English (United States) 
"Jesus the Passover Lamb" Part 3 of 3 from the Spring 2017 Vision Newsletter
The Israelites made their exodus from Egypt and continued to celebrate the Passover every year, and Jesus and the twelve disciples at the Last Supper was just another celebration of that same Passover Feast. Until Jesus was betrayed and turned over to the Romans. Until He was hung on the cross. Until He willingly gave His life for all people. That year, Jesus breathed new life into the celebration of Passover, which would have an eternal effect on all people, not just the Israelites.
We can look at John’s account in John 19:31-37 to see an example of how Jesus made the Passover new. Here, John tells of how the day after Jesus’ crucifixion, the Jews asked Pilate if the dying process could be sped up so that no bodies would remain on the cross on the holy Sabbath day. This is done by breaking their legs, so that they had no way to support their bodies, quickly causing death by asphyxiation. The soldiers went to the two men who had hung next to Jesus and broke their legs, so that they immediately died. When they came to Jesus, they found that He was already dead (cr. John 19:30). Therefore, Jesus’ legs did not need to be broken. John, a witness of the breaking of the legs, said that this was done that “Scripture should be fulfilled” (John 19:36). What is John referring to here? We can go back to Exodus 12:46 to see one other rule from God regarding the Passover lamb: “nor shall you break one of its bones.” Jesus’ bones were not broken during His sacrifice. This happened so that Scripture could be fulfilled and that we could see that it was fulfilled.
Jesus’ death gives a special meaning to the Passover meal. It gives further clarity to us on what Jesus’s death is about and the vital role He has in our lives: the Lamb of God gave His life to give us life.