Passover - Easter 2024

Intro

The Lord had sent 9 plagues so far. Each of which targeted a separate Egyptian god.

No matter what the plague, Pharaoh’s heart continued to harden and he wouldn’t let the people of Israel go. God was setting him up to be made into an example for God’s glory!

Remember last week, I asked if you would be made an example like Pharaoh or as the obedient servant, Moses. We have plenty of opportunities to make God’s name known and glorfied throughout the world. It’s our choice which way to do it.

The Plague

This narrative rounds out with a final plague that is known as the Passover.

Pharaoh had a very hardened heart. He was angry. He was not ready for the “strong hand of the Lord” that was coming for him.

God gave very specific commands to the people of Israel on how to avoid the plague. Remember, up until this point, God was in charge of who did and didn’t receive the plagues.

But now, He placed the ball in the court of the Israelites. They had to have faith and obedience in order to be saved.

These were their instructions, first go and take all the Egyptians’ gold and silver, which they did.

Exodus 12:1–13 ESV

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. 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.

The Lord gave them very specific commands to provide them a way out of the destruction.

One thing is for certain, that death angel was coming! And nobody was gonna stop it. The only thing they could do was have faith that the blood of the lamb would be enough to cover their household.

And that’s exactly what they did. By following the instructions of the Lord to a T, they were able to be spared from the death of the firstborn.

The 4 days of waiting was to examine the lamb to be sure it was appropriate for the sacrifice.

The reason the Israelites were commanded to eat in haste is because Pharaoh would be kicking them out pretty quickly. They needed to be ready!

The Promised Savior

It’s impossible to look at the Passover and ignore the work of Jesus on the cross.

Let’s look at the connections.

The lamb had strict requirements. The Lamb had strict requirements according to prophecy. Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies concerning his life.

This is why John the Baptist pointed to him in John 1:29

John 1:29 ESV

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

We are given specific instructions to receive the protection of the Lamb. There is no grey area for that salvation. You must have faith in the Lamb and obey the Father’s commands.

Because here’s the deal, Jesus, God himself as a man, came to the Earth to save us.

JESUS’ STORY

And the cool thing is, all you have to do is have faith in him and his death and resurrection. And you’ll be saved from the imminent judgment that is headed your way.

That’s why we celebrate Easter. Jesus not only died for our sins, but he defeated death so that we don’t have to die!

Conclusion

Communion

I want to remind you before we pass the elements,1 Corinthians 11 says “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

If you have any unrepentant sin in your life, you need to deal with that before partaking. If you don’t please abstain.

We are going to distribute both elements together. I will read a passage then instruct when to partake. We put the bread into cups as well since we’ve had numerous sicknesses going around.

As the elements are being distributed, be examining your life and pray for God to cleanse you of any unrepentant sin. Pray that God would prepare you for a devoted year to him.

In taking this communion, you are symbolizing what Jesus has done for you and that you have received it. The bread is symbolizing his body which was broken for us and the juice symbolizing the blood which was spilled for us.

Luke 22:14–20 (ESV)

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Pray