Ten Ways to Find Messiah in the PassoverMostră

The Messiah’s Blood Is the Price of Redemption

Out of all the Seder elements that point to the Messiah’s atonement, the third cup of the meal—the cup of redemption—represents the actual achievement of redemption. The cup of redemption represents the third promise God gave to His people back in Exodus, “I will also redeem you” (Exodus 6:6). Yeshua held up this very cup at the Last Supper (Seder), saying, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). In the Torah, one could receive atonement only by the shedding of blood: “The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement” (Leviticus 17:11, emphasis added).

Yeshua is the sinless lamb whose blood is invariably effective. Leviticus 16 describes the annual atoning sacrifice of the high priest in the holy of holies. As our High Priest, Jesus offered Himself once and for all (Hebrews 9:11–14). In so doing, the Messiah pardoned sin completely, according to the promise of the new covenant. As the Lord said to the prophet Jeremiah, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer 31:34). Here, the Hebrew root word for “forgive” is סלח (salach). It means “pardon” or “forgive,” and to set aside the punishment, and the effect—a complete erasure of sin.1

1 J. David Stark, “Forgiveness,” in Lexham Theological Wordbook, ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).