1 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Passover has been the principal feast of the Jews for 3,400 years, since they left Egypt.  Passover is a fore glimpse of our redemption.

Exodus 12:3-13 (NIV) Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire--head, legs and inner parts. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord's Passover. 12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn--both men and animals--and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

· The Lamb was to be a male without defect.

· All the people must slaughter the Lamb.

· There is deliverance for those covered by the Blood.

· Nothing of the Lamb is to be left till morning.

Numbers 9:1-14 (NIV) The LORD spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said, 2 "Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time. 3 Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in accordance with all its rules and regulations." 4 So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover, 5 and they did so in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses. 6 But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day 7 and said to Moses, "We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord's offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?" 8 Moses answered them, "Wait until I find out what the LORD commands concerning you." 9 Then the LORD said to Moses, 10 "Tell the Israelites: 'When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the Lord's Passover. 11 They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations. 13 But if a man who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not present the Lord's offering at the appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin. 14 "'An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the Lord's Passover must do so in accordance with its rules and regulations. You must have the same regulations for the alien and the native-born.'"

· The Lamb was to have no broken bones.

· The same regulations applied for alien and native born (Gentiles and Jews).

The Lamb was to be observed from the 10th day until the 14th day of Abib.

Exodus 12:3-6 (NIV) Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.

· The priests sacrificed a lamb in the Temple at twilight of the fourteenth day of Abib.

· The people slaughtered a lamb in their homes at twilight of the fourteenth day of Abib.

Matthew 27:25 (NIV) All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

"The Palm Sabbath" was on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, on the 10th of Abib, four days before Passover. Jesus the Passover Lamb was brought into the community, on the same day that the Passover lambs were brought into the community.

Before twilight Wednesday night, Jesus was in the grave. The Passover lamb and Jesus the Passover Lamb were both slaughtered on the same day.

John 18:13 (NIV) and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.

John 18:22 (NIV) When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded.

John 18:24 (NIV) Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

Matthew 26:67 (NIV) Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him

Luke 22:63 (NIV) The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him.

A trial at night was illegal. Early Friday morning, as soon as it was light, Jesus was given a mockery of a trial.

Matthew 27:1 (NIV) Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death.

Matthew 27:2 (NIV) They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

Pilate sent Him to Herod.

Luke 23:7 (NIV) When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

Luke 23:11 (NIV) Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.

Herod sent Him back to Pilate.

John 19:1-3 (NIV) Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.

Matthew 27:30 (NIV) They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

Isaiah 50:5-7 (NIV) The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. 7 Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.

Matthew 27:31 (NIV) After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

John 19:17 (NIV) Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).

Matthew 27:45 (NIV) From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.

Psalms 31:5 (NIV) Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

Deuteronomy 21:23 (NIV) you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Psalms 35:19-21 (NIV) Let not those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; let not those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye. 20 They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land. 21 They gape at me and say, "Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we have seen it."

Psalms 69:1b-4 (NIV) Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. 3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. 4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

Psalms 69:19-21 (NIV) You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. 20 Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. 21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

Zechariah 12:10-11 (NIV) "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

Psalms 34:20 (NIV) he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

Zechariah 11:12-13 (NIV) I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.

Zechariah 13:7 (NIV) "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

Psalms 22:1b-18 (NIV) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. 3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. 4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." 9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. 10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. 11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. 12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13 Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Isaiah 52:13-15 (NIV) See, my servant will act wisely ; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him -- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness-- 15 so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Isaiah 53 (NIV) Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied ; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

"Via Dolorosa," the way of suffering, the road upon which Jesus carried His cross to Calvary

The crown of thorns was placed on His head. The thorns were about 2 inches long, wood like, and very sharp. The soldiers beat on the thorns with their staffs. Some of the thorns broke off. Some of the thorns slid down His skull opening up the scalp allowing the Blood to flow. Some of the thorns dulled themselves as they attempted to penetrate the skull. A head wound bleeds freely, so we know that Blood spurted everywhere over this sacrifice. They pulled the beard from His face. Patches of skin and meat came with the beard. His head was beaten by fists and rods. A scourging in Roman times was 39 lashes. A "cat of nine tails" was used, with each tail having a piece of metal or bone imbedded in the end of it. After the soldier struck Jesus with the lash, he dragged the lash across His body in a whipping motion. The piece of metal or bone shredded the flesh as he whipped it across. Thirty nine lashes was the legal limit, because 40 would kill a man. Because this was a "cat of nine tails" it was actually 39 times nine, or 351 lashes. Sometimes the prisoners were disemboweled by the beating. This was a society that had gladiators, men who fight to the death in the Coliseum for sport. This society would later turn hungry wild animals loose on Christians in the arena.

These cruel and hardened soldiers made sport of the flogging. The objective was to do the most damage without killing a man. Forty lashes would kill. A wrongfully placed lash could disembowel the prisoner. The objective was to strip the meat from the prisoners bones without killing him. The lashes would be concentrated on the shoulders, arms and ribs and down the spinal column. Use of the lash in those areas protected by bone was less likely to kill the man than in the soft flesh of the stomach and kidney areas.

There are 32 vertebrae down your backbone. Four main nerves come out of each vertebrae. These nerves are about the size of a piece of spaghetti. The two nerves in each vertebrae located closest to the skin are responsible for sensory perception. The two nerves in each vertebrae that are located deep inside are responsible for motor control. There is greater protection given to the nerves for motor control due to God's placement. The nerves responsible for sensory perception are about 1/2 inch deep. Many of these nerves were exposed during the beating. The pain would be like when you expose a nerve in your teeth. The pain would be excruciatingly horrible. You say "He couldn't have taken this." Remember that this Man/God went 40 days without food and water and then faced Satan.

The rib bones were exposed by the beating. His bones are out of joint. His arms are pulled out of socket. As He hangs, His strength gives out and He sags. This cuts off the air to His lungs. His body surges reflexively upward, gasping for air, tearing the nails in His hands and feet. This process continues for hours.

Jesus has become a bloody mass of meat, indistinguishable as human.

Isaiah 52:14 (NIV) Just as there were many who were appalled at him -- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness--

John 19:28-30 (NIV) Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Mark 15:39 (NIV) And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"

In crucifixion, death came when the leg and arm muscles became so fatigued that they would no longer function reflexively, and the person would suffocate. When the prolonged death of a person interfered with the schedule of the crucifiers, the Roman soldiers would take a heavy hammer and smash the person's leg bones. This kept a person from pushing upward with their legs in order to breathe and the person would suffocate. Crucifixion is the most cruel form of death ever devised.

John 19:31-33 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

1 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Golgotha - Skull Hill

Why this horrible occurrence?

Because Sin is horrible!

Prices are paid in the form of money as an exchange for things of equivalent value. The price for my sin was that Jesus Christ had to die on a cross. What does that tell you about God's perspective of sin? Why did Jesus pay this price?--Because God loves me as much as God loves Jesus Christ.

John 15:9 (NIV) "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

John 17:23 (NIV) I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

John 17:26 (NIV) I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 referenced above is a mathematical equation of the greatest extremes. The Holy Father gave His most precious belonging to be treated criminally and unjustly in the most horrible way possible by rebellious, lawless, depraved, twisted, hateful descendants and followers of the devil. The Holy Father's Love is perfect. It is unconditional. It is not effected by any adverse conditions. It is omnipotent in that it is so powerful that no form of hatred can have any effect on it.

Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)  "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

God directs us to be perfect in Love as He is perfect in Love.

Sin is rebellion against God.

Sin is hatred of God. Sin is hatred of your fellow man. Sin is hatred of yourself.

God cannot ingest rebellion or hatred into Himself!

Habakkuk 1:13 (NIV) Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.

There was Two Sabbaths on Passover Week, because the High Holy Days are a Sabbath also.  Passover Tuesday evening was actually the beginning of the day of Wednesday.  The Jews wanted Jesus in the grave before the Sabbath, which began Wednesday night.

Jesus was in the grave from a Gentile perspective, all of the night following the day of Wednesday, all of the night following the day of Thursday, and all of the night following the day of Friday, and He arose before dawn on Sunday Morning.  Jesus was in the grave all day Thursday, all day Friday, and all day Saturday, and arose before dawn Sunday Morning.

Matthew 12:38-41 (NIV)  Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." 39 He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

Matthew 27:62-66 (NIV) The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first." 65 "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Mark 8:31 (NIV)  He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

Mark 9:30-31 (NIV) They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise."

Mark 10:33-34 (NIV)  "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."

John 2:18-22 (NIV)  Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." 20 The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

PRAISE JESUS' HOLY NAME, HE HAS RISEN!

Because Jesus had no sin, death could not hold Him in the grave.  He has opened the way, the only way for you to have communion with God!

Repent - Feel sorry for your sin; turn from your sin.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Acts 3:19-20 (NIV) Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus.

Acts 17:30 (NIV) In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

Believe - That Jesus is the Son of God; that His Sacrificial Blood has the power to atone for your sins.

John 3:36 (NIV) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

Confess - Your sins to Jesus and ask His forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 (NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Confess - To others that Jesus Christ is the Lord and your Lord.

Romans 10:9-10 (NIV) That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

2 Timothy 2:19 (NIV) Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."

Receive - Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and God.

John 1:12 (NIV) Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

JESUS IS CALLING TO YOU RIGHT NOW TO RECEIVE HIS LOVE, TO ACCEPT HIM INTO YOUR HEART AND LIFE AS YOUR GOD!

Revelation 3:20 (NIV) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

God's salvation plan is set up so that man may have spiritual intercourse with God completely for man's benefit and with no benefit whatsoever to God  When this occurs, God and man become one in spirit.  God in His absolute perfection cannot have spiritual intercourse with a sinner.  Consequently, God has provided a way for man to become perfect in spirit as God is perfect in spirit in order to create an avenue in which God and man may become one in spiritual intercourse.

REPENT, BELIEVE, CONFESS AND RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST INTO YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW, THEN "Go now and leave your life of sin."

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

John 8:10-11 (NIV) Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 11 "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."