Discover the meaning of Barabbas in the Bible and his connection to Jesus’ trial. Explore how Leviticus 16, the scapegoat, and Yom Kippur reveal a deeper pattern of atonement, where the guilty are set free and the innocent is sacrificed during Passover in Jerusalem.

Explore the “scrutiny of the Lamb” during Passion Week—how Jesus was tested in Jerusalem between Palm Sunday and Passover. See the Exodus pattern of selecting, examining, and sacrificing the Lamb, and how every question confirmed His authority, innocence, and role as Messiah.

Explore the connection between Passover, chametz, and Jesus cleansing the Temple. Discover how the fig tree, leaven, and the Passover Lamb reveal deeper meaning in Holy Week, rooted in Jewish context, Scripture, and the story of redemption in Jerusalem.

Palm branches, in that setting, carried a very specific meaning. They pointed to the presence of God among His people. They were tied to joy, yes, but not just any joy. They were tied to the joy of God drawing near. The hope of Sukkot looked forward as well as backward. It was not only about remembering the wilderness. It was about anticipating a day when God would once again dwell with His people in a full and lasting way.

Within the pages of the Old Testament, known to the Jewish community as the Tanakh, lies a rich collection of Biblical wisdom, history, and prophecies that hold profound significance. While often associated with Jewish tradition, these ancient scriptures also contain valuable insights into the Good News - the Gospel - largely unexplored within the Christian church, and rarely assembled in a systematic perspective that forms God’s plan of atonement from the Old Testament.

So, the question has come up: Aren’t all Jews saved? It’s not a new question. It has been brought up many times by Christians who know that the Jews are God’s chosen people and many think that they have a pass to drive the fastrak lane right into the kingdom.

The Jewish expectation was that Messiah would overthrow and deliver the people from the yoke of Rome, like Moses did Egypt.

But a Messiah who would die? Unthinkable.

But that was not the end of the story. The truth of the resurrection came to His disciples and they saw, believed, and proclaimed the good news of His resurrection.

A lament on the day after the crucifixion and the day before resurrection.

The Jewish people have been celebrating the Passover for 3,469 years as of this year. However, some 2,000 years ago the Messiah Jesus taught us at that last Passover seder that as we celebrate the Passover, we are to do it now in remembrance of Him. A greater deliverance than the deliverance out of Egypt. We celebrate Messiah in the Passover.

Christians have inherited this revised picture of Jesus, a non-Jewish Jesus. It's all that has ever been presented, from the flannel graphs to the Christian cartoons, and so we don't really question it.

We need to uncover the original and true representation because if we want to know, present, and represent Jesus properly, it’s vital that our picture of Him is accurate. It is not a matter of adding a layer of Jewish culture but of uncovering a truer picture of Jesus. And that accuracy comes with an understanding of the Jewish Jesus, who He was set in that culture and that time. The Jewishness of the gospel needs to be restored.

The assumption is always that when a Jew believes in Jesus, they are no longer Jewish. But this simply isn't the case. Faith in Jesus doesn't make someone any less Jewish. In fact, for many of us, our faith in Jesus has actually made us more Jewish.

But this misunderstanding, on both sides, is what has kept Christians from intentionally reaching out to Jewish people and what has kept Jews from understanding that Jesus is for them. The offer on the table for the Jewish people is that if you want to come to Jesus (the Jewish Messiah), you essentially have to switch teams, put on a new jersey, and go to the other clubhouse.

This day changes history. You may call it Easter, or Resurrection Day, but Biblically this was known as the Feast of First Fruits, Yom HaBikkurim, and this was the command from Leviticus 23:

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.'" - Leviticus 23:9-11

For the Jewish followers surrounding Jesus, they had a rhythm oriented around the last day of the week, the Sabbath. Seventh day rest. The Sabbath has these archaic tones, embedded in the people, reminding them of their ancestral call to stop their work, trust in the provision of God, and enjoy Him. Even more deeply steeped in this tradition was a call to remember, that on that first, seventh day, God ceased from His work, in the holy temple of Eden, and communed with Adam and Eve.