Pictures From the Passover
Exodus 12:1-14
Purpose: To explain how the Passover pictures our salvation.
Aim: I want he listener to glorify God and rejoice in His forgiveness.
INTRODUCTION: Many of the announcements in Scripture don’t have the impact on us that the original hearers had. For example, when Jesus approached John the baptizer he announced, John 1:29 “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!(NAU). Every Jew who heard those words would immediately think about the last lamb they sacrificed at the Temple to have their sins forgiven.
Many would have remembered: Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.(NAU)
Let’s take ourselves back over three thousand years to the Passover. The Jews were enslaved in Egypt under horrible conditions. They had lost their freedom. Then God breaks forth on the scene and does the impossible.
Maybe you feel trapped by circumstances and can see no way out. Maybe life is closing in on you and the future looks dreary. The Passover is proof that God cares about your condition and has a real solution to offer you.
➔Vs.1-4 I. General Lessons About Salvation
➔Vs.1 A. God saves while we are in the world “in the land of Egypt”
The Jews didn’t have to find a way out of Egypt before God was going to help them. God comes to us right where we are and offers salvation. Just like He did to Adam and Eve after they sinned. Adam and Eve were not looking for God, but God Himself was looking for them. Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.(NAU)
You may not be looking for God, but God is looking for you. Even though you may feel that you are in a God-forsaken Egypt, God is there.
➔Vs.2 B. Salvation begins a new life “the first month of the year”
This would be about the middle of March. That is the time of year that Christ died.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.(NAU) Galatians 6:15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.(NAU)
Salvation only comes to those who are looking for a new life. Salvation is NOT an improvement that God wants to make to your life. Salvation is the beginning of a whole NEW life.
➔Vs.3 C. All are invited “all the congregation”
Isaiah 55:1 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.(NAU)
If you are thirsty to have your sins forgiven and to have your life changed this invitation is for you. Luke 9:24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.(NAU)
➔Vs.5-6 II. Pictures of Christ in Salvation
➔Vs.5 A. Christ was perfect – yet flesh and blood “lamb...unblemished”
The lamb died in the prime of life and had no faults, and so did Christ.
Hebrews 7:26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;(NAU)
1 Peter 1:18-19 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.(NAU) 1 John 3:5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.(NAU)
➔Vs.6 B. Christ was murdered – yet well known “keep it...kill it”
Jesus entered Jerusalem exactly four days before His crucifixion.
Jesus was not only examined for four days before they decided to execute Him, He had already lived among them for 33 years. No one ever pointed out a sin in Christ.
➔Vs.7-14 III. Pictures of Personal Salvation
➔Vs.7 A. The blood must be applied “take some of the blood”
Sacrificing the lamb was not enough to save the Jews. The blood must also be applied to each home. Romans 5:11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.(NAU)
Look ahead to verses 21-22: Exodus 12:21-22 21 then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. 22 “You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.(NAU)
The word rendered “basin” is really an old Egyptian word for the Step before a door, or the threshold of a house. That’s the way the word is translated in other sections of Scripture. In Judges 19:27, it is translated as “threshold”; in 2 Kings 12:9, it is translated as “door.”
No direction was given for putting blood upon the threshold. The reason is that the blood was already there. The lamb was evidently slain at the door of the house that was to be protected by its blood. This point is not simply one of academic interest, but it concerns the accuracy of type in terms of rich symbolism. The door of the house wherein the Israelite was protected had blood on the lintel (the crosspiece), on the side posts, and on the step. With vivid imagination, Pink sees this as a marvelous picture of Christ on the Cross with blood above, where the thorns pierced His brow, blood at the sides from His nail-pierced hands, blood below from nail-torn feet! [Dunnam, M., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1987). Vol. 2: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 2 : Exodus. Formerly The Communicator’s Commentary. The Preacher’s Commentary series (134). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.]
Has the blood of Christ been applied to you? John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”(NAU)
➔Vs.8-10 B. The whole sacrifice must be consumed “eat the flesh”
Just as they had to eat all of the sacrifice, we must open ourselves to all of Christ. We can’t pick and choose the parts of Christ we want.
John 6:53-55So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.(NAU)
We must be willing to forsake all to follow Christ. ✔ Partial obedience is disobedience.
FIRE pictures the judgment of God. Jesus went to hell for us. Revelation 20:14-1514 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.(NAU)
UNLEAVENED BREAD pictures purity, separation from the world. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.(NAU)
BITTER HERBS pictures repentance. They needed to turn away from their old lives and pursue God. ✔ Christ will be sweet to us if sin be bitter. Matthew Henry
The meal was eaten in one evening, which shows us that forgiveness is an event, not a process. It is also interesting to note that there was only ONE Passover. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is celebrated every year to remember the Passover, but the event has never been repeated.
Hebrews 9:27-28 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.(NAU) The Roman Mass where they say that Christ is crucified over and over contradicts everything the Bible teaches about our salvation.
➔Vs.11 C. Faith is required “eat it in haste”
God had promised that they would be delivered from slavery. They ate the Passover meal expecting to escape slavery.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.(NAU)
Are you expecting to be set free? Philippians 1:20-21 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.(NAU)
➔Vs.12-13 D. Judgment is escaped “no plague will befall you”
Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.(NAU)
Notice that the blood is a SIGN in verse 13. The bread and juice that we are about to take is also a sign. The symbol doesn’t save, but it demonstrates what does save.
➔Vs.14 E. Continual worship is expressed “celebrate it as a feast”
Exodus 12:25-27 25 “When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. 26 “And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’ ” And the people bowed low and worshiped.(NAU)
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace(NAU)
Our worship must be centered on the Cross. Galatians 6:14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.(NAU)
CONCLUSION: The Passover was an awe inspiring event, but the Cross is even more spectacular. ✔ The substance is always more important than the shadow.
Hebrews 9:13-14 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?(NAU)
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) was present at the Vienna Music Hall, where his oratorio The Creation was being performed. Weakened by age, the great composer was confined to a wheelchair. As the majestic work moved along, the audience was caught up with tremendous emotion. When the passage “And there was light!” was reached, the chorus and orchestra burst forth in such power that the crowd could no longer restrain its enthusiasm. The vast assembly rose in spontaneous applause.
Haydn struggled to stand and motioned for silence. With his hand pointed toward heaven, he said,✔ “No, no, not from me, but from thence comes all!” Having given the glory and praise to the Creator, he fell back into his chair exhausted.[Our Daily Bread, September 20, 1992 10,000 sermon illustrations. 2000 (electronic ed.). Dallas: Biblical Studies Press.]
Let’s put all of our effort into giving Christ praise for His work on the Cross.
