Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 5:7

For hundreds of years, the people of Israel had celebrated Passover. Every year, they remembered that remarkable night when God delivered their ancestors from Egyptian bondage. A lamb was slain, its blood was applied to the doorposts of their homes, and those sheltered by the blood were spared when judgment fell upon Egypt. Generation after generation, the story was told. The lamb was slain, the meal was eaten, and God’s deliverance was remembered.

But one evening in Jerusalem, everything changed.

Jesus gathered with His disciples to share the Passover meal. He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said something no one had ever said at Passover: “This is My body which is given for you” (Luke 22:19, NKJV). Then He took the cup and declared, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20, NKJV).

Think about that! For centuries, Passover had pointed backward to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. Now Jesus was directing their attention to Himself and what He was about to accomplish. The bread spoke of His body, which would be given for them. The cup spoke of His blood, which would be shed to establish the new covenant. He wasn’t dismissing Passover. He was revealing its fulfillment!

But there was something else that made this Passover different from every Passover before it. Through the centuries, countless Passover lambs had been slain. Their blood had been shed, their bodies consumed, and their lives were over. Not one of those lambs had ever risen from the dead. But this Lamb did!

Jesus, the Lamb of God, was crucified, His blood was shed, and His body was laid in a tomb. But on the third day, the Lamb who had been slain came out of the grave alive! The Passover lambs of Israel had pointed forward to a sacrifice yet to come. Jesus offered Himself as that sacrifice, once for all, and His resurrection declared the triumph of His redeeming work.

This is why the Lord’s Supper is so much more than a religious ceremony. When we partake of the bread and cup, we remember a Savior who died for our sins, celebrate the new covenant established through His blood, and proclaim the Gospel to a world that desperately needs Him. Paul wrote, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV).

And here’s the glorious difference: Our Passover Lamb was slain, but He is not dead! The Lamb who died for us is alive forevermore. And because He lives, everyone who places faith in Him can receive the life He died to give.

Passover remembered a deliverance accomplished. The Lord’s Supper remembers a Redeemer who accomplished our deliverance—and who lives forevermore!