The journey from the Mount of Transfiguration to Mount Calvary would take Jesus and His disciples to an upper room. There they would prepare to eat the Passover. The Passover meal was a most significant event. The ritual foods would be eaten. The traditional rehearsing of the mighty acts of God was shared. The narrative centered on the Angel of Death "passing over" the homes of those who had painted the blood of the lamb on their door posts, and visiting the homes of those who had not. Those homes visited by this angel experienced the death of their first-born child, according to Exodus 12.
The disciples did not fully comprehend what this Passover would mean for them, and for the whole people of God. Jesus has come as the Lamb of God. It will be His blood that is drawn as He is put to death. Like the lambs in Egypt, He, too, is innocent and undeserving of death.
Jesus understood what lay before Him. The Passover meal was a joyous occasion, celebrating God delivering His people from the slavery of the Egyptians. While the disciples were celebrating this glorious deliverance of their ancestors, Jesus understood that by His suffering and death, He would be delivering all people from the slavery of sin, its consequences and eternal death. Preparing for the Passover was important to Jesus, His disciples, and for us.
THE PRAYER: Bless us Lord, as we prepare for and observe the Passover. Amen.
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