From its inception, the Passover foreshadowed the Lord’s Supper and Jesus’ death on the cross. What was the Passover all about?
First, it was about life and death. Egyptians died. Also, lambs were slaughtered, sparing the lives of Hebrews. In Exodus 12:12-13 we read the very words of God to Moses.
12 ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Second, the Passover was about appreciation to the Lord for His plan to spare each home and family who would His instructions and mark their homes with the blood of a lamb. (see vv. 24-27).
24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped (vv. 24-27).
Third, it was a memorial. God’s people were never to forget His protection and provision. Here is verse 14.
14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
Finally, the Passover was about a blood sacrifice. Blood was to be taken from each slaughtered lamb and spread on the doorposts and lintel of each house as a sign to the death angel to bypass the house (vv. 6-7,13).
6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.…
13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
The first letter in each of the key terms in these four points—
- life and death,
- appreciation,
- memorial, and
- blood sacrifice—
come together to spell LAMB. The Passover is about the lamb—and ultimately about the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ!
John 1:29
Copyright © 2014 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.