What Is Passover — Meaning Explained

Passover was instituted in Exodus 12 on the night before Israel's exodus from Egypt. Each household was to select an unblemished year-old lamb, kill it at twilight, and apply its blood to the doorposts and lintel of their house. That night the LORD struck down the firstborn of Egypt, but when He saw the blood, He passed over that home. The lamb was roasted and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, and the people ate with their belts fastened and staffs in hand, ready to depart. Passover became the foundational feast of Israel, celebrated annually on the fourteenth day of the first month. It foreshadows Christ, our Passover Lamb, whose blood covers believers from the judgment of God. At the Last Supper — a Passover meal — Jesus transformed the feast into the Lord's Supper, commanding His disciples to remember His sacrifice.