Theological term
Passover
13 sermons · All terms
The Supper on Betrayal Night
On the night of his betrayal, Christ instituted the Lord's Supper within the context of the Passover meal — a deliberate act of covenantal timing that pressed upon his disciples the reality of what his broken body and shed blood would accomplish. This sermon works through Luke 22:19–20 under two heads, the bread and the wine, tracing the biblical theology of each element: the bread overturning the curse of Genesis 3 by providing divine nourishment freely, and the cup of the new covenant corresponding to the third Passover cup of redemption in Exodus 6. The sermon calls Christians away from coldness and neglect of the Lord's Supper toward a warm, particular reception of the truth that Christ's body was given for you and his blood was shed for you.
The Cry of Dereliction
What does Christ mean when he cries 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' from the cross? This sermon on Matthew 27:45–46 carefully distinguishes what the cry of dereliction does not mean — no ontological division within the Trinity, no dissolution of the hypostatic union, no suffering of all three persons — before arguing that it expresses Christ's true humanity as our surety bearing the punishment of loss: the withdrawal of the Father's smiling favor and consolatory presence as the Son satisfies divine justice for the sins of his people. The sermon draws extensively on Psalm 22 to show that the forsakenness is covenantal and substitutionary, not metaphysical, and closes with a call to believe on the crucified and risen Christ who cried this cry so that his people never will.
The Decision of Pilate, Part 2
John 19:9–16 records the exchange between Jesus and Pontius Pilate that culminates in the verdict of crucifixion. This sermon works through Pilate's confusion and arrogant assertion of authority, Christ's counter-declaration that all governing power derives from God Most High, and the theological weight of the greater sin belonging to those who delivered Christ up. The death of the Lamb of God at the hour of Passover preparation is no accident — it is the predetermined plan of the Father, the fulfillment of every Passover sacrifice, and the ground of forgiveness for wretched sinners who look to Christ in faith.
The Institution of the Lord's Supper
What does Christ accomplish at the Lord's Supper, and how does it connect to the Passover, the new covenant, and the future kingdom? Expounding Matthew 26:26–30, this sermon traces the institution of the supper through its Old Covenant setting in the Passover, the covenantal and sacrificial significance of the bread and cup, and the eschatological anticipation of the messianic feast. The sermon argues for a real but spiritual presence of Christ at the supper — against transubstantiation, consubstantiation, and bare memorialism alike — grounding this in the Spirit's mediating work. Throughout, the ordinance is presented as a means of grace that communicates the forgiveness of sins purchased through Christ's substitutionary, penal death for the many.
The Lord's Supper
Paul's rehearsal of the Lord's Supper institution in 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 exposes the Corinthians' wretched conduct precisely because the ordinance comes by divine apostolic command and carries the full weight of Christ's atoning death. The sermon traces four aspects of the Supper: its character as a divine command, as a remembrance generally, as a remembrance of Christ specifically, and as a proclamation of His death until He comes. Christians who absent themselves from this ordinance rob themselves of the Spirit-wrought strengthening that God has annexed to this living symbol of the gospel.
The Anointing at Bethany
John 12:1–11 presents the anointing at Bethany as a window into the worthiness of Christ on the eve of His passion. Mary's extravagant gift of costly spikenard — lavished on the feet of Jesus six days before the Passover — is set in deliberate contrast with the sanctimonious theft of Judas Iscariot and the misguided indignation of the disciples. Christ receives the anointing, defends Mary from her critics, and interprets the act as preparation for His burial, underscoring that the one going to the cross is altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand. The sermon calls believers to a devotion that spares no expense in worship while also commending practical service to the poor — not as competing priorities, but as the inseparable fruit of a life oriented toward Christ.
Exodus 12 - Part 1
Exodus 12 presents the institution of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a blood ritual pointing forward to Christ, the anti-type of the Passover lamb. The chapter is expounded in three movements: the specific blood-ritual instructions God gives to Moses and Aaron (vv. 1–13), the regulations for the memorial Feast of Unleavened Bread (vv. 14–20), and Moses's transmission of those instructions to the elders of Israel (vv. 21–28). The blood on the doorposts was not a sign for an omniscient God who needed locating data, but an outward expression of the faith of those who believed Yahweh's word — a pattern fulfilled when Christ, the blemish-free Lamb, shed his blood so that the wrath of God passes over all who trust in him. The study closes by drawing out the catechetical purpose embedded in the Passover ordinance: that each generation would rehearse the redemptive acts of God and understand that without the shedding of blood there is no remission.
The Cleansing of the Temple
Jesus' cleansing of the temple in John 2:13–17 is not an aberration from his character but a direct expression of his identity as the Son of God and the antitype of the temple itself. The passage reveals two inseparable realities: the apostasy of first-century Israel's worship and the messianic zeal prophesied in Psalm 69, Malachi 3, and the post-exilic prophets. Christ's authority to purge the temple rests on his sonship by nature, not adoption, and his action announces that the entire Old Covenant sacrificial system finds its fulfillment in him. The sermon calls the church to recover zeal for the purity of God's worship, to identify and resist the defections of contemporary Christendom, and to look in faith to the Lamb who has displaced every animal sacrifice.
The Institution of the Lord's Supper
Matthew 26:26–30 records the institution of the Lord's Supper by Christ on the night of Passover, and this sermon works through that text to establish the supper's setting, its elements, and its eschatological horizon. The bread and cup are not transformed in substance — transubstantiation is explicitly repudiated as repugnant to Scripture, reason, and the 1689 confession — but are consecrated from common use to signify Christ's broken body and shed blood. The blood of the new covenant is shed 'for many,' not all without exception, anchoring the supper in the doctrine of particular redemption and the forgiveness of sins as the chief covenantal benefit. Believers are exhorted to receive the supper not as a reward for good behavior but as a means of grace by which God strengthens, fortifies, and confirms the faith of His pilgrim people.
The Institution of the Lord's Supper, Part 2
Matthew 26:26–30 records Christ's institution of the Lord's Supper in the context of the Passover, and this expository sermon works through the significance of the cup, the anticipation of the messianic banquet, and the concluding hymn sung before Gethsemane. The cup of the new covenant is unpacked under three headings: the covenantal background rooted in Exodus 24 and Jeremiah 31, the substitutionary and particular atonement it seals (Christ's blood shed for many, not for all without distinction), and the redemptive benefit of the remission of sins. The sermon closes by setting the Lord's Supper within its threefold orientation—backward to the cross, present in the church's communion, and forward to the consummated messianic banquet—and by pressing the gospel invitation upon the unconverted through John 6:40.
The Passover with the Disciples
Matthew 26:17–25 presents Jesus as the sovereign master of the Passover, not a hapless victim of events spiraling beyond his control. Working through the preparation for Passover and the announcement of betrayal, this exposition shows how Christ's active obedience to the law, his precise foreknowledge, and his willing submission to the Father's eternal decree together constitute the ground of redemption for his people. The contrast between Judas, whose hardened heart renders him a reprobate despite extraordinary privilege, and the eleven, whose sorrowful self-examination models the disposition of genuine faith, drives home two applications: trust in Christ alone, by grace through faith, for justification; and cultivate a healthy self-suspicion rather than a confident presumption of one's own standing before God.
Exodus 6:1-13
Exodus 6:1–13 presents God's sevenfold 'I will' promise to Israel as the thesis of the entire book: Yahweh, the covenant Lord who revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, will deliver his enslaved people not because of any merit in them but because he remembers his covenant. This study surveys Exodus 1–18 under three heads — the divine promise to Abraham, the divine destruction of Pharaoh, and the divine provision for Israel — showing that grace precedes law throughout. The typological pattern of Israel's redemption finds its fulfillment in Christ, the true firstborn and greater Mediator, who brings his people out of bondage to sin into the slavery of righteousness.
Covenant Faithfulness and the Lord's Victory at Jericho
Joshua 5:1–6:5 brings Israel to the threshold of Canaan for two covenant rites — circumcision and Passover — before the campaign against Jericho begins. The uncircumcised second generation receives the covenant sign, qualifying them for the Passover meal and for life in the land God swore to give their fathers. The cessation of manna as Israel eats the land's produce is treated not as the end of divine care but as its continuation through ordinary providence. The passage climaxes with the pre-incarnate Christ appearing as commander of the Lord's army, commissioning Joshua with the promise that Jericho is already given — a promise to be received by faith, not taken by military prowess.