“THE BEAUTY OF THE PASSOVER” Exodus 12:1-13
FBCF – 5/9/21
Jon Daniels
INTRO – We all love beautiful things.
- Beauty of a sunrise or sunset
o “Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.” (George Washington Carver)
- Beauty of a rose
- Beauty of a bride processing down the aisle to her groom who awaits her
- Beauty of music
- Beauty of the majestic mountains or the crashing waves on the beach
- Beauty of a new baby
- Beauty of good Christian fellowship & encouragement
o REFRESH – hearing people pray for one another
- Beauty of the Body of Christ
o “How beautiful the radiant bride
Who waits for her groom with his light in her eyes
How beautiful when humble hearts give
The fruit of pure lives so that others may live
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful
Is the body of Christ” (Twyla Paris)
Today, we are going to look at an event that, on the surface, may not seem to be very beautiful. But as we examine it closer, we will see that the beauty of our Savior is all throughout this event.
You see, Jesus is seen all throughout the pages of Scripture. We may think that we only see Him in the 4 Gospels in the NT – Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John. But He is found all through the OT, from the Protoevangelium that is pronounced in Genesis 3:15 in Garden of Eden to the “sun of righteousness” that is prophesied in the book of Malachi – the last book of the OT – all the way through the NT to Revelation 22:20 – “Come, Lord Jesus!” – Jesus is the subject of the entire Bible from beginning to end.
- Leviticus 16:21-22 – the Scapegoat who carried our sins away
- Joshua 5:14 – the Commander of the Lord’s army
- Job 19:25 – our Living Redeemer who stood upon the earth
- Psalm 22:16 – hands & feet pierced upon the cross
- Isaiah 53 – the Suffering Servant
- Daniel 3:25 – the 4th man in the fiery furnace w/ Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego
Today, we will see Him in our Scripture passage.
EXPLANATION – Exodus 12:1-13 – This past Sunday, we made 3 points about how God works in the midst of our times of heartbreak:
- See how He has worked in the past
- Trust that He’s working right now
- Look forward to His work in the future
He certainly worked that way in the lives of His people in this deliverance experience. Think about what has happened up to this point:
Timeline:
- Burning bush call & commission & equipping
- 1st confrontation w/ Pharaoh – result was heavier oppression of the people causing them to be more broken in spirit
- God speaks to Moses again & reminds him that He is the Lord & that He has promised to deliver His people. Sends him back to Pharaoh again.
- 2nd confrontation w/ Pharaoh – This time Moses uses the miraculous signs that God gave to him. Starts w/ staff becoming serpent. Then 10 plagues were sent by God upon the Egyptians. Here are the first 9 (Genesis 7-10):
o Turned Nile River to blood
o Frogs
o Gnats
o Flies
o Egyptian livestock die
o Boils
o Hail
o Locusts
o Darkness
God didn’t use these plagues just to punish Pharaoh, although His judgment was part of it. He used these plagues to prove & establish His complete authority over all of the false gods of the Egyptians as He worked to set His people free. “The plagues fall on areas supposedly protected by Egypt’s gods, thus demonstrating God’s power over the gods of the world’s mightiest nation.” (study note, ESV Study Bible, p. 156)
The 10th & final plague was the most severe. It caused massive fear, grief, & heartbreak in the lives of the Egyptians, from Pharaoh’s palace to the poorest, lowliest peasant in the land. On this fateful night, God gave very specific instructions for the children of Israel to follow. They were to take a spotless lamb & kill it. Then they were to take some of the blood of lamb & put it on the 2 doorposts & over the top of the door. Then when the Lord came & passed throughout the nation of Egypt, He would see the blood on the doorposts & would pass over those homes & “not allow the destroyer to enter [their] homes” (Exodus 12:23). That’s exactly what the children of Israel did, but the Egyptians did not. All throughout the nation, behind unmarked doors of homes, the firstborn children of the Egyptian families died, but the Israelites firstborn children lived. Look at the results of the Passover plague – Exodus 12:29-32.
In a very real way, the blood of the spotless lamb saved the Israelites from death. That leads to our application of this message today:
APPLICATION – The beauty of the Passover points us to the beauty of Christ.
My desire for this message is that you see the beauty of Christ – His love for you, His sacrifice for you, His plan for you - & that you fall down before Him in repentance, worship, & obedience. I pray that you come to a deeper understanding of what His sacrifice for you truly means & that your heart will be stirred to completely commit your life to Him, either for the first time, or afresh & anew. See His beauty...
- If you’ve grown cold
- If you’ve gotten apathetic
- If you’re giving lip service & nothing else
- If you’re grasping for answers & meaning for your life
- If you’re going through the motions of Bible Belt pseudo-Christianity
- If you’re gathering the world’s riches but missing out on the riches of God
Look w/ me at the beauty of the Passover:
THE BEAUTY OF ITS PURITY – v. 5
God is a God of complete purity & holiness. He cannot sanction or approve of sin in any way. He doesn’t approve of those “little” sins we do any more than He disapproves of the “big” ones. Habakkuk 1:13 – “[God’s] eyes are too pure to approve evil, & [He] cannot look favorably on wickedness” (AMP). B/c of His purity, the Passover lamb that was sacrificed had to be without blemish. And we see in v. 5 that that was His command to the people. In order for Him to pass over their homes in the final plague, the blood of the lamb w/out blemish or defect had to be on the doorposts.
God always required pure animals to be used in the OT sacrificial system. In fact, He rebuked the people when they offered blind, lame, & sick animals. Malachi 1:8 – “When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, it it not evil?” The sacrifices for sin have always had to be pure. We see that truth here w/ the first Passover lamb, & see it in the One who is the ultimate Passover Lamb – Jesus Christ – the perfectly pure Lamb of God.
- Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7 – “…Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.”
- John the Baptist in John 1:29 – “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
- Peter in 1 Peter 1:18-19 – “…you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.”
The beauty of the purity of the first Passover lamb points forward to the beauty of the purity of the final, consummate Passover Lamb, our Savior, Jesus Christ!
THE BEAUTY OF ITS PLAN – v. 7-12 – You know what it means to “wing it”? You have to do something, but don’t have time to prepare or plan.
God doesn’t “wing it.” He is not a good of confusion or chance. His plan for delivering His children wasn’t a last minute, last resort decision. Every aspect of the plan was important & full of meaning. Look the details:
- Slaughter a lamb without blemish that pointed toward Jesus Christ. Everyone slaughter their lamb at the same time – the time that God said to do it – v. 5
- Brush the blood on the 2 side posts of the door & over the top of the door, not just on top or just on the side. - 7
- Roast all of the meat & eat it all that night along w/ unleavened bread & bitter herbs. Don’t keep any for the next day, but burn anything that was left over b/c God wanted them to depend completely upon Him day-by-day for the needs. He would prove His faithfulness to them. – v. 8-10
- Be fully dressed w/ their sandals on & staff in hand while you hurriedly eat the Passover meal. Be ready to go when God says go. This shows that they trusted that He was actually going to deliver them. – v. 11
It’s important to see the detail in God’s plans for His people. He didn’t tell them to have a feast of deliverance & just do it any way they wanted to do it. They weren’t delivering themselves – HE was delivering them. And for their deliverance to be complete, they had to obey Him completely & without question.
We need to know that God had definite plans for our lives, as well. They aren’t arbitrary plans, but specific plans designed for our good. Romans 8:28 – “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (NASB)
- He is looking for us to trust Him & His plans
- He is looking for us to obey Him & His plans
- He is looking for us to go w/ Him & His plans
Joni Eareckson Tada: “Nothing is a surprise to God; nothing is a setback to His plans; nothing can thwart His purpose; & nothing is beyond His control. His sovereignty is absolute. Everything that happens is uniquely ordained by God. Sovereignty is a weighty thing to ascribe to the nature & character of God. Yet if He were not sovereign, He would not be God. The Bible is clear that God is in control of everything that happens.” (https://gracequotes.org/?s=plans)
The beauty of the plans of God are seen here & all throughout His Word. We can trust His plans for us!
THE BEAUTY OF ITS PURPOSE – v. 13 – The purity of the blood of the unblemished lamb, & the distinct plans of the Passover meal led to its ultimate purpose – God would “pass over” His children & then deliver them from captivity. He was bringing swift & severe judgment upon the Egyptians, & the only means of avoiding that judgment was faith in Him & obedience to His substitutionary plan.
- The credit for their deliverance went totally to God
- The power to execute the plan was God’s power
- The purpose for delivering His people was completely His purpose – that HE would receive all the glory for it & redeem HIS people.
God’s purpose for the first Passover sacrifice was the deliver His people from captivity. His purpose for the ultimate Passover Sacrifice is to deliver anyone who will come to Him in faith & trust Him alone & His plan alone for salvation. He will set you free! What an incredible, beautiful act of love, sending His only Son to be the perfect sacrifice to that we might be saved!
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS – Not your typical Mother’s Day sermon. But absolutely the most important Mother’s Day sermon ANYONE could hear today!
- Is there a mom here today who needs to be saved?
- Is there a mom here today who is saved, but knows she’s not where she needs to be in her relationship w/ Jesus?
- Maybe there’s a dad or a child here today who needs to be saved on this Mother’s Day, or needs to rededicate their life to the Lord on this Mother’s Day.
Jesus shed His blood so that YOU can be set free today! Come to Him today!
- See the beauty of His purity & the filthiness of your sin
- See the beauty of His plan & realize that God has a plan for your life
- See the beauty of His purpose & realize that your purpose for living is to have a relationship w/ Christ
