By Tom Shanklin

“Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us.” (1 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV)

Today, April 8, is Passover. Yes, it’s a Jewish feast … but more than that it is a powerful picture of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the Cross.

The Passover picture is much more poignant for us this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of us all around the world are under orders from the government to stay at home or shelter in place. Some places, including natural Israel, are under a strict lockdown during this Passover.

During the first Passover, Israel, too, was ordered to stay at home and to get under divine protection from a plague. They were to slay a lamb and put the blood on the doorposts of their houses as a sign to the death angel, who had been sent as a judgment against Egypt. When the death angel saw the blood, he passed over the households of God’s people. This is why it is called Passover.

This feast, in conjunction with the feast of unleavened bread, was to be kept in memorial throughout their generations. As Christians, we too keep the feast, not so much as a religious holiday, but as a spiritual reality. Each time we eat the bread and drink the cup representing the body and blood of Jesus, we remember that “the Lamb of God,” our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

Through His shed blood we have forgiveness of sins and we, too, are under protection from the plagues of Egypt. They were to eat unleavened bread because God has called His people to be a “new lump” purged (cleaned out) of all sin. As the Scripture says, “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:8 NKJV)

I believe that this is a special Passover for our households, for the Body of Christ, and for the world. God is bringing a deeper understanding to us of the power of the blood of Jesus. He is helping us to know that He is our shelter and under His wings we can trust. Because of the blood, we can know His protection and all the benefits of His redemption.

For Israel, Passover was not only about protection, it was a new beginning. God told them that it was to be the beginning of months. This is where it all starts, with the blood. As a result of this judgment, Israel was released from slavery and left Egypt in freedom. They then received a tremendous deliverance at the Red Sea, where Pharaoh and his army were drowned. The New Testament tells us that is a picture of water baptism. From there, they were led by the Holy Spirit into the Promised Land. God’s plan was that they should immediately go up and possess their new homeland, but because of their unbelief, the journey took 40 years and they lost one whole generation.

Today, the Lord wants us to get ourselves and our families under the blood of Jesus through prayer and commitment. No need to slay a Lamb. Jesus has been sacrificed for us! Our part is to believe and to declare that we are under His care and belong to Him. Then we too are to go through the Red Sea of baptism and immediately follow the Holy Spirit into the Promised Land.

I am expecting great things in the days ahead—days of prosperity in the Kingdom of God. I’m talking about true prosperity. It’s not about following the money god. It’s about serving the living God, and seeing His provision—spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I believe the Lord is “cleaning us out” in preparation for a great move of God. We are being prepared to go up and possess the land, not in our own strength and abilities, but in the power of the living God.

Today, I encourage you to take communion in your home. Take the bread and the fruit of the vine. Read the scripture (1 Cor. 11:23-31), pray, and receive the Lord’s supper. Christ your Passover is sacrificed for you!