Exodus 12 - Don't Pass Over the Passover

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Thomas S. Myers

DON'T PASS OVER THE PASSOVER

Exodus 12

            Menelik II was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 until 1913.  News of a successful new means of dispatching criminals reached him.  The news was about a device known as an electric chair.  The Emperor eagerly ordered one for his country.  Unfortunately, no one bothered to warn him that it would never work because Ethiopia at that time had no electricity.  Menelik was determined that his new purchase should not go to waste.  He converted the electric chair into a throne.  There was another occasion when an instrument of death became a throne.  On a hillside near Jerusalem about twenty centuries ago, a cross became a throne for Jesus Christ.  That ancient instrument of torture and death was converted into a powerful symbol of life, hope, and resurrection.  To get a closer look at Jesus Christ, look in the Old Testament.  There He is pictured as a sacrificial lamb.   Look at Exodus chapter 12 and see:

FIRST -- THE PORTRAIT OF THE LAMB.  

            In Exodus 12:1-13 God is giving Moses some very important instructions.  The instructions are so important, that if Moses does not give the instructions properly, a large number of people are going to die.  Look at Exodus 12:3

3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. (NIV)

            God is telling Moses how he is to instruct the entire congregation of Israel on how they can have the protection of God.  Look at:

EXODUS 12:5

5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take

them from the sheep or the goats. (NIV)

            Think how carefully Moses must have instructed his people.  If he did not give the instructions right, the first born child would die.  If you were there and you did not follow the instructions correctly, your child would die.  I can just hear Moses saying, "Listen carefully, you must take a lamb home, and it must be a male, not older than 1 year old.  You are to keep the lamb for 4 days.  But on the 4th day, you must kill the lamb.  You are to take the blood of  that lamb and apply it on the door post and lintel of your front door.  Then you can walk through the blood into the safety of your home." 

            If I was listening to Moses, I would have gotten out a pen and a sheet of paper and written down the instructions.  I mean, I would not want to take a chance of incorrectly following the directions.

            That little lamb that was slain was a picture of Jesus Christ.  Notice:

A.  THE ______________ OF THE LAMB THAT HAD TO BE CHOSEN.

 

EXODUS 12:5

5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. (NIV)

 

            Do you know what the Bible says about our Lord Jesus Christ? 

2 CORINTHIANS 5:21

21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV)

1 Peter 1:18-19

18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood

of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (NIV)

 

            The lamb that had no spot or blemish is a picture of our Savior who had no sin.  I can see a man saying to his wife, "I am going to go and choose the lamb today."  She says, "Make sure the lamb has no defects." And he says, "You can count on that."  You can imagine how that father takes a lamb and he looks over that entire lamb to see if it has a sore, he checks the hoof, he opens the mouth of the lamb looking for a defect and he looks in the ears and eyes looking for disease.  He thoroughly looks over the lamb.  Finally he comes home, and he says, "Honey, I found a lamb without defect."

            Do you know what day they were to bring the lambs into the city of Jerusalem?  The very same day that Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem.  We call it Palm Sunday. 

            Once the lambs entered Jerusalem, the priests would then examine the lamb.  They would check its teeth, look at its eyes.  They would examine the lamb very closely.  But I want you to know that there was never a lamb more closely examined than Jesus Christ.  The father-in-law to the high priest examined Jesus.  Then the high priest examined Jesus.  Then the entire priesthood, then Pilate, then Herod, and then Pilate examined Jesus again.  They questioned Jesus, they picked at Jesus, they scrutinized Him, and they accused Him.  They examined Jesus more thoroughly then any other lamb.  But they all had to agree with Pilate.  Look at Luke 23:4 and Luke 23:14 and see what Pilate had to say about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Luke 23:4

4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man." (NIV)

Luke 23:13-15

13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death." (NIV)

           

Pilate is saying to the religious crowd, Herod hasn't found any fault in Him, I haven't found any fault in Him, and you haven't found any fault in Him.  What kind of lamb was Jesus Christ?  Jesus Christ was God's perfect lamb.  Jesus Christ had no sin.  Not only is there the character of the Lamb, there is also the:

B.  THE _______________ OF THE LAMB. 

EXODUS 12:6

6 Take care of the lamb until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. (NIV)

            They were to keep the lamb for 4 days.  But on the 4th day, the lamb was to be slain.  Here is a lamb that was chosen to die!  This lamb was to be put to death.  At 3 o'clock in the afternoon this lamb was to be slain.  You see, it was not going to be a living lamb that would deliver the Jews out of Egypt, it was a dying lamb that was going to save them.  Do you know what time it was that Jesus Christ died as He hung upon the cross?  The exact same time the Passover lamb was slain at 3:00 in the afternoon (Luke 23:44-46). 

C.  THE ___________________ OF THE LAMB.

            What were they to do with the lamb's blood?

Exodus 12:7&22

7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go

out the door of his house until morning.

            They were to take the blood, and as a public showing of their faith, they were to put the lamb's blood on the doorframe.  They were to do it openly, publicly and unashamedly.  Their house would be marked out as a home that is under the blood. 

 

Exodus 12:13

13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. (NIV)

           

And it had to be blood.  If they would have placed rubies on the door frame, it would have done no good.  It had to be blood!

Hebrews 9:22

22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (NIV)

Ephesians 1:7

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (NIV)

D.  THE LORD'S SUPPER OF THE LAMB.

            They were to feed upon this lamb.  They were to take this lamb into them. 

Exodus 12:8-11

8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.

Colossians 1:27

27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (NIV)

 

SECOND -- THE PRESENTATION OF THE LAMB OF GOD. 

            No longer will you just know about God.  You will know God personally, intimately, and your sins will be gone.   Because Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, will be personally slain for you.  I want you to notice what kind of Lamb Jesus was.  Notice:

a.  THE ___________________ OF THE LAMB OF GOD.

Luke 22:19

19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." (NIV)

            What is this about?  Jesus is eating the Passover meal with His disciples.  And the Bible says in VERSE 19

"he took bread, gave thanks and broke it"

            For years the Jews have wondered, why was the bread so prominent with the Passover meal?  Then Jesus unraveled the mystery.  Notice again VERSE 19:

"19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you"

            Jesus said the bread represented His body.  That is what Passover is all about. 

            Then Jesus picked up the cup.  Look at:

Luke 22:20

20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (NIV)

            Notice that it was not just any cup that Jesus picked up.  It says, "He took THE CUP," not a cup.  Sitting on the table was a cup, called the "Messiah's cup."  It always just sat there on the table.  No one was to drink from it.  I'm sure children often asked their parents, "Why is there always that extra cup on the table?"  The parents would say, "That is the Messiah's cup.  Some day He's coming and it's for Him."  Then Jesus said in VERSE 20:

 "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (NIV)   

            Then Jesus went out to the garden of Gethsemane and then to the cross to die.

 

b.  THE ___________________ OF THE LAMB OF GOD.

            In the first covenant, they were to take the blood of the lamb and apply it on the doorframe.  It was an outward evidence that they were not ashamed of God's way of deliverance.  Now in the new covenant, we don't apply blood on the doorframe.  Instead, we apply the blood of Jesus to our heart.  That is why it says in:

Romans 10:9

9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV)

            The Chinese character for "righteousness" is most interesting. It is composed of two separate characters, one standing for a lamb, the other for me.  When "lamb" is placed directly above "me," a new character  of  "righteousness" is formed.  This is a helpful picture of the grace of God.  Between me, the sinner, and God, the Holy One, there is interposed by faith the Lamb of God.  Because of His sacrifice, He has received me on the ground of faith, and I have become righteous

i

C.  THE __________________ OF THE LAMB OF GOD.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do

this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (NIV)

            We are not just under the blood, but the Lamb is within us.  When I take the bread and the fruit of the vine, it is my way of saying, "I'm feeding upon the Lamb and the Lamb is within me." 

            In the early morning darkness of January 18, 1991, an Iraqi Scud Missile streaked high over the desert of Saudi Arabia, bound for the heart of the coalition forces allied against Saddam Hussein.  "Condition Red!  Condition  Red!  Gas Masks!" the voice boomed through the camouflaged encampment of 2nd Battalion (Patriot) 7th Regiment Air Defense Artillery in Saudi Arabia.  In a small control van, two lieutenants and a sergeant monitoring the radar screens saw the fast-moving blip.  Their system was up and running.  With a great concussion and a roar, a Patriot missile fired from its canister.  An ABC television crew on the roof of a nearby building caught what happened next.  The Patriot fireball streaked into the sky, breaking the sound barrier with a boom and blew away the incoming Scud.  It was history's first wartime intercept of a ballistic missile.  Hussein thought that the Soviet-made Scud missile would be his trump card just as it had been in the war with Iran, but the Patriot missile obliterated his trump card.  Satan has also waged a war.  He has been the accuser of the brethren.  Satan has held the trump card, accusing us before God.  But on another day, some 2000 years ago, another interception took place in a Middle Eastern sky.  On that day, the Lamb of God was suspended between heaven and earth and intercepted our sin.  That day, Jesus was sacrificed, and by the blood of Jesus Christ, our sins were forgiven!

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