“You are to eat it quickly, for you are to be dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. It is the Passover Festival to honor me, the Lord . ‘On that night I will go through the land of Egypt, killing every first-born male, both human and animal, and punishing all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord . The blood on the doorposts will be a sign to mark the houses in which you live. When I see the blood, I will pass over you and will not harm you when I punish the Egyptians. You must celebrate this day as a religious festival to remind you of what I, the Lord , have done. Celebrate it for all time to come.’” (Exodus 12:11-14)

 

The Passover was brought forth by God to save the Israelites from bondage. God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites how to be saved from the angel of death, who would kill all firstborns. For the Israelites to be saved, the father of the house had to kill an unblemished lamb, wipe the lamb's blood on the doorpost, and the whole household had to eat the lamb. By doing this, the angel of death would "pass over" the house, bringing freedom to the Israelites from slavery. 

 

In the Passover, the lamb was the main course and was both a meal and sacrifice. It is interesting to note that the lamb offering was seen as a "thanksgiving offering". Likewise, the Last Supper was both a meal and a sacrifice. Jesus gives us His same sacrificial blood that was poured out on the cross. In the Last Supper, the "lamb" wasn't mentioned; however, Christ puts himself in the place of the lamb, saying take and eat, this is my body, this is my blood. 

 

As mentioned, the Israelites had to both sacrifice the lamb and eat it to be saved. This became a memorial for the Jews. In all the years following until the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 AD, the Jews had to sacrifice and eat the lamb. Knowing this fact would make sense that Jesus, who is the new Passover lamb, would be asking us to remember the Last Supper and eat His flesh. 

 

In the book of Exodus, the angel of death passed over the houses that sacrificed and ate the lamb, the angel of death saw the lamb's blood and passed over. In the New Covenant, Jesus' blood pouring out from the cross took away the death of sin that would have blocked us from God when we passed from this earth. The word "Easter" in Latin is Pascha which means "Passover"`