The Easter Story – Prophecy and Passover

I am going to begin this Easter Story series by looking at the prophecies throughout the Old Testament and where these were fulfilled in the New Testament. I will then start at Luke Chapter 22 which begins with the lead up to Passover and see how Jesus became the new Passover Lamb.

When looking at these prophecies it is easy for us to see in hindsight that a prophecy occurred and it was fulfilled. These prophecies were spoken centuries before Jesus was born. They were recorded and those who studied the scripture were waiting patiently for these to be fulfilled. As these prophecies were fulfilled it proved that Jesus was the Messiah that had been promised through the prophets in the Old Testament.

Zechariah 9:9: Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on the back of a colt.
John 12:12-16: Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a colt on Palm Sunday.

Isaiah 53:3: The Messiah will be despised and rejected by men.
Matthew 26:3-4: The chief priests and elders plotted against Jesus.

Psalm 41:9: The Messiah will be betrayed by one of his followers.
Matthew 26:48-49: Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.

Isaiah 53:7: Jesus would be silent in the presence of his accusers.
Matthew 27:12-14: Jesus was silent in the presence of the chief priests and elders.

Isaiah 50:6: The Messiah would be struck and spit on.
Matthew 26:67: Jesus was spat on and beaten.

Psalm 22:14-17: Describes the crucifixion that Jesus would endure.
Matthew 27:31: Describes the crucifixion that Jesus endured.

Isaiah 53:12: The Messiah will suffer alongside criminals.
Matthew 27:38: Jesus was crucified with a criminal on each side.

Isaiah 53:5-12: The Messiah will die for our sins.
John 1:29: Jesus is the Lamb of God that will take away the sins of the world.

Psalm 16:10-11: The Messiah will dwell in the presence of the Lord.
Matthew 28:1-10: The angel tells both Mary’s that Jesus has risen from the grave.

There are many other prophecies that prove Jesus as the Messiah and some of these will be included within this series as we get into studying the Easter Story in more depth. For now let us head to Luke Chapter 22. Right at the beginning it states how Passover was approaching. Passover was celebrated as a remembrance of the night the Israelites were freed from Egypt. If you look back to Exodus 12 you will see how God commanded the Israelites to choose a lamb on the 10^th day of the first month of the Hebrew Calendar that would be slaughtered on the 14^th day of the month. The blood of this Lamb was to be smeared on the doorposts to serve as a sign so that when the plague of death came, those homes would be left untouched. The Lord laid out the instructions for Passover which would follow each year and how it would mark the Israelites deliverance from Egypt.

In biblical times the sacrificial animals were a way for God’s people to temporarily atone for their sins. The animal was a substitute that bridged the gap and enabled people to be temporarily cleansed of their sin. Since blood was a symbol of life, the priest sprinkled the blood of the animal around the temple representing lifeblood cleansing away sin by purification.

When Christ was crucified on the cross he became the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) who atoned for the sins of every single person by his blood which was completely free of sin. In Exodus 12:46 the command is that none of the Passover lambs bones should be broken. In John 19:31-36 it fulfils this by declaring none of Christ’s bones were broken during his death. Leviticus 17:11 describes how it is blood given in exchange for a life that makes purification possible. In Matthew 26:28 we see how the blood of Christ atones for the sins of people.

So now we have looked into some of the Old Testament prophecies that prove Jesus to be the long awaited Messiah. It was no coincidence that Jesus crucifixion took place at Passover as He became our Passover Lamb. Animals were no longer sacrificed to atone for sin. Jesus had now become the substitutionary sacrifice once and for all to atone for everyone’s sins, past, present and future. Next week we will look at The Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane and how Jesus was betrayed by someone very close to him.