The Passover with the Disciples

101. The Passover with the Disciples

The Passover, in case you don’t know, commemorates the release of the Israelites from the bondage of ancient Egypt – the plagues that God visited upon the Egyptians “passed over” the homes of the Israelites – and was also the beginning of the Jew’s covenant with God, to be his Chosen People.

The whole purpose of Jesus’ ministry was to help his people fulfill this covenant – to take the next step in their religious evolution and be models of enlightened human functioning for the rest of humankind. It is a mission that he now knows has failed.

It’s not hard to imagine that Jesus would find it difficult to celebrate a covenant that he now believes his people have lost. And so he declines to participate in the Passover.