The LORD's Passover

The key to the "passing over" in the Passover is the blood of the lamb. A perfect lamb had to be perfectly sacrificed and its blood placed on the sides and top of the door to the house. This would be the sign for God to "pass over" His judgment of the people in that house because of the blood of the Lamb.

Today we have seen the fulfillment of God's Passover for ALL people in the world. The Messiah or Christ had to come as the perfect Lamb of God who offered His life -- His blood -- as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of humanity. Anyone who puts His trust in the LORD Jesus Christ is covered completely and forever by His blood. God's final judgment of mankind will "pass over" you if you are covered by the blood of Christ. This is indeed "the LORD's Passover" (Exo. 12:11c, NKJV).

Scripture: Exodus 12:1-28
 

Main Thought: Passover is a key memorial of the LORD's deliverance of the Hebrew people from bondage by the blood of the lamb -- this clearly foreshadows His deliverance of all people from the bondage of sin by the blood of Christ.

1. The LORD's command in the Passover provided blood as a merciful covering for those who believed in Him. (Exo. 12:1-11b)
2. The LORD's judgment in the Passover was executed by God Himself who is holy and brought death to those who sinned. (Exo. 12:11c-13)
3. The LORD's memorial in the Passover is to be a continual reminder of His deliverance of the Hebrew people from bondage. (Exo. 12:14-20)
4. The LORD's deliverance in the Passover came quickly which required His people to respond with urgency. (Exo. 12:21-28)

3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household ...5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two door posts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. ...11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD'S Passover.'" (Exo. 12:3,5-7,11, NKJV)

1. The LORD's command in the Passover provided blood as a merciful covering for those who believed in Him.

• Every household was to select a lamb to be sacrificed (v.3).
• The lamb could be either a sheep or goat (v.5).
• The lamb had to be perfect -- that is, without blemish (v.5).
• The lamb was to be slain before all of Israel (v. 6).
• The blood of the sacrificial lamb was to be put on the sides and top of the door.
• The lamb was then roasted (v. 8) and eaten quickly (v. 11).

Suppose one of the Israelite households decided not to spread the blood over their door. "This is just too strange -- I'm not into blood. Isn't this like that cult sacrifice we heard about across the Nile? What's next to sacrifice, our children? I'm just not going to do the blood part. We'll roast a lamb and celebrate the Passover our way.

Would a person who decided to take God's salvation instructions and toss them aside be protected from the coming judgment? No! God provided the way for every Israelite home to be delivered from the judgment. But it was God's way -- for it was God's Passover (Exo. 12:11). To reject His provision for salvation meant that one would face the certain judgment of God.

All human beings are sinners by nature and by choice (Rom. 3:23). As sinners, we do not deserve anything but judgment from God. Yet He mercifully provided a way for each of us to be saved from His judgment of sin. Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent to be the sacrificial lamb (1 Cor. 5:7) who takes away the sin of the world. He is God's provision for sin -- can you ignore God's only way for a person to be saved from certain judgment over sin?

Trust in the LORD Jesus Christ and accept His blood as the sacrifice for your sin. Then you will experience the fulfillment of the Passover in your own life as God "passes over" your sin and saves you forever from the final judgment. Enjoy true freedom and peace that God's forgiveness through Christ brings to your life.

12 'For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 'Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (Exo. 1:12-13, NKJV)

2. The LORD's judgment in the Passover was executed by God Himself who is holy and brought death to those who sinned.

• "I will pass through the land"
• "I will execute judgment"
• "when I see the blood"
• "I will pass over you"
• "when I strike the land"

God is holy -- meaning set apart from everything and everyone. "Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy..." (Rev 15:4, NKJV). The holiness of God denotes His absolute purity, utter righteousness, and perfection of goodness. For this reason, human beings in this body of clay are terrified in His presence. Isaiah caught a glimpse of God and broke down (Isaiah 6:1-5). The Apostle John walked with Christ in His earthly ministry but fell to the ground as though dead upon seeing the risen LORD in His glorified state (Rev. 1:12-17). There are other examples in Scripture also (Daniel, Ezekiel). But when Moses boldly asked God to show His glory, God explained: "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live" (Exo 33:20, NKJV). No human, in the flesh, can be in the presence of God for He is holy.

Then what happens when God, who alone is holy (Rev. 15:4), enters the presence of human beings -- human beings who sin? You fall apart at the seams. It is terrifying to think that you would face a holy God because of His purity and your sin. All one could do is realize the just judgment for sin declared by God from the beginning: "...for in the day that you [sin] you shall surely die" (Gen. 2:17, NKJV). This is why the firstborn of Egypt had to die. God in His holiness entered their midst and they had no covering for sin -- nothing to cause God's judgment to pass over their homes.

Today many people look for God's mercy apart from the merciful provision for salvation He made for us through the LORD Jesus Christ:

God will forgive me because He is loving and merciful, right? He will pass by me because I am basically good. I love my wife/husband. I try to do good things for other people. Yes, I sometimes do the wrong thing --but everyone makes mistakes. Surely, God understands this. I mean, I not a murderer or even a liar. I will just trust that God will be fair and look at how I have tried to do what is right.

These are futile words that fail to acknowledge the holiness of God. For the very reason that God is holy and just is the reason He cannot simply pass over your sin without blood being shed. Can you offer a perfect sacrifice for your sin? No. All you can do is accept the mercy of God extended to you, a sinner, through Jesus Christ who died for your sins on a cross and victoriously rose from the dead on the third day. Perhaps this is the time you need to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin?

14 "So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ...17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. ...20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread." (Exo. 12:14-15,17,20, NKJV)

3. The LORD's memorial in the Passover is to be a continual reminder of His deliverance of the Hebrew people.

God brought the people out of Egypt. It was not the efforts of Moses and Aaron. It was not because the Israelites deserved it. It was not because of the kindness of Pharaoh (for sure). It was only by the mighty hand of God, just as He had predicted (Exo. 6:1). Therefore, a holy God desired His people to be holy -- set apart and purified for His purposes and pleasures.

This command to observe the Passover and Feast was given to Israel. It was given as "an everlasting ordinance" (Exo. 12:14, NKJV). So all who are descendants of Abraham are to observe this ordinance. It happens, by our calendar, in the March-April time frame.

Can a Christian celebrate the Passover? My goodness, yes! It will be a time of remembrance for all that God accomplished in the past. While it would not be personally meaningful for one who is not of Jewish descent, it still provides a beautiful memorial of God's salvation of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.  And it provides a personal memorial for the believer when you see that the Passover points to Jesus, "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29, NIV).  This makes it highly personal and meaningful for any believer.

Perhaps you have already accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior at some point in the past. Then rejoice that He is your "Passover lamb"! Rejoice that the wrath of God's judgment over sin will pass over you because of the blood of Christ. Let us never forget the awesome price that was paid for our sins that we might be delivered (saved) from the bondage of sin and its awesome judgment.

21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. ...26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' 27 that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.'" So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. (Exo. 12:21,26-28, NKJV)

4. The LORD's deliverance in the Passover came quickly which required His people to respond with urgency.

What was the response of the people who heard all the instructions of God through Moses? They responded right then by making preparations. In the NIV translation, v.21 reads "Go at once" as Moses commanded the elders of Israel. The people responded immediately. They did not wait for the right time, the convenient time, or the private time. They responded immediately as God had commanded.

This is the example for us to follow in obeying God. What He promises He delivers. Yet when He gives the command or instruction, we must obey quickly. Failing to respond to God's revelation is the same as an Israelite staying in Egypt.

Reflect on YOUR life: Jesus Christ was heralded by John the Baptist as "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29, NKJV).  He pictured Christ as the One sent by God to be the sin-bearer for the whole world. Isaiah painted a clear picture:

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:5-6, NKJV)

Copyright 11/12/2001, Randy Lariscy.