The Gospel In The Blood

Introduction

From the fall of man, to the promises made to Abraham, to the belly of a great fish, to healing of Naaman the leper. The Old Testament has been screaming the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the first chapter of the Gospel of John we read that “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

You see, they were expecting Him, yet when He arrived, they did not recognize him. Over a millennia practicing the slaughter of animals in an attempt to redeem sin. Only to do it again, and again. The writer of Hebrews says,

Hebrews 10:3–6 (NASB95)

3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me;

6 In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.

Here the writer of Hebrews is quoting Psalms, Ezra, Jeremiah, Ezequiel. Something better and permanent had to be provided for the sins of humanity. The sacrifice of animals for the remission of sin is like paying recurring bills with a credit card.

Today we will examine the meaning behind the passover. God in His infinite wisdom gave humanity a glimpse of the reality to come through the monumental deliverance of Israel from death meant for the Egyptians which would be the basis of the monumental deliverance of humanity from death caused by sin.

Exodus 12:1–6 (NASB95)

1 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.

3 “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.

4 ‘Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb.

5 ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

6 ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.

These instructions are given on the eve of the 10th and final plague given to Israel’s captors which will finally liberate the people of God. All of the other plagues did demonstrate the power of Yahweh over and above the Egyptian gods and the demonic forces they represented. However, they did not serve to liberate Israel. This last plague that was coming will be the final blow. This is significant because Jesus’ death is also the final blow

This month refers to the month of Abid which later would be called Nisan (March-April). This would become the beginning of Israel’s religious calendar, but unlike the other festivals, this one was instituted before they left Egypt.

Each household was select a lamb. But not just any lamb. The lamb must be unblemished (camim) which means without blemish, impeccable, complete, perfect.

You must understand the symbolism. The people must examine the physical aspects of the Lamb, see and reject any and every physical deformity the way God sees the heart of men and rejects every and every spiritual deformity.

The worthiness of the lamb was based on its physical perfection. Only perfection was worthy. Jesus had no character deficiencies, no blemishes caused sinful thoughts, words, or deeds. This is why His sacrifice was accepted. When John the Baptist saw Him he exclaimed:

John 1:29 (NASB95)

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

He could take sin because He himself had no sin. Examined by God and by men Jesus was without blemish

Luke 23:4 (NASB95)

4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”

Hebrews 4:15 (NASB95)

15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 7:26 (NASB95)

26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

1 Peter 1:18–19 (NASB95)

18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,

19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

This was the holy significance of an unblemished animal. It was pointing to sinless sacrifice that would cleanse from all sin.

This is why God was deeply insulted when the priests started mess-up the holy significance of this all important ritual.

Malachi 1:6–8 (NASB95)

6 “ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

7 “You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is to be despised.’

8 “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts.

Not only were they not checking to see the that the animals offered were without defect but they were purposely picking the blind, lame, sick, rejected animals and offering that to God. When you understand that these animals were a representation of Thee Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world you can understand God’s outrage.

Go back to the text

Exodus 12:5–6 (NASB95)

5 ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

6 ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.

The lamb was to be slain at twilight, literally between evenings, that is, the middle of the evening which would be 3 o clock. So the evening sacrifice became customary to be offered at that time of the day.

Exodus 12:7–11 (NASB95)

7 ‘Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

8 ‘They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

9 ‘Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails.

10 ‘And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.

11 ‘Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover.

These verses give instructions on how to observe the Passover. Although the feast was observed each family in their own home, their united and simultaneous worship held weld them together as a single community.

They were to take the blood of the lamb and place it on the doorframes of the houses. Because judgement was coming and this judgement would come upon any house that was not under the blood. It did not matter if you were Jew or Egyptian.

They were to eat the lamb with bitter herbs which signified the bitterness of slavery, for us it is also the bitterness of slavery to sin. They were to eat this with unleavened bread. Leven in the Bible has always signified sin.

As an example, there was proof of immorality taking place in the Corinthian church and Paul’s instructions were to remove the unrepentant sinner from the rest of the congregation because his presence like leaven affects the whole of the church

1 Corinthians 5:6–8 (NASB95)

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?

7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.

8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The Jews were suppose to take note of all of these types and shadows for which the realities lay with Christ (Colossians 2:17).

Exodus 12:12–13 (NASB95)

12 ‘For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord.

13 ‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

After the lamb was sacrificed, the blood was spread on the doorposts of each home. The blood was a sign of Jesus; the blood of the lamb, representing the lamb’s very life, is sufficient as a sacrifice to turn away the angel of death. Thus, the animal is a substitute for the firstborn that God demanded.

The name for the holiday Passover comes from the celebration of the night that the blood of the lamb protected the Israelites from the angel of death. On that first night, Egypt was not silent, because there was not a house among the Egyptians that was spared death because there were not under the blood.

They were not spared because there was no blood to atone for their sins. This was the importance of blood. Life is in the blood

Hebrews 9:18–22 (NASB95)

18 Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.

19 For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.”

21 And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood.

22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Look and read what Jesus did and said during the Last Super in commemoration of Passover:

Matthew 26:27–28 (NASB95)

27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;

28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

from that fateful day in Egypt and year after year, the Jews were to slain the lamb and celebrate the blood of which had saved them from captivity. Year after year, they did this not realizing the bigger implications. The 14th day of Nisan their passover lamb was to be slain according to indications given by God through Moses

About 15 hundred years later it was the 14th day of Nisan and like they have done time and time again, they were suppose to kill the Lamb at twilight, that is at 3pm. But this 14th day of Nisan was different than all of the others. The perfect most perfect and holy passover Lamb was led through the streets of Jerusalem to Hill called Golgotha. They nailed His hands and feet to a wooden Cross and lifted him up.

Matthew 27:45–46 (NIV)

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.

46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

Matthew 27:50–51 (NIV)

50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split

Matthew 27:54 (NIV)

54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

The soldiers now ready to be done with this scene, accelerated the death of the men who were executed with Jesus

John 19:33–34 (NASB95)

33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.