This is the third in our series this week of 8 lessons explaining Jewish History as Christian Prophecy. Each day is a story connecting the Jewish Passover with the work of Jesus. You can follow along by making your own ornaments or drawing pictures or you can purchase our set of wooden ornaments based upon my hand-stitched set here. The introduction can be read here.
A Greater Passover Lamb
Story Significance:
God provided a way for the Israelites to be saved from the 10th plague in Egypt by spreading the blood of a lamb on their doorposts in obedience. The plague “passed over” them and spared their household from death. In the same way, Jesus was offered as a sacrificial Passover Lamb and our obedience to God means we will be spared from eternal death.
Activity for Today:
- Hang the Passover Lamb Ornament: This lamb represents the Passover Lamb of the first Exodus and Jesus’ death for us on the cross as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
- Sing “All in All”
Bible Overview:
God demonstrated His power over the Egyptian’s gods by performing 10 plagues that showed that He was greater than any of the gods of Egypt. God explained to Moses, “I want Israel to know that I am God.[i] I want Pharaoh to know that I am God.[ii] I want the World to know that I am God![iii] I want you to be able to tell your children and grandchildren the great and mighty way that I lead you out of Egypt!”[iv] It wasn’t until the final plague that Pharaoh let Israel go. God warned that this final plague would bring death to all of the oldest children in each family. All who had faith and followed God’s instructions, would live. But to all those who did not listen and obey would die that very night. God instructed them that evening to have lamb for dinner. They needed to treat the lamb’s body carefully (not breaking any bones) and then spread its blood on the doorpost as a sign of their faithfulness to what God had commanded.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul calls Jesus our Passover lamb[v] and John the Baptist called Jesus, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”[vi] The Apostle John writes his gospel to show that Jesus’ death during the Passover fulfilled what Moses had written about the Passover lamb. It seems no coincidence that Jesus’ body was treated with the same respect as that of the Passover lamb. None of His bones were broken in order to fulfill the law concerning how the Passover lamb should be treated[vii] and His body was removed before the next day.[viii]
The shedding of Jesus’ blood was like that of the Passover Lamb – because of His death, death passes over us. Jesus said whoever believes in Him will never die! For even though we may die we will still live because Jesus has given eternal life to all who receive His sacrifice for us. Hebrews explains that Jesus is our Great High Priest, who not only offers sacrifices and prayers, but also became the sacrifice for us. By offering Himself as this sacrifice for our sins, we no longer need to offer animals as a sacrifice like the Jews did. Jesus’ one sacrifice makes things right between us and God. And Jesus is a priest like no other. He was in all ways tempted, yet did not sin. Therefore, He is able to understand our suffering.
REFERENCES:
[i] Exodus 10:1-2, [ii] Exodus 7:3-5, [iii] Exodus 9:16-17, [iv] Exodus 10:1-2, [v] 1 Cor. 5:7, [vi] John 1:29, [vii] John 19:36; Exodus 12:46, [viii] John 19:31; Exodus 12:46
For further reading or depth, why not read the
original text with your family or on your own?