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3 Speak ye unto all the
congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take
to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for
an house: 4 And if the household be too
little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it
according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall
make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without
blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from
the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until
the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the
blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the
houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in
that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they
shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at
all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the
purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it
remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye
shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with
your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye
shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. 12 For I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night, and will smite 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 And the blood shall be to you
for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass
over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the
land of Egypt. (Ex 12:2-13)
Have you ever pondered of just what things of the Scriptures Jesus reminded the
two men on the Road to Emmaus? Was it not all of the Law and Prophets that
point directly to the Lord of Lords? In fact every Word of Scripture is about
our Lord. Do you suppose that revelation of Jesus may have included the account
of the very first Passover down in Goshen of Egypt? 25 O
fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter
into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto
them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke
24:25-27)
Being Omniscient, the Lord knows all things past, present and future. In
Eternity Past, He conceived of a means of reconciliation and redemption for the
sons of Adam whom He knew would choose the poison tree rather than the
nourishing fruit of the Tree of Life. The provision God made in that twilight
of the primordial pre-Creation was His only Begotten Son who would be typified
in the innocent Lamb without blemish that was sacrificed in old Egypt as a
means of preservation and protection of the chosen people from the wrath of
God. You will note that they were not required to earn that salvation by any
good or commendable works, but simply by belonging to His Elect nation and
obeying this critical command given through Moses to cover their doorposts and
lintels with the blood of that innocent lamb. When the Avenging Angel of the
Lord passed over Egypt that night, He would see the blood covering the
doorposts and lintels (both horizontal and vertical much as the cross) He would
pass over that dwelling and all its occupants spared. The only good thing they
did was obey that one, simple command.
The Passover Lamb is sacrificed on eve of 14 Nisan. So was our Lord Jesus
Christ sacrificed at that very moment when the sacrificial lamb was sacrificed
in the Temple just beyond whose walls stood that brutal and rough-hewn cross
upon which our Savior was crucified for remission of our sins. The appointed
time of the Temple sacrifice was the 9th hour (or 3:00 pm) on the
eve of 14th Nisan. 44 And it was about the sixth
hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
45 And the sun was darkened, and the
veil of the temple was rent in the midst. 46 And when Jesus had cried with a
loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Luke
23:44-46) Of the
same event, Matthew says: 51 And, behold, the
veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and
the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and
many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after
his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (Matt
27:51-53) You
will note two points in the above texts:
1. Jesus died precisely at the hour
of the sacrifice of the Temple lambs;
2. The Veil of the Temple dividing
the Holy Place (the place beyond which the High Priest could not go) from the
Holiest Place (place of God) was rent from TOP to BOTTOM symbolizing a work
that only God could initiate from on high.
It was the High Priest who annually wafted the prayers of intermediation of the
people on high with the upward curling smoke of the frankincense from the Table
of Incense before the Veil. He was not permitted to go beyond that Veil as High
Priest. But now, with the final and efficacious sacrifice of the Lamb of God, that
Veil was torn removing the separation of the believer from God. Christ has now
become our High Priest and Intermediary who is not separated by any such Veil
from the Father. 18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained
before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for
you, 21 Who by him do believe in God,
that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope
might be in God.
(1 Peter 1:18-21)
Our Lord was in a Borrowed Tomb where He rested over the Sabbath Day which He
always observed even in the Tomb (for that Sabbath Day was also the annual
Passover and therefore classified as a High Sabbath). 31 The Jews therefore,
because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the
cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought
Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (John
19:31) The
preparation was the time of preparation of the Lamb sacrificed in the Temple
which had died at 3:00 pm along with the Lamb of God. It was a time, too, of
the preparation of the Body of Christ for burial. Can you see the absolute
economy of God in His Word shedding effulgent beams of Light on His dear Son?
We no longer sacrifice innocent lambs or oxen on the Day of Passover. In fact,
every day is Passover for us since Christ exists eternally with the Father and
has become our Passover. 7 Purge out therefore the
old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ
our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast,
not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but
with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Cor
5:7-8) In the
liturgical aspects of the Holy Communion, we are observing the true Passover of
Christ. We spiritually partake of His Body in the unleavened Bread (leaven
represents sin and false doctrine; therefore the nature of the bread should
bear the nature of the thing symbolized); and His Blood in the Wine. We are
practicing, in the Lord’s Supper, that coming Great Wedding Feast of the Lord
and His Bride the Church. My old pastor of bygone days used to repeat the
oft-quoted adage, “A family that sups together, stays together.” I suppose this
is cemented by prayer as well.
Now, reader, if we fail to grasp the significance of that first Passover in old
Egypt, we can in no wise comprehend the glorious fulfillment of that promised
Passover consummated in the crucifixion of Christ in our redemption. At that
last Day when God sees that we are covered by that blood of the cross that His
Son shed in our purchase, He will Passover us just as the Angel of Death Passed
Over the Children of Israel in Egypt – except this will be the Great Passover –
not in sparing our mortal lives, but beckoning us to eternal life with Him.
Parallels of First Passover with
Christ
1 Passover lamb was unblemished and
spotless. So is the Lamb of God of pure and complete innocence. John the
Baptist properly called Him the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the
world.
2 Passover lamb of Egypt was to be
taken out of the fold. Our Lord, too, became part of the fold of humanity: “14 And
the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14 (KJV)
3 Passover lamb of Egypt had to be
one year old signifying its youthful maturity. Our Lord too died in full bloom
of young manhood.
4 Passover lamb in Egypt was to be
roasted whole. So was the crucifixion of Christ a whole offering for all of the
sins of the world. Not a bone of His body was broken. (John 19:36). How sad of
the modern Body of Christ (the Church) which is broken and humiliated in the
face of the world.
5 Blood of the lamb of Passover
was to be saved in a basin for its preciousness, and not trodden under foot. We
observe that rule in the wine of Communion which must not be treated
irreverently or trodden under foot.
6 Blood of the Passover lamb in
Egypt was not only shed indoors (sprinkled on our souls) but sprinkled on the
doors, posts, and lintels for all without to see. I believe this symbolizes
that those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ inwardly will also
bear an outward witness of that Blood.
Do
you bear that faithful witness abroad?
