Page 5 - Easter The Untold Story

The observance of the Passover in memory of that pivotal event was especially meaningful to Jesus. The lambs being slain represented him! He was the Lamb of God, "slain from the creation of the world" (Revelation 13:8) so sinful humanity could have hope. His blood was to protect from eternal death any who sincerely repent and believe.
In the days of Moses, God gave to the nation of Israel an annual cycle of festivals and Holy Days. You can find a complete list of them in Leviticus 23. Because they first appear in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, these special days often are referred to as "Jewish" holy days.
First on the list of the annual festivals God commanded his people to observe was the Passover (Leviticus 23:5). It always falls on the 14th day of the first month (Abib, later called Nisan) of the year according to the calendar God gave to Israel (Exodus 12:1-11; 13:4). That puts the Passover in March or April of our present Roman calendar.
When Jesus was about 30 years old, John the Baptist announced publicly: "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). At the conclusion of his ministry, Jesus was sacrificed – crucified on a hill outside of Jerusalem. He died at the same time Passover lambs were being slain at the temple on Nisan 14. And so "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Passover in the New Testament
On the evening before his crucifixion, Jesus gave some extremely important instructions to his disciples and, through them, to his Church.
According to the biblical method of reckoning, days begin and end at sunset, not at midnight. So this momentous evening was a part – the first part – of Nisan 14. Jesus and his disciples were gathered for a meal. During the meal Jesus declared, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" (Luke 22:15).
Jesus was not speaking of the Old Testament practice in which a Passover lamb was sacrificed and eaten. He was instituting new symbols for the Passover.
His Church was to continue to observe the 14th of Nisan (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The symbols of the Passover in the New Testament, improperly called the Lord's Supper, were unleavened bread, representing Christ's body, which was broken for us, and wine, representing Christ's blood.
Jesus "took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them [his disciples], 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" (Luke 22: 19-20).
"Do this," Jesus commanded his followers, "in remembrance of me." This simple but beautiful evening ceremony was to be observed by Christians as an annual memorial of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the sins of the world.