THE MEANING
OF PASSOVER

Salvation comes by
the atoning blood of
Israel's promised
Sacrifice Lamb


On the 14th day of Nisan
the sacrifice lamb is slain. The blood of atonement upon the door brings salvation as the death angel passes overhead. It is the eve of the Passover. The epic Exodus that follows sees God's covenant people delivered from the bondage of Egypt.
This was the Old Covenant
fulfillment of Passover

for national salvation.


Isaiah's Prophecy
of Messiah's First
Coming as the
Suffering Servant

The MP3 Narration
of Psalm 53 by
Alexander Scourby

(Click and a small
player will appear.)


On the 14th day of Nisan
in 32 A.D., on the eve of Passover, Yeshua is crucified. The blood of the promised Sacrifice Lamb is shed. This is the redemption God has provided. It brings salvation to His covenant people, delivering them from the bondage of sin and death.
This is the New Covenant
fulfillment of Passover

for personal salvation.


Download the PDF file of this article.
(Then you may save it to your tablet).

    POWERPOINT on the MEANING OF PASSOVER
Take it, share it, its yours.
The PDF of the POWERPOINT on PASSOVER


YouTube VIDEO on the MEANING OF PASSOVER - Pt. 1


YOUTube VIDEO on the MEANING OF PASSOVER - Pt. 2



A study by Gavin Finley MD
endtimepilgrim.org   -   2003


INTRODUCTION
TO THE 7 FEASTS
OF ISRAEL
THE SPRING FEASTS
1. THE PASSOVER
2. THE FEAST OF
UNLEAVENED
BREAD
3. THE FEAST OF
FIRSTFRUITS
THE SUMMER FEAST
4. THE FEAST OF
PENTECOST
THE FALL FEASTS OF ISRAEL
5. THE FEAST OF
TRUMPETS
6. THE DAY OF
ATONEMENT
7. THE FEAST OF
TABERNACLES

INTRODUCTION

This is an article focusing on the central element of Passover which is this.
Salvation comes by the shed blood of Israel's spotless Sacrifice Lamb.

For a fuller more extensive outline of the many prophetic elements of the Seder
see THIS ARTICLE ON THE PASSOVER.
It is available from the website of CHOSEN PEOPLE MINISTRIES in New York City.

It is by the grace of Hashem that salvation comes. And it is by faith in the atoning blood of the Everlasting Covenant that we find redemption. There is no other salvation, no, not anywhere. The Blood of Israel's Sacrifice Lamb provides the only means of salvation and peace with God to be found under heaven. This salvation is graciously provided by the God of Israel for all who believe. And it is given freely to all who are willing to embrace YHVH. He is the Almighty God who always existed, is now, and ever shall be. This is His salvation plan,the only one He ever laid out. And the blood of atonement is the essence of the New Covenant. Israel's prophet Jeremiah spoke of the New Covenant. And this was 600 years before the cross. (Jer. 31:31-33)

The promised Light to the Gentiles has surely come. It's wonderful Light shines out of Israel, bringing the only hope the people living in this world will ever have. (Eph.3:12-13)
This is the great salvation we saw foreshadowed during that first Passover in Egypt. The blood of the Lamb was applied to the door posts and the lintels. And by that blood Israel's firstborn were saved as the death angel passed over Goshen and Egypt. It was out of faith and obedience to YHVH-God in keeping this first Passover that a great salvation was set in motion to deliver the children of Israel. Hashem took them away from the hands of their taskmasters. And on the morning after that first Seder the great and epic Exodus began. Israel was delivered from bondage and from death. YHVH-God's mighty acts confounded Israel's enemies. The horsemen and chariots of Pharaoh were drowned in the depths of the sea. These were the first of many awesome miracles.

So the main lesson of Passover was laid out right from the very beginning.
And the central meaning of Passover is this.
Salvation comes by grace through faith in the shed blood of Israel's Sacrifice Lamb.
This brings the one and only atonement that has ever, or will ever, be acceptable for sin.

The Passover showcases the Presence and power of Immanuel, a name which means "God with us". Hashem, our Wonderful Counselor, and our Friend is taking the initiative here. His divine Presence is with us right through this great celebration. His mighty acts have already begun to be demonstrated. His great salvation is now a matter of record, a reality of holy history. Hashem is not only decreeing the action from above. But in the fulfillment of Passover we see Him personally coming to earth to perform the deed. He comes down Jacob's ladder as the Son who comes forth from the Father who sits upon the throne up in the heavenly realms. Our Messiah comes to earth, leaping upon the mountains. He crosses a gnostic chasm to enter the cosmos He created.

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE FOR PASSOVER

Here below is the scripture passage for Passover.
Exodus 12:1-14
1. Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2. "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two door posts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire--its head with its legs and its entrails. 10. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. 12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14. So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance."
The time for the subsequent annual celebration of the Passover was spelled out clearly by God to Moses and thence to the household of God.
"In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's Passover." -Lev.23:5

"On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover." - Lev 23:5

"In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening,
you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening." - Ex 12:18

"And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai;
according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did." - Nu 9:5

"On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the Lord." - Nu 28:16

"Now Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem,
and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month." - 2Ch 35:1

"And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month." - Ezr 6:19

"In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover,
a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten." (Eze. 45:21)

THE LUNAR CALENDAR AND THE DETERMINING THE MOON OF PASSOVER.
AGRICULTURAL CONFIRMATION OF THE MONTH OF ABIB FOR PASSOVER.
AND ASTRONOMICAL RECKONING OF THE MONTH OF NISAN.
ABIB AND NISAN ARE THE SAME MONTH, THE FIRST MONTH OF THE RELIGIOUS YEAR.

Passover came in the "first month". The first month, (by Hebrew reckoning of the religious year), is the moon that sees the barley ripen or become "Abib". And so we have the month of Abib, based on an agricultural reckoning of the month. This is still quite a reasonable way of regulating the calendar and for determining the Passover moon. And it worked well for agricultural societies using the lunar calendar in times past.

Then we have the astronomical reckoning. The first month in the religious year is the first moon that will reach its fullness after the spring equinox. This latter definition is the astronomical lunar cycle reckoning that tags the month of Nisan. If the month following the 12th month is not going to reach fullness before the spring, (or vernal), equinox that month will fail to qualify as the Nisan moon. It will then be named a second month of Adar or Adar 2. It is in fact a 13th month for that year. This is how annual times and seasons are measured out by the Hebrew Calendar. Seven such "leap months" or embolismal months are inserted into the Hebrew Calendar every 19 years. This is a predictable cycle. This 19 year metonic cycle was discovered by the Greek astronomer and scholar Meton of Athens in the 5th century B.C. A few decades later the Metonic Cycle was incorporated into the Hebrew lunar calendar by the great Jewish scholar Rabbi Hillel II back in the 360 B.C.

Here is an excellent Jewish resource for the Hebrew calendar.
And here is another article from this website on
the Hebrew Calendar.
And here is another article from this website on Biblical or Prophetic Time.

THE FEAST OF PASSOVER IN THE OLD COVENANT.
THIS IS SHOWCASED IN THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT.

The first Passover came into holy history nearly 3500 years ago. The family of Israel were captives in Egypt at that time. They were about to embark on their first great adventure as a people. And under Moses a new nation was about to come into being. On the eve of that epic exodus out of the bondage of Egypt they were given their instructions for Passover. They were to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood upon their door posts.

That night the angel of death passed over Egypt and over the Israelites dwelling at Goshen. Those households with the blood of the lamb upon the door were protected. Through the blood of the lamb they were saved from death. This was a salvation event of huge significance. And they would remember it forever. The Passover marked the national salvation and the deliverance of the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt.

This was more than a national political salvation. At that time the blood of the Sacrifice Lamb was showcased before the whole nation of Israel. It was something personal to every household. It was also a portent of something far greater than they could imagine. Something that would happen on a future Passover.

OUR PATRIARCH ABRAHAM AT THE PASSOVER.
4,000 YEARS AGO HE TESTIFIES,
"GOD WILL PROVIDE HIMSELF, .. A LAMB."

The great salvation afforded those who were obedient to YHVH-God was demonstrated in the family of Israel. And later, at the time of the Exodus, the power of the blood of the lamb to save was demonstrated before all the families of Egypt, the gentile superpower of the day. Everyone with eyes to see stopped and to look and take note. The atoning blood of the lamb secured salvation for the firstborn of all the families who were obedient. Salvation came through the atoning blood sacrifice of a lamb.

This was, and always will be, the essential meaning of Passover. All the previous blood sacrifices even going back to the Garden of Eden looked forward to a coming greater, ultimate, Sacrifice Lamb. In His atoning blood all the previous accounts based upon faith and a blood sacrifice would be taken note of and covered. If there was faith in the heart of the one making the sacrifice then their sins would be accounted for, and settled.

Our father Abraham knew about that promised Sacrifice Lamb. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham's willingness to do this believing God would bring life back from death was the essential faith of Abraham. And this faith was necessary on his side of the covenant. The lamb with his head caught in the thicket of thorns was of course provided by YHVH-God. The lamb provided for Abraham on this occasion was a substitute for the life of his son Isaac.

We see the crucifixion drama foreshadowed in that awesome scene. Abraham's only son Isaac was a little boy submissive and humble unto death. Isaac carried the wood necessary for his own sacrifice up a lonely hill. He allowed himself to be bound by his father.

This was an awesome, even an awful place of slaughter.
It was also the Holy Place that would bring atonement for sin.
YHVH-God saw faith demonstrated in the obedient actions of His covenant partner Abraham.
And so the God of Abraham then acted powerfully on His side of the covenant on behalf of His friend.

The rest of the story of Abraham's family is a matter of written record.
Holy history, is the story of the family of the faithful.
The account of the ultimate Sacrifice Lamb is laid out in the pages of Holy Scripture.
We see the promised New Covenant fulfillment recorded in the pages of the New Testament.

So this event, the Passover sacrifice, was more than a celebration of the salvation of the Israelites from the death angel on their exodus out of Egypt. Four millenia ago our father Abraham had testified that

"God will provide Himself, a Lamb". (Gen.22:8)

THE NEW COVENANT FULFILLMENT OF PASSOVER.
NISAN 10 AND AS THE PASSOVER LAMBS COME UP FOR INSPECTION.
ISRAEL'S SUFFERING SERVANT COMES IN THROUGH THE EASTERN GATE
MESSIAH FULFILLS HIS PRIESTLY ROLE JUST AS THE PROPHET ZECHARIAH SAID
AND PRECISELY ON THE DAY THE PROPHET DANIEL PROPHESIED.

The Coming King

“ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
-   -   - Zechariah 9:9 (NKJV)
Four days later, on the 14th of Nisan, and 2,000 years after Abraham's prophetic words, holy history was to bear witness to an epic event. On the very same Hebrew calendar date of that first Passover the ultimate and promised Lamb of God went up to the slaughter. He was crucified on Passover. Yeshua Hamashiach/Jesus Christ, even the promised Light of Israel, was sacrificed according to the Holy Scriptures. He was the promised "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world". (Rev.13:8) The shedding of His blood would bring the ultimate atoning sacrifice. Thus He would redeem His people. But the light of His Life would shine out across the world. He would the One prophesied to be a "Light to the Gentiles". (Isa.42:6, 46.6, 60:3)

And so it was on Palm Sunday, Nisan 10, that Israel's ultimate Sacrifice Lamb went up for inspection. Jesus/Yeshua made His first and only appearance as Messiah. He did this on Palm Sunday, Nisan 10 of 32 A.D.. He came riding on a donkey, entering into the city of Jerusalem through the eastern gate. Nisan 10, Palm Sunday, was the terminus day of the first 69 weeks of the 70 weeks of Daniel.

And so we come to Palm Sunday and the first coming of Messiah. Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb is entering in through the eastern gate of the Holy City. It is the 10th day of the Nisan moon and as He enters Jerusalem He presents Himself for inspection. He comes in just as other lambs are coming in to be inspected and to be approved for slaughter. On this, His first appearance, Israel's Messiah is right on time. 69 'sevens' of the 70 'sevens' or (69 'weeks' of the 70 'weeks') of biblical (360 day) years have run their course. Daniel's prophecy in Daniel 9:26 declares the days. Messiah will be arriving shortly.

And so He does! He enters through the Eastern Gate precisely on the day appointed. He humbly enters into the celebration of the Passover. Messiah is riding upon a donkey, submitting Himself to the people He loves. He brings with Him the bridal price, even His life blood, the blood of the Eternal Covenant. He opens up the Way into eternal salvation, just as He promised.

This is the climax, the high point, the ultimate final consummation of all the Passovers that have ever been celebrated. "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" goes up to the slaughter. ( John 1:29). During that awesome passion week a Passover like no other is witnessed by many. And all three spring feasts are fulfilled in the New Covenant.

On Palm Sunday He was presented for inspection. He came up for sacrifice before the priests and elders of Israel who accused Him of blasphemy. And being judged by the Roman political authorities they found no fault in Him. Nevertheless, He died at the behest of the Jewish ecclesiastical powers and the Gentile political powers.

Yeshua Hamashiach/Jesus Christ was found to be without fault,
even as a Lamb without spot or blemish.
And so on Passover of that awesome year Yeshua's blood was shed,
Immanueal, God with us, took on flesh and sacrificed His life for all of us.

JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED ON PASSOVER: - - - SEE THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO

THE BLOOD OF THE PASSOVER LAMB IS SHED.
AND SALVATION COMES TO ISRAEL,
AND THROUGH ISRAEL TO THE WORLD.

The priestly ministry of Messiah that year sees the blood of the atonement shed. This brings salvation to Israel. But this work of redemption does not remain within Israel's borders. The fourth Feast of Pentecost that very summer sees Israel's Holy Spirit poured out in an unprecedented way. The Holy Spirit revival overflows Jerusalem and spreads out into the whole world.

This is a magnificent salvation to be sure.
It is the beginning of a revival that will eventually assume global proportions. The Apostle Peter (Acts 2) quoting the Prophet Joel, declares that this same Holy Spirit revival seen 2,000 years ago will go on to an epic climax. In fact it will cap off the history of this age. This grand blow-out revival will be going on right at the end of this age, even as the sun turns to darkness and the moon to blood. (Joel 2:28-32)

So there is still more to the implications of Passover's New Covenant fulfillment than we realize. At the climax of this age Hashem will re-enter this cosmos. Messiah will come again. He returns in the power and certain victory of His shed blood. His coming will bring atonement for sin, salvation, deliverance, and total restoration to all Israel. His second coming will conclude all these covenant dealings. Messiah will execute the New Covenant with the glorification of all His saints. They are the Congregation Of Israel, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, one Elect and chosen people drawn from both sides of Calvary. These are the ones who by grace through faith are sanctified by the atoning blood of Israel's Sacrifice Lamb. All YHVH-God's covenant people, saved Jews and saved non-Jews, male and female, living and the dead, are all destined to be glorified together as one big happy family. They are the greater Commonwealth and Congregation of Israel. (Eph.2:12-13)

The original purpose of Hashem was a very personal one, even though the initial Old Covenant was with a nation of people. That original desire of God was to dwell in the hearts of His covenant people. They are the remnant of a great refining. But nevertheless they remain the myriad company that Abraham saw, a melo-hagoyim, a company of nations, as numerous as the stars of heaven. Indeed this is the expansive and generous plan YHVH-God had always intended. He made this abundantly clear in what He said through the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah had even heard YHVH-God the Father speaking to YHVH-God the Son.
Here is what Isaiah overheard Hashem say to the Servant of Israel.

ISAIAH 49
6. "Indeed He says,
'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;

(Paraphrase: "I will do something even more wonderful than this.")

I will also give You as a Light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.' "



AN OVERVIEW OF PASSOVER IN GOD'S HOLY SALVATION AGENDA.
PASSOVER IS THE FIRST OF THE THREE SPRING FEASTS:
ALL THREE HAVE ALREADY COME INTO THEIR NEW COVENANT FULFILLMENT.
PASSOVER IS ALSO THE FIRST OF THE SEVEN FEASTS OF ISRAEL.

The YouTube video here contains a short 8 minute video.
It is a brief overview of the Seven Feasts of Israel or Seven "Appointed Times".

Should you have trouble streaming the video from the YouTube box above
you may go directly to YouTube and see the video by clicking the image below.

The Seven Feasts of Israel

Be sure to also see this article on the Hebrew Calendar.
And click HERE to see the YouTube Video on Biblical Time.

PASSOVER IS THE FIRST OF THE THREE SPRING FEASTS OR "APPOINTED TIMES".
THE THREE SPRING FEASTS SHOWCASE THE PRIESTLY MINISTRY OF MESSIAH.

In the three spring feasts of Israel we see the High Priestly ministry of Messiah. He is the One who fulfills these feasts in the New Covenant. And so they form the basis of the epic redemption story of the God of Israel. These are actually the three elements of the whole seven day springtime Passover season seen during the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The three are
#1. Passover, (Yeshua was crucified on Passover, Nisan 14),
#2. Unleavened Bread, (He was buried on Unleavened Bread, Nisan 15), and
#3. Firstfruits, (He rose from the dead on Firstfruits, Nisan 17).

So Passover was the first of the Seven Feasts of Israel. These are well recognized as Jewish liturgical celebrations. They were established by the God of Israel through Moses at Sinai 3500 years ago. But, as we shall discover, these seven "Feasts of the Lord" are more than that. They are waypoints on the epic salvation story of the Covenant people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

THE SUMMER FEAST OF PENTECOST HAS ALSO SEEN ITS NEW COVENANT FULFILLMENT.

Four of the seven holy convocations have already been fulfilled.
Those are the three spring feasts and the summer
#4. Feast of Pentecost (or Shavuot).
The birthday of Israel, the day Moses brought down the Torah, (Law) from Mount Sinai was the 6th or 7th of Sivan). In its New Covenant fulfillment the Feast of Pentecost also turned out to be the birthday of the Church. On this magnificent day of outpouring the Holy Spirit overflowed Israel to enter into certain individuals in the heathen gentile nations. The Light of Israel began to go out to the nations, just as God had promised.

This was not a new idea. The Hebrew Temple even had an "outer court" in the architecture of the temple area. It was the "court of the Gentiles". Israel later ministered to "God fearers" in the synagogues.


THE FALL FEASTS OF ISRAEL ARE YET TO COME.
THEY HAVE NOT YET TO ERUPTED INTO WORLD HISTORY.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUT THEY WILL!

The last three, the Fall Feasts are yet to unfold into holy history.

Whereas the Spring Feasts involved Messiah's earlier High Priestly ministry
The Fall Feasts introduce issues of Messiah's coming Davidic Kingdom rule.

Messiah will officiate over both the kingdom and the priestly offices.
He will head up both the political kingdom rule and the priestly religious ministry.

These are the two offices of the Order of Melchizedek.
Even the two sticks of Ezekiel 37.

Messiah is High Priest of God Most High.
He is also King of Salem, (Jerusalem).
(Psalm 110:4)

On His second trip down Jacob's ladder and into this cosmos our returning Messiah will emerge in His political role . This will not be as we saw Him in His former priestly role as the Suffering Servant. But this time He will emerge into holy history as the Conquering King. Trumpets will sound the alarm and thus announce the beginning of the final 7 years of this age. Trumpets will announce the resumption of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel. The final 70th Week will see the return to the times YHVH-God has determined for those epic final dealings with His covenant people. Israel's King of Kings will be approaching.

Messiah/Christ cannot be divorced from His Hebrew roots. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. At His Second Coming He will sit upon the Throne of David which is in the royal (Jewish) House of Judah.

The Fall Feasts will be fulfilled in those awesome future days. The final 70th week will open up into world history. The 70 weeks of Daniel are the final seven years of this age. These seven years will see the resumption of YHVH/God's determined dealings with His Elect and Chosen people.

The Fall Feasts will erupt into world history in spectacular fashion. The very next feast to come into New Covenant fulfillment will be
#5.
The Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah,
It will be an epic day of mixed celebration and alarm.
This feast day on the Jewish civil New Year will almost certainly mark the confirmation of the seven year covenant.
Daniel describes this awesome upcoming blockbuster event in Daniel 9:27.

Seven years (2549 days) later comes another earthshaking day in world history. The absolute, ultimate final 'Day of Reckoning' will have arrived. This will be the last day of this age. It will be the last day to repent and settle accounts with the returning Messiah. This most awesome day, (a day in which Israel lived or died), is celebrated as
#6. The Day of Atonement (or Yom Kippur).
#7. The Feast of Tabernacles (or Succoth)
is the seventh feast. This celebration of joy marks the time when YHVH-Messiah comes down Jacob's ladder to reside with His people as "Emmanuel", which means "God with us". Messiah tabernacles, or "camps out" with His people for a thousand years. The Feast of Tabernacles heralds the beginning of the true new age, the Millennium of Messiah.

MESSIAH'S FIRST COMING AS THE SUFFERING SERVANT.
IT PREDATED MESSIAH'S SECOND COMING AS THE CONQUERING KING.

In His first coming Messiah did not come as the Conquering King. That would come 2 millennia later. In His first coming He came humbly. He was Meshiach ben Joseph, who like Joseph, submitted to the will of God, even through suffering. He was the 'Suffering Messiah'.

Some Jewish rabbis have speculated about these two roles. They wondered if there might be two messiahs. The alternative of course is that there will end up being two separate comings of the one Messiah.

For Bible believing Christians this apparent dichotomy does not present a problem. The Order of Melchizedek has two offices. And in the three verses we are given describing Melchizedek we see two separate Messianic roles. There is a High Priestly ministry. Then there is the Davidic Kingdom rule. Messiah was seen during passion week of 32 A.D. This was no conquering king to be sure. But nevertheless, He was indeed our Messiah. And in His death He was no defeated loser. In His death, burial, and resurrection He defeated the last enemy we shall ever have to face. He was taken down into Hades where by His atoning blood He defeated death itself! And so in His first coming Messiah perfectly fulfilled the High Priestly role. He was both High Priest and the Sacrifice Lamb.

Oh yes, He was emptied of self, fully surrendered to the will of the Father.
He was a broken vessel, bleeding and bruised for the sin and the sickness of many.
But nevertheless this was our dear and beloved Messiah.
And in His first role He was appearing as the Suffering Servant.

God, through the prophet Isaiah, spoke often about "My Servant".
See the well known, (and much hidden), passage from Isaiah 53.

Our ultimate Sacrifice Lamb was killed on Passover 2,000 years ago. He died at the very hour that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered. His sacrificial death as the promised Sacrifice Lamb provides the New Covenant meaning of Passover. His death also brings in the New Covenant fulfillment of Passover.

A BIBLICALLY DEDUCED PASSOVER CALENDAR
FOR THE YEAR OF OUR MESSIAH'S PASSION
NOTE THAT IT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE TRADITIONAL CHURCH CALENDAR.
YESHUA COULD NOT HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED ON A FRIDAY.

Jesus/Yeshua personally fulfilled all three of those spring feasts.

As we have seen, He was "cut off", or executed right on Passover, the 14th of Nisan.

He was the sinless unleavened Bread of Heaven.
And he was buried just in time for the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th of Nisan.

In three days He rose again victoriously as the Firstfruits of the dead.
He was resurrected from the grave right on the Feast of Firstfruits.
This was after two "back to back" sabbaths on the 17th of Nisan.

Here then are two solid conclusions we can make from the scriptures.

1. We know from Holy Scripture that His resurrection came on a Sunday.
He exited the tomb during the early hours on the first day of the week.

JOHN 20
The Empty Tomb
1. Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark,
and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved,
and said to them,
“They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
2. We also know that the resurrection came three days and three nights after He was laid in the grave.
MATTHEW 12 NKJV
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish,
so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Let us assume the role of a good Berean here. Let us discount all we have been taught by tradition and search the scriptures for ourselves. Then taking the two scriptures above proceed to construct your own calendar that will fit the Biblical facts we have presented here. You may add in any other Bible passages that you may deem approriate. Then take a close look at the calendar below and see if it is close to your calendar.

You will see right off that there is no way that Church tradition can be Biblically correct.
Jesus/Yeshua was not crucified on a Friday.

We serve a God who fulfills His Word to the letter, along with every jot and tittle. All these four fulfilled feasts, (the three spring feasts of our Lord's passion, and also the summer feast of Pentecost [which saw the Holy Spirit overflow out of Jerusalem]), came during the passion year. And from our studies of the first 69 weeks of the 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel we know that this blockbuster year must have been 32 A.D.. See THIS ARTICLE.

The three spring feasts and the summer feast were all accurately fulfilled right down to the minutest detail. They were fulfilled right on the very date of the Hebrew calendar in which they were due.

Four feasts are fulfilled.
There are three left to go.

Here below is a calendar for Passover of the crucifixion year. It shows Passover, the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and then Firstfruits, (which became the Resurrection Day of Christ). Fifty days later came the Feast of Pentecost, (or Shavuot). As we can see as we "count the omer", Pentecost in the summer season of the crucifixion year came on the 7th of Sivan.

The Suffering Servant entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the 10th day of the Nisan moon. This was just as the sheep for sacrifice were being set aside. They were then subjected to intense scrutiny. Each lamb was inspected to see if it had any spot or blemish. Palm Sunday was the only day in all of those 33 years in which Yeshua/Jesus presented Himself in any political fashion as Messiah. This landmark day in holy history was the only day in which He could have fulfilled the prophecy concerning "Messiah the Prince". (Dan.9:25) And so it marks the terminus of the first 69 weeks of the 70 weeks of Daniel.

He was subjected to inspection by the Judaic priesthood. Then He was presented before the rulers representing the Roman authority. None of them could find any fault with Him. The spotless Lamb of God was innocent. He was blameless. His sacrificial death as an innocent would demonstrate the deeper meaning of Passover once and for all time. Yeshua/Jesus, the sinless spotless Lamb of God, would come precisely as the prophets foretold. (Isa.53) And their in Jerusalem He would give His life freely, shedding His blood as a ransom for many. (Mat.20:28)

In Psalm 22 King David writes a prophetic song about this. And in it he foretells this awesome event that would involve his descendant, the greater Son of David. King David sings of the remarkable story of the promised Sacrifice Lamb. The elements of His death by crucifixion are laid out very descriptively and in the minutest detail.

PSALM 22
14 I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
The sacrifice of Yeshua Hamashiach would bring the ultimate salvation and deliverance of God's people. His blood of atonement would save them from the bondage of sin. The blood of the Lamb would protect those who believed and trusted in YHVH/God from the penalty of sin, which is death and eternal separation from God.

The prophet Isaiah picks up the story as well. He gives another another descriptive account of the death of YHVH's Sacrifice Lamb.

ISAIAH 53
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked-- But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed,
He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

The Sacrifice Lamb went to the slaughter in silence. (Isa.53:7)
He was beaten, his face marred and covered in blood. (Isa.52:14)
He was numbered with the transgressors. (Isa.53:12)
The place of the crucifixion was Calvary, the "place of the skull".
The place is given as outside the walls of Jerusalem.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon Jesus gave His life in exchange for ours.
He offered up his life just as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered.

Surely the New Covenant meaning and fulfillment of Passover is in the celebration of that final and complete sacrifice our Savior made for our sin. Our Messiah, in Himself, brought with Him the atoning blood of redemption. And that blood secures the great salvation our God has so graciously provided. Time is running out. But that blood of atonement that washes us clean is still there, and available for all who will believe.

Passover was the first of the Seven Feasts of Israel.
Yeshuah Hamashiach, our Lord Jesus Christ, provided Himself as a Lamb, just as our patriarch Abraham had prophesied. And thus Israel's Messiah in His first coming fulfilled the feast.
He was sacrificed right on Passover, on the afternoon of Nisan 14 of that pivotal year.
He was the promised Sacrifice Lamb.
And His blood was shed as a ransom for many. (Mat.20:28)
This is the Gospel. It was then, and it remains today,

"the power of God unto salvation,
to everyone who will believe,
to the Jew first ..........,
and also to the Gentiles. " (Rom.1:16)