Passover Requirements

    • No Uncircumcised Male May Eat the Passover

      • Circumcision is required for participation on the first day of Passover.

      • Scripture Reference (Exodus 12:48–49):

        • (48) “And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.”

        • (49) “One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.”

    • All Israelite Males Must Appear Before the Lord

      • Scripture Reference (Deuteronomy 16:16):

        • “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty.”

    • Cleanliness and Menstrual Cycle

      • A woman is considered unclean during her menstrual cycle, highlighting spiritual and physical cleanliness.

      • If a woman is on her cycle during the first day of Passover, she may not attend the first day.

    • Uncleanness (Numbers 19:11-16)

      • If a man or woman comes in contact with a dead body, they are unclean for seven days.

    • Uncleanness (Leviticus 15:19)

      • “And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.”

    • The Unblemished Lamb

      • A perfect (unblemished) lamb was required for the Passover sacrifice, foreshadowing Christ as the sinless Lamb of God.

      • Scripture Reference (Exodus 12:5):

        • “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats.”

    • Observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Remove All Leaven

      • For seven days (from the fourteenth day at evening to the twenty-first day), the Israelites must eat unleavened bread, remove all leaven from their homes, and hold holy convocations. Anyone who eats leaven during this period is cut off from Israel.

      • Key Scripture References:

        • Exodus 12:15

        • Exodus 12:18–19

        • Exodus 34:18

    • Observe the Second Passover If Unclean on the First Day

      • Anyone who is unable to keep Passover due to uncleanness may keep a second Passover in the second month.

      • Scripture Reference (Numbers 9:10–11):

        • (10) “...If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord.”

        • (11) “The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”

    • Christ as Our Passover

      • Believers must remove “old leaven” (sin) from their lives because Christ, our Passover Lamb, was sacrificed for us.

      • Scripture Reference (1 Corinthians 5:7):

        • “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.”

    • Worthy Participation in the Lord’s Supper

      • Before partaking in the bread and cup (symbolically tied to Passover), believers should examine themselves to avoid doing so unworthily.

      • Scripture Reference (1 Corinthians 11:27):

        • “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.”