Click For A printable Version.

A Passover Story

by Larry Brown

He was a bloody mess. The blood covered everything, his body, my robes, and Joseph had blood all over himself.

His face was so battered and bruised, his back torn to ribbons by the Roman whips. The soldiers pulled out the nails and his body dropped in a heap on ground made muddy by his blood. I had tried to catch him as his limp form came falling down. The Roman Soldiers were not very sympathetic and handled him roughly. After all, they did this all the time.

The sun was setting, and the 14th day of the first month was beginning. It was to the Pharisees the beginning of the day of preparation, but I knew from reading the TORAH, that Passover had now begun.

I tried my best, I really did, to keep this from happening. He was a good man that healed the sick and raised the dead. He didn’t deserve this at all. But as you can see, my attempts failed.

Oh yes, my name is Nicodemus. I’m a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews. Or, at least I was part of the Sanhedrin. The future seems so uncertain now. So much has changed! So much!

It all started at the Jordan River. Some of my Pharisee colleagues and I went to hear this wild prophet and baptizer named John. John was not one to mince words. He called us “Snakes” and warned us of judgment to come. The Pharisees who were with me got furiously mad and stormed off. I, on the other hand, was very curious about what else he was saying. . . things like, “Behold the Lamb of God”. That’s when this man, Yeshua, appeared, and everything changed.

Later, I got an audience with Yeshua. In Jerusalem, the days are hot. But at night, in the cool desert air, it is a great time for intimate conversation. Oh what a conversation we had! He spoke as one with authority and revealed things that I had never considered. From then on, I would be one of His most avid followers.

This, of course, got me in no small trouble with the Sanhedrin. They hated Him, and became very suspicious of me. They trumped up charges against Yeshua because they wanted to put Him to death.

I objected when they condemned Him without even listening to Him. My pleadings fell on deaf ears.

I remember the scene in the Roman Procurator, Pilate’s Judgment Hall. The Sanhedrin were crowded into that small hall that normally held only 50 or so. I was the only friend of Yeshua in that place. The crowds that loved Him had no idea of what was happening.

My solitary protest was drowned out by the hate-filled cries of, “Crucify Him”

So now the deed is done, and Joseph and I buried Him in Joseph’s new tomb. Now we are covered with His blood, the grave is sealed tight, and it seems that all is lost.

Besides all that, I’ve touched a dead body and I cannot celebrate the Passover with my family. I’m unclean for Seven Days. Even the Feast of Unleavened Bread will be over, and I will miss it all.

Early on the first day of the week, as the sun was going down, I prepared myself for my first cleansing from touching the dead. The ashes of the Red Heifer mixed with water were sprinkled on me. Now I had to wait for the 7th day to finish my cleansing.

I was prepared to wait, that is, till something wonderful happened. Yeshua rose from the dead! I couldn’t believe it at first, it seemed like a dream. He that raised the dead was now raised from the dead himself.

However, this whole thing left me with a great dilemma. If he was now alive, and now longer dead, why was I still being cleansed for touching His dead body?

It was then that I remembered what John said, “Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world.” This was truly was the Lamb of God, the real Passover Lamb. Just as, year after year, we had sacrificed a lamb for Passover. Now I, myself, had handled the Real Passover Lamb . . . and I was clean.

Go to our article on the biblical holiday Passover for more information.