Dr Paul Allen

By faith, he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. (Heb. 11:28) “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” These words from Exodus 12:13 are some of the most comforting in the Old Testament, if not the entire Bible. But comfort (biblically speaking) often comes amid crisis.  When God spoke these words to Israel through Moses, Israel was in anything but a comfortable position. For several hundred years, they had been harshly enslaved by the Egyptians. Their God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—had been deafeningly silent throughout those centuries.  Egypt was a land full of pagan deities, and Pharaoh was a self-proclaimed deity among them—and he knew neither Joseph nor the God of Joseph. Time has a way of chilling warm memories, and all that God had done for Israel and the Egyptians had faded from memory. The people of God now pined away as slaves, labouring under the blighting sun of Pharaoh’s vainglory—a ...

As the book of Exodus begins, Israel has been in Egypt for more than four hundred years (cf. Ex. 12:40). They are now in bondage under an oppressive Pharaoh. The early chapters of Exodus describe the calling of Moses to be the one who will lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. He comes before Pharaoh demanding that Israel be allowed to go and worship the Lord, but Pharaoh refuses. God then sends a series of increasingly severe plagues on Egypt. Pharaoh’s stubbornness in the face of the first nine plagues results in God’s pronouncement of a final plague that will result in Israel’s redemption from slavery. God warns that He will go into the midst of Egypt and that every firstborn in the land will die. It is in the context of the warning of this final plague that we find God’s instructions regarding the Passover in Exodus 12. God begins with a statement indicating that the Passover and Exodus will mark a new beginning for the nation of Israel. The month of Abib (late March a...

On the night before our Savior died, He instituted this meal. He expects us to regularly take this supper. He believes that it will make a difference in our lives. The Lord’s Supper has many effects for the believer, and I’d like to highlight three of them in this post. The Lord’s Supper challenges your desires “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God .” Luke 22 :15 Jesus gave up His life. No one took it from Him (John 10:18). Not only did He know He was born to die (Mark 8:34), but He knew the way He would die (John 3:14). But He also knew about a last supper He would eat with His disciples. And Luke 22 tells us that He earnestly desired to eat this meal with His disciples. He had looked forward to this very meal for a long time, perhaps since He could even remember. Why? Why was He so eager? Partly because this meal was a transition meal. This meal would be th...

Jesus tomb is sealed and guarded a. Sir: They gave Pilate a title of honor and respect. But the day before these same religious leaders rejected the King of Kings . They mocked and despised Him, putting Jesus to open shame, but they honored Pilate.   i. On the next day: “It must mean that the chief priests and Pharisees actually approached Pilate on the Sabbath with their request. If they did that, it is clear to see how radically they broke the Sabbath Law.” (Barclay) b. We remember … how that deceiver said, “After three days I will rise”: Ironically, the enemies of Jesus remembered His promise of resurrection better than His own disciples remembered. c. While He was still alive: In this, the enemies of Jesus admit that Jesus is dead. They did not believe the “Swoon Theory,” a conjecture that denies the resurrection, saying that Jesus never really died, but just “swooned” on the cross, and then somehow wonderfully revived in the tomb.   i. A humorous letter t...

English: A 14th-century of Jesus Christ bearing the cross, from the monastery in . (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I sometimes wonder how many Christians stop to think about how incredibly odd it is that crucifixes are used as works of art. Crucifixes adorn church architecture, classic paintings, sculpture, and even jewelry. But consider for a moment what a crucifix was originally. It was a means of execution. In fact, it was and is one of the most ghastly means of execution ever devised by man. So horrible was it that it was reserved for the lowest of the low: slaves, pirates, and rebels.  Roman citizens were exempt. Cultured Romans considered it unworthy of discussion in polite company. Yet today we wear this symbol of degrading and humiliating death around our necks. The jarring nature of this is not immediately apparent to us because over time, the symbol of the cross has lost many of its original connotations. To get some idea of the oddity, imagine seeing people wearing ne...

“Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Darkness had descended on Jerusalem . Its residents had finished their Passover meals. The lamb and unleavened bread had been consumed; the sandals, staffs, and belts put away (Exodus 12:1–11). In Caiaphas ’s house, a conference was underway with some members of the Sanhedrin, some officers of the temple guard, and one of Jesus ’s closest friends. In the secluded hillside olive garden of Gethsemane , just outside the city’s eastern wall opposite the temple, Jesus sat with his other eleven closest friends. The eleven friends could not stay awake. Jesus could not sleep. The Great Passover Unveiled Earlier that evening, Jesus had shared with his disciples the most marvelous Passover meal of all time, though his disciples only recognized this in retrospect. Jesus had “earnestly desired” to eat it with them (Luke 22:15). For the Great Passover, the one for which the Passove...

The last festival of Israel ’s religious calendar was the feast of tabernacles . Like the first, it looked in two directions: back to the nation’s historical experience, and forward to its ultimate fulfilment in Christ Jesus . The Passover commemorated deliverance from Egypt, but also anticipated the cross where ‘ Christ our passover is sacrificed for us’, 1 Cor. 5:7. Tabernacles, following the final triumphant harvest ingathering, was a retrospective on the nomadic conditions of the wilderness journey, Lev. 23:42–43, but also a hint of kingdom blessings to come when Messiah would reign over His people in righteousness and peace. One can understand why Peter, overawed in the company of a glorified Lord flanked by celebrities like Moses and Elijah, thought instinctively of this feast, with its combination of spiritual satisfaction and unalloyed delight, Matt. 17:4. Israel’s celebrations therefore fell into three grou ps, v. 16: (i) unleavened bread , which included the feasts of...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’” Mark 14:14 Jerusalem at the time of the Passover was one great inn; each householder had invited his own friends, but no one had invited the Savior, and he had no dwelling of his own. It was by his own supernatural power that he found himself an upper room in which to keep the feast. It is so even to this day— Jesus is not received among the sons of men save only where by his supernatural power and grace he makes the heart anew. All doors are open enough to the prince of darkness, but Jesus must clear a way for himself or lodge in the streets. It was through the mysterious power exerted by our Lord that the householder raised no question, but at once cheerfully and joyfully opened his guest chamber. Who he was, and what he was, we do not know, but he readily accepted the honor which the Redeemer proposed to confer upon him....

Français : Basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation de Moulins; vitrail néogothique. La Cène. Détail: Judas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot , son of Simon, to betray Jesus . Jesus . . . got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, . . . and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” John 13:2–5 NIV It has been a long day. Jerusalem is packed with Passover guests, most of whom clamor for a glimpse of the Teacher. The spring sun is warm. The streets are dry. And the disciples are a long way from home. A splash of cool water would be refreshing. The disciples enter the room, one by one, and take their places around the table. On the wall hangs a towel, and on the floor sits a pitcher and a basin. Any one of the disciples could volunteer for the job, but not one does. After a few moments, Jesus stands and removes his outer garment. H...

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but you have made it a “den of thieves.”’” Matthew 21:13 It was Passover week. The Passover was the highlight of the Jewish calendar . People came from all regions and many countries to be present for the celebration. Upon arriving, they were obligated to meet two requirements. First, an animal sacrifice , usually a dove. The dove had to be perfect, without blemish. If you brought a sacrifice from your own source, it would be considered insufficient by the authorities in the temple. So, under the guise of keeping the sacrifice pure, the sellers sold doves—at their price. Second, the people had to pay a yearly temple tax . During Passover, the tax had to be rendered in local currency . Knowing many foreigners would be in Jerusalem to pay the tax, money changers conveniently set up tables and offered to exchange the foreign money for ...

The Angel of Death and the First Passover (illustration from the 1897 Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us by Charles Foster) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt .” ( Exodus 12:13 ) The Jews of the world have been keeping their annual Feast of the Passover for almost 3,500 years, fulfilling the ancient prophecy: “And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever” ( Exodus 12:24 ). This was the beginning of the nation of Israel , when they left Egyptian slavery behind and started their trek to the Promised Land . The lamb had been slain and eaten, its blood placed on the door posts, and the Lord had spared all their firstborn sons when the Destroyer passed through the land of Egypt. The feast was intended not only to memorialize the ancient deliverance, b...