Passover, the law of life

The Passover, the Law That Gives Life

Paul teaches that we who were once under the law of sin and death has been freed and are now under the law of the Spirit and life through Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Then what is the law of the Spirit and life that gives us freedom from the slavery of sin and death and leads us to the eternal kingdom of heaven?

The Law of Life Prophesied in the Old Testament

Through Prophet Jeremiah, God already foretold the appearance of the law of life through which God would allow us to receive freedom from sin and death. Jeremiah prophesied:

Jeremiah 31:31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Through Prophet Jeremiah God promised that He would make a new covenant with his people, a law through which God would forgive the wickedness and sins of his people. Then what is the new covenant prophesied in Jeremiah? We can find the fulfillment of this prophecy in the work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Coming To Bring the Law of Life

Prophecy of the Appearance of the Lord

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist filled with the Holy Spirit foretold the coming of Messiah to give salvation (or life) through the forgiveness of sins to the people of God.

Luke 1:76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Here Zechariah says that his son John the Baptist is the prophet Elijah who came to prepare the way for the Lord or Messiah to fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi. (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1, Malachi 4:5). And he also teaches the appearance of the Lord or Messiah who would come after John the Baptist. He would appear as “the rising sun” giving light to people “living in darkness and in the shadow of death” and he would bring them “salvation through the forgiveness of sins.”

The Passover, The Law of Life

This prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus coming as Lord bringing the law of life that gives us freedom from sin and death through the establishment of the new covenant, “the law of life”. On the night of the Passover, Jesus established the new covenant through the Passover bread and wine as it was prophesied by Jeremiah.

Luke 22:19 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.” 20 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.

According to the teachings of Paul and Jeremiah, this new covenant Passover is the law of life that give us the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Let us find out the meanings of the Passover. Paul says that the law of life has power to give the forgiveness of sin and free us from the power of death. Also it give us eternal life or salvation.

The Forgiveness of Sins Through the Passover

While establishing the Passover, Jesus taught us about the blessings contained in the Passover. One of the blessings of God in Passover is the forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ proclaimed the forgiveness of sins through the Passover bread and wine.

Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

On the night of the Passover, giving out the wine of the Passover, Jesus proclaimed that the Passover wine represents his blood he shed for the forgiveness of sins. Through the Passover the law of life, we can receive the forgiveness of sins and freedom from the slavery of death.

Since we are freed from sins and death, we can have the right to participate in the eternal life in heaven.

Eternal Life Through the Passover

Jesus teaches that those who received the forgiveness through the Passover can participate in the eternal life in heaven. In the Book of John, he explains another meaning of the Passover like this:

John 6:53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

Here Jesus teaches that those who participated in his flesh and blood through the Passover bread and wine are the ones who can have salvation and will be raised into eternal life in heaven. And in the Book of Revelation they are described as the ones who can enter the kingdom of heaven.

Revelation 7:14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

In Revelation 7 we can see a multitude who washed their robe white with the blood of Lamb and in Chapter 22 they are described as the ones who can eat from the tree of life and enter into the city, that is, heaven. Then what does it mean to wash the robe white with the blood of Lamb? It means to cleanse the sins through the blood of Christ through the Passover.

Conclusion

Paul says that those who are in Christ are freed from the law of sin and death and they are the ones who would be in the law of the Spirit and life through Jesus Christ. Through the teachings of God in the bible we can understand that the law of life Christ established for our salvation is none other than the Passover of the new covenant.

Through the Passover, Christ promised the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Therefore, those who want participate in the promise of God of eternal life must keep the Passover of the new covenant. Now is the time that we have to understand the will of God to enter heaven. (Matthew 7:21) And the will of God for us is to keep the Passover and have the law of life in us to be the people of God. Let us keep the Passover with a humble mind.