Week 79: Seeing Jesus In OT - The Passover Lamb

This week, in continuation on the series "Seeing Jesus in OT," we will look at the story of Moses delivering the Israelites' slavery from the hands of Pharaoh of Egypt.

Moses, after his ninth attempt of plagues brought before Egypt, failed to convince Pharaoh to release the children of Israel. On his tenth attempt, Moses told Pharaoh that in his refusal to release the Israelites, all the first born in the land of Egypt will be struck. This took place in the Passover.

And in preparation for His people for the Passover (Exodus 12), Moses instructs the people on how they must celebrate the Passover meal. They must sacrifice an unblemished lamb, since only a perfect sacrifice would be acceptable to God. The pascal lamb is a type of Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus was the sinless victim offered on our behalf.

1 Cor 5:7

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.


2 Cor. 5:21

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The blood of the lamb was to be smeared on the lintel and doorposts which caused the destroying angel to pass by. The blood on the doorposts is a type of the atoning blood of Christ's sacrifice which pays for our sins.

Notice while Egypt (symbolic of the world) were experiencing the judgement of death of their first born, the Israelites (symbolic of believers) were celebrating the Passover! Death had no effect on them as long as they smeared the blood on the lintel and doorposts. This is exactly what God want us (believers) to apply. Death can never reign in our lives anymore because we have the blood of His Son shed for the remission of our sins. Today, we celebrate because our Lord: our sacrificial Lamb has conquered death at the cross! Hallelujah!

Moses gave further instructions for the lamb to be eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The bitter herbs signify suffering and serve as a reminder to the people that God delivered them from the bitter bondage in Egypt. The bread had to be unleavened since leaven usually signified something evil. The true unleavened bread is the purity and holiness of a life lived in Christ. It is written in 1 Cor 5:6-8, "Let us celebrate the feast not with the old leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth".

The lamb could not be eaten raw or boiled, but had to be roasted over the fire. Fire is often used in the scriptures to denote judgment and hell. Christ, our true Passover (1 Cor. 5:7-8), underwent suffering and was slaughtered as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jesus took on the cross and fully exhausted the judgement and fiery indignation of God. Jesus was literally "burnt" as a sacrificial Lamb.

Therefore, Jesus cannot be consumed "raw". What does that mean? Consuming Jesus "raw" means without considering His finished work at the cross. We can study and follow all that Jesus did in His earthly ministry. Nothing wrong with that. But, we cannot simply take Him as an example and bypass the cross. When we fail to see Him as a sacrificial Lamb to be consumed roasted, we fail to understand what it means by fully exhausting the judgement and fiery indignation of God. We fail to understand why today God is no longer and can no longer be angry with us even though we may fall at times. In short, when we consumed Jesus "raw", we are not effectively receiving what Jesus came to give us and we are dishonouring His work at the cross!

The Passover Feast was a commemoration of deliverance to remind the people of how God liberated them from slavery in Egypt.  The Passover lamb was a symbol of safety since it was the blood which kept Israel safe on the night of destruction when the Angel of death passed through the land.

At the Last Supper Jesus fulfills the Jewish Passover meal by offering Himself as the true Lamb of God and perfect sacrifice for our sins. As a pledge of his love and in order to make his disciples sharers in his Passover, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper as the memorial of his death and resurrection and he commanded his apostles to celebrate it until he returns.  At the Last Supper Jesus directed his disciples' attention toward the fulfillment of the Passover in the kingdom of God:  "I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom" (Matthew 26:29). Amen! Hallelujah!

God instructed his people to remember the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover and celebrate it yearly as a memorial service.  In John 19:14, the Bible says that Jesus' crucifixion began at noon on the day of preparation for Passover and Matthew 27:45 says that Jesus died at the ninth hour. This was the exact day and hour at which the Passover lambs were to be sacrificed in the Temple as mentioned in OT! Evidently, Jesus became our Passover lambs at the cross! Amen!

As much as God liberated His people from slavery in Egypt and with the blood of the lamb, it kept their first born save from destruction. Today we can be liberated as well from the slavery from this fallen world. His blood, surpassing the blood of bulls and goats, has cleansed us from our sins once and for all! As much as the Israelites celebrated the Passover with the roasted lamb, today we (believers) have the most high Lamb "roasted" when He exhausted all of God's fiery judgement on our sins. In His resurrection, we rejoice and celebrate! For we know God is no longer and can no longer be angry with us anymore. Amen!

Today, we do not walk in fear of God's judgement over our sins anymore! Instead, we celebrate in faith, knowing God is on our side and we stand prefect before His eyes because of His Son, Jesus. We are now righteous before God and inevitably stand in His favor ground.The blessings of God will keep pouring into our lives because of our Lord, Jesus, our Passover Lamb. Amen! Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus!

Grace and peace be with you.