As Christians, we recognize the importance of our salvation experience through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross during this time of Passover. The blood of Christ is a grace and a covering, as well as a tremendous provision for us when we fail or stumble. But God intends for us to have much more! On the night of the first Passover in Egypt, the Israelites put the blood of a lamb over the lintel and the doorposts of their homes so the destroyer would pass over them (Exodus 12:23).[1] So too, Christ’s provision as the Lamb of God is a hiding place for us (John 1:36). But the children of Israel were to do more than just stay at home and hide in God. They were to leave Egypt and dwell in the presence of the Lord God of Israel. They were to come to Mount Sinai, stand before God, and have a meeting with Him. Likewise, the Body of Christ is to stand in His presence and enter His Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9-11).
What we call the Feast of Passover also includes the Feast of Unleavened Bread that follows for seven days (Luke 22:1). Unleavened bread emphasizes getting the leaven out of us, our purification, our sanctification, and our release from sin. God does not just provide protection for His people, He also provides the Feast of Unleavened Bread in which you go through the house and sweep out the leaven. We are justified by our faith in Yeshua (Jesus), but the Father intends for us to also be glorified (Romans 8:30). Get rid of the leaven and come out of the bondages of sin. We are to be identical with Christ and seated with Him in glory at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 2:6).
Moses cried, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” (Exodus 33:18). So the glory is obviously the presence of God that is so beautiful and so brilliant that our natural eyes cannot behold it. But glory is also a substance of things—it is an attribute. We glorify the Lord because He is the author of our salvation. He is love. He is life. He is health. He is loving-kindness. The earth is filled with His glory (Isaiah 6:3). Moses was fearful to enter God’s fiery presence and go up Mount Sinai as it quaked violently. But he was determined to meet God (Exodus 19:16-20). There is something in our nature that makes us want to turn back. We are not fighting God, we are fighting our resistance. But somehow with this Passover we end our reluctance and determine to stand in the glory of His presence.
God’s glory is the fullness and reality of His presence. The longer we can stay in that glory, the more transformation we will receive. Make it a daily practice to pray in the Spirit and be in His presence. The reason for Passover is for us to come into the presence of the Father and change into His image. Yeshua (Jesus) is the first born of many brethren and we “are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). That glory cannot help but change things and be creative—it is God! All creation will be impacted by the glory that rests on us. When we are in God’s presence—and He has opened the door for it—we will change. Father, here we come!
[1] All Scripture references are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB95).