From The Pulpit: The Lord's Passover

By: Rev Mike Scott

Exodus 12:24-27

            Practically every student of the Bible knows how the children of Israel end up in Egyptian bondage. During the days of Isaac his older sons are jealous over the attention he gives to his youngest son (Joseph), and because of this they overpower him and sell him into slavery. Joseph ends up in Egypt where through a series of events he interprets the Pharaoh’s dream of seven years of plenty being followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh recognizes the wisdom of God in Joseph and thereby gives him the responsibility of storing up grain during the seven years of plenty in order that there might be food during the famine.

            When the seven years of famine do arrive Isaac (Joseph’s father) and his family hear of the provisions Egypt holds and sends his sons there in order they that might secure the much-needed food. Joseph’s brothers encounter him; and while they fail to recognize him, he immediately recognizes them. Eventually Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, informs them of the many years in which the famine will last and instructs them to move the entire family to Egypt whereby they will have enough to eat during the pandemic.

            In the first chapter of the book of Exodus we are told now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph (Exodus 1:8), and because of this the Jewish people are enslaved and the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage (Exodus 1:13—14). When Abraham leaves Ur of the Chaldees and enters the Promised Land God informs him that they seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years (Genesis 15:13), and in that same context the Almighty tells Abraham that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge:and afterward shall they come out with great substance (Genesis 15:14). This prophecy does indeed take place in that Jehovah God raises up a deliverer by the name of Moses who is sent to Pharaoh with the command thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go (Exodus 5:1). Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, and he refuses to obey the Almighty; but through a series of plagues he is forced to relent and to allow the Hebrews to go free. The last of these plagues is the death of the firstborn, and in order that the children of Israel be spared from this disaster He institutes the Passover. In this message we will discover three powerful truths concerning this monumental event.

            First of all, we want to examine the purpose of the Passover. As we have already discovered, it is God’s intention to bring His people out of Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land; therefore, one purpose of the Passover is to deliver God’s people for their past bondage. For four hundred years the children of Israel have labored under the hot Egyptian sun building treasure cities, Pithom and Ramses (Exodus 1:11), but now the Almighty is going to deliver them and thereby set them free.

            The truth of the matter is all people are enslaved by sin and are in subjection to their father the devil (see John 8:44). Sin is an awful taskmaster in that it will “take us farther than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay and cost us more than we’re willing to pay (1).”  Those who engage in sinful activities find themselves addicted to alcohol, illegal drugs, perverted sexual activities and a host of other carnal desires. Beyond this they lie, cheat and steal to feed their dependences as well as destroy their families, their reputations and their health. But the good news is Jesus has come to preach deliverance to the captives (Luke 4:18); therefore, just as the Passover was the means whereby the captives of Egypt received their deliverance, Christ Jesus is the means whereby we are set free from our many transgressions. Speaking to a crowd in the Temple Jesus declares if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36); therefore, those who experienced His amazing grace, everlasting mercy and boundless compassion find themselves completely delivered from their sinful past.

            Another purpose of the Passover is to bring God’s people to the Promised Land. Once Moses leads the children of Israel out of Egypt and Jehovah God delivers them at the Red Sea, God appears as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide them on their journey. Even though they are forced to remain in the wilderness for a period of forty years, they eventually cross over Jordan and enter the land flowing with milk and honey.

            The good news every child of God shares is the blessed hope that Heaven will one day be our eternal dwelling place. Before He is arrested, tried and crucified Christ the Lord gives His disciples the promise in my Father’s house are many mansions:if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:2—3). Just as the Almighty leads His people through the wilderness and brings them safely to their homeland, so does God direct us through this present life and takes us unto Himself when our time on Earth is over.

            Not only do we see the purpose of the Passover, but second of all we see the protection of the Passover. When the death angel passes over and takes the firstborn in the land of Egypt (Exodus 11:5), God makes provision whereby His people will be spared from the calamity. He commands each family to take to them…a lamb (Exodus 12:3), to slay it and place the blood of the lamb over the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it (Exodus 12:7). This lamb along with the blood that is placed on the doorposts is a fitting representation of our Lord Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He makes on Calvary’s Cross.

            The first thing we notice about this lamb is the fact that it is slain. Moses instructs the children of Israel to draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the      Passover (Exodus 12:21). We envision Christmas as the mystical occasion in which Jesus is born surrounded by sheep and donkeys, laid in a manger of straw, heralded by holy angels, visited by shepherds and presented with gifts from wise men. But over this idyllic scene is the shadow of a Cross, for Jesus is born to die. At the end of His life our Lord is arrested, tried and led to a hill call Golgotha where He is nailed through His hands and feet, hung between two thieves and pours out His life’s blood for sinful humanity. Jesus’ death is the cruelest, harshest, evilest means ever devised by the human mind, and He endured the anguish, agony and shame in order that our sins might be removed and our souls might be saved.

            Not only is the lamb slain, but likewise its blood is applied. Again, the Almighty gives the commandment strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin (Exodus 12:22). We need to realize today that blood has been shed for our souls, but beyond this we have to accept Jesus’ sacrificial death by faith and thereby have the blood of the Lamb applied to our individual lives. In the Old Testament Almighty God declares the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17:11), and in the New Testament the apostle Peter says 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). The only way a sinner can be justified in the sight of a holy God is by having the blood of Jesus Christ applied, which means every transgression is washed away in Calvary’s crimson flow.

            Beyond the truth that the lamb is slain and the blood is applied is the assurance that the death angel will pass over. Speaking through Moses Jehovah God tells the children of Israel the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are:and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you (Exodus 12:13). Unless we are taken out of this Earth by the rapture, we are bound to die. Every individual on Earth is facing this prospect, for the book of Hebrews tells us it is appointed to men once to die (Hebrews 9:27); but the Bible speaks of a second death which is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:14). Those who die lost will be forced to endure all the horrors of hell described in sacred Scripture, but the promise is given to the children of God he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death (Revelation 2:11). As the death angel passes over the children of Israel and leaves them unscathed, so does the second death hold no power over those who are born again by the grace of God (see Revelation 20:6). 

            We have examined the purpose of the Passover as well as the protection of the Passover, and now we turn our attention to the power of the Passover, which is Almighty God. During the events leading up to the Passover we witness God’s miraculous power as He appears to Moses in a burning bush, causes his staff to be turned into a serpent, turns water into blood, sends pestilence upon the land in the form of frogs, flies and locusts, sends hail that bursts into flames as soon as it hits the Earth, afflicts the Egyptians with boils and covers the land with darkness. Beyond this He parts the Red Sea in order for the children of Israel to leave Egypt, provides them water from a rock and food in the form of manna. God’s awesome power is exhibited time after time throughout the book of Exodus, and here we see it demonstrated once again as the firstborn of the Egyptians is taken while the firstborn of the Hebrews is spared.

            The Passover teaches us many lessons about God’s dynamic power, but we conclude this message with three truths as to why He unleashes this power. First of all, God’s power is poured out because He cares from His people. When God first speaks to Moses from the burning bush He informs him I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows…behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me:and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them (Exodus 3:7, 9). All of this demonstrates the care and concern God has for His people. Jeremiah tells us it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23); therefore, God’s care for His people is one of His chief concerns.

            A second truth concerning the Lord’s power and His Passover is He provides for His people. There is not a prayer God cannot answer; there is not a burden He cannot lift; and there is not a need He cannot meet. He not only sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45), but He likewise feeds the fowls of the air and clothes the grass of the field (Matthew 6:30); therefore, if He provides for these lesser items of His creation, how much more is going to meet the needs of those who are created in both His likeness and His image.

            Lastly, God’s power as it is demonstrated in the Passover reminds us that He has a plan for His people. The nation of Israel comes into existence with one man and woman (Abraham and Sarah) who are well past the years of bearing children. Beyond this Sarah is barren but with God all things are possible. By an act of His divine will Israel comes into existence, and by divine decree they are both His chosen people and the apple of His eye. It is through the nation of Israel that the Lord Jesus Christ comes to this Earth, and it is through Him that salvation is made possible for lost humanity. God is continually working out His perfect plan; and because He forsaketh not his saints Psalm 37:28) they have a place in that plan. All who name the name of God and profess Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour have a special place in the Almighty’s heart; therefore, they are preserved for ever (Psalm 37:28).

            Today we have examined the Passover, which Jehovah God uses to deliver His people from Egyptian bondage. Pharaoh may have defied His command and questioned His authority, but in the end he comes to the realization that the Lord God omnipotent reigneth (Revelation 19:6). The purpose of the Passover is plain, the protection of the Passover is precious and the power of the Passover is penetrating. We can take comfort in knowing as God moves to bring His people out of Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land, He will likewise work in our lives to preserve us unto the day of redemption.

(1) These words are from a song ty the Cathedral Quartet entitled Sin Will Take You Farther