blood, sprinkled on the door-posts of the houses in
which the Israelites dwelt, was to save them from the stroke of the
angel of death as he passed over the land. And so it came to pass.
The solemn hour of midnight arrived. The angel went on his way. He
gave one stroke with his dreadful sword--and there was a death in
every Egyptian family. But in the blood-sprinkled dwellings of the
Israelites, there was no one dead. What a wonderful night that was!
Nothing like it was ever known in the history of our world. It is not
surprising that the children of Israel, through all their
generations, should have kept that Passover feast with great
interest--an interest that never died out, from age to age. Nor do we
wonder that our blessed Saviour looked forward longingly to the
occasion when, for the last time, he was to celebrate this Passover
with his disciples. As they began the feast he said to them, "With
desire I have desired" that is, I have earnestly, or heartily desired
"to eat this passover with you before I suffer," St. Luke xxii: 15.
It is easy to think of many reasons why Jesus should have felt this
strong desire. Without attempting to tell what all those reasons
were, we can readily think of some things which would lead him, very
naturally, to have this feeling. It was the last time he was to eat
this Passover with them on earth. This showed that his public work,
for which he came into the world, was done. He had only now to suffer
and die; to rise from the dead, and then go home to his Father in
heaven.

This Passover had been one of the services established and kept for
the purpose of pointing the attention of men to himself as the Lamb
of God who was to take away the sins of the world. And now, the time
had come when all that had thus been pointed out concerning him, for
so many hundred years, was about to be fulfilled. He, the one true
Lamb of God, had come. He was about to die for the sins of the world.
Then the Jewish church would pass away, and the Christian church
would take its place. And then the blessings of true religion,
instead of being confined to one single nation, would be freely
offered to all nations; and Jews and Gentiles alike, would be at
liberty to come to Christ, and to receive from him pardon, and grace,
and salvation, and every blessing.

There was enough in thoughts like these to make Jesus long to eat
this last Passover with his disciples. In each of the four gospels we
have an account