His Final FootstepsSample

The Sacrificial Lamb

The very first Passover shows God satisfying both His justice and His love by providing innocent blood to spare His beloved Children. He delivers them not only from bondage but also from death through the blood of the Passover lamb.

This shedding of innocent blood for the forgiveness of sins is a central theme of God’s atoning work. But it’s much more than a literary or symbolic act. It’s the literal lifeblood of our faith. Of course, this all was pointing toward the future arrival of the ultimate Pesach sacrifice—the Lamb of God, Yeshua. The apostle Paul recognized this and directly identifies Yeshua’s execution as the Passover’s fulfillment:

. . . for Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7 TLV).

Did you know that the Aramaic word for lamb is talya, which can mean either lamb or servant? Isaiah chapter 53’s famous “Suffering Servant” passage describes Yeshua as a Lamb led to the slaughter.

The New Covenant also calls Yeshua “the Lamb”— no fewer than 34 times! In fact, the number of parallels between the Passover lamb and Jesus is nothing less than extraordinary. Taken as a whole, these passages show that God had been preparing for Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice since the dawn of human history.

Food For Thought and Prayer
Yeshua once said that He “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NIV). What is my attitude and expectation today? Will I allow a deeper understanding of Yeshua’s atoning work—the forgiveness, safety, wholeness, and acceptance I have in Him—to free me to serve others today?