Jesus – Our Passover
The Old Testament is the tutor that reveals to us God’s plan in the New Testament. The Bible teaches us that it is not possible for the Old Testament law to make us righteous (Hebrews 10:4) but rather that all the Old Testament law serves as our tutor to reveal God’s plan and point us to Christ (Galatians 3:24-25). The message of the Passover is not only an Easter message but it is the message of the Gospel of our amazing redemption in Jesus Christ. Everything in the Old Testament ultimately points ahead to the cross of Jesus Christ. Everything in the New Testament points us back to the cross of Jesus Christ as our foundation and the reason for all that is revealed in scripture.
The message of the Passover was preached in the Old Testament, though it was veiled until after Jesus was revealed. The plight of Israel teaches us the redemption of God in Christ. Let us begin by looking at Exodus 12:21-27
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 "For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 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.
Israel was in bondage for 400 years and served as slaves in Egypt. God sent 9 plagues against Egypt but Pharaoh would not release his captives. The passage above picks up just before the final plague God would send that humbled Pharaoh so that he willingly let God’s people go. In preparation for this great plague to come, God gave Moses instructions for the people of Israel. They were to quickly prepare a Passover lamb, slaughter it and take the blood of that lamb and strike it on lintel (or upper doorpost) and on the two side doorposts.
The Israelites did not know the meaning behind this command, but they were instructed to obey and make it into a tradition so their future generations would ask and be reminded of the deliverance of God. After the feast, God sent judgment into the land and the destroyer killed the firstborn heirs in every house in Egypt; however, God also promised that His judgment would pass over any house that had the blood on the door.
Jesus is the Lamb
The lamb slain by the Israelites was intended to be a symbol that pointed to Jesus Christ. Jesus was the Lamb of God and He alone is the only sacrifice for sins. The Bible tells us that it is impossible for the animal sacrifices to take away sin. Their purpose was to be a yearly reminder of the wages of sin and to point to the sacrifice that would eventually be paid in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament law was not a failed attempt to redeem man but was a teacher for the people so they would understand the debt to sin and salvation in Christ. Look at these two passages:
Isaiah 53:5-10 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked -- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
Mark 14:22-25 22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." 23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. 25 "Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
Even though Jesus foretold His death and explained his sacrifice for the New Covenant, the concept was missed by everyone until His resurrection. During His walk to Emmaus, those He encountered were still in mourning because they thought the Jesus’ death was evidence that He was not the deliverer of Israel that was hoped for. He took them to the Old Testament and showed how the Messiah had to suffer and die and that the Old Testament scriptures prepared the way as they foretold this. All of the ritualistic laws of the Old Testament served as tutors to reveal the plan of God yet to be fulfilled.
Slaves to Sin
The Bible has given this as a tutor in order to understand the plan of salvation in the New Testament. Pharaoh stands as an example of how Satan has the people of this generation in bondage to sin. A sinner can never free himself from bondage. Like the children of Israel, before Christ we may cry to be free, but Satan was the strong ruler of this age that has the power to enslave. Each person that commits sin is now a slave to sin. No power of man can break this bondage. The children of Israel worked hard all their lives but had nothing to show for their labors. Religion teaches people to work hard to earn heaven but in reality, any works accomplished by the flesh remains under bondage and has no profit for the worker. The structures of Egypt stand today as evidence of Israel’s labor, but all the profit belong to the slave master. Works, religion, and all the efforts of mankind cannot set him free from the bondage of sin. Only the payment of our debt by Jesus Christ has the power to break the bondage of sin. Look at Romans 6:3-11
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Deliverance from Sin
Jesus died to pay our debt and purchase our freedom and we then have the power by the hand of God to die to our flesh and be raised as a new creation in Christ. Baptism is simply a testimony that we are identifying with the death of Christ. When we die to Christ, our old man is put to death by being crucified with Him and is no more. We become a new creation in Christ. We are free because we are in Him. Jesus alone has the power to overcome Satan’s claims to keep us in bondage. He overcame death and paid the penalty of sin. Satan is not a willing participant in God’s plan of salvation. Look at Matthew 12:29-30
29 "Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
Jesus provided this illustration in response to the Pharisees’ claim that He delivered a possessed man by the power of the prince of demons. Jesus is the one who binds the strong man. The Bible tells us that Satan is the god of this world. The worldly culture is the devil’s house and each person in the world belongs to him for this short time on earth. When a person comes to Christ, it is the work of God. No one decides to become a Christian but instead Satan is bound and we are plundered from his house because our freedom has been purchased by Jesus’ own blood. This is why the Bible says that no one can come to the Son unless he is first drawn. When the Holy Spirit reveals our sin and the message of the gospel, Satan is bound and God calls. Like some of the children of Israel, many will desire to stay in bondage rather than step out into the unknown; however, God still calls. Look now at John 8:31-36
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." 33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ’You will be made free’?" 34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 "And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Those who remain enslaved to sin will never inherit the promise. Once we are set free, we are adopted as sons and daughters and will remain in the house forever. God has permitted Satan to reign in this world for a season, but when He reclaims His rightful ownership, only those who are His will remain. One day the proclamation will be made, “The kingdoms have become the kingdoms of Christ forever” (Revelation 11:15). Those who are His will reign with Him and our redemption is solely by the power of God alone and not our work. It is the truth that makes us free and the truth is the Word of God.
Blood on the Doorpost
The deliverance of Israel from the destroyer passing through the land was based solely on who was under the blood of the lamb. God did not pick and choose based on works, morality, status or any other standard of worth. The warning of God was simple: those who were under the blood would be passed over and those without the blood would be judged. Those who abided in the house were no different than they were prior to the blood. Sins were overlooked because God looked to see if the house was covered by the blood. Anyone who neglected God’s plan of deliverance was judged.
The same is true for salvation in Christ. When God visits the sinner, each person must choose whether to be under the blood or reject God’s deliverance. Many murderers and vile criminals will find deliverance in Christ while many moral, religious people will be judged in their sins. Why? It is because “He who sows in the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption”. The works of man are the efforts of the flesh and the flesh cannot produce the things of the Spirit. This is true even if our intentions are sincere. God does not change the person before He accepts Christ. The person in the house is the exact same person if he is out of the house, yet our judgment is passed over when our sinful lives are covered by the blood.
After we surrender to Christ God will change us. This is the difference between justification and sanctification. Justification simply means to be declared to be just – or right according to the law. Anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ is declared to be a just person because God sees the blood and is the evidence that Jesus has paid our debt to sin. Our sins are then passed over and God does not bring wrath upon His people. Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God. This is for another study but as a brief summary, the word ‘sanctify’ means to be set apart for God.
We come to Christ as a sinner and we are declared right before God without having made any changes to our lives. However, when we come to Christ, God puts His Spirit within us and the Holy Spirit begins to change our lives. Some things change immediately while other things are a longer process. There are many facets to the human life and the process of sanctification is God’s work of dealing with us and drawing us to surrender every area of our life to Him – one sin at a time. Anything in our lives that is not based on faith, is sin. We spend our entire lives letting God search out the hidden things in our hearts so that we can give ourselves to Him. In time, we become more and more sanctified as our lives become set apart for Him as we surrender these areas of our life to God.
This begins only after the blood is applied to the doorpost of our hearts. Satan is bound, God draws us to salvation in Christ and then we choose to stay in bondage or become a son or daughter of God by passing through the door of Jesus Christ. John 10:7-11
7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 "All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
Fulfilled in Christ Bodily
Never accept any doctrine that adds to the salvation message or removes from God’s plan of salvation. Many are offended by the blood; however, the Bible says that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin (Hebrews 9:22). The Bible says that Jesus is a Rock of offense; therefore, we should not be surprised when people are offended at the gospel. We cannot change the message to reach people. People are offended when they reject the drawing of the Spirit. To avoid offending someone is futile since they are offended at Christ. To tiptoe around the gospel message is to reject the gospel on behalf of those we are trying to reach.
Another danger to the message is adding to the message to require something beyond the cross. Some add works to the salvation message even though the scripture states that if salvation is by works then it is no longer grace and therefore cannot give salvation to the worker. Works can never produce righteousness – even in the Christian’s life. Another terrible error is the growing popularity of the doctrine that Jesus had to pay our debt in hell. If you look at scripture you will not see one statement that even remotely implies that salvation was completed anywhere other than the cross. In fact, we are told that the penalty of sin was paid in the body of Christ. Sin is of the flesh and is in the body – not the spirit. Therefore the wages of sin are paid in the body. For those who die without Christ, there is a second death. The second death only applies to those who are without Christ.
The Bible teaches that hell was created for Satan and his angels, not for man. Man was created for fellowship with God, but sin has become a barrier to the life God intended for man from the beginning. Hell is for those who reject God and choose death. I had a man tell me once that if certain sins were not in heaven, he wanted to go to hell. Of course the reality of the matter is that these sins will not be practiced in hell either.
Another reason that Jesus did not need to pay for our judgment in hell is because our spirit is already dead in our sins. We are not alive spiritually until after we are regenerated by the Spirit. The old man is killed and the new man is created by God. Why would you need to pay the penalty of the new man that has been given to us as a gift from God? Does God give us corruption? Is His gift of new life so imperfect that now He has to redeem what He just created? Absolutely not. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
What need is there to redeem what God has said has passed away. The old man has been discarded because our old nature was dead. We no longer carry around death, but God has taken away the old and given us a new, eternal life that is of God and will never pass away. There is absolutely no need to redeem what God has created within us and there is absolutely no need to redeem what God has taken out of us.
Scripturally we can see that the new man comes at the moment of salvation and has no need of being redeemed, but we also see that Jesus’ sacrifice was of the flesh. Since sin is of the flesh, the penalty of sin had to be paid in the flesh. Jesus did not die spiritually but physically. In fact, the scriptures tell us that Christ redeemed us by being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. Look at the following passages:
1 Peter 3: 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
Ephesians 2:13-16 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
Colossians 1:19-23 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight -- 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Colossians 2:13-15 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Consider the weight of these wonderful passages: the wall that separated us from God was abolished in His flesh; we were enemies by wicked works but He has reconciled us in the body of His flesh through death; our written account was paid and taken out of the way by having nailed it to the cross; He triumphed over the principalities and powers in it (the cross).
Sin is of the flesh and it was judged in the flesh. If scripture states that all these things were accomplished on the cross, who would dare make the claim that this was not good enough? On the cross, Jesus declared, “It is finished”. Do we now have the arrogance to say, “No, there has to be more?” It is an insult to God to declare His work incomplete. Salvation is through the cross and the cross alone. Hell cannot redeem us. The scripture points to the shed blood of Jesus poured out for us on the cross as our only hope of salvation. If anyone tries to find salvation anywhere else, he is still dead in his sins. If anyone tries to further the work of salvation beyond the cross, he is still dead in his sins. Salvation is by grace through faith. If someone not does have the faith that the cross is enough, they have not trusted Christ. Grace is by faith alone and faith is believing and putting our trust in God. God presented salvation to us through the cross of Jesus Christ and we either have faith in God’s plan of redemption or we reject it. There is not a third option. Salvation is complete in the perfect sacrifice offered on our behalf on the cross of Jesus Christ.
Inheriting the Promise
We all have an inheritance. Our reward is based on faith and everything we do must be an act of faith or we are not walking in God’s plan. This is true for every area of our lives. God does not permit a compartmentalized Christian life. Compartmentalized means that we divide our lives into compartments. Some try to have a Christian life and a worldly life. Many have a career and a church life. The two are separated and every effort is made to keep one from affecting the other. The Christian life cannot be lived this way. Everything in my life is a testimony for God whether it is good or bad. Look at Colossians 3:23-25
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
Everything is done as though it is too the Lord. We looked briefly at sanctification. This applies to inheriting the promise. It is expected that a new Christian will compartmentalize their life because they have not yet begun to grow. As we grow, God deals with our life and convicts the areas of our life that are not pleasing to Him. Those who resist God and refuse to allow an area of their life to be set apart will cease from growing.
Let’s look back at the Exodus we examined earlier. God delivered Israel out of the hand of Pharaoh and set them free from bondage. They provided an example of baptism when they passed through the red sea (1 Corinthians 10:1). Even after their deliverance, the strong man pursued them to destroy them until God sealed them and cut off Pharaoh by the water.
Even after being delivered from bondage, many in Israel never received the promises of God because of unbelief. By God’s mighty hand they were delivered from bondage, protected from Pharaoh’s armies, given shade in the desert sun by God’s sheltering cloud, were given light in the darkness, received manna from heaven and quail carried in from the wind, received water from the rock and many other evidences of the power of God. However, before God allowed them to inherit the promise, He required faith. God sent spies into the land they were to receive as an inheritance and allowed them to see both the blessings and the challenge of mighty warriors standing in their way. This was God’s testing of their faith and they failed miserably. They did not take heart from the hand of God clearly seen in the past and the blessings set before them; instead, they focused on the circumstances and challenges that threatened them.
Israel refused to believe God and obey; therefore God declared that they could not inherit the promise but would instead wander for forty years in the desert. When we become a Christian, we see the mighty hand of God and how He rescued us from our sins. As we grow, God will reveal His hand in many ways so that we have many proofs. God does not always require faith to work in our lives. He will first show us enough evidence so that when we are faced with difficult circumstances, we can believe. Faith is a gift of God, but we still can choose to reject it. Faith is the ability God gives us to believe and trust in His word; unbelief is the obstacles that attempt to draw our focus off God. By faith, I know that God is able to finish His work in me. By faith, I can trust in God even when my circumstances hurt because I know He is working through all things in my life to shape me, grow me and perfect me.
Doubt is not the same as unbelief. Unbelief is a sin, doubt and fear are not. I can step out in faith even when I am afraid. I can obey God even when I am challenged by doubt. I cannot walk by faith when I don’t believe God. Disbelief is what caused Israel to refuse to obey God’s command to go and take possession of the Promised Land. Obedience will often be a challenge and most people will not obey when they see doubt or fear. If we put our trust in doubt or fear then we fall into disbelief and we will not inherit the promises of God.
As God takes us through the process of sanctification, He will also put us into the position where we have to choose faith or unbelief. We cannot control our human feelings but we can control whether we trust them over God’s promises. Many times in our life we will blow it and choose unbelief. When we do, God turns us away from our promise and purges our life until He again brings us to the point of decision. If we are allowing God to shape our lives, He will take our weaknesses and He becomes our strength. Unfortunately many people spend their whole lives in the desert wondering why God doesn’t bless them.
We must realize that God is more interested in our eternal inheritance than our worldly comfort. This is why we are told not to despise the chastening of the Lord. God will continue to deal with us until we are willing to let go of our lives and be led into the promise. Sometimes we have to take many, many trips to the desert before we finally quit getting frustrated and start asking what God is trying to accomplish in us.
The Passover is our redemption in Christ. God redeems our inner man and then continues the process of redemption through sanctifying our lives so that we become like Christ. Through the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Satan is bound and we are set free. Satan will continue to call out discouraging words to try to persuade us to disbelieve, but in truth, whoever the Son sets free is free indeed. Once we trust the gospel of Christ, we are able to be disciples by abiding in His word and obeying His voice.
