The Jesus Bible Reading PlanSample

THE PASSOVER LAMB

The Passover celebrates God’s miraculous deliverance of his people from slavery in Egypt. The focal point of the ceremony was the sacrifice of a Passover lamb whose blood was placed on the doorframes of the houses of the Israelites. While God enacted his final plague, the killing of the firstborn of the nation of Egypt, those living in homes marked by blood were spared death.

God provided clear specifications for the lamb that could be used at Passover — the lamb had to be a young male, without blemish or defect. In order to ensure its purity, the lamb was examined for four days following its selection. Those animals meeting God’s requirements were sacrificed in public, and none of the animal’s bones could be broken (Ex 12:46). The severity of the coming judgment required that the people of God observe this sacrifice with the utmost care. The annual commemoration of the Passover reminded the people both of the faithfulness of God to provide deliverance for his people and of their ongoing need for a substitute to pay the price their sin deserved.

The Passover sacrifice is one of the clearest pictures in the Old Testament of the coming work of Jesus. At the beginning of his earthly ministry, John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). His life met the requirements for a Passover sacrifice. He too was a young male, perfect in all ways. He would die a heinous, public death, though none of his bones were broken in the process (Jn 19:36). Because of Jesus’ death, those covered by his blood are spared the coming judgment (Ro 5:9; Eph 2:13).

New Testament authors refer to Jesus’ work using the imagery of the Passover because of the exact way in which Jesus fulfills the divinely orchestrated image of the Passover lamb (1Pe 1:19). Paul calls Jesus the Passover lamb who was sacrificed for his church (1Co 5:7). His perfect purity and substitutionary death uniquely qualified him to play this role. As the one and only Son of God, he could do what no animal could ever do — he could permanently satisfy the wrath of God on behalf of his people.

Jesus, my heart breaks when I think of what you went through for me. You were the perfect, spotless, innocent Lamb, and I thank you and worship you for your sacrifice. Amen.