The Shabbat (Sabbath) before Pesach (Passover) is called Shabbat haGadol (the Great Sabbath), because it commemorates when lambs were selected for the first Pesach, to protect the inhabitants of the home from the Heaven-sent Destroyer.
On one particular Lamb Selection Day, the fullness of that annual commemoration — Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) — entered Jerusalem as part of a mission to protect those in the ever-expanding house of God from the bondage of lives separated from Heaven.
As we prepare ourselves for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, let’s focus our attention on the group of Psalms that are called “The Egyptian Hallel.” The phrase “Hallelu Yah” — praise the Lord — shows up frequently in these Psalms. That is why they are nicknamed “the Hallel.” These are the Psalms that Jews in New Testament times commonly sang during the Passover seder and we see in the Scriptures that Yeshua and the Apostles sang “The Egyptian Hallel” with Him for the last time before His death.
The Apostle John tells us that John the Baptist was the first one who proclaimed the primary purpose of Yeshua’s mission. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (Jn. 1:29, 36) But this Lamb did not show up the way the experts wanted and when Yeshua refused to fulfill the violent desires of the religious experts, they inflicted grave violence on Yeshua, but Yeshua expected that, and so did John the Baptist, even though he didn’t live to see it.
Lamb Selection Day is closely connected with Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonement). Both occur on the 10th day of their respective months: first month for Lamb selection day and seventh month of Yom Kippur.
And the words of the herald for the Mashiakh (Messiah), Yokhanan the Immerser (John the Baptist), that Yeshua was “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn. 1:29) further connects these two memorials of God’s salvation plan.
Two key themes in this passage are the arrival of Yeshua into Yerushalayim on a donkey and the responsive public cry, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” That blessed One came as the Lamb of God, yet Israel’s “shepherds” ignored Him, searching for the prophesied Lion of Yehudah. When the Lamb of God returns as the Lion of Yehudah, no one will be able to ignore Him.
This chapter covers a central theme via the interrelated parables of the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son: The Son of God was sent to “find” and “bring back” the “lost sheep” of Israel. With the soon approach of the annual Lamb Selection Day for Passover — 10th day of the first month of God’s calendar — it’s fitting to note God’s “tale of three lambs” in Luke 15 and throughout Scripture
At Passover time, I feel a close connection to the death and sacrifice of Yeshua. God gives us millions of chances to repent and come back. That grace and opportunity comes from Yeshua’s sacrifice.