Passover and Good Friday

Have you ever wondered why God chose the days around Passover in which Jesus is crucified and not around any other Jewish festivals?

In 2012, the start of the Jewish Passover (Festival of the Unleavened Bread) is on the same day as Good Friday (April 6, 2012). This is not always the case as the Passover follows the Hebrew calendar month. According to this calendar, Passover commences on the 15th day in the month called "Aviv". Generally speaking, it is a spring month and usually falls within March-April.

The fact that this year's Passover and Good Friday coincide on the same date makes it that much more special for me.

Here's why.

According to the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament), or more specifically in the book of Exodus, God gives these instructions to His people:

1The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,

2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.

3 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.

4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.

5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.

6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.

7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.

Why did God instruct His people to do this?

Here's why.

12"On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.

13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

Okay, so that's how the name Passover came about!

As a summary:

On the 10th day, a male year-old lamb (either sheep or goat) without defects, is to be set aside (although not completely related, it's interesting that one of Jesus' parables about the kingdom of heaven is about the separation of the sheep and goats.)

On the 14th day of the month, the lamb is to be sacrificed and its blood put on the sides and tops of the door frames in the house in which the lamb is eaten.

Recall back to the Passover festival which starts on the 15th day of the month of Aviv.

The 14th day of the month of Aviv is when the lamb is to be sacrificed as according to the instructions given by God. Passover starts at sunset this Friday (April 6, 2012), which is the 15th day of Aviv.

Good Friday (prior to sunset) is the 14th day of Aviv-- the day Jesus is crucified on the cross and "slaughtered" as a sacrificial lamb so that those who are marked with His blood will be passed over (i.e. saved)

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes referred to as the Lamb of God or Passover Lamb.

Partaking in this Good Friday's communion, which in some ways would be our equivalent to the Passover meal, will hold more significance to me. Also being on a Friday, which is the start of Shabbat (Sabbath) where traditionally, Jewish families have their Shabbat dinner and as part of the ritual, two candles are light-- one representing observance/obedience and one representing remembrance, I will be reminded more of the significance of this day.

And that's why this Good Friday, which coincides with the start of Passover and the start of Shabbat, means so much more to me.

Remembrance of what my Lord Jesus Christ did for me and my response of obedience to Him is what I think this day is all about.

Praise be to God and may His Name be exalted.