Lenten Reflections: The Night of the Firstborn

The salvation of the firstborn in Egypt was just the beginning of God’s plan for mankind. That’s why he assigned Passover to be celebrated alongside two other closely related feasts within the same week—those of Unleavened Bread and of the Sheaf of First Fruits.

As Christians, we sometimes consider the Feast of Passover to be the equivalent of Easter. Yet that isn’t quite right. Jesus ate his final supper with his disciples on the Feast of Passover. As they ate, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was just beginning. By morning, soldiers had arrested him and taken him to the priests for questioning. Both Herod and Pilate would likewise scrutinize him before he finally went to the cross around noon. As the evening sacrifice hit the flames in the temple, Jesus declared, “It is finished,” and died.

So Passover lines up more closely with Good Friday celebrations than Easter’s. However, there was one more feast to go in the spring trilogy–the Feast of the Sheaf of First Fruits. It was scheduled to be celebrated during the week of Unleavened Bread when the priests would wave a sheaf of newly ripened barley before the Lord. In addition to being a banner of thanksgiving for the start of the year’s harvest, these first fruits of the Promised Land carried a subtle reminder of the salvation of the firstborn in Egypt. How fitting that the year Jesus died, this feast would arrive on the same morning the disciples found an empty tomb. This was the true beginning of the celebration of his resurrection.

We’ll look more at the Feast of First Fruits soon. For now, check out one of my earlier posts about the first Passover and its significance to the firstborn.