Have you ever found a story in the Bible that fascinated, frightened, and brought joy to your heart all at the same time? When I was a young girl, my Sunday school teacher described the night of the Passover to our class. After four hundred-plus years of slavery under the whip of the Egyptians, I wondered how the Israelites felt. Could they even believe they might be free? Did they question putting blood on their doorposts? Did they have knots in their stomachs like I got when I was afraid? I couldn’t make sense of it all except for one thing. Those who followed what God said found themselves walking away from bondage into freedom. WOW!

Many of us have had our doorpost nights. We have wondered if our faith was strong enough to endure whatever tragedies might come. We have feared for the lives of our loved ones or perhaps even our own. We have found ourselves on long journeys, not knowing how the end would be. Through it all we chose to trust in what we knew was true about God; He works in our lives to bring about good.

Tomorrow at sunset begins the Jewish Passover. Some of us have had the privilege of taking part in a Passover seder. Each one I attended brought a deeper understanding of my own faith. I found myself mesmerized by the traditions, stories, and joy surrounding Passover. I also began to see the connection between Passover and our own communion service of worship, especially on Holy or Maundy Thursday and walking in our faith daily. 

• The lamb’s sacrifice signified freedom and protection from death. Jesus, the Lamb of God, offers us freedom from sin and spiritual death. 
• The unleavened bread was broken during Passover, just as in communion the bread is broken, 

signifying the body of Jesus broken on the cross.

• The cup of redemption reminded me of God’s promise to redeem his people. Like the Israelites who gained their freedom, Jesus frees us from the death of sin.
• The bitter herbs reminded the Israelites of the bitterness of bondage. Like them, we all experience the bitterness of our own sins. Through the bitterness of the cross, Jesus offers us freedom from the bondage of sin to our hearts and souls. 

Just as the first Passover marked the Israelite’s release from Egyptian slavery, so remembering the death of Christ through the bread and wine marks a Christian’s release from the slavery of sin. Both are the story of deliverance and the will to persevere with faith against all odds.

The Passover and Communion are reminders amid our trials, our difficulties, our pain, and our sorrows, we are not alone.  As we embrace God’s faithful attention to our needs, we can face the unknown with courage and trust. Why? Because God is always with us–even on our doorpost nights.

Romans 8:2 ESV

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.