“When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.” Acts 12:3-5 NIV
Was Peter’s nighttime rescue from prison during Passover a coincidence or a pattern of Passover miracles woven through the Bible? Passover remembers the midnight deliverance and exodus of Israel from Egypt. Since the Second Century, it has been a tradition to ask on Passover, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Like Peter, you may be facing one of your darkest nights, but be encouraged, Passover reminds us that God shows up in the midnight hour. For a moment we want to examine the freedom, the watching, and the atoning work of Passover night.
I. The Night of our Freedom
“So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt.…” Exodus 11:4 ESV
Peter was imprisoned in the night he should have reclined in freedom. Passover’s message speaks powerfully to every generation. The same One who lead Israel out of Egypt, still leads His people through the dark night to safety. Passover is known today as “Z’man Cheruteinu” (the Time of Our Freedom / Deliverance). Israel’s deliverance came in the “Midnight Hour” when darkness had reached its max. Their rescue reverberates through the ages, finding fulfillment again and again. As one Sage of Israel said, “In Nisan (Passover’s month) we were redeemed, in Nisan we will be redeemed again!”
At Passover Israel came out of Egypt. (Exodus 12) At Passover Joshua crossed the Jordan meeting the Captain of the Armies of the LORD. (Joshua 5:10-15) Tradition says it was Passover when Gideon was commissioned by the Angel of the Lord.[1] And at Passover, Mordechai was set to be crucified on the tree, but the tables were turned – in that night, the king could not sleep![2] (Esther 5, 6)
But the greatest Passover deliverance came in Jerusalem two-thousand years ago, as Yeshua revealed the New Covenant! Perhaps that is the reason Peter in his prison cell could sleep without fear. Yeshua, the Messiah, won His greatest deliverance for all people on Passover night. Peter’s heart was at ease knowing God was in control.
Just as Israel’s captivity was broken in that night, so Peter’s chains fell. As Israel followed the Angel of the Lord within the pillar of fire beyond the gates of Egypt, so Peter followed as the angel of God passed four squads of soldiers to the gates of the city. And just as Israel witnessed the Red Sea part on its own, so Peter saw the locked iron gate open of its own accord setting him free. But there is another reason this night is not like other nights. Scripture calls it a “Night of Watching”.
II. The Night of our Watching
“It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.” Exodus 12:42 ESV
Passover is called a “night of watching, (leil shimurim) meaning to keep. guard, and protect. In Hebrew, it is also somewhat mysterious, as the word for “watching(s)” is written in plural form to match the plural “generation(s)”. In other words, this is a night for all generations to come to watch. Yeshua said,“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Luke 22: 15 ESV The weight of watching over that night felt its greatest measure when Yeshua took His disciples to watch with Him on that night. (Matt. 26:41) He continued watching and praying until his sweat became as drops of blood. (Luke 22: 44)
The Night of Watching Continued
On the night Peter was arrested, many of the women disciples also watched in prayer for his release. According to several Church historians, for hundred years after Yeshua’s death and resurrection, the Churches of Asia Minor, of whom John was the Apostle, continued to keep the 14th of Nisan, the date of Passover, anticipating the “Parousia”, the Lord’s appearing. Jerome, the 4th Century Church Father tells us they fasted until after midnight, listening for the cry, “Behold the bridegroom comes!”[3] (Mat. 25:6) Only after midnight, had He not come on that Passover, would they break the fast to eat the Passover meal. Finally, this night is not like all other nights for it is the Lord’s Passover.
III. The Night of our Passover
“For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.” Exodus 12: 23 ESV
The word Passover is as mysterious as the plural word for watching. Often translated as skipping or passing-over, Pesach also means to cover. Sometimes it is used as a noun to refer to the lamb itself.
The message of Passover is that we need a covering. Not only did the lamb’s blood cover the lintel, the LORD stood over Israel’s bloodstained doors covering their firstborn, not allowing the destroying angel to enter and strike!
I was once asked by a Rabbi, “Why do Christians speak of Yeshua’s death at Passover as an atonement for sin when Yom Kippur is the “Day of Atonement”, NOT Passover? I reminded him that though the Hebrew word Pesach means to pass-over something, it also means to shield and cover something. That is the very picture the book of Exodus describes. Adonai covered the homes where He saw the blood, to prevent the destroying angel from entering. Isaiah similarly used this Hebrew verb to describe Adonai’s protective covering over Jerusalem! As one ancient Rabbi connected Passover to covering by saying, “Establish this month for me and you, that when I see the blood of the Pesach (lamb), I am atoning over you.” Exodus Rabbah 15:2 (Author’s Translation)
Conclusion
Yeshua’s blood is our atonement for sin. Nisan is our month of redemption. Passover is our time of freedom, and the midnight hour is our time to watch. I believe we are truly in the last days. Like those first generations of Jewish followers of Yeshua who prayed through much of Passover night in anticipation of His coming, we need to be on alert.
The Passover parallels are clear to see. One day, at the midnight hour, the cry will go forth, “the Bridegroom is coming”. One like Moses, the Messiah raised from among His brothers, will come on the clouds of heaven to take His people through the waters above the waters. There, on the other side, we will sing the Song of Moses and of the Lamb. Even so Come Lord.
Maran Ata!
[1] Rabbi Morris Silverman, The Passover Haggadah, “You shall say: This is the offering of Passover” Pg. 60-61. 1975.
[2] “In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur….” Esther 3:7 ESV “Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written.…” Esther 3:12. These Nisan events followed in quick succession. Mordecai mourning was quickly told to Esther setting in motion the three days of fasting – all during the Passover! Eleven months later, in the month of Adar, the Jewish people defended themselves against the evil decree, establishing the Feast of Purim.
[3] Jerome and Thomas P. Scheck, St. Jerome: Commentary on Matthew (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2008), 283.