Ezra 6:21 (CSB)
“The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the Gentiles of the land in order to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.”
The exiles kept Passover in the first month, and the priests and Levites were ceremonially clean because they had purified themselves (Ezra 6:19-20). Then they killed the Passover lamb for themselves, for their priestly brothers, and for everyone who had come home.
Notice how that worked. One group did the killing. Everyone else did the eating. The lamb was slaughtered for people who could not slaughter it themselves. The work was done for them, and they sat down at the table.
Now read the verse slowly, because someone else is at that table.
Not everyone eating had returned from exile. Ezra says the meal was shared with all who had cut themselves off from the uncleanness of the surrounding nations. He does not tell us who they were. Gentile converts, perhaps, like Rahab and Ruth. Or Israelites left behind in the land who had intermarried with Assyrians and Canaanites. Either way they were not full-blooded exiles, and they ate.
Two things qualified them. They turned from their sin. They sought the Lord.
That is still the whole list. Nationality does not matter. Background, family of origin, and geography do not matter. Turn from sin. Come and eat.
Christ is the true Passover Lamb, and the killing is finished. He was struck down so that people who could never make themselves clean could sit down and eat. God still welcomes sinners. He never blesses a person’s peace with their sin.
What are you unwilling to leave at the door?
Reflect
There is one thing you have decided to keep. You already know what it is. Turning from sin is not the price of admission to the table; it is emptying your hands so you can take what He is offering. Put it down and come.