Prophetic Lessons From Passover

Prophetic Lessons From Passover
by Joel Chernoff
Messianic Jewish Alliance of America

Shalom and Happy Passover,
There are many wonderful and practical lessons to be learned from the Biblical feast of Passover. The Passover is one of the three national feasts of Israel that were commanded by God that Israel as a nation commemorate annually, and they are; Passover, Shavuot (the feast of weeks also know in the Christian world as Pentecost) and Succot (the feast of tabernacles). Each of these feasts also have a powerful prophetic Messianic fulfillment.

Over the next seven days of Passover I will share with you some of the lessons and insights about Passover that I feel might be helpful to you.

Lesson #1:The Passover, which was the national commemoration of God’s great and supernatural deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 7-13), foreshadowed the Messiah’s first coming, His death and resurrection.

In traditional rabbinic writings…
…what Messianic Jews would refer to as the Messiah’s first coming and suffering for the sin of man is called the Messiah Ben Joseph or the Suffering Messiah. Rabbis throughout the centuries refer to what we believe is the Messiah’s second coming to reign as ruler of the world and king of the Jews as the Messiah Ben David, i.e. the Messiah Son of David. Despite the fact that most modern rabbis in traditional Judaism would deny or avoid admitting that the rabbis recognized two distinct messianic advents…it is a fact of history and can be easily established from rabbinic writings.

Prophetic Foreshadow
Pharaoh & Moses

What makes the Passover a prophetic foreshadow of the Messiah Yeshua’s coming and sacrifice for sins is contained in the account of the final plague God sent on Egypt. Because Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let Israel leave Egypt as God called for, God visited the plague of death to all of the firstborn of both animal and man in Egypt. In order for Israel to avoid the angel of death’s visit to their households God told the Israelites to sacrifice and eat a lamb. More importantly He commanded them to take some of the lamb’s blood and put it on the doorpost of each household. As the angel of death passed over their houses and noted the blood on their lintels they would be spared…and they were.

Messianic Fulfillment
In the same way, we avoid the eternal death for our sins that we richly deserve when God sees the blood of the Suffering Messiah, Yeshua, on the doorposts of our hearts. This is exactly what happens when each of us obeys God and accepts what God so sacrificially provided through His Son the Messiah’s death and eternal atonement. God’s eternal judgment is averted and for those who have accepted His atonement the debt of their sins is covered for eternity.

Mercy was extended to all of those households under the blood of the sacrificed lamb of old and mercy is extended to all of those who dwell under the eternal blood of the Messiah Ben Joseph, Yeshua (Jesus).

Joel Chernoff