Note 1 at Jn. 2:13: The Jewish feast of Passover commemorated the night that the Lord delivered the Israelites from Egypt by slaying all the firstborn of the Egyptians but passing over the Israelites' firstborn (Ex. 12:23). The feast began on the fourteenth day and lasted until the twenty-first day of the first month, Abib. Every male in Israel had to be present at the feast (Ex. 23:14-17; Dt. 16:16).

The feast began with a "holy convocation" or Sabbath on the fourteenth day of the month, Abib, in which no work could be done. At evening on that day, every household slew their passover lamb, roasted it, and ate it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs reminiscent of the first passover (Lev. 23:5-8). This was followed by seven days in which no leaven could be found in any of their dwellings or used in any bread (Ex. 12:18-20). Therefore, this feast was also called the feast of unleavened bread (Lev. 23:6; Dt. 16:16; Mt. 26:17).

The Lord's Supper, or Communion, which is celebrated by the church today, is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament Passover. The cup and the bread that Jesus used to institute this supper were both a part of the last passover meal that Jesus kept before His crucifixion. The cup was His blood shed for us. The bread was His body broken for us (Lk. 22:19-20). First Corinthians 5:7-8 says, "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us . . . ." Jesus is the passover lamb sacrificed for us, so that when the Father sees His blood applied to our lives, His judgment will pass over us (Ex. 12:23).