The Cross of ChristSample

Jesus, Our Passover Lamb

Palm Sunday begins the most significant week in history. Jesus enters Jerusalem to cheers and palm branches, the people crying out for liberation. They expected freedom from Roman rule, but He came to free them from something far deeper - the rule of sin. The beauty of the cross is simple and profound: we are free and forgiven solely because of what Jesus has done. Yet beneath the surface, there’s an even greater depth to discover.

At the Last Supper, Jesus and His disciples weren’t just sharing a farewell meal. They were celebrating Passover, the sacred festival remembering God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt. As He took the bread and the cup, saying, “This is my body… this is my blood… poured out as a sacrifice for you,” He wasn’t creating a new ritual—He was fulfilling an ancient one.

The first Passover, told in Exodus12, was a moment of mercy and judgment intertwined. God instructed every household to choose a spotless lamb, place its blood on the doorframes, and eat bread without yeast. That night, His presence passed through Egypt. Where there was blood, judgment passed over. Where there was none, death entered. The blood marked God’s people as holy - set apart, covered, and safe.

That spotless lamb pointed forward to Jesus. John the Baptist saw it when he said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The lamb’s perfection symbolised Jesus’ sinless life. Its blood prefigured His sacrifice. Just as the blood on the doorposts shielded Israel, the blood of Christ shields every believer today.

Even the unleavened bread carried meaning. Yeast represented sin—something that spreads quietly and corrupts everything it touches. God’s people were told to bake bread without yeast, symbolising purity. Paul echoes this image: “Get rid of the old yeast… Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed for us.” Through Jesus, we become a new batch of dough - redeemed, purified, and made holy.

When Jesus broke bread with His disciples, He was saying, “This is that.” The story that began with Moses, the lamb, and the blood on the doorposts now found its completion. The sacrifice to end all sacrifices had come. His body was broken, His blood poured out, so judgment could pass over us forever.

Every time we take communion, we remember that the cross is our doorway from death to life. The blood that once marked wooden doorframes now marks wooden beams on a hill called Golgotha. And because of it, we are free, forgiven, and forever His.