A discussion of the symbolism in Passover begins in the Old Testament; indeed, if the Old Testament is left out the conclusions are disastrous. Bear in mind, however, that the Last Supper (for Christians actually the Lord's Supper -N.B. I Corinthians 11:20) is not the same as the Old Testament Passover. It is not the same covenant. The symbols that I am discussing here are the symbols of the Seder as given in the Bible. The symbols given for the Lord's Supper are discussed later in the Night to be Much Observed section. You can put it all together with other related subjects in reading about the pattern for life given in the Bible. We know that the Lamb in the old testament represents the crucified Christ or messiah. The whole of Isaiah 53 links that lamb to Christ but there is more to the story in the details.

The Old Symbols

So again, the Passover celebrated by the Jews which is known as the Seder is celebrated at the end of the Fourteenth and continues into the Fifteenth. The Last Supper (more accurately Lord's Supper) is celebrated on the Fourteenth. It starts as the Thirteenth ends and occupies the whole of the Fourteenth. The Jews call it the Preparation day. So both Passovers are on the Fourteenth but only one occupies the Fourteenth while the other just begins in the Fourteenth. Here we discuss the symbols of the old one called the Seder by the Jews. Let me apologise from the beginning because I have found that it is not easy for me to explain. My task is to show that we cannot take things from the old covenant and apply them directly to the new but they have deep meaning where they are.

The Fat

Back in Exodus 23 and 34 we find that the instruction about the blood is coupled with the instruction for fat

Fat was always burned in normal offerings. God was specific to say where you could find fat on the animal and it was always removed and burned.

In all other places where I see references to fat in sacrifices it was always burned at the beginning of the sacrifice by the priest. What we appear to see in Exodus 23 and 34 is a special treatment for fat and for blood. In both cases the following verse is another subject. We know that it is Passover because God says so in Exodus 34 and it is only referring to one sacrifice not sacrifices. This is specific to Passover. There is a different instruction for fat and there is a separate treatment of blood.

Fat tends to be discarded and so God took special care to ensure that this did not happen with His sacrifices. Generally the responsibility was transferred to the priest but we must note that in the case of Passover the responsibility to take care of the fat was placed on the family.

EASTONS 1897 BIBLE DICTIONARY -

Fat

(Heb. heleb) denotes the richest part of the animal, or the fattest of the flock, in the account of Abel's sacrifice ( Genesis 4:4 ). It sometimes denotes the best of any production ( Genesis 45:18 ;Numbers 18:12 ; Psalms 81:16 ; 147:47 ). The fat of sacrifices was to be burned ( Leviticus 3:9-11; 4:8 ; 7:3 ; 8:25 ; Numbers 18:17 . Compare Exodus 29:13-22 ; Leviticus 3:3-5 )...

The definition above does not bring out the full significance of fat. Fat is the excess or abundance which is a blessing that comes from God. It is excess and it comes from God.

Burning the fat in sacrifice acknowledges that it came from God and that it returns to Him. It recognises that all abundance belongs to God. The increase and blessing in the lamb was Christ, the greatest and most abundant blessing that came from God. James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Combining this with the fact that this ceremony was a memorial of the Passover in Egypt then we see that it is connected to the release of the Children of Israel before morning. In the heavenly realm Christ was sacrificed before the foundation of the world which may also have some significance here. The seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures the seven days allotted to the age or world of man with the last day picturing the rest. Having said all of that, the central point is inescapable: Christ, the greatest and most abundant blessing, had to go back to God uncorrupted after He was sacrificed. Psalms 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. None of Him could be abandoned or decayed. You will see that each individual family had to ensure that they were not contributing to treating Him carelessly. We each have our role in guaranteeing that Christ's sacrifice is not abandoned nor corrupted.

The Blood

There is no actual blood in the New Testament celebration. The wine is used to represent Christ's blood. Wine is consumed at the Seder but it does not have the same significance as that instituted by the Lord's Supper. The blood in the Old Testament was not to be drunk under any circumstances, but we must ingest the wine (which represents blood) in order to be a part of Christ. God made it obvious that there is a difference. The problem is in understanding it and I cannot claim to have done so completely, but I hope that I will do a bit towards improving general understanding.

The blood of my sacrifice

The arguments for leavened bread at Passover are all often dismissed by this not-so-clear instruction given by God in the Old Testament, that we should always use unleavened bread with Passover. The instruction is given in Exodus 23:18 and 34:25, where it is stated that the blood of my sacrifice should not be offered with leaven.

I still do not claim to properly understand this scripture but I am not convinced that it applies to the New Testament at all, nevertheless I would prefer to err on the side of caution. The scripture is straight forward in its application to the Old Testament but not not so clear to the New. It is a glaring reminder that God is who reveals things and not intelligence.

The first difficulty is in deciding whether or not the Christian celebration is an offering. It is clearly a memorial (1 Corinthians 11:23-25) and the wine is the blood of the New Covenant (Mark 14:22-24), but is the celebration of the cup at the Lord's supper an offering? What do you mean when you say offer? Typically it is something proposed as compensation for something else. Is that what we are doing in the New Covenant celebration? If so then it is perfectly correct to directly apply the scripture. The subject is the blood and not the sacrifice, and if the blood is now the cup then it cannot be offered with leaven according to those scriptures in Exodus, but are we making an offering? The other problem is that it says in the old Testament that blood cannot be eaten at all so how does that gel with symbolically drinking blood? It was Gods command even even before the Old Covenant.

But is re-stated in the Law.

In the old covenant the blood had to be poured out but we drink the wine, so clearly there is something to be resolved in the symbolism. If you skip these scriptures (Exodus 23:18, Exodus 34:25) there is nothing in the context of the Old or New Testaments that makes the use of unleavened bread a requirement in New Testament Passover. We discuss the evidence as we go on.

There is a strong element of faith required for dealing with the issue of leaven in the new Testament. The instruction in Exodus 23 and Exodus 34 comes soon after they left Egypt, when they were at Mount Sinai. There is evidence that the first Passover was done with unleavened bread.

So the Passover was eaten with unleavened bread. The with makes it clear that the bread was not the Passover but accompanied the Passover. It describes how the Passover was to be eaten. Unleavened bread represents urgency or haste and that is how it was to be eaten.

Even today, as at the time of Christ, the Preparation day is still leavened and so the need for unleavened bread becomes a concern. In addition to the fact that the actual command to eat unleavened bread is spelled out in Exodus 12:8, because the Jewish Seder is eaten a day late (effectively on the First Day of Unleavened Bread), it is obvious that they have to use unleavened bread. This is not the case in the New Testament. What's more, it does not say the wine of my sacrifice, but since the wine represents Christ's blood we draw the connection. It is an issue of prayer and faith which I have not yet completely resolved. The way that I reason it is that unleavened bread is still bread and bread is what is required.

So the blood in the Old Testament was an offering in place of Christ but the bread was not. It is the meat of the lamb that represented Christ back then. Unleavened bread represented an attitude, one of urgency. It was not Christ's body, the lamb was His body. There is bread in both the Old Testament and the New Testament celebrations but the meaning of the bread is very different. They did not share Christ's death but were passed over and not touched by it. There is no blood in the New Covenant and wine represents the blood that we share as beneficiaries in Christ's death, so in that way we become part of the Passover but we do not die with Him as part of the sacrifice to redeem mankind. He died alone and not even the Father was there to help. Christ was sacrificed once and any attempt to represent anything different is idol worship. Scriptures referring to offering the blood of my sacrifice are a problem for the New Testament Christian because we cannot be offering Christ's blood every year or be participating in any offering for our own salvation.

The doorway and the blood

The doorpost and lintel (marking the doorway) was used as a sign that those who went in through it were protected by the blood of Christ. Israel was living in Egypt and therefore the only holy ground would be that marked by God. This continued as a reminder (when they went into the Promised Land) that God saved them from certain death.

In the Old Testament (and especially in Egypt) it was the house that was under God's protection because it was sanctified by the blood, but now it is our hearts that are sanctified and so God instructs us to drink the Cup. You could not drink the blood in the Old Testament because it is against God's law and much of the symbolism is lost on me. We allegorically received the same sanctification that was given to the house, but it needs to reach our hearts today. Drinking the wine is not the same as killing the lamb and making an offering. Drinking the wine is marking the lintel and doorpost of our hearts and sanctifying the dwelling as holy.

This makes trying to understand the symbolism in blood of my sacrifice even more daunting. How is blood offered? Does this make any sense especially considering the rest of the scripture which connects the firstfruits with the fat and the leavened bread.

In Exodus 34 we see that this command relates specifically to Passover as an offering. Here God stipulates that He is talking only about the Passover as we have just seen. This is supported in Leviticus where God commands that leaven be used with that specific sacrifice therefore the command cannot refer to all sacrifices. Notice for example:

The point is clear. God has not said that leaven is not to be used with sacrifices but that it cannot be used at Passover. At Passover unleavened bread has special significance. It meant haste or urgency. Passover is a special sacrifice. Today the bread at Passover does not have that meaning. Christ was not in a hurry at the Last Supper. When the beginning of the year was re-established, and the Passover was instituted God said in verse 27:

Putting this with something else that He said in Exodus 12,

We see that God, in verse 25, only refers to when they come into the Promised Land. In context, the Old Testament Passover is designed to be celebrated in the Promised Land (there is no wilderness here) and among His chosen people Israel. This instruction is for a people living in prosperity who need to be reminded of the situation in Egypt. In this context Passover would remind us in the good times of where we came from and how we got there. The bread reminded them of the urgency with which they had to leave. This is not the situation of the new covenant Christian who is promised tribulation and trials and would be glad to leave. He is still experiencing Egypt.

Blood had a special significance. The blood of butchered animals could not be consumed which presents a problem of how exactly is this blood to be offered with leaven.

The blood now pictured in the wine was to be poured on the ground. There is clearly a significant difference between the ancient Passover and the Lord's supper. We need to discern and make a conscious decision.

Blood on the altar

Blood took on even more significance if it was spilled on the altar in a special way. The animal was killed on the north side of the altar which I believe is explained by Isaiah.

Notice verse 13. It Says that Satan wanted to dislodge God from the sides of the north. This seems like a special position of authority and power. Christ gave all of this up to come and die for us.

Blood on the altar replaced blood on the doorway. I must clarify here. The blood continued to be painted on the lintel but it originally meant that the house was an extension of God's house as He dwelled among His people.  When the Tabernacle was returned after it moved outside the camp, the only place that was an extension of God's house was the Tabernacle. The lintel and threshold were the gateway to the house but the altar is the gateway to God. In sacrifices to God the blood was sprinkled around the altar but there are exceptions. In the case of the red heifer the animal was killed outside the camp and the blood sprinkled towards the Tabernacle (Numbers 19:1-4). Since I cannot claim to have a certain and clear understanding of the symbolism of the red heifer I cannot speak to that authoritatively, but I do recognise that since the heifer was without spot then it could in some way represent God or sons of God. In the Bible the Church is represented as a female that has suffered great tribulation and martyrdom. Sin brings death and conversely death purges sin. My description does have the blatant flaw of the Church being represented as perfect and while this may be so in God's eyes the practical day to day activities say something different. Death does pay for sin but it does not give back life. Life comes from the Lamb that died innocently. Another possibility is that the red heifer represents the blood of man that must be spilled to redeem the land (not mankind) from sin. In either case it would be washed etc. because all sacrifices to God must be at that standard to be accepted.

Before the Golden Calf incident they (blood on the altar and blood on the lintel) were the same. Upon the altar it was to be an atonement for their lives. The word translated atonement (Hebrew kphr or kapar) is largely translated as atonement but also as purge, reconciliation, reconcile, forgive, purge away, pacify, cleansed, disannulled, appease, pardon and so on. The general meaning is given as to cover which would suggest to blot out.

After the tabernacle was set up blood was usually offered by dashing it on or around the altar and it always appeared to run down so that some went under the altar. In one case it was dashed from the tabernacle door to the altar. It was never offered by eating. All of the blood ended up at the altar and at least some ran down under it because it was dashed or arbitrarily thrown. The blood was then a communion or unity (it mingled with the other blood) as in the New Testament. All shared the altar/doorway in common.

The offering of blood at Passover is always connected to sprinkling on the doorpost; that is how the instruction in Exodus 23 and 34 might make sense. God was careful to say offer not eat. This is how you can offer it with unleavened bread. You cannot drink it but the ceremony includes the eating of unleavened bread, nevertheless in the new Covenant that still leaves the problem of making an offering in the first place. What offering could you possibly be making? The communion in the blood was because they were all under one covenant of protection being beneficiaries of the death. The blood covered them all and connected them all to the death angel just as in the New Testament, however in the New Testament we drink the symbolic blood to benefit from the mark that the death angel looked at to spare them. In both cases we who participate are joined as one and share the same fate and hope.

The doorpost represented the boundary of the family, the altar represents the boundary for God's people and therefore as the whole family came under the protection for each doorpost all who share in the altar (which defines God's people, His family) come under the protection of the sprinkled blood. In the New Testament the boundary is an individual thing. We make an individual commitment by drinking the wine and the cup becomes the altar/lintel/basin. The blood of the lamb was collected in a basin and could be shared by more than one family. Christ said that He is the way, the truth and the life. The doorway/altar and the cup/basin are in that sense connected to the same purpose. He is the way (doorway framed by the bloodied lintel and doorpost) as well as the blood (life) that was sprinkled. They allow us to make our commitment and separate ourselves as belonging to God. We are the temple of God and the blood is sprinkled or dashed in our doorway/mouth on the way to our hearts. So again, there is no offering in the new Testament Passover because that was done once and cannot be repeated, but the blood in the basin or cup is preserved and sprinkled on all of us. The time when Christians die with Christ is at Baptism not Passover. He did that alone. To bring the Lord's Supper under the umbrella of an offering is a questionable practice.

The meat

The next two things to discuss are found in Exodus 12 as well.

It is also repeated in the book of Numbers.

The meat in the Old Testament corresponds to the bread in the New Testament so there is no more with bread in the New Testament, it is the bread. When the children of Israel ate unleavened bread WITH the Passover it signified something: haste. When we eat bread at Passover it is the Passover and leaven in Christ signifies something else. If we eat meat at Passover we are eating Passover (the Lord's Supper) with meat since the Passover is the bread now. In ancient Israel Passover was was the lamb and they ate it with unleavened bread. From the beginning unleavened bread and bitter herbs were eaten WITH the Passover. In the new covenant the bread is essential as the body of Christ. In addition to that we do not offer the bread as in not offer the blood of my sacrifice. Christ offered Himself (Hebrews 9:14-27). The emphasis in the Old Covenant was that the bones were not broken, that it was to be roasted and that there was no blood in the meat. The bones were not broken because even in death He remained perfect. The lack of blood meant that His life was given completely i.e. unto death (Isaiah 53:12). The bitter herbs relate to the bitterness that came with His life. While the lamb itself was perfect and should have been easy to enjoy, it was not all easy to take in because of the bitterness that went with it. The Jews did not want that type of messiah because it was too bitter. The unleavened bread is explained as bread of adversity and bread of affliction (Isaiah 30:20, Deuteronomy 16:3) because those also accompanied His life abundantly. In the New Covenant we break the bread emphasizing that His body was broken but there are no bones to break. The message is different for a different audience. Ancient Israel looked forward to a perfect sacrifice, without spot and unbroken. We look back to a High Priest that in all points suffered as we do (Hebrews 4:15). One is dead and the other is alive. It should not be unreasonable to accept that the role of bread is different today hence the symbolism is different.

Bitter Herbs

There are no bitter herbs in the new celebration. Why would that be? The Jews claim that the bitter herbs were to remind them of how Egypt made their lives bitter. While that may be true (Exodus 13:8) I believe that the Passover celebration for them was more prophetic in showing them the messiah to come, not looking back. The perfection of the messiah was to be accompanied by unpalatable bitterness leading to His rejection. The Passover transaction was all Him. On the other hand, assuming that their view is true, then it is also true that Jews were intended to reach the Promised Land where they would have lives of ease and plenty and celebrate the Passover in that environment. They would need reminding of hardship. Christians are not given that promise on this earth. We are promised bitterness and sorrow so we do not need reminding.

For Christians Christ is seeking to give us peace of mind since we will not have peace of body; we will have tribulation/bitterness. Having said that I do not believe that the focus of the Passover is on men but on Christ. It reveals Him and His role to us, not the part that men play. The Passover did release Israel from death, suffering and hopelessness but the Passover represents the offering not the item redeemed. The Jews looked forward to a Passover but we now look back at ours. All in all the symbols in the new covenant are not the same as the old and where they do exist in the old they do not have the same meaning. We each have to answer what that means to us in the new covenant i.e. discern the Lord's body, but for me the symbols of the old covenant have deep meaning for all of us when taken in their context. They cannot all be directly applied to the new covenant context. Ancient Israel sacrificed Christ (the lamb) and ate Christ's body (the meat of the lamb) with bitter herbs (distastefulness/revulsion) and with unleavened bread (haste) to show their attitude. Christians sacrifice nothing at Passover and the bread represents Christ not our attitude. We eat Christ's body with an attitude that is similar to bitter herbs and with a sense of urgency that was represented by the unleavened bread but the bread itself has a completely different significance now.

Done Away

In conclusion I wan to stress that these are old symbols as far as Christianity is concerned. They are done away and obsolete. They are preserved for Jews in the Seder but they have never been for Christians to use at Passover. The Christian Passover has new Symbols that are tailor made for Christians by Christ personally. Bread does not have the old meaning, wine does not have the old meaning and certainly there is no blood or sacrifice. The Christian Passover is not he Seder and there is no way to blend the two.