Recently I’ve been reading through the book of Exodus during my daily quiet times. If you haven’t read Exodus before, or if you haven’t read it in a while, the book opens with the nation of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, suffering as slaves in the land of Egypt. They cry out to God, and He hears them and sends a man named Moses to lead them out of their slavery. As the Egyptian Pharaoh persistently refuses to let Israel go, God unleashes terrible plagues upon the land. After the tenth plague, Pharaoh finally releases the Israelites, and they are able to escape to the wilderness. In the wilderness, God begins to instruct Israel on how they are to live as the people of God.
The most pivotal moment in the book is the tenth plague, which was the death of every firstborn in Egypt (Exodus 12). God was going to pass through Egypt to kill all the firstborns, but He warned His people ahead of time. Each household was to take a young male lamb without blemish and kill it to eat. They were also to take some of the lamb’s blood and spread it on the doorway of their homes. Whoever had the blood of a young, unblemished lamb on their doorway that night would be passed over by God and their firstborns would be spared (therefore, the event was called Passover). The Israelites were commanded to celebrate this event every year, and Jews still celebrate Passover to this day.
While this story clearly puts God’s sovereignty, providence, and omnipotence on display, the Passover story in Exodus teaches us something else that we cannot recognize until we look at the New Testament.
When Jesus comes on the scene in the first chapter of the Gospel of John, John the Baptist identifies Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, ESV). I can imagine that those standing nearby were confused at John’s proclamation. Why would he describe this man as a lamb? Lambs are young. Lambs are weak. Lambs can’t defend themselves from predators. In fact, lambs were slaughtered often in ancient times for sacrifices. Why is Jesus being described as a lamb?
This description of Jesus doesn’t make sense until you read the story of His crucifixion. Jesus lived a perfect life. He was without sin, without blemish, just like the lambs chosen for Passover (Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 1:9, Exodus 12:5). He was killed without any broken bones, like the Passover lambs were killed without any of their bones being broken (John 19:31-36, Exodus 12:46). Just as the blood of the lambs spread on the doorposts provided salvation for the Israelites, the blood of Jesus spilled on the cross provides salvation and redemption for those who believe in Him as their Savior and Lord (Hebrews 9:12, 14; 1 John 1:7). And just as the Passover led to the Israelites being set free from their slavery to Egypt, Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection sets us free from our slavery to sin (Romans 8:2).
As the Easter holiday draws nearer, remember the true reason for our celebration. Let us not become too focused on baskets from the Easter Bunny or searching for colored eggs. Let us instead give thanks that Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), lived a perfect life and paid the ultimate price to save us from our sins.
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57, ESV
