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The Passover is a joyful feast where we receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life as well as the promise of being the children of God. On the other hand, however, it is a day to commemorate the death of Christ. Since Christ died for us, sinners, we have been freed from the agony of death and received life. So, the Passover is a feast of joy and sorrow as well.
We have been saved through the sacrifice of God who shed His blood, carrying our sins on our behalf. As God’s children, we must not think lightly of God’s saving grace that we have received freely, but we should keep in mind again the meaning of God’s holy sacrifice contained in the Passover of the New Covenant.
Redemption Through Christ’s Blood
Every Christian wants to go to Heaven, being forgiven of their sins and receiving eternal life. However, there are not many who know how to receive the grace of Christ and go to Heaven.
Many Christians say that they can go to Heaven by the holy and precious blood of Christ. It is definitely true that we can go to Heaven by Christ’s blood. First of all, let’s see what the blood of Christ means to us and how important His blood is.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace . . . Eph 1:7
The Apostle Paul, the author of Ephesians, delivers God’s will as follows: The precious blood of Christ gives mankind redemption. Since the Bible says that we have redemption—the forgiveness of sins—through the blood of Christ, it is impossible to receive the forgiveness of sins and salvation without His precious blood.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Pe 1:18–19
The Apostle Peter also explains that we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. The words of the Bible, which the Apostles Paul and Peter—representatives of the early Church—wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, clearly testify that the salvation of mankind can be attained only through the precious blood of Christ.
In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Heb 9:21–22
In the Old Testament times, whenever a sacrifice for sins was offered to God, there was always the shedding of animal blood. The people were forgiven of their sins by the sprinkling of the blood of sacrificial animals such as sheep and goats.
It was through the blood of animals that everything was cleansed and the sins of the people were forgiven in the Old Testament. Likewise, we are forgiven of our sins and cleansed by the precious blood of Christ in the New Testament. As the reality of animal sacrifices, Jesus Christ died on the cross, shedding His blood, to atone for the sins of all mankind and to accomplish the great work of salvation.
God’s People Bought With Christ’s Blood
The Bible repeatedly reminds us how important the blood of Christ is for us to go to Heaven.
. . . and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood . . . Rev 1:5
Christ freed us from sin through His blood. To redeem us from sin and take us to Heaven, the God of Heaven left His glorious throne behind and came to this earth. As a man just like us, He suffered the agony of death. Like that, God died instead of us, sinners, and through His suffering and sacrifice we have been saved.
And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Rev 5:9–10
We were dead because of our sins, but God bought us with His precious blood. Through the sacrifice of Christ, we have been able to live today. So, the Apostle Paul declared, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
If we have realized the greatness and depth of God’s saving love for His children, we should live not only for ourselves but for God. As the people of Zion, let us always keep in mind that we have been set free from sin through the shedding of God’s precious blood and hold on to our faith until the end, so that the precious blood of God will not be in vain.
The Passover, a Ceremony Where We Participate in Christ’s Blood
Some people insist that they can receive the forgiveness of sins and salvation if they just believe in Christ’s precious blood shed on the cross. But how can they know whether or not they have received the precious blood of Christ?
The Bible tells us that faith must be accompanied by action. Then, on what ground can we say that we have received the blood of Christ?
Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. 1 Co 10:16–17
The above verses mean that we participate in the blood of Christ by drinking from the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks and participate in the body of Christ by eating the bread that we break. Through the work of Jesus, let’s see what ceremony the bread and the cup—a participation in the body and blood of Christ—refers to.
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” . . . They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. . . .” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Lk 22:7–9, 13–20
Jesus had Peter and John prepare the Passover. When the hour came, He celebrated the Passover, which He had eagerly desired to keep, along with His disciples. At the Holy Supper of the Passover, He broke the bread and gave it to His disciples to eat, saying, “This is my body given for you.” Then He took the cup of wine and gave it to them to drink, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’ ” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. . . . While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Mt 26:17–19, 26–28
The ceremony of participating in the body and blood of Christ, which the Apostle Paul mentioned, refers to the Passover of the New Covenant. Therefore, the people who do not celebrate the Passover can never participate in the precious blood of Christ. Only those who keep the New Covenant Passover can receive redemption, the forgiveness of sins, through the blood of Christ.
The New Covenant Passover, which Christ Himself established through His precious blood, is a very precious feast to us. By keeping the Passover, we remember and commemorate again all the efforts made by Heavenly Father and Mother to save us, having the likeness of sinful flesh and being treated in an inhospitable and jealous manner by people.
Christ, the Reality of the Passover Lamb
3,500 years ago, when the Israelites came out of Egypt, the plague of killing the firstborn was brought upon the whole land of Egypt, but the houses of the Israelites who celebrated the Passover were saved from the plague. This is how the Passover, one of God’s feasts, was established. The word “Passover” implies that disasters pass over.
At the time of the Exodus, when the destroying angel saw the Passover lamb’s blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the Israelites’ houses, he passed over them. It is because the blood of the Passover lamb represents the blood of God.
Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1 Co 5:7
The reality of the Passover lamb is Christ. If a place has the blood of the Passover lamb, it clearly proves that God dwells in that place, so no destroying angel can come near it. Therefore, the Passover is a sign of redemption, and it is proof that we are God’s children who have been redeemed from sin. Wherever we go we are confident, and whatever situation we find ourselves in we have no reason to fear, because God remains in us and we in Him through the Passover (Jn 6:53–56).
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a blazing hot furnace, God sent His angel and rescued them (Da 3:1–30). Likewise, God protects His children, who keep the Passover, from disasters. To those who have the precious blood of Christ, God has given the promise that He will protect them from the waters and the fire as well.
Unless we keep this gracious feast of the Passover, we cannot say that we are God’s people. God said that whoever does not celebrate the Passover will be cut off from His people (Nu 9:13). In this age, too, God distinguishes His people who are clothed with the power of the precious blood of Christ from those who are not, according to whether they keep the Passover or not.
God’s Children Who Have Received His Flesh and Blood
2,000 years ago, God came to this earth and established the truth of the New Covenant Passover to save mankind. Unfortunately, however, it is very hard to find a church that keeps the Passover today. To give mankind this precious truth, God shed His blood, but those who claim to believe in God regard it as valueless. This is the situation of the churches today. The Bible tells us that those who do not value the precious blood of Christ but ignore it will be punished.
How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? Heb 10:29
The “blood of the covenant” refers to the blood of Christ who established the Passover. Those who treat the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing—the people who turn away from the New Covenant Passover, saying that it doesn’t need to be celebrated, are the ones who insult the Spirit of grace. How severely will those who insult the Holy Spirit be punished?
Children invariably resemble their parents in certain aspects. Through the blood of Christ, God established the law of the New Covenant to save mankind and walked the path of preaching it to all people. If we are God’s children, we must follow the path God walked and proclaim the New Covenant Passover to all nations. Although we are hindered and slandered by the people around us while walking the path of the gospel, we do not need to be dismayed or afraid at all. The path we are walking is the right path God walked.
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Heb 10:35–39
If we fall away from the faith because the people who deny the blood of the covenant hinder the truth, God is not pleased. We must not shrink back and be destroyed, but be bold and confident. We are God’s children who have received the blood of God. Although people in the world mock and ridicule us, we must continue to keep and preach the truth of the New Covenant as the children of God. This is the way to make the precious blood of Christ more valuable.
With cunning words, Satan tries to hurt our souls and make us have a lingering attachment to transient things. On the other hand, God prays for us that we may always set our minds on eternal things. Let us listen to the voice of Father and Mother who lead us to the path of hope. Even though we are going through hardship now, our future will be brilliant and glorious. Heavenly Father shed His blood on the cross to give His children eternal life as well as everlasting joy, peace, and happiness. Heavenly Mother is still carrying the burden of sacrifice and suffering for our sins every single day. We must not let Their sacrifice be in vain.
I earnestly ask all of you, our heavenly family members in Zion, to always remember the grace of God, who has been sacrificed to take us to the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, and give thanks to God all the time. Let us all keep the New Covenant, which God established through His blood to save His children, so we can receive abundant love and blessings from Elohim.