The First Passover
Last Sunday, we looked at the announcement of the tenth plague and the instructions for the Passover in Exodus 12. The tenth plague would be the death of the firstborn in any home not covered by the blood of a spotless Lamb. The plague would come upon Egypt and Israel because the Israelites weren’t any better than the Egyptians. Judgment would fall on any house not covered by the blood of the lamb.
The Passover meal was given as a vivid and annual reminder of that night. It taught Israel that God saves through a substitute, that salvation comes by a life for a life. This is why they had to roast the whole lamb so that they could see the animal that died so that they could live.
Christ, Our Passover Lamb
The New Testament uses lots of words and images to explain what happened when Jesus died on the cross. One of them is the Passover. There isn’t much in the New Testament that draws the connection between Passover and Jesus specifically, but it’s there and it’s clear. For example, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:7, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” Paul clearly says that Jesus is the “Passover lamb” for Christians.
In the Gospels, there are three things that link Jesus to the Passover: Jesus chose to die at Passover time, Jesus died when the Passover lambs were being killed in the temple, and Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the Passover meal.
Let’s take these one at a time. First, Jesus chose to die at Passover time. In John 10:17-18, Jesus says, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” No one forced Jesus to die, and no one forced Jesus to die when he died. He didn’t have to go to Jerusalem when he did, pick a fight with the religious authorities in the temple, allow Judas’ betrayal to go unchecked, or go to the Garden of Gethsemane when he did. His actions make it clear that he chose to die at the time of Passover, while the Passover was on everyone’s mind.
Second, Jesus died when the Passover lambs were being killed in the temple. It says in Exodus 12:6 that the Passover lamb was to be killed “at twilight.” The historian Josephus tells us that the Passover lamb was killed in the temple around 3:00pm, the same time Jesus was dying on the cross, or “the ninth hour” (Lk. 23:44-46). John also links Jesus’ death to the Passover Lamb when he says that none of Jesus’ bones were broken “that the Scripture might be fulfilled,” and then he quotes Exodus 12:46, “Not one of his bones will be broken.” The bleating of the lambs being sacrificed for Passover could be heard coming from the temple courts as Jesus hung on the cross just outside of the city gates. This is not accidental or incidental. It’s theological.
And third, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the Passover meal. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all point this out (Mt. 26:17-18, Mk. 14-16, Lk. 22:7-15). There are similarities and differences between the Passover meal and the Lord’s Supper. They both have bread and wine and both look back to a great act of deliverance in the past as well as forward to a future deliverance. They also draw God’s people together in “communion” with each other and with the Lord. Everyone who believes God’s word participates. It’s the family meal for God’s family. But the main difference at the Last Supper is the absence of the sacrificial lamb. The Gospels don’t mention lamb as part of the meal. Why not? They didn’t eat the Passover lamb because the Passover Lamb was eating with them. Jesus links the Lord’s Supper to the Passover meal to teach that he was the true and better Passover Lamb.
Jesus is Our Deliverer
Why is this important? What does it teach us? It means that Jesus is our Deliverer and that our deliverance is done.
The main idea of the original Passover is that God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt and from the judgment of death. Passover was about freedom from evil and bondage and death.
Jesus as our Passover Lamb highlights his role as our Deliverer. He delivers us from judgment, evil, death and the fear of death, and sin.
He delivers us from judgment: “Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10).
He delivers us from evil: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13).
He delivers us from death and from fear of death: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb. 2:14-15).
He delivers from sin: “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (Jn. 8:34, 36).
Living in slavery in Egypt under the harsh oppression of Pharaoh was terrible, but living in bondage to sin, evil, death, and judgment is much worse. Jesus, the great Emancipator, has won the freedom of everyone who follows him as King.
Our Deliverance is Done
Jesus as our Passover Lamb means that he’s our Deliverer and that our deliverance is done. No more sacrifices are necessary. Jesus did everything needed to set us free. He paid the full price so that we owe him nothing but gratitude and worship. As one commentator says, “All that had to be done is done.”[1]
We don’t have to wonder if we’re free, in Christ we are free. We don’t have to feel sufficiently sorry for our sins to be forgiven, in Christ we are forgiven. We don’t have to act really good to be loved, in Christ we are loved. We don’t have to make a name for ourselves, in Christ we are adopted. We don’t have to look presentable to be accepted, in Christ we are accepted. We don’t have to have sterling moral track record to be saved, in Christ we are righteous.
Our calling is to be who we are. We’re delivered from sins and therefore called to remove remaining sins. We’re delivered from fear of death and therefore called to face death with anticipation. We’re delivered from judgment and therefore called to be gracious in all we do. We’re delivered from evil and therefore called to hate evil and hold onto what’s good.
Everyone under the blood of the Lamb is safe. Everyone under the blood of the Lamb is forgiven and free. Everyone under the blood of the Lamb is victorious and saved from all the things that could hurt them the most, and nothing can ever change that. Jesus, the Passover Lamb, is our Deliverer and our deliverance is done.
[1]F. W. Grosheide, Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953), 126.