PASSOVER FORESHADOWS THE ONCE FOR ALL SACRIFICE OF CHRIST
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“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29 –
Jesus is our Passover Lamb. The foreshadowing of His sacrifice on the cross for our sins can be seen in the Jewish celebration of Passover. This festival commemorates the night God spared the Israelites from the final plague inflicted upon Egypt, opening the way for their deliverance from bondage.
“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.” – Exodus 12:13
God commanded His people to choose a lamb without defect to sacrifice. By placing its blood on the doorframes of their homes, they were spared the loss of their firstborn. For the Angel of Death would “pass over” the homes marked by the blood of the lamb.
Innocent blood was shed in the killing of the Passover lamb. Its life was a substitutionary atonement, sacrificed for the life of the firstborn who would have died in the plague. Its blood on the doorframes of the homes identified the inhabitants as God’s chosen people, protecting them from death. What an amazing foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ!
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” – Colossians 1:15
Jesus became God incarnate… fully God and fully man… without sin, without imperfection. He was the perfect sacrificial Lamb, the firstborn over all creation. His innocent blood was shed for us to free us from bondage to sin. He chose death on our behalf, allowing God’s judgment to “pass over” His chosen ones. Jesus won for us victory over death by His sacrifice on the cross so that we could inherit eternal life.
“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
God instructed Moses that life is in the blood… and only through blood is atonement fulfilled. Jesus became our substitutionary sacrifice. His sacrificial blood was shed on the cross once for all… the blood of redemption that saves all who believe. He took upon Himself our sins and gave us His righteousness. His life for our life… the “Great Exchange”.
The perfect sacrifice of Christ is accepted by believers through faith. His blood cleanses us from all sin, protects us from death, and seals us for all eternity as God’s own. We have the blood of Jesus upon the “doorframes” of our lives that covers us with His divine protection. We bear the mark of God’s children, children of the New Covenant.
“We can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.” – Hebrews 10:19-20
Christ our Redeemer satisfied God’s wrath against sin, the wrath we deserved. His sacrifice won for us peace and reconciliation with God. When Jesus breathed His last upon the cross, the curtain into the Most Holy Place in the temple was torn from top to bottom. This miraculous event symbolizes that nothing can now separate us from God and His perfect love for us. What an incredible privilege that we can come into His holy presence with confidence that we are His beloved and forgiven children. All because of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ.
† Eternal Takeaway – The Lamb of God was the perfect sacrifice that atoned for all our sins †
