Good morning! Last week we began a series on Easter Prophecies, looking forward to the Messiah, and what he would do. Often churches will focus on Prophecies of Jesus around Christmas, relating to Jesus’ birth. However, the prophecies we are going to be studying are all really focussed on what he would do, and what he would accomplish. And my hope is that as we approach the Easter season, it will draw us closer to God and allow us to meditate on the sacrifice that Jesus made in our place. My hope is that it will give us a bigger picture of God moving throughout history, and that it will allow us to see the context of the larger story throughout the Bible. Last week we were in Genesis 3, and we saw that from the moment that the curses were given as a result of our sin, God had a plan to send Jesus to defeat Satan’s power once and for all, and to redeem us to himself. We saw that from that moment, the world would be at war with satanic forces. We saw that from that moment, God declared that the ultimate victory over Satan and Sin would be his. We saw that God laid out the parameters by which he would defeat Satan, through the shedding of blood. And we saw that this ultimate victory, the crushing of Satan through the shedding of blood, would be accomplished through a descendant of Adam and Eve.
I spoke briefly last week about the context and biblical imagery around the shedding of blood, and the connection in Judaism between blood and life, and the system of sacrificing an animal to pay for sin, because the payment for sin is death. This week we are going to study a prophecy which connects Jesus and his death intricately to this sacrificial system. Now this prophecy is unique, because it is only identified AS a prophecy in the moment that it is fulfilled. The passage where this takes place is John 19, right after Jesus has died on the cross. Starting in verse 30,
“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken”.
Ok, so the prophecy is that not one of his bones will be broken. That’s cool, I guess that the prophecy is meant to prove that he is the messiah, right? Well, yes. But also no. It is actually much, much deeper and more significant than that. So this is the moment in which the prophecy is fulfilled. But where is the prophecy itself in scripture? And that is where we have to look back too, because the context of the prophecy itself is where we find it’s significance.
So the prophecy comes from Exodus 12:43-50. I am just going to read verses 43-46. And I want to point out that the section heading in the NIV translation is Passover Restrictions. “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal: “No foreigner may eat it. Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised him, but a temporary resident or a hired worker may not eat it. “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.”
Ok, so what do we do with that. The prophecy that was fulfilled by Jesus was these regulations about the Passover meal.I know that might seem a little weird at face value, so let's study it and see what there is to learn here. First we need to brush up on the context to give us the big picture. So let’s start with Passover. The Israelites were living in Egypt in slavery, and God sent Moses and Aaron to convince the Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave and be free. But God hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them leave Egypt. So God sent 10 plagues to punish Pharaoh and convince him that he was more powerful than all the egyptian Gods. Essentially it was portrayed as a duel between Yahweh, God of the Israelites, and the Egyptian Gods. Although we know it wasn’t a really fair fight, since their gods were actually real, there is only one God. So there were these 10 plagues, First: The water in the rivers, streams, canals, ponds and reservoirs of Egypt all turned to blood. 2nd: a plague of frogs, frogs came out of the water and went everywhere. 3rd: A plague of gnats 4th: a plague of flies, 5th: a plague causing the egyptian livestock to die, 6th: a plague of boils, 7th: a plague of hail, 8th: a plague of locusts, 9th: a plague of darkness, and then the 10th and final plague. The 10th plague was the plague on the firstborn, otherwise known as the passover. The spirit of God passed through Egypt, killing the firstborn of every family, except those that had the blood of a lamb painted on the top and sides of the doorsteps. God passed over those houses, which is why it was called the Passover.
Each Israelite household was to take a lamb without any blemish or imperfection, and kill it on the evening of the passover. They were to sprinkle the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframe of the house in which it would be eaten. The lamb was then to be roasted over fire. It was not to be eaten raw, and was to be eaten with unleavened bread (Bread without yeast, that had not risen), and it was to be spiced with bitter herbs. This was the final meal that was eaten in preparation for the journey out of Egypt, while Yahweh was killing the firstborn of all the Egyptians. It was to be eaten quickly, with “loins girded, shoes on the feet, and staff in hand.” Everyone essentially wore a dress type clothing in those days, pants were not fitted around each leg. So girding your loins meant to fold up or roll the bottom of the clothing so that you could walk or run, it was done before battle or travel.
Finally, there were two more restrictions: Everything that was left over was to be burnt, the passover meal could only be eaten during that night. And finally, not a single bone of the passover lamb was allowed to be broken.
The Passover lamb did three things for the Israelites: (1) The sacrifice of the passover lamb atoned for the sins of the people, (2) the blood sprinkled on the doorframe purified those within, (3) the eating of the sacrificial meat sanctified those who consumed it. By participating in the Passover meal, the people consecrated themselves as a nation holy to God.
Ok, so how does this all connect to Jesus, and the fulfillment of this prophecy. Why is it important that not a bone of Jesus was broken? And this is where the biblical imagery really comes into play, because symbolism was extremely important in their culture. Let’s start by looking at John 1:29. John the Baptist is baptizing people in the Jordan River, and Jesus approaches: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This is the first time in the Gospels that Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God. Lambs were associated with gentleness and innocence in Jewish culture. And while John could have been referring to meekness and gentleness, there was no way that he could have called Jesus the Lamb of God without the crowd around him immediately making the connection to the sacrificial system. Lambs are specifically mentioned in connection with sacrifices more than 80 times in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. The most significant importance of the lamb in Judaism was the role that it played in sacrifices to atone for sin, and this would not have been lost on the listeners, especially the Pharisee’s who were in attendance.
This was in line with many other Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. A couple examples, Jeremiah 11:19, “But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter”. And then Isaiah 53:7, which we will be looking at on Easter, “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.”
Prophets throughout Israel's history often used the story of the Exodus to allude to and illustrate the return exile. They believed that until Israel was restored as a nation, that Israel was still in Exile, even though they had physically come back from captivity in Babylon. Ezekiel 20:33–34 speaks of God’s future deliverance “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,” the exact phrase originally used of the Exodus from Egypt. Jeremiah 16:14–15 even speaks of a time coming when the future deliverance will outshadow the first Exodus: “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.” Isaiah does similar when he compares the return from exile in Babylon to the first Exodus in Isaiah 43: “Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick.”. Here, the “way in the sea” and the destruction of the chariots and horses are clear echoes of the Exodus, when God brought down the red sea on the pursuing Egyptians after the Israelites had crossed.. Then, expressing a thought similar to Jeremiah, Isaiah adds, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:18–19). There was a pervasive connection in Israel's history between the Exodus, and the coming Messiah, and many prophecies connect the two. In Exodus God’s people were led out of physical slavery, through Jesus they were freed from spiritual slavery, which is sin.
The crucifixion of Jesus took place during the Jewish Passover, and this held significant meaning to the New Testament writers. They made a distinct connection between the death of Jesus, and the sacrificial lamb in the passover meal, sacrificed to atone for the sins of the people. The synoptic gospels present the Last Supper as a Passover meal, which emphasizes the importance of his words and actions during this meal. This is my body, given for you. The King James version translates this passage as “this is my body, broken for you”, and that is what we often say in church, I’ve said it myself many times. However, I discovered during my study that this is actually a textual variant, which is just a fancy name for when a translation or manuscript deviates from the original text. All of the earliest manuscripts translate it as This is my body, given for you in Luke, so we know that Jesus did not say that his body would be broken. While Jesus was brutally beaten and tortured, the prophecy clearly states that not a bone shall be broken. And we know this to be true from scripture. The roman soldiers broke the legs of the two criminals on his sides, but did not break the legs of Jesus. They also did not break any bones when they stabbed him with a spear. John 19, So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.” John vouches for this himself, as someone who was there.
It becomes clear when reading the Gospel of John, and when looking back at the Old Testament prophecy, that John is saying that Jesus is the Passover Lamb. Not A passover lamb, but THE passover Lamb. The final passover lamb. He specifically points out as prophecy that Jesus’ body was treated according to the laws regarding the passover lamb. John the Baptist identifies Jesus as “The Lamb of God, who comes to take away the sins of the world.” And this interpretation and understanding is clearly defined by the apostles as you go forward through the New Testament letters. Paul attests to this in 1 Corinthians 5:7, “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.” Peter also speaks to this in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”
So let's reflect for a minute on the connections and parallels between the lamb of the Passover in Exodus, and Jesus. The Passover lamb had to be perfect Exodus 12:5, “the lamb shall be without blemish” And we know that Jesus was perfect because he was sinless, Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin”. The Israelites were slaves to Pharaoh. Jesus says we are all slaves to sin: John 8:34, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin”.
The tenth plague in Exodus was death. Exodus 12:29, “At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock”. Paul writes that our sin leads to death. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” The Israelites who put the blood of the Passover lamb on their doors were spared that death Exodus 12:13, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt” . The blood of Jesus, THE Passover lamb, spares us from death Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”
Ok, let's move to application. What should you remember and take away from this prophecy, that not a bone of Jesus would be broken?
First: This prophecy firmly connects Jesus to the Passover Lamb in Exodus. John says, “For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.” By identifying that Jesus not breaking a bone was to keep the Passover regulations regarding the lamb to be sacrificed, John identifies Jesus as the Passover Lamb. When John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching him on the banks of the Jordan River, he declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! That declaration made an immediate association with sacrifice in the minds of the audience. Before anyone even thought about killing Jesus, John the baptist identified him as the lamb sent by God to carry the sins of the world. And then the apostles themselves identified Jesus as the Passover Lamb in the New Testament letters. Paul said “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.” And Peter said “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” These prophecies and connections firmly establish Jesus as the Passover Lamb.
The second thing I want you to remember from this week is that this connection between Jesus and the Passover lamb establishes Jesus’ death as the ULTIMATE sacrifice for the propitiation of our sins. Propitiation is just a fancy word that means atonement or reparation for sin. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death”. Sin can only be paid for through death, through the offering of blood. In Exodus, the Passover lamb atoned for the sins of the
household, purifying those within the house and sanctifying those who ate it. By participating in the passover ritual, the people consecrated themselves as a nation holy to God. And by linking the crucifixion of Jesus to the offering of the Passover lamb, the NT writers highlight the redemptive nature of his death. Like the original Passover sacrifice, his death atones for the sin of the people, his blood purifies and cleanses, and his body sanctifies those who partake in his kingdom. Because this sacrifice was made by God himself, in the form of his sinless son, it is the ultimate sacrifice.
The third and final thing that I would like you to take away is this, and we didn’t talk about this before: This prophecy connects Jesus to the Lamb who has been slain in Revelation. In the book of Revelation, the Lamb appears as a representation of Jesus twenty eight times. And whenever he appears, he appears as a Lamb who has been slain. He is worshiped as being worthy to open the scrolls that no one else can open. Revelation 5:6-10, “And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” This picture from Revelation is a beautiful depiction of Jesus being worshipped for humbling himself and dying on the cross as the Passover Lamb, to atone and pay for the sins of the world, purchasing us with his blood.
In conclusion, I hope that this prophecy has helped to deepen and expand the significance and meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice for you. So often we use names and phrases in church, but we don’t always know and understand their true depth and significance. If you’ve ever wondered why we call Jesus the Lamb of God, now you know. And the significance of this name for the Israelites was incredible! God incarnate as the Passover Lamb, come to atone for our sins, purifying and sanctifying all who accept the Lamb. And it is my hope that as we head into this new week, and as we continue to study through these prophecies and come closer to the Easter season, that this prophecy of Jesus the Passover Lamb will bring you deeper and closer in your relationship with Jesus.
