Passover's sacrifice has an extremely powerful message. In the first place, it was given to the people native of Israel in order for them to remember what happened on the first redemption. The sacrifice of Pesach can only be made when the temple in Jerusalem is standing and can only be eaten in Jerusalem by those who are of the circumcision in the flesh. That's why, what we celebrate nowadays is not the real Pesach but a reminder of Pesach. Since there is no temple, there can't be a lamb sacrifice. It is forbidden to sacrifice to the Eternal outside of the temple.

I want to stress a point here. The Torah rules out any uncircumcised man in the flesh from eating of the lamb that was sacrificed as Pesach in the temple. Pesach refers to the lamb itself. If a non-Jew wants to eat from the lamb, he will have to become Jewish, together with his family. This is the law from the Eternal for the Pesach sacrifice. This teaches us that the door is open for any gentile who wants to become a Jew if that's his or her wish. A non-Jew has no right to eat from the lamb sacrificed as Pesach, why? Because of the very important message this entails.

As we've said before, there is a deep symbolism in this celebration. One the one hand, it talks about the first redemption, from Egypt. But on the other, it also speaks prophetically of the second redemption; the one by the Messiah, which is divided in two parts with a 2000 year period between them. When Yeshua was sacrificed and raised from among the dead, the judicial foundation for the final redemption was created. We haven't seen the last redemption yet because the Messiah hasn't been revealed in glory to deliver his people from the slavery of sin. But there is a way of obtaining and experience now the first fruits of the future redemption that we are expecting. Through the laws for Pesach, the Torah shows us who will partake of that last redemption.

I'll explain myself. We have a lamb of Pesach sacrificed in the temple in Yerushalayim. In the same way, we have a Lamb of Pesach sacrificed on the Mount of Olives outside of Yerushalayim almost 2000 years ago. Then we have the obligation for the circumcised ones, to eat from the lamb of Pesach. The one who doesn't eat from the lamb while he or she can, is cut off from his people and will bear his sin (Nm. 9:13). We also have the obligation to be circumcised in the flesh to be able to eat from the lamb. No uncircumcised man will be allowed to eat from the lamb.

If we now draw a parallel between the lamb of Pesach and the Messiah we can come to the following conclusion: Just as no uncircumcised man will be able to eat from the lamb of Pesach, no one who hasn't circumcised his or her heart will be able to partake from the Lamb of the Almighty. Just like the ones who fail to partake from the lamb of Pesach, while they can, are cut off their people, the same way those who don't partake from the Lamb of the Almighty will lose their salvation and right to be part of the chosen people in the world to come.

May the Eternal grant us a spirit of revelation to see all the details in the celebration of Pesach.

Blessings,           

Ketriel