Get Ready for Passover: Exodus 12 and the Passover Lamb

Samuel MABBOUX, pastor of the Church of Nice l'Ariane, opens the book of Exodus and the Gospel of Matthew to walk you through the heart of a unique week: the week when Jesus is about to celebrate his last Passover before the cross. In Exodus 12, before the Hebrew people even left Egypt, they had to prepare their departure for a whole week. Passover isn't a feast you simply go through, it's a feast you prepare for.

What if this weekend became that time of preparation for you? Not to impose a ritual on you, but to keep you ready to meet your God, to receive the forgiveness of the cross, and to rejoice one day at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Outline of this message

1. Here comes your King (Matthew 21, Zechariah 9:9)
2. "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" (Matthew 26:17)
3. The blood and the wine: Jesus alone drank the bitter cup
4. Gethsemane: the struggle of the will
5. Betrayal, judgment, the cross: the blood that still flows
6. Remove the leaven: prepare your heart this weekend

1. Here comes your King

"Now this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, 'Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey'" (Matthew 21:4-5). The disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and the crowd spread their garments on the road, crying out: "Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Samuel tells the story: last Sunday, while taking out the trash after the service, he heard a family leaving Mass shouting "Hosanna, Hosanna." For a moment, he thought of the Lord's return. The joy of those children with their palm branches warmed his heart. But he wanted to go further: to study this text more deeply.

This verse points back to Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Your King doesn't come for a bloody war. He doesn't come on a general's warhorse. He comes on a donkey's colt, a picture of his humility and simplicity, the King of kings who lowered himself for you 2,000 years ago, all the way down to being born in a stable.

In this text lies the whole character of Christ: his humility, his gentleness. Have you ever tasted the gentleness of Christ coming to restore you, to comfort you, to change your heart, to bring his calm when there is bitterness, anger, agitation, when you no longer know which way to turn? He emptied himself, he gave everything.

And remember: in Revelation 19:11, he will return on a white horse, no longer for peace, but to establish his justice. "I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war." He came the first time in gentleness. He will come back in power. That's why you need to prepare for the Passover.

2. "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?"

"Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, 'Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?'" (Matthew 26:17). Jesus answers: "Go into the city to a certain person, and tell him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples."' The disciples did as Jesus commanded them, and they prepared the Passover."

Samuel pictures the scene: a Thursday evening, the disciples ring your buzzer. "Jesus wants to eat the Passover at your house." He admits it: he would have spent all of Friday cleaning, called in reinforcements, brought in extra chairs. He would have loved so much for Jesus to eat the Passover at his place.

In a church in Italy (Menton), Samuel was struck by Christians who, taking communion only four times a year, prepare for it a month in advance: they ask for forgiveness, they prepare themselves spiritually to enter into that moment. Maybe they lean too far to one extreme, but do we, taking it every Sunday, not sometimes trivialize the commemoration of the cross?

Without the cross, there is nothing. Without the cross, no reconciliation. Without the cross, no salvation. Without the cross, you could not enter the presence of God. But at the cross, Jesus accomplished everything. So this weekend, prepare your Passover as if Jesus were coming to eat it at your house.

3. The blood and the wine: he alone drank the bitter cup

"As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat: this is my body.' He took the cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'All of you drink it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's Kingdom.'" (Matthew 26:26-29).

Samuel shares something he noticed while rereading this text. First there is the blood: the covenant, the suffering, the sin, the forgiveness, the death, the darkness. Then there is the wine: the feast, the joy, the celebration. In the Bible, wine symbolizes rejoicing. And Jesus says clearly: he will not drink it again alone. He is waiting for the Kingdom to drink it with us.

In other words: the negative part, the sacrifice, the vinegar, he took alone. He went to the cross alone. He did not ask you to slash your veins, to shed your own blood, to be crucified. He carried the horrible part by himself. But he wants to experience the rejoicing with you.

During the suffering, he drew you to himself. During the rejoicing, he wants you to be with him. At the wedding feast of the Lamb, you will drink with him the new fruit of the vine.

4. Gethsemane: the struggle of the will

"Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I go there and pray.' He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled." (Matthew 26:36-37).

Here is the notion of sacrifice, of surrender. Some Gospels speak of drops of blood (Luke 22:44). Jesus prays: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire." (Matthew 26:39).

He didn't want to (no one wants to suffer), but he went through with it for each one of us. And if He, the Son of God, knew this struggle between his will and the Father's, how much more should we fast, pray, and intercede so that our will decreases and the Father's will increases? "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Matthew 16:24).

Meanwhile, the disciples couldn't keep watch even one hour; Jesus wakes them, withdraws again, falls face down, and prays once more.

5. Betrayal, judgment, the cross: the blood that still flows

"While he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he who betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, 'Whoever I kiss, he is the one. Seize him.'" (Matthew 26:47-48).

Samuel points out: no hatred from Jesus toward Judas. Everything now moves swiftly toward the crucifixion. All through the night, Jesus is handed over to the Jews, brought before the Sanhedrin, then to Pilate, then to Herod, then back to Pilate, each passing the buck to the other. Peter denies him before the rooster crows.

"Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release to the multitude one prisoner, whom they desired. They had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas." (Matthew 27:15-16). Pilate probably had some affection for Jesus; he deliberately chose a fearsome criminal so the crowd would prefer Jesus. But the crowd shouts: "Let him be crucified!" (v. 23). Thus the prophecy is fulfilled: he was numbered among the criminals (Isaiah 53:12).

"So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, 'I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it.' All the people answered, 'May his blood be on us, and on our children!'" (Matthew 27:24-25).

They said it with evil intent, but Samuel points out something prophetic: the blood of Christ is also for them, even for those who crucified him. That blood still flows, across generations. The blood of Christ still flows from the cross to forgive your sins today. To forgive your sins even in 2026. Five days after crying "Hosanna," the same city was demanding the crucifixion. And he went all the way through.

6. Remove the leaven: prepare your heart this weekend

Throughout the week before Passover, in Exodus 12, the Hebrews had to remove all the leaven from their homes. Leaven symbolizes sin, that which makes the whole batch of dough rise. Even today, in Jewish feasts, people clean out their cupboards from top to bottom.

This weekend, you need to go all the way to the bottom drawers of your life to remove the leaven. Remove your sin. Remove the bad things God wants to separate you from. So that you can arrive at the resurrection, so that you can arrive at that moment when you will take communion with the Lord. At the wedding feast of the Lamb, we will be all in white, without spot, without wrinkle, without sin. But we want to get ahead of it starting this Sunday, by examining ourselves.

Samuel points to the parable of the prodigal son: "But when he came to himself" (Luke 15:17). Come to yourself. What am I doing here? When I have a place waiting for me in my Father's house. You have to choose between the pigs and the Father's house. The Lord is waiting for you with open arms. He isn't coming to judge you tonight, but to forgive you, to remove all the leaven that makes the dough rise, everything that is bad in your life.

Key takeaways

• Your King comes in gentleness (Matthew 21, Zechariah 9:9); he came humbly on a donkey's colt. He will return in power (Revelation 19:11).
• Prepare your Passover as if Jesus were coming to eat it at your house (Matthew 26:17-19).
• He alone drank the cup of blood so that you could share the cup of wine with him at the wedding feast of the Lamb (Matthew 26:26-29).
• At Gethsemane, he submitted his will to the Father. Do the same through prayer and fasting (Matthew 26:36-46).
• The blood of Christ still flows to forgive your sins in 2026 (Matthew 27:24-25).
• Remove the leaven, examine yourself, and let the Father restore you like the prodigal son (Exodus 12, Luke 15:17).

Personal application

1. When you take communion, do you really prepare for it, or has it become a trivialized ritual?
2. If Jesus were coming to eat his Passover at your house this weekend, what would you change before he walked in?
3. What "leaven" (a thought, a habit, a hidden sin) is God asking you to remove before Sunday?
4. In what area does your will need to decrease so that the Father's will can increase?
5. Who should you ask for forgiveness, or extend forgiveness to, before coming to the Lord's table?

Scriptures cited

• Exodus 12 - the preparation of the Passover and the Passover lamb
• Zechariah 9:9
• Matthew 21:1-11 - the entry into Jerusalem
• Matthew 26 - the Lord's Supper and Gethsemane
• Matthew 27:15-26 - Barabbas and the judgment
• Luke 15:11-32 - the prodigal son
• Revelation 19:11 - the white horse

Frequently asked questions

Why "prepare" for Passover? Isn't it already accomplished at the cross?

Christ accomplished everything at the cross, and that is exactly what Passover commemorates. But you are called to examine yourself before taking part in it, just as the Hebrews had to remove the leaven before leaving Egypt, and just as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 11 concerning the Lord's table. Preparing your Passover means coming with a clear conscience to receive what has already been accomplished.

Why did Jesus enter Jerusalem on a donkey's colt rather than on a horse?

To fulfill Zechariah 9:9 and to reveal his character: he comes "righteous and victorious," yet humble, bringing peace rather than war. The white horse of Revelation 19:11, on the other hand, is reserved for his return, when he comes to judge and to reign.

What does "removing the leaven" mean in practice for a Christian today?

In Scripture, leaven symbolizes what causes the dough to ferment: sin, hypocrisy, pride, everything that little by little contaminates the whole of life. Removing it means letting God search you, confessing, repenting, and letting the Lord take away what he shows you, all the way down to "the bottom of the drawers and cupboards" of your life, as Samuel MABBOUX puts it.