The twelfth chapter of the Book of Exodus gives us an account of the Passover: God told Moses and Aaron how it was to be conducted. Each household was instructed to choose an unblemished lamb to be roasted whole and the entire animal eaten, as a sacrifice, with bitter herbs and unleavened bread, none was to remain. That night the blood of the slain lamb was smeared on the doorposts and on the lintel above the doors of every house in which the lamb was to be eaten(Exodus 12:7). You see, the Lord was about to kill every first born male in Egypt and the blood was a sign to mark or identify the houses in which the people of God lived. He said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and will not harm you when I punish the Egyptians.” – Exodus 12:13
The exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the land of their bondage, began on the night of God’s “pass over”, when His judgment and deliverance happened simultaneously. This is exactly what happened at the cross (John 12:31). And today, we who are in Christ Jesus and have received deliverance out of the spiritual bondage of sin, do not suffer judgment because when God passes over us, He sees the blood of the Lamb, His Son, Jesus Christ.
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” – John 1:29
Just as the lamb and its blood were critical elements in the Passover, so too the Lamb and His blood are the centre of our spiritual Passover. At the cross a great deliverance was put into effect, greater than the Israelites’ deliverance out of Egypt since their sacrificial lamb was limited to one nation and its people; but the sacrifice of the Lamb of God embraces all of humanity in every nation throughout the whole world.
Jesus Christ shed His blood for our sake. On the cross, all our sins were judged in Him and He suffered the punishment that ought to have been borne by us.
“…For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” – 1 Corinthians 5:7
Through Jesus Christ we pass over from spiritual death to eternal life. Jesus is our Passover Lamb – roasted in fire and entirely consumed.
Jesus, our Passover Lamb ©2013 Shelley Johnson 28-Feb-2013
Photo Credit: Photo © Ted Christou
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