof of an obedient family that were spared. It was a matter of life and death then. Perhaps it still is.
I am making a case for what is sometimes termed family-based ministry. Many in contemporary society view people as individuals, but not so much as collective groups. We are sometimes more drawn to others with whom we share some affinity than with those with whom we live. But there is a good case for giving more attention to the household. So let me ask two questions for you to consider in your encounter with God.
1. Your family. Whether you define that as the people who live in your house, or as those to whom you are related, the question is, are you on the same page, spiritually? Are you part of an intentional family? If not, what can you do to help the future to be different from the past? Pray for God to give you a clear vision and path in this regard.
2. Your hospitality. How would you say that you are doing in loving God by loving people who are strangers to you? Are you caring for widows and orphans in their distress? Remembering those who are in prison as if you were there yourself? Are you part of a healthy enough family that you are able to open your doors to include neighbors in your Passover meal? Are there any single adults or parent-less children near you who need care? Pray for God to clarify your path forward in the area of being hospitable.
God wants to give you a vision of what your ‘household’ will look like in 30 years. Write down what He shows you, and discuss it with someone.