I remember a strange mix of feelings when I was a teen every year when Passover came around. I knew it was something only baptized members could take part in and so it was the one time a year my parents went to church without me. When I was little, I’d go over to my grandparents’ house, but as a teen, my mom set me up with a TV dinner (which was a treat, as I saw it) and I had the run of the house to myself. I could watch whatever I wanted on TV, call friends and talk on the phone (we only had one landline back then and as the youngest of the family of five, getting the phone to yourself was a rarity) and do pretty much whatever I wanted.

Despite this “freedom” for the night, I still felt kind of…guilty. Not for watching TV or calling friends or even sneaking a candy bar out of my mom’s stash, but for not being at Passover. I knew I wasn’t allowed to participate in the service, but still, I felt like I should have been there. And even though my parents had explained to me what happened at Passover, I still didn’t quite understand it. Why was this night so different from all the rest?

Interestingly enough, that is a question God anticipated that children would ask. “And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ So the people bowed their heads and worshiped” (Exodus 12:26-27).

Of course, the context of this scripture is slightly different. In Exodus 12, we read of the first Passover where Israel was about to be freed from slavery in Egypt. That’s also when a lamb was killed and blood spread on the doorposts and lintel (Exodus 12:1-7). Under the New Covenant, the instructions regarding the keeping of Passover are different. Since Jesus Christ was sacrificed for all sins ever committed, the symbolic sacrifice of lambs each year is no longer needed (Hebrews 9:26-28; 10:12).

Meaning of Passover shown with symbols

It’s from here we can really begin to understand what the Passover service means; in addition to the animal sacrifice being eliminated, some new symbols were instituted for Passover. At His last Passover, Jesus Christ set the example of foot-washing (John 13:2-6). While this seems very odd to us today, we must understand what it meant in that day.

People used to walk everywhere on dusty, dirty roads. They wore sandals, which were open and allowed all the muck and grime to cover their feet. When you went into a restaurant or someone’s home, there would often be a servant there to wash your feet. This job was the lowest of the low! By Jesus Christ—who is far above us in every way—washing the disciples’ feet, He showed that we are to be humble servants to one another. “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you’” (John 13:12-15).

In addition to foot-washing, Jesus instituted a new command concerning unleavened bread. “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me’” (Luke 22:19). The symbol of the bread as His body foreshadowed the terrible beating and scourging He would receive before His death. His body carried the weight of sin for us so that we can be healed not only of illness but also of the pain and suffering that illness, injury and (most of all) sin causes (1 Peter 2:24).

The symbol of Christ’s body as bread is further illustrated in John 6:48-51, “‘I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.’” Here Jesus contrasts the manna that was given to ancient Israel when journeying to the Promised Land with spiritual food. It was temporary, physical bread that sustained their lives. By comparison, Jesus Christ was the “bread of life,” able to sustain us permanently in eternity.

Following the eating of unleavened bread, we see Jesus teaching a new command involving wine: “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Matthew 26:27-28). The wine, red in color, represents Jesus’ blood, which would be spilled out on the ground the following day when He died on the cross. It is through His sacrifice that sins can be forgiven.

So, getting back to the original question, what do Passover services mean? A very simple summary might be:

We are to humbly serve others as Jesus illustrated through the foot-washing.

Jesus Christ is the bread of life; through Him, we can have eternal life.

Sin is forgiven through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

But what does it mean to you?

But what does that mean to you if you aren’t baptized? While only those who are baptized can receive the Holy Spirit and inherit eternal life (Romans 8:9-11), the actual meaning of Passover does not change for unbaptized members. What does change is that instead of having God’s Spirit dwelling in you, you are at a stage where you are learning the benefits and reasons for making an important commitment through baptism.

In my later teen years, I was able to observe and learn a little more about Passover and what it meant. When I was about 16, I was asked to serve on security for Passover services. My job was to walk the hallway and make sure no one accidentally walked in and disrupted services. I remember sneaking a peek through the cracks in the big metal doors that went into the main room and seeing everyone sitting quietly, while the pastor was seated at a table, reading Scripture. There were big vases of roses and silver-covered trays, which I would later learn had small cups of wine and unleavened bread in them.

But perhaps the most striking thing I noticed was the people’s faces before and after the service. As they walked in to sit down, there was very little conversation, and the tone was somber. Some were crying as they sat down to read their Bibles. Afterward, as people exited, the feeling was much different. There was a feeling of refreshment in the air as if a weight had been lifted off everyone’s shoulders. There were still a few tears, but they were accompanied by smiles and hugs from those with whom they had just shared a very special service.

What I began to see, is that beyond the meaning of Passover, it was a special service for what it did for those who partook of it. Perhaps King David said it best in Psalm 51:11-12, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit” (English Standard Version).

For those who are baptized and have received God’s Holy Spirit, they have entered into a covenant with God. The core of that covenant, or agreement, is that we agree to willingly surrender our lives to God’s Word and will, and He joyfully adds us to His family by placing His Holy Spirit in us. Throughout the year, as mortal humans, we sin and break our end of the agreement. But through repentance, we can be reconciled to God and brought back into a right relationship with Him, restoring that covenant. This most precious and special Passover service each year is how God restores our relationship with Him (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

What the Passover will mean for you someday

Passover is indeed a very special service. And while you may not yet be able to be a part of it, it certainly has meaning for you. Passover reminds us of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, by which we can be forgiven of sin and reconciled to God the Father. It also reminds us of the joy of salvation—eternal life in the family of God. It is my—and all those of us here at Compass Check—greatest hope to share a Passover with you someday!