This was written by Brent Dodd, he and his family are missionaries to Papau New Guenia.

What significance is the Passover Seder to the Jews, and what significance is Easter, to the Bible believing Christian? Is Easter just another holiday we observe, and the Passover Seder another memorial the Jews hold each year?

Let us go back to the origin of the Jewish Passover Seder. The first account is found in the Bible, in Exodus 11 and 12. The Children of Israel were being held in bondage by the Egyptians, who would not let them go. As a result God sent plagues upon the Egyptians and their leader, Pharaoh. After the last plague, the Children of Israel would be allowed to go. God gave the Children of Israel detailed instructions, so they would not be harmed by the final plague. For the final plague, the death angel would pass over each house, killing the firstborn in each family.

The most important part of the instructions was that each family had to take a young male lamb, (a perfect one, without any flaw, or defect) of the first year, and kill it. They were to put the blood of the lamb on the mantle and door posts of their house. By doing this, it was a visible sign of their faith in God (Ex.12:13). The death and shedding of blood of the innocent lamb became a substitute for the firstborn, in that family. When the death angel came by, he would see the blood on the mantle and door posts, and would "pass over" that house. Any house that did not have blood on the mantle and door posts, their firstborn would be killed by the death angel.

God also required three symbolic foods to be eaten that Passover night. They were lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. The young lamb represented innocence. It was to be roasted with fire, portraying the judgment that would come upon it, instead of the firstborn. The unleavened bread or matzoh (bread with no yeast) was to be eaten, symbolizing the purity of the sacrifice, since leaven with its sour characteristic was often a symbol of sin (I Cor. 5:6-8). The bitter herbs were to be eaten as a reminder of the suffering of the lamb as their substitute.

God commanded the Children of Israel to observe this Passover Seder as a memorial. That is why the Passover Seder is observed even today. It is to remind them of how God brought them out of their bondage and slavery in Egypt. Each part of the Passover Seder has a certain significance. The youngest child is to ask questions and this is how the family is taught about the Passover Seder and its significance for them, even today.

The Passover is actually foreshadowing the Jewish Messiah, as the true Passover Lamb. Isa. 53 is a direct reference to this. Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the Passover Lamb. He would be the innocent, pure Lamb upon whom the judgment of God would fall, in place of you and I. He would be the One who would shed His blood to provide the greater deliverance from sin, which separates mankind from a Holy Righteous God.

The real significance and reason Christians celebrate Easter is to remember the day Jesus arose from the grave. It was on this day the ultimate Passover Lamb overcame death, and made it possible for mankind to be delivered from the bondage of sin and death, which is separation from God. Each and every human being is born with a sin nature.

That sin is what separates us from a Holy and Righteous God. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"(Romans 6:23) (John 3:16) "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." In the same way the Israelites showed their faith in God by putting blood on their mantel and door posts, so each of us must believe in Jesus Christ's finished work on the cross. Also in the same way blood had to be shed to deliver the firstborn Israelite from death, so Jesus Christ's blood had to be shed to deliver you and I from eternal separation from God. May your next

Easter celebration be more meaningful to you, and may you be one of those who celebrates Jesus Christ's resurrection on Easter morn, as your deliverance from sin and separation from God.