1. the paschal sacrifice (which was accustomed to be offered for the people's deliverance of old from Egypt), or

2. the paschal lamb, i. e. the lamb which the Israelites were accustomed to slay and eat on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan (the first month of their year) in memory of that day on which their fathers, preparing to depart from Egypt, were bidden by God to slay and eat a lamb, and to sprinkle their door-posts with its blood, that the destroying angel, seeing the blood, might pass over their dwellings (Exodus 12; Numbers 9; Deuteronomy 16): θύειν τό πάσχα (הַפֶסַח שָׁחַט), Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7, (Exodus 12:21); Christ crucified is likened to the slain paschal lamb, 1 Corinthians 5:7; φαγεῖν τό πάσχα, Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12, 14; Luke 22:11, 15; John 18:28; הָפֶסַח אָכַל, 2 Chronicles 30:17f.

3. the paschal supper: ἑτοιμάζειν τό πάσχα, Matthew 26:19; Mark 14:16; Luke 22:8, 13; ποιεῖν τό πάσχα to celebrate the paschal meal, Matthew 26:18.

4. the paschal festival, the feast of Passover, extending from the fourteenth to the twentieth day of the month Nisan: Matthew 26:2; Mark 14:1; Luke 2:41; Luke 22:1; John 2:13, 23; John 6:4; John 11:55; John 12:1; John 13:1; John 18:39; John 19:14; Acts 12:4; πεποίηκε τό πάσχα he instituted the Passover (of Moses), Hebrews 11:28 (cf. Winers Grammar, 272 (256); Buttmann, 197 (170)); γίνεται τό πάσχα the Passover is celebrated (R. V. cometh), Matthew 26:2. (See BB. DD. under the word ; Dillmann in Schenkel iv., p. 392ff; and on the question of the relation of the Last Supper to the Jewish Passover, see (in addition to references in BB. DD. as above) Kirchner, die Jüdische Passahfeier u. Jesu letztes Mahl. Gotha, 1870; Keil, Com. über Matth., pp. 513-528; J. B. McClellan, The N. T. etc. i., pp. 473-494; but especially Schürer, Ueber φαγεῖν τό πάσχα, akademische Festschrift (Giessen, 1883).)

Strong’s Greek 3957, páscha, renders the Hebrew pesach, “Passover.” In the New Testament it denotes both the sacrificial lamb and the feast that commemorates Israel’s redemption from Egypt. Used twenty-nine times, the term gathers the strands of Exodus, the ministry of Jesus, and apostolic teaching into a single redemptive thread culminating in Christ.

Historical Background and Old Testament Foundations

Passover originated on the night the LORD struck the Egyptian firstborn (Exodus 12). A year-old male lamb, without defect, was slain; its blood marked Israelite doorposts while the people ate the lamb in haste with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The LORD declared, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). Annually thereafter the feast began on the fourteenth day of the first month, immediately followed by the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. The covenantal memory of divine deliverance shaped Israel’s national identity and liturgical calendar (Leviticus 23:4-8; Deuteronomy 16:1-8).

Passover in Second Temple Judaism

By the first century the celebration centered in Jerusalem. Pilgrims thronged the city (John 2:13), sacrifices multiplied, and the meal was eaten at sundown. A fixed liturgy emerged (cups of wine, hymns, questions of the youngest child), yet the essential elements—lamb, unleavened bread, and proclamation—remained. Josephus reports crowds so large that the blood from sacrifices streamed down the temple drains. This context supplies the backdrop for every New Testament reference.

Occurrences in the New Testament

1. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22) present Passover as the setting for the Last Supper.
• Matthew 26:18: “My time is near; I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house.”
2. John’s Gospel links three Passovers to Jesus’ public ministry (John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55-19:14), framing His work in a festival arc that climaxes in His crucifixion.
3. Acts 12:4 notes Herod’s intention to present Peter “after the Passover,” highlighting ongoing Jewish observance. (The King James Version’s “Easter” here reflects later English usage, not a different Greek word.)
4. Paul’s teaching: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7), and the exhortation to live as unleavened dough.
5. Hebrews 11:28 recalls Moses’ faith in the original Passover as a paradigm for persevering trust.

Passover and the Ministry of Jesus

• Preparation: Jesus planned meticulously (Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13). The divine timetable (“My time is near”) underscores sovereign control.
• Institution of the Lord’s Supper: Within the meal Jesus took bread and cup, identifying them with His body and blood of the covenant (Matthew 26:26-29). The traditional Passover elements now point directly to His atoning death.
• Passion Timeline: The Synoptics present the Last Supper as a Passover meal; John notes that temple authorities hurried to avoid defilement “so that they could eat the Passover” (John 18:28). The apparent tension is resolved when one recognizes different uses of “Passover” in first-century parlance: the lamb meal at the start and the following feast days. Consequently, Jesus both ate the meal with His disciples and died as the Passover Lamb while other lambs were being slain.

Typological Fulfillment in Christ

Passover’s main motifs find their consummation in Jesus:

1. Substitutionary Blood – “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
2. Spotless Lamb – John the Baptist’s declaration, “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), anticipates 1 Peter 1:19.
3. Deliverance from Bondage – The Exodus liberation prefigures release from sin and death.
4. Memorial and Proclamation – The Lord’s Supper, practiced “in remembrance of Me,” perpetuates the redemptive account until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Passover in Apostolic Teaching

Paul employs páscha to exhort the Corinthian church: as leaven must be purged before the feast, so believers must expel wickedness (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). The ethical outworking of redemption is inseparable from its sacrificial basis. Hebrews 11:28 affirms the efficacy of blood-sprinkling, reinforcing confidence in the greater sacrifice of Christ.

From Jewish Pascha to Christian Pascha

The earliest believers, many of them Jewish, continued to celebrate Passover, now centered on Jesus’ death and resurrection. By the second century the term Pascha commonly referred to the Christian observance (eventually called Easter in the West). Quartodeciman debates concerned the date, not the substance, maintaining the fundamental link between Exodus deliverance and Christ’s victory.

Pastoral and Practical Implications

1. Worship – The Lord’s Table roots congregational worship in the once-for-all sacrifice.
2. Discipleship – Continual removal of “old leaven” (malice, wickedness) evidences genuine faith.
3. Mission – Passover’s universal invitation (“a mixed multitude went up,” Exodus 12:38) foreshadows the gospel’s reach to all nations.
4. Hope – Just as Israel left Egypt in haste toward the Promised Land, believers live in readiness for Christ’s return (Luke 22:18).

Summary

Strong’s Greek 3957 gathers the biblical drama of redemption: the first Passover’s lamb, the Passover ministry of Jesus, and the church’s proclamation that “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” From Egypt to Calvary to the consummation, páscha testifies to the faithfulness of God who redeems His people through the shed blood of a flawless substitute.