# 1 > Most of us have heard that Jesus Christ died for our sins, but what does that really mean? Why was His death necessary? What part does Christ's sacrifice play in God's plan for mankind? How is Jesus Christ's death reflected in God's holy festivals? This chapter on the New Testament Passover will address these important questions. Christ's sacrifice is the pivotal event in God's plan to save humanity.
# 2 > Jesus foretold the fact that He would be "lifted up" in crucifixion so that "whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" ( JOHN 3:14__16 ). We see that Jesus sacrifice, the central message of the Passover, was a supreme act of love for humanity. This important event laid the foundation for the remaining annual festivals. It is the most momentous step in God's plan. Just before the Passover feast that would see His execution, Jesus said that "for this purpose I came to this hour . . . And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself" ( JOHN 12:27, 32 ). The day on which this profound event, the crucifixion, transpired was the 14th day of the first month of God's calendar, the very same day on which the Passover lambs were to be slain ( LEVITICUS 23:5 ). Paul would later tell the congregation at Corinth that "Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" ( 1 CORINTHIANS 5:7 ).
# 3 > Now let's look back through the Bible for the instructions and meaning God gave concerning this day. Doing so will help us understand why God expects us to continue observing the Passover.
God's Passover instruction
As previously mentioned, God through Moses told Pharaoh, "Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness" ( EXODUS 5:1 ).
The unblemished male animal represented Jesus Christ as the perfect, sinless sacrifice for our sins.
Through a series of plagues, God displayed His great power and delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. After nine plagues He gave Israel specific instructions about the next and final terrifying calamity and the steps each Israelite family should take to escape it. God said that on the 10th day of the first month ( in the spring in the Middle East ) each Israelite was to select a lamb or goat large enough to feed each household ( EXODUS 12:3 ).
# 4 > The animal chosen was to be a yearling male without any sort of defect. On the 14th day of that month at evening, the Israelites were to kill the animals and place some of their blood on the door-posts of their homes. The animals were then to be roasted and eaten along with unleavened bread and bitters herbs. The Creator further instructed the Israelites that on this evening He would kill all the firstborn of Egypt to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. The firstborn of each Israelite family would be protected if the sign of the blood were on the entrance of their homes. God would "pass over" their homes to spare them__thus the meaning of the name of this observance ( verse 13 )
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