Passover: The Lord Is The Lamb Series

PASSOVER: The Lord Is The Lamb

Dr. Larry Petton

Text: Exodus 12

Series: Greatest Chapters of the Bible #5

Cross Pointe Community Church

Tontitown, Arkansas

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Holidays are not an American idea. It is a totally Jewish invention. God gave the people of Israel "holy-days" when He wanted to remind them of His blessings and also wanted to point to the coming Savior at the same time. He called these days, "feasts".

I. FEASTS REVEAL FOUR TRUTHS ABOUT GOD:

(1) Feasts reveal that God is a God of order.

(2) Feasts show that God is a God of celebration & remembrance.

(3) Feasts point to Christ.

(4) Feasts give us God’s plan for the ages.

The Hebrew word for feasts (moadim) appears in Scripture 223 times and means "appointed times.“ In other words, feasts were given that we might tell the time. Paul reminds believers in Christ in I Thessalonians 5 that we are not in darkness to the season of Christ's return. We don't know the day or hour of His return. But we can look around and sense the season. If you look out your window and see snow, you know the season. It is winter and you can't wait for Spring to come!

If you look at the condition of the world right now......

If you look at the condition of Israel right now....

If you look at the condition of the Church right now....

If you look at all of these things.....

You know that we are in the season of His return.

He may not come for a thousand years. He may come today! Time is irrelevant to Him. One day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day (II Peter 3:9-12).

However, as I look out of my theological window........I see that one season is about to end and another is about to sprout.

II. FEASTS IN THE BIBLE

There are seven feasts in the Bible and they help us to tell the time. Four were historically fulfilled in Christ's first coming. The other three will be fulfilled at Christ's second coming.

The First Coming of Christ:

The Passover Feast is a picture of the death of Christ, God's Lamb.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a picture of the burial of Christ.

The Feast of Firstfruits is a picture of Christ's resurrection, the first fruit from the dead.

The Feast of Pentecost was a celebration of the harvest and is a picture of the beginning of the Church at Pentecost.

The Second Coming of Christ:

The Feast of Trumpets is a picture of the Rapture of the Church, when the last trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ shall rise.

The Day of Atonement pictures the day of Judgment that is awaiting all who reject Christ.

The Feast of Tabernacles is a picture of the coming reign of Christ on earth where we tabernacle together in worship & fellowship.

III. THE FEAST OF PASSOVER

The Feast of Passover is the clearest picture of the Cross in the Old Testament. God commanded it. Israel celebrated it. Jesus fulfilled it. Notice the eight great parallels between the Passover Lamb and Christ, the Lamb of God:

1. THE LAMB MUST BE CHOSEN. Each Jewish family chose their very best lamb. Sometimes that lamb was actually a family pet. It was quite a sacrifice to bring the chosen lamb. Jesus is the Lamb who was chosen by God. When John the Baptist saw Christ for the first time, he declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).

2. THE CHOSEN LAMB MUST BE TESTED. God commanded the people of Israel to keep the lamb for four days and examine it (Exodus 12:5-6). God would not accept an injured lamb. God would not accept a sick lamb. God would not accept a lamb that was not the very best. God will likewise not accept anything into His Presence without perfection. No human could qualify for we have all been injured by the Fall of Adam (Romans 3:23). But, our Lord's life was under hostile scrutiny and testing which proved his holiness and worthiness (Luke 11:53-54). He passed every test.

3. THE LAMB MUST BE WITHOUT BLEMISH. Jesus was without any blemish. Paul said in II Corinthians 5:21, "For He who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." The word for "knew" is epiginosko, meaning, "to experience". Christ did not experience any sin in his life. The writer of Hebrews says, "He was tempted in all points, yet without sin."

Have you been tempted with lust? So was Christ.

Have you been tempted with anger? So was Christ.

Have you been tempted with jealousy? So was Christ.