Sermon Tone Analysis

*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).