The Feast. Exodus 12:11-20 The Israelites needed to be clearly distinguished from the Egyptians. The Lord had instructed them that on the tenth day of the first month, each family should select a perfect lamb from their flock. They were to keep and observe it carefully until the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. This was to ensure that the lamb was free from any defect, inward or outward.
Eating the Passover feast was not just about food to sustain them for the journey ahead. It represented holiness, a separateness they were bearing witness to. They were not only separated from Egypt but also separated unto God. They were testifying to their personal faith in God.
This explains what we testify to when we partake in “Christ our Passover who was sacrificed for us.” We “keep the feast” to remember Him, who made it possible for us to be free from sin's bondage. We do so sincerely and truthfully. In divine wisdom and grace, our Lord Jesus understood our need to remember Him weekly instead of annually, unlike those who are still in Judaism. We remember a Person, not a mere event. We do this “until He comes,” and we are raptured to Him. Then, we will be with Him in the fullness of a glorified body, united with our soul and spirit.
Those who still look back, as in Judaism, will continue to observe a feast that holds no spiritual value for them. Our Lord shared the last Passover with them just before He established the feast of remembrance we now call the Lord’s Supper. Jews will keep observing it until our Lord Jesus Christ returns to reign, despite its lack of spiritual significance. It is now simply a Jewish holiday. When they see Jesus—who was rejected by the Jewish leaders and crucified—they will look on Him whom they have pierced and realize the great mistake they made in rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ.
The lamb was roasted to ensure it had no additives, unlike frying or boiling. It contained no blood because it had been shed and applied to the doors of homes. As a result, it would remain in Egypt as a lasting testimony to what occurred when God intervened to deal with the people. All of the roast lamb leaving Egypt was that which had been personally taken by each freed slave, redeemed by the blood of the lamb.
When we come to Christ and He becomes our personal Savior, there is no physical or symbolic sign that we have done so. Instead, the reality of our faith in Him comes from within us, not from pins, miniature crosses, amulets, tattoos, or anything we might wear. These items can be put on or taken off by anyone, whether saved or not. When someone becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus, this reality is demonstrated through our attitude toward God and His people, as well as the actions we take as believers in Him. Anything that is merely a ritual should be discarded like leftovers of a true feast.
Unleavened bread reminds us of the urgency needed to do God's will. Waiting for yeast to “work” simply provides time for empty air to penetrate what is real and solid, making what is genuine more palatable. Yeast does not add anything of value to that which is already full of life.
Sin is like that and can seep into the mind and life of a believer who carelessly waits to do God's will until it feels more pleasing and satisfying to him. Many believers wait until “I understand it for myself” before acting on a command from God. That creates an opportunity for sin to enter and replace faith. It also suggests that what I think and am willing to do is more important than what God has already told me.
When a child of God feeds their soul on our Lord Jesus Christ, they find their spiritual nourishment in Him alone, as their food for the soul. They accept Him, His yoke, His cross, and His crown. Just as the feast of Passover and the feast of unleavened bread, they forsake sin and its control over them. Having received the Lord Jesus Christ, they will “keep the feast” with joy, love, and gratitude, free from malice and hypocrisy. They take in their spiritual food with sincerity and truth.
Bitter herbs served as a reminder of what they had left behind when they were enslaved in Egypt. It is not wrong to remember that we were once servants to sin but are now children of the living God. To “remember the hole of the pit from which we have been dug” prompts us to look up and around at our current position as sons and daughters of God.
The instructions were given to the people through God’s servant, Moses. They were accepted as the word of God and understood clearly. Knowing what is right and what God intends for us is good, but not enough. We must act on what has been taught. A lesson is not learned until it has been actually practiced. Then, we learn experimentally what we have been taught. To know what is right and not do it is as wrong and sinful as to know what is wrong and do it.