(For the first part of this series: Click Here.)
The Lamb Is Perfect
“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:” (Exodus 12:5)
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (1 Peter 1:18-19)
He Who knew no sin was made to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our Lamb was without sin, without blemish, perfect and holy. He was “taken out from the sheep“; He came in the form of a Man like unto us and offered Himself up as our sacrificial Lamb to the Father.
The Lamb Is Tested
“And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.” (Exodus 12:6)
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
From the tenth day until the fourteenth of the month of Abib, the lamb chosen by each household was examined and scrutinized to ensure that no blemish or defect was present. So, too, was our Lord examined, interrogated, and watched, His doctrine closely inspected, His words analyzed and debated, to see if any fault might be found in Him. Our perfect Lamb did not go untested but was proven to be without sin, holy and righteous.
The phrase, “The congregation of Israel shall kill it…” rather than “kill them” is no accident here. Though the people would slay thousands of lambs that night in order to avoid destruction, God never had but One Lamb in mind, One Lamb that would be offered up for all people.
The Blood Is Applied
“And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.” (Exodus 12:7)
“For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10)
The blood of the lambs on the night of the Passover had the power to save anyone and everyone. But proximity to the blood, merely being close to it, was not enough to save; if it were, no Egyptian would have died that night, either. Or just the fact that the blood had been spilled and offered was not enough to save; Pharoah’s own son would had survived if that were the case. No, the blood needed to be placed on the door frame of each house in order for the house’s occupants to be saved.
That Jesus Christ has offered Himself, spilling His own precious blood that we might be saved, in and of itself does nothing to save a person. Until we apply that blood to our own lives, until we “strike it on our own doorframes“, we are not saved. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the whole world, but that Salvation becomes efficacious only to those who apply the blood and believe on Him.
Lord willing, we will conclude this look at “Christ Our Passover” tomorrow. May our Lord, our precious Passover Lamb, bless and keep you. To Him goes all glory. In service to Him,
Loren
