Passion Week – Preparations for Passover

On Thursday of Passion Week, many would have been making the final preparations to celebrate the Passover Feast.  For those who followed God’s instructions given when He delivered them from Egypt, Thursday evening would have been the time for the meal.  Those who followed later traditions would celebrate on Friday evening.  Both groups would have needed to prepare for the feast.

The lamb that would be the center of the Passover meal should have been chosen on Monday, the 10^th of Nissan, which was the first month of the year (Exodus 12:1-3).  The lamb had to be a year-old male, without defect (Exodus 12:5).  Each family had to determine how much lamb would be needed based on the number of people joining them for the feast.  In addition to the lamb, they had to acquire the bitter herbs, bread, and wine that would be part of the feast and ensure that all leaven had been removed from the household, since only bread without yeast was acceptable for the meal (Exodus 12:8).

On that Thursday, Jesus chose Peter and John to prepare for their Passover meal.  He told them to go into Jerusalem and look for a man carrying a water jar, which would have been an extraordinary sight, since that was normally a woman’s job.  They were to follow the man to a house where they would ask the owner about a place for the Teacher to eat the meal with His disciples.  They were led to a large upper room where the final preparations could be made for the meal they would share that evening (Luke 22:7-13).

The Scripture doesn’t tell us what their exact preparations were, but most likely they sacrificed the lamb at twilight, somewhere between 3:00 and 5:00 that afternoon.  Then, they would spread the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of the dwelling and begin roasting the lamb over an open fire (Exodus 12:6-8).  Once the lamb was cooked, they would be ready for the feast.

Read: Exodus 12:1-11, Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16 & Luke 22:7-13.

Food for Thought:

• We know that the blood on the Israelites’ doorpost allowed them to escape the death angel, but why blood instead of some other sign?  See Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22, & I John 1:7.

• Why did the Jews continue to celebrate the Passover Feast? See Exodus 12:14. What is the comparable celebration for Christians? See I Corinthians 11:23-29.

For more information about the Passover Feast, read A Note from the Author and Chapters 14 & 15 of The Shepherd’s Quest, by Elaine C. Duncan, available on Amazon