Without a doubt,
the most important event in the life of the Hebrew nation was the exodus from Egypt and the reception of the Promised Land. The Lord saved the
Hebrew nation from backbreaking slavery, gave it His Godly commandments on Mt. Zion, concluded an alliance with it and lead
it into the land promised to its forefathers. All these great events in the
life of the chosen people were concentrated in the holiday of Passover. In this
holiday the Jews annually commemorated the innumerable blessings of God,
rendered to the Hebrew nation.
Now we will contrast the Hebrew Old Testament Passover with the greatest event
of the New Testament. The Lord Jesus Christ endured suffering, died on the
Cross and was resurrected from the dead precisely in the days of the Hebrew
Passover. This concurrence of these two utmost events — the formation of the
Old Testament Israel and the founding of the New Testament Church — cannot be
accidental! It shows that there exists a deep internal connection between the
Paschal events of the Old and New Testament, namely: the greatest event in the
life of the Hebrew nation was the prototype of the New Testament events. In
order to see this spiritual connection, we will compare these events.
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The Old Testament Passover
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The New Testament Easter
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The
slaughter of the pure lamb by whose blood were
redeemed the Israelite first-born.
The
crossing of the Red Sea by the Jews and deliverance from bondage.
Entrance
in alliance with God on the 50th day after their exodus from Egypt and reception of God’s Commandments.
Wanderings
in the desert and various trials.
Partaking
of the Manna miraculously sent by God.
The
erection of the copper serpent, by looking at which the Jews were healed from
snake bites.
The
entrance of the Jews into the promised land.
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The
death on the cross by God’s Lamb, by whose blood are
redeemed the first-born of the Christians.
Baptism
frees humans from the bondage of sin.
The
descent of the Holy Spirit on the 50th day after Passover, by
which was established the New Testament.
A
Christian’s life amidst trials and sorrows.
The
partaking by the faithful of the “Bread of Heaven,” Body and Blood of
Christ.
Christ’s
Cross, by looking at which, the faithful save themselves from the snares of
the devil.
The
reception by the faithful of the Kingdom
of Heaven.
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Truly,
the similarities are striking! The Lord Jesus Christ himself, as well as His
apostles, pointed out the existence of these parallels between the Old
Testament and the New Testament events connected with Pascha. This way, we see
that, not only the prophets wrote about the Messiah and about the New Testament
times, but the whole religious life of the Hebrew nation in the Old Testament
era was most intimately connected to the matters of the Messiah. This fact
indicates to us the complete spiritual unity of the New Testament Church with
the Old Testament Israel. For this reason, all the prophecies in which are
mentioned the names Israel, Jerusalem, Zion and so on, have a full and complete realization in the
blessed Church of Christ.
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