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Pictures of Christ: The Passover (12:1-28)
We speak often of the seven feasts of Moses, the Levitical feasts, this is not a Levitical feast. Rabbinical feasts were slaughtered by the High Priest, this is slaughtered for every household, by the head of the household. It is very different than the other feasts. It is also partaken, eaten personally.
Passover pictures SALVATION in Christ!
The 10th plague is a picture of dying in one’s sin:
• It was UNSPEAKABLE – to even imagine a supernatural messenger of doom was to hunt and kill the firstborn, was beyond words. That anyone could pick out the firstborn of man and livestock in the unlit blackness of an Egyptian night, is imperceivable. And to know it was tonight, was beyond words to express.
• It was UNAVOIDABLE – there was no place he would not visit. Each family would be noticed and examined from the poorest to the richest. From the huts of farming peasants to the ivory halls of palaces, all would see the dark shadow of the Death Angel.
• It was UNSTOPPABLE – there was no power on earth then or now that could have stopped that stalking death. Nothing to deflect his sword of death.
• It was UNEXPECTED – life was moving along as expected. Business as usual. Yes, that old fanatic was still crying judgment. But, we live in a real-world, not some God we can’t see who can judge us. Remember, the gods of Egypt were put to bed each night in their temples by the priest. Awakened each day, fed, clothed, and put on display…Sounds just like Hell and the wrath of God facing unrepentant sinners today. Remember that Jesus says!
THERE WAS A FULL SALVATION TO SEEK:
• God’s offer was Salvation – He gave the ones who would listen to the only solution to avert the disaster of the Death Angel’s sword.
• God’s plan was Substitution – He detailed a simple act of taking an innocent, spotless lamb to die in the place of the family members.
• God’s method was the Sprinkling of Blood – in the dark, a sprinkle of blood on the doorposts was all it took to find protection.
• God’s promise was Sufficient – it included deliverance from death, provision of all needs for life, and the hope of a land of promise flowing with milk and honey. All this with a personal guide to assure safe arrival!
So what does the Lord want us to remember tonight? THE PASSOVER. And what does that teach us? About our REDEMPTION? THERE IS A FINAL, DARK PLAGUE TO FEAR. It is UNSPEAKABLE, UNAVOIDABLE, UNSTOPPABLE, and UNEXPECTED. Sounds just like Hell and the wrath of God facing unrepentant sinners today. Remember that Jesus says!
THERE IS A FULL SALVATION TO SEEK: God’s offer was Salvation; God’s plan was Substitution; God’s method was the Sprinkling of Blood; and God’s promise was Sufficient. Sounds like simply receiving the gift of God in Christ! So Exodus 12 gives us the thrilling story of the Passover, the clearest Old Testament picture of our individual salvation through faith in the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this chapter is the basis for calling Christ the Lamb of God, Christ our Passover, and the many tender references to His crucifixion as the death of our own Passover Lamb. For even Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us (I Corinthians 5:7. God said that the firstborn in all of Egypt should die. It would have fallen on the Hebrews, too, had they not killed the paschal lamb and been protected by its blood of redemption (Exodus 12:12,13). The message of the Passover is found in Exodus 12:7 & 13.
SPECIFIC: Only those who obeyed the Lord’s specific instructions would be spared.
SACRIFICIAL: Put the BLOOD of an innocent, spotless lamb that was poured out, caught in a bowl and applied. SUBSTITUTIONARY: Paint it on the doorposts as a reminder that a lamb was identified with that family and it was slain. This was true of all the homes that wish to be spared the horrors of God’s wrath.
SUFFICIENT: All who hid behind the shadow of that bloody sacrifice were protected from God’s wrath. The bloody cross of Calvary casts a narrow shadow in today’s sinful world. All who step by faith into that place of refuge are eternally saved from God’s wrath upon sin. And, they can begin to enjoy His abundant life forever.