THE PASSOVER LAMB

The Passover Lamb anticipates and prefigures Jesus.

With the last and worst of the ten plagues looming over Egypt, God rescued the Israelite slaves from death. “Select a lamb,” God instructed, “an unblemished animal, a year-old male” (Exodus 12:5). “Slaughter the animals at twilight … Take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel” (Exodus 12:6-7) of your home.

John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of this Biblical type. “John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” (John 1:29, NKJV).

The original Passover lamb was spotless, just as Jesus was perfect, sinless, spotless.

In a grizzly and gruesome display, the innocent little lamb was slaughtered. It was sacrificed just as Jesus was.

The instructions were clear. “Apply the blood, and you will live.” Each family was given the choice … obey or death will soon visit. So too with Jesus. Jesus bled and died so that by trusting in His sacrifice, we can be set free from sin and slavery.

None of the lamb’s bones were broken (Exodus 12:46) and none of Jesus’ bones were broken at Calvary (John 19:31-37).

Jesus died during the annual Passover celebration (Matthew 26-27; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 19).

And Paul made the connection between the Old Testament Passover and the voluntary, vicarious, and victorious death of Jesus. “Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).