Reminding God to Pass Over

Our text today commanded the Israelites to keep the Feast of Passover as a memorial. This memorial feast included both a meal and a display of blood. It is no accident that when Jesus commanded his disciples to keep this meal, he said ‘do this as a memorial of me.’ Of course it is often translated “in remembrance of me” which is OK, but it obscures all that is taking place. When Israel celebrated the Passover, they were to eat and remember that Yahweh was their Savior and Defender who fought for them, but the blood on the doors of their homes meant that God would remember them. He promised to see the blood and “pass over” them and not destroy them. This is our Passover feast. Here we have the body and blood of the true Passover lamb, a male without blemish. Here we remember that in the death of Christ, we are covered, and God has sworn to remember us and to pass over us and our families. That’s why we celebrate this meal as a feast. This memorial is not a memorial like a funeral. This memorial is more like an anniversary celebration where a husband and wife openly celebrate their commitment and love for each other; they celebrate in order to remember what God has done and look forward to what God will do. The same is taking place here. Yes, this meal points back to the cross, but it also acts here and now to remind God that we are covered in the blood. That is a cause for rejoicing. This meal is the feast of God’s covering of our sins, dealing with our sins, forgetting our sins. What have you done? Where have fallen? Where have you failed? Come eat and drink and God promises to remember Jesus. We are reminding God that we are covered, we are forgiven, and God has promised to remember. He has promised that when he sees the blood he will turn away his wrath and pass over us. So come eat, drink, and keep the feast. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us.