Page 5 - TORCH Magazine Issue #6

had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.
And Luke 22:15
Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I su er”
THE PASSOVER LAMB
In the New Testament, Jesus is described as the Passover Lamb (John 1:29; John 1:36; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 7:14; Revelation 12:11). It is therefore symbolic that God speci cally stipulated
to Israel that the Lamb that was to be slaughtered was to be a “male without defect” (Exodus 12:5), which is the very same description given of Jesus (1 Peter 1:18-19; Hebrews 9;14).
The Passover lamb was selected ve days before it was slaughtered. Some commentators have therefore drawn parallels to the signi cance that Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem ve days before the lamb - the Passover sacri ce - was slaughtered in the temple.
When the lamb was roasted and
eaten, none of its bones were to be
broken according to Exodus 12:46. It
was customary during an execution by cruci xion to break the legs of the victim. But, in the case of Jesus, though they broke the legs of the two robbers at his side, they did not break Jesus’ legs because he was already dead (John
19:32-36).
THE CUP
Among the many symbols included in the Passover meal are the ve cups of wine. The rst four cups of wine represent the four promises God made to the Israelites in Exodus 6:6-11. These cups all symbolise the deliverance and freedom from bondage in Egypt.
Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians [Cup 1], I will rescue you from their bondage [Cup 2], and I will redeem you [Cup 3] with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God [Cup 4]. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:6-7, emphasis added)
These four cups are often referred to
as “The cup of remembrance” (Cup 1); “The cup of salvation” (Cup 2); “The cup of redemption” (Cup 3), and the “Cup of nationhood, both spiritual and physical” (Cup 4).
The New Testament names one of the cups—the cup taken after supper, which is traditionally the third cup. Jesus calls this cup “the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). Later that evening in the garden of Gethsemane He cried out to the Lord in prayer, “Father, if
it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be
done” (Luke 22:42). For Christians, Jesus’s willingness and obedience to “take this
cup” is what forms the heart of Christian belief in Jesus’s redemptive sacri ce.
There is also a fth cup, known as the cup of ultimate redemption, which has been part of the Passover since temple
times. But since its inception, the cup has never been taken, awaiting the coming
of the Messiah. The fth cup of “ nal
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