Whether for a sporting event, playing an instrument in a concert, or preparing a speech for class, you have probably had to practice for something. The reason you did was to improve and have a better understanding of the part you were to perform.

Each year, God’s people worldwide also have a chance to practice. We train and prepare for our future by observing God’s feasts and Holy Days. Unlike the holidays of the world, these days have deep purpose and meaning. Each day pictures a different stage of God’s Plan for mankind and points to worship of the true God of the Bible. God wants all of His people, including youth, to participate in keeping these days.

As a teenager in the Church, your chance to rehearse begins in the spring with the Days of Unleavened Bread. This special seven-day festival is kept as a memorial of Israel’s exodus, or escape, from ancient Egypt. To keep it today, you join your parents in removing leaven from your home and eating unleavened bread for seven days (Ex. 12:15, 20; 13:6-9). You are taught that leaven is a substance that “puffs up” breads and cakes, which makes them light and fluffy, just as sin puffs up people with pride (I Cor. 5:2-8).

Searching for and getting rid of leaven hiding in places such as your bedroom, coat pockets, and book bag is a type of how God helps us practice finding and getting rid of sin hiding in different areas of our lives. Eating unleavened bread each of the seven days helps us practice obedience.

The Day of Pentecost is kept after the Days of Unleavened Bread. It is easy to remember when it is observed because Pentecost is a word that means “fiftieth.” It refers to counting 50 days beginning with the Sunday after the weekly Sabbath that usually falls during the Days of Unleavened Bread. By starting the count with Sunday as the first day, Pentecost always occurs on a Sunday seven weeks later.

Also known as the Feast of Firstfruits, Pentecost pictures God pouring His Holy Spirit on all human beings. It is a reminder that He is working with a small group of people at this time before He eventually works with the greater “harvest” of the entire world in the future. God wants us to practice these days to improve and better understand how to live His Way.

Yet the spring Holy Day season includes more than just the Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost. What about Passover? This is the one day out of the year that your parents leave and attend services without you. Why is it that you are not as involved in this day? You may know that it has something to do with bread, wine and washing feet, but how is all of it connected? What does Passover memorialize? How does it fit into God’s overall Plan?

Even though you may not attend the Passover service, God does want you to know what this day signifies. It is a day as important for you as it is for your parents.

The purpose of this extended Bible study is to help you understand the history of the Passover as well as how it applies today. You will learn where it originated. You will also learn what bread and wine represent and why Jesus included them in the ceremony. You will see how Passover relates to Christ’s sacrifice and view proof that He was God manifested as a human being. You will learn why the footwashing is such an important part of the event, and much more.

Make sure you have your Bible, pen and notebook ready to copy down each verse mentioned. Doing this along with taking notes will help reinforce the information you learn. It will help you better understand the time as a whole and enable you to answer questions from those who may ask.

(1) Under what circumstances did the children of Israel enter the land of Egypt? Genesis 45:9-11; 46:3-4.

There was a great famine in the land and God used Joseph, who was made second in command under pharaoh in Egypt, to store food for the people. Joseph’s father Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) and his family were invited to live in Egypt to escape the famine. They were given the land of Goshen, fertile land suitable for crops and livestock located on the eastern delta of the Nile River, and told by God that they would become a great nation.

(2) What changed after the children of Israel came into Egypt? Genesis 47:27; Exodus 1:7-11.

At first, the children of Israel prospered. Their population expanded and they began to obtain many possessions. Over time, the number of Israelites grew to several million people, which began to cause concern for the Egyptians. They worried that the Israelites would eventually take over their land. A pharaoh who lived later than the one who knew Joseph made them slaves and treated them very harshly in order to control them.

(3) Why did God deliver the children of Israel from slavery? How did God promise to deliver them? Genesis 15:13-14; Exodus 6:5-7.

Years before, God made a promise to Jacob’s grandfather Abraham. God told him that his descendants would not remain in captivity forever. When the children of Israel cried out to God from Egypt as slaves, God remembered the promise He made to Abraham. He used His servant Moses, plagues and other miracles to help the Israelites escape Egypt and become His special people.

(4) How did Passover originate? How did it help those who kept it properly? Exodus 12:3-13, 23.

Every Israelite household was instructed to select a one-year-old male lamb or goat without spots or marks and kill it on the 14th day of the first month of the year. They were then to take the blood of the lamb and sprinkle it on the doorposts of their homes. They were also to roast the lamb and eat it. By following these instructions carefully, they were protected from the 10th plague to strike Egypt, which was the death of the first-born males of people and animals. If a doorpost had blood on it, the death angel would “pass over” that house, which is where Passover got its name.

(5) What did ancient Egypt represent? Why is it important for us today to understand its meaning? I Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-11; Romans 15:4; Numbers 11:5-6.

Ancient Egypt represents worldliness and sin. God often uses types or examples to help people understand important concepts. The Israelites coming out of Egypt can be likened today to a person coming out of the world and into the Church.

Yet sometimes people in the Church can make the mistake of wanting to go back and do what they used to do when they were in the world. Remembering the experiences of the ancient Israelites can help avoid this. These lessons also teach people how to obey and please God.

(6) Was ancient Israel commanded to keep Passover? How does its timing relate to the Days of Unleavened Bread? Is Passover considered a Holy Day? Leviticus 23:5-6; Exodus 12:13-16.

The Israelites were commanded to keep Passover on the 14th day of the first month at “even,” or sunset. The First Day of Unleavened Bread was to begin the following evening on the 15th day of the first month at sunset, with the Last Day of Unleavened Bread observed seven days later. The First and Last Days of Unleavened Bread are days we are to not do any work and to assemble together as we do on the weekly Sabbath. Passover is one of God’s feasts, but is not considered a Holy Day as with the First and Last Days of Unleavened Bread. This means we are allowed to work on this day.

(7) How long was Israel to keep feasts and Holy Days? With whom were the people to share the meaning of these days? Exodus 12:14-17, 24.

These days were to be kept forever. The Israelites were not only expected to keep them, but also to teach them to their children to remind them that God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Today, Christians are also to share with their children the reason we observe these special days.

(8) What is the Night to Be Much Observed? Why do we remember it? Exodus 12:42.

The children of Israel were to remember the night that God brought them out of the land of Egypt. It was called a “night to be much observed” and began at sunset at the start of the First Day of Unleavened Bread. Today, families share a meal to remember all the blessings God has given, including bringing people out of the bondage of sin and into the Church.

(9) Was Passover kept during the time of Jesus Christ? Was it still to be kept when the New Testament Church was founded following Christ’s death and Resurrection? Luke 2:41-43; Mark 14:1-3, 12-16; Acts 12:3; 20:6; I Corinthians 5:7-8; 11:26.

Jesus Christ’s earthly parents kept Passover every year along with other Jews of that time. Jesus Christ kept these days as well. As a perfect human being, Christ kept all God’s feasts and Holy Days as commanded by God. Even after Christ’s sacrifice, God’s Church continued to observe these days. And we still keep them today.

(10) Was Jesus Christ the prophesied Savior to come to help mankind? Isaiah 9:6-7; 53:7-8; John 1:29; 3:16.

The Old Testament foretold a Savior would come to free the world from sin—the transgression of God’s Law—and all the other bad things that come as a result of sin. In order to set mankind free from the penalty of sin, however, Christ had to die.

(11) Did the Passover lamb represent Jesus Christ? What did His sacrifice accomplish? John 1:29; I Peter 1:19; Hebrews 9:22.

The unspotted lambs slain for the first Passover represented Jesus Christ who would be sacrificed for mankind. Just as Israelite firstborn adults and children were protected from physical death if they placed the lamb’s blood on their doorposts, Christians are protected from the penalty of sin (eternal death) through the blood of Jesus Christ, who was the perfect Lamb. Since Christ was a perfect sacrifice, His blood led to the forgiveness of sin for all mankind. Christ’s sacrifice takes care of past sins. We must do our best, with His help, to avoid committing future ones.

(12) Is there other proof that Christ was who He said He was? Matthew 12:39-40; 16:4; Luke 11:29-30.

The people looked for a sign that Jesus Christ was the prophesied Savior. As proof, He explained that after He would be killed, He would be in the grave for three days and three nights—the same amount of time the prophet Jonah was in the belly of the fish. Along with proving Jesus was our Savior, His time in the grave also disproves the belief in a Friday burial and Sunday-morning resurrection as claimed by those who celebrate Easter.

(13) How did Christ observe the final Passover ceremony before His death? Matthew 26:18-19; Luke 22:10-13.

Christ gathered the 12 disciples on the Passover for a meal and used the opportunity to explain what would happen in the coming days. He also explained a new way to observe the Passover from that point forward.

(14) What did Christ say would be the Passover symbols? What do the symbols represent? Mark 14:22-23; Matthew 26:26-28; I Corinthians 11:26.

Jesus replaced the sacrificing of the lamb with eating unleavened bread and drinking a small amount of wine. These became the new Passover symbols. He told His disciples that the bread represented His body, which was sacrificed, and that the wine represented His blood, which was shed for the forgiveness of sins. Taking these symbols serves as an annual reminder that Jesus Christ gave His life for mankind.

(15) Why is it important that the bread is unleavened? What does leaven represent? I Corinthians 5:2-8.

Leaven causes dough in bread to rise or become puffed up. Sin also causes a person to become “puffed up” with pride or bad attitudes. The bread represents Jesus Christ, who had no sin. Therefore, it does not contain leaven.

(16) What else did Jesus do on the night of His final Passover? What was the response from Peter? John 13:4-8, 14.

Jesus stopped during the meal to kneel down and wash the disciples’ feet. Peter initially refused to allow Jesus to perform this act, probably thinking that Christ was too important to do such a thing. Once He explained that it was required to be considered one of His followers, Peter eagerly accepted the offer.

(17) Why is the footwashing ceremony included? John 13:12-16.

Typically, a servant would wash someone’s feet after a long day of travel. Christ established it as an ordinance to be kept on the night of the Passover as a form of servitude. It shows that we are to love and serve one another as He did. Just as Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, He commands Christians to wash each other’s feet today. A baptized adult takes a towel (and sometimes a water basin) with him to the Passover service so he can wash and dry the feet of another member. The other member then does the same for him. The washing, however, is symbolic. It is not necessary for members to use soap or washcloths during this part of the ceremony.

(18) What kind of attitude should a person have during the Passover ceremony? I Corinthians 11:27, 29; Isaiah 52:14.

Jesus Christ was a perfect Being who came to Earth to help everyone. Though He did not deserve to be killed, He gave His life after being tortured and beaten beyond recognition. He also dedicated His entire life to serving others. Whoever takes the Passover symbols and participates in the footwashing, which is a reminder of what Jesus did, should have an attitude of humility, reverence and respect.

(19) Who is required to take the Passover? Exodus 12:25-27.

All baptized members take the Passover every year. These individuals have repented, and after being baptized have had hands laid on them by a minister for the purpose of receiving God’s Spirit. Though teenagers and children do not participate in the Passover service, they should still know what it represents in God’s overall Plan.

(20) Does the Bible say that the early Church observed Easter instead of the Passover? Acts 12:4.

The word Easter used in the Bible is actually a mistranslation of the Hebrew word pascha, which means Passover. The same word is translated properly in other places in the New Testament. Therefore, instead of this being an endorsement to celebrate Easter, it actually is proof that the Church still kept Passover.

You should now have a better understanding of what the Passover ceremony entails. It is an important first step in God’s Plan of salvation. What began as a command over 3,500 years ago to protect the Israelites prior to their escape from Egypt was a forerunner to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Today, it protects those who repent from the penalty of sin, which is death.

The next time your parents attend the Passover service, take time to remember the meaning of the day. Also, be sure to thank God for giving His people the chance to rehearse the steps of His Plan, which will one day include all of mankind.