The Passover is not a sin offering but a communion meal of fellowship, closest to the peace offering. Its instructions emphasize eating, and nothing in the Old Testament Passover mentions forgiveness or atonement. Israel was purchased from Pharaoh and redeemed from death, and the Hebrew pesach means an exemption or pretermission. God overlooked the sins of idolatrous Israel in an act of mercy, and the blood on the doorposts represented the lamb's life given to redeem the firstborn. The Passover also differs from the sin offering in who ate it, how it was prepared, what was done with the head, legs, and entrails, and where it was eaten. Because it required circumcision and ceremonial cleanliness beforehand, it did not cleanse. At Christ's Passover, Jesus spoke of oneness, love, peace, joy, and fellowship with the Father and Son, and never mentioned the disciples' sins. The Passover will not be fulfilled until the Kingdom, because redemption is a process completed at the resurrection. The bread, as in John 6, symbolizes Christ's living, sinless body, and by partaking we are joined to His life and accepted by God. The wine is the blood of the New Covenant, a pledge of life and of God's loyalty to complete those who remain faithful. Forgiveness comes within the covenant, not before it, since God makes covenants with those whose sins He has passed over. The Passover is therefore a solemn yet joyful memorial of the death that sealed the covenant, and a grateful celebration of peace and fellowship with God and with one another.

Passover is preparatory: it readies us spiritually for the rest of God's plan, and it demands the most significant personal preparation of any observance. Its theme is the awesome cost of salvation, shown in the sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. The bread and cup, taken in remembrance of Him, proclaim the Lord's death, and the cup symbolizes the blood that seals God's agreement to justify us (I Corinthians 11:24-29; Romans 5:9-10). Passover must not become mere ritual or pious habit, as it did for the Corinthians, who rushed through it with selfish disregard for one another. Paul charges each person to examine himself and discern the Lord's body, so that he takes it worthily. Self-examination means reviewing our failures against Christ's perfect sinlessness, as spectators who have tried the golfers' shots appreciate their skill. Two snares must be avoided: measuring ourselves by others, which breeds self-righteousness, and sinking into guilt so deep that we think salvation impossible or skip the service, which denies God's willingness to forgive. Awareness of sin should drive us to Passover, because the focus is on the payment for sin, not on ourselves. We should value Christ's precious blood (I Peter 1:18-21), for willful sin tramples it (Hebrews 10:26-29). Because a human life was given for us, gratitude, worship, and obedience are the fitting response, and we show them by departing from sin. At Passover God's grace justifies us through Christ's blood; Unleavened Bread then shows His grace in sanctifying us.

The Passover is the most important preparation of the year, because it begins the annual rehearsal of God's plan. Through the cup, God seals the New Covenant with His people in Christ's blood. Unlike the Old Covenant, sealed by sprinkling animal blood on the people, the New Covenant is inward: the symbol is drunk. By partaking, a Christian silently proclaims Christ's death and return, partnership in the New Covenant, and unity with the body of Christ. I Corinthians 11:26-32 commands self-examination before eating. To partake unworthily is to treat the service in an irreverent, careless, ritualistic, or frivolous way, without grasping the point of Christ's death, or with contempt for fellow members, who are His body. This is like burning a flag, since mistreating the symbols mistreats the One they represent. Such disrespect brings weakness, sickness, and death, and God's judgment is chastening so that His people are not condemned with the world. Feeling too unworthy to partake is wrong. Technically all are unworthy sinners, but refusing disobeys God's command and shows doubt of His mercy. Only the unrepentant, who skip self-examination, are truly unworthy. Paul demands serious consideration, not perfection. Preparation centers on two examinations. First, faith: believing that God is and walking with Him as Enoch did, trusting, loving, and submitting to Him, since faith works by love and grows from knowing God through His Word. Second, remembering what we now are: Christ's body, the one Seed, co-heirs of all things, called out of all who have lived. Neglecting this treats God's calling as common, and it calls for repentance.