Passover is our story
Daily Scripture
John 1:29, Luke 22:14-16, John 19:28-30, 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, Revelation 15:1-4
John 1
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Luke 22
14 When the time came, Jesus took his place at the table, and the apostles joined him. 15 He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 I tell you, I won’t eat it until it is fulfilled in God’s kingdom.”
John 19
28 After this, knowing that everything was already completed, in order to fulfill the scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was nearby, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it, placed it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed.” Bowing his head, he gave up his life.
1 Corinthians 5
6 Your bragging isn’t good! Don’t you know that a tiny grain of yeast makes a whole batch of dough rise? 7 Clean out the old yeast so you can be a new batch of dough, given that you’re supposed to be unleavened bread. Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed, 8 so let’s celebrate the feast with the unleavened bread of honesty and truth, not with old yeast or with the yeast of evil and wickedness.
Revelation 15
1 Then I saw another great and awe-inspiring sign in heaven. There were seven angels with seven plagues—and these are the last, for with them God’s anger is brought to an end. 2 Then I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those who gained victory over the beast, its image, and the number of its name were standing by the glass sea, holding harps from God. 3 They sing the song of Moses, God’s servant, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and awe-inspiring are your works,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
king of the nations.
4 Who won’t fear you, Lord, and glorify your name?
You alone are holy.
All nations will come and fall down in worship before you,
for your acts of justice have been revealed.”
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The Exodus might just be an interesting story from 1400 years ago that explained one of the quaint customs of our devout Jewish neighbors. But it’s not. Images and extensions of the Exodus story saturated the story of Jesus and his disciples. Jesus expanded the meaning of a Passover seder into the Lord’s Supper, the Communion service Christians around the world take part in. The apostle Paul conveyed the good news of salvation by saying that Jesus, God’s Passover lamb, freed us from sin and death by shedding his blood. And Revelation, the Bible’s last book, described the victory song of God’s faithful people as “the song of Moses…and the Lamb.” The Exodus and the Passover are our stories of God-given freedom.
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For some of us, the Exodus story immediately rings true with our life experience. We know what held us captive, and we know how God’s power has set us free. For others of us, the connection may be more obscure. We may have grown up religious, in comfortable, respectable homes—we may find it hard to identify with the experience of a slave people marching out to freedom. How easy or hard is it for you to identify with the Exodus experience of the people of Israel? If it’s hard, spend time asking God to help you identify the subtler inner forces that try to spiritually enslave all humans, including you. If it’s easy, join Moses and the redeemed in singing a song of praise to the Lamb who has saved you!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, my “Passover lamb,” thank you for offering yourself to save me. Walk with me each day, helping me to live as a truly redeemed subject of your kingdom. Amen.
GPS Insights
Matt Williams
Matt Williams serves Resurrection as the Digital Engagement Team Director. His team is responsible for the church website, social media, YouTube, email newsletters, GPS, and digital marketing efforts for the church. Matt and his wife, Kristin, have been members of Resurrection since 2009 and have four kids.
It’s the middle of December 2008 and I’m out of breath, soaked in sweat. I’m at a Lifetime Fitness in Novi, MI and I’m in the middle of a cardio workout as part of my Duke Baseball winter break conditioning program. Baseball has been the core of my identity for as long as I can remember. I started playing in t-ball, fell in love with the game, and now I’m preparing for my senior season at Duke. I’m going into my fourth year as the starting catcher, and I have a real shot at professional baseball. Playing baseball as long as possible has been my primary focus. It’s more than what I do. It’s who I am.
Something’s wrong, though. I am in the middle of the workout, and I stop. I turn off the treadmill and sit down. My mind is flooded with an overwhelming realization that stops me in my tracks…
I don’t want to do this anymore.
I remember this moment as clearly as I can remember any moment in my life. It’s the moment that started a 14-year journey of finding freedom in a new, and perhaps true, identity. I never finished that workout, or the rest of the winter break conditioning program. But I did go on to have the best season of my life and get drafted by the Chicago Cubs. After a brief stint in the minor leagues, I went on to spend a decade of my career working in the baseball industry as a coach, a small business owner, and running baseball tournaments. But that moment is the reason that I’m in the best place I’ve ever been in my life today–personally, professionally, and most importantly, spiritually.
For most of the first 35 years of my life, my understanding of my identity revolved around baseball. It started out as a player, then shifted to a coach, then to a business owner and event provider. But no matter what I was doing, I believed that something involving baseball was the thing that defined me. That led to some cool experiences, but I was defined by my accomplishments in baseball, both on and off the field. More specifically, I was defined by what other people thought of me.
I’ve been blessed with so much in my life, and I’m grateful for that–incredibly grateful. But it took me a long time to see that I was being held captive to the opinions of others based on the bullet points of my resume.
That moment on the treadmill was my version of the Exodus. It was the moment when God parted the Red Sea, and I started my journey towards the promised land. Like the Israelites, I still had to wander through the desert for a while before I was ready to live in the true freedom that comes from defining my identity in Jesus Christ. I still care about being good at my job and occasionally get hung up in what people think of me. But now I define my life by what God has done for me, and what he will do through me. For me, that’s a promised land that is far better than any validation or resume builder I could ever get.
