The Passover Lamb
Notes
Transcript
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. 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. 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.
When was the last time someone offered you their help? In busy seasons we might hope for a few more people around asking that question, “Can I help?” You may recognize there’s too much on your plate, yet how often do we simply respond, “No I’m fine, thanks.” Accepting help from someone can be a very humbling experience. That’s a challenge in and of itself, but then there’s the question, “Can I trust this person to do the work that needs done?” “Can they do it as well as I can?” We like things done a certain way, so you know what, “I better do it myself.” Some of that is legitimate. If you’ve ever had one of your kids ask if they can help, sometimes it really is best if we do it ourselves. Guys, if your wife knows you can’t cook, and you offer to help with dinner, she might rightly conclude, “I better do it myself.” That’s all fine and good, but I think we all realize, there’s a point at which we can’t help ourselves anymore.
Being from northern Minnesota there have been a couple of times where the car ended up in the ditch in the winter. It’s one of those moments where very often there’s absolutely nothing you can do for yourself, and when someone asks, “Can I help?” you say, “Yes!” If you’re on a country road in the evening, and as soon as the sun goes down it’s going to be zero, maybe less, “No, I’m fine, thanks.” can be pretty perilous.
As we’ll see thing morning Israel, God’s covenant people, are actually in a perilous situation themselves. God is coming into the land of Egypt in the final plague to kill the firstborn of every household, yet in Israel’s desperation God has provided. In their complete inability to help themselves before holy God, they will need to trust in a perfect substitute to do the work for them, to pay the price. It’s only when they trust in the sufficiency of the blood of the spotless lamb will their sins be atoned for and they come to know the salvation of God. Should they refuse the help of the substitute, the atoning sacrifice that only the lamb can provide, they will remain in their peril like the Egyptians.
When the wages of sin is death, the blood of the spotless lamb is the only way of salvation.
When the wages of sin is death, the blood of the spotless lamb is the only way of salvation.
The spotless lamb - a substitute (vs. 1-5)
The blood of the lamb - the penalty (vs. 6-7)
The salvation through the lamb - the atonement (vs. 8-13)
Let’s look to verses 1 through 5:
The spotless lamb - a substitute
The spotless lamb - a substitute
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.
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As we’ve been working through Exodus we’ve been anticipating this moment. The 400 years of slavery which God spoke of to Abraham has come to a conclusion. Israel has been waiting and waiting for this moment and it’s finally here. You might say it’s the beginning of a new era in the history of Israel.
Over the course of history numerous nations have established their independence and freedom in various ways, and that day of independence is rarely forgotten. There are influential figures who are forever remembered in books, official documents, and even statues. It’s natural for man to find heroes in the stories of their liberation and freedom. We might ask, who are the influential figures in our narrative of Exodus who will forever be remembered when Israel speaks of the Exodus? Right away we have to think of Moses and Aaron. Moses has received a miraculous calling from God through a burning bush. Moses and Aaron both have boldly approached Pharaoh time and again to deliver the words of God. They’ve been instrumental in God bringing about these miraculous signs in judgement of Egypt in their gods. Surely there will be memorials, statues, and celebrations about these great men. If Israel were any other nation that’s probably how the history would have been written. If the story of Exodus is about Israel being delivered from Egypt then we might expect Moses and Aaron to be the center of the story, but the real crisis Israel faces is not Egypt. The real crisis they face is their deliverance from the wrath of a just God. At the center of the book of Exodus is Israel meeting with God. This is the true crisis Israel faces and what can Moses and Aaron do for Israel before a holy God? They too are sinners just like the rest of Israel, what can they do? In many ways, the hero of Exodus is the spotless lamb who died that Israel might live. Israel’s deliverance from the justice of God is the facet of this story that cannot be forgotten, and before God even mentions the spotless lamb, he makes sure that when the people of Israel celebrate their independence day, the lamb will be at the center of that celebration.
What does God say?
2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.
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There are certain days that are so pivotal they deserve there own day on the calendar. Then there are days which justify the creation of an entirely new calendar. Let’s put that in perspective for a moment. We have difficulty today with day light savings time. Scheduling meetings with people in a different timezone is difficult. How difficult would it be to do business with someone who’s functioning with an entirely different calendar? It’s very isolating to live by an entirely different standard, but that’s exactly what God intends for His people. No longer will you live according the the standard of Egypt, the context of Egypt, or even the calendar of Egypt. Everything down to your calendar will be oriented around God and what he has accomplished for you, to the degree it would be difficult to live and work and thrive anywhere else, but the land which God is going to provide for Israel. And what’s at the heart of this new calendar, this new standard by which Israel is going to live? This spotless lamb!
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.
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What do we tend to do in the first 10 days of a new year? It’s that first 10 days where all the new gym memberships start, right? All the new years resolutions are in full swing, and everyone is ambitious to do new and better things in the new year. For Israel the new year is very much oriented back, not forward. They’re not looking ahead to what good am I going to do for my well-being this year. They’re looking for a good and spotless lamb. They’re remembering how God delivered them from his own wrath through a spotless lamb.
It’s a process too, it’s not exactly a day that’s here and gone. This lamb is selected and actually brought into the house. For a short period this lamb is a part of the family. I can’t help but imagine what it would have been like to see my firstborn, Caleb, playing with the lamb that would die for him in just a few short days. If you’re a mom or a dad, you love and cherish that lamb more than anything you’ve ever owned because of what it’s about to do for your firstborn son. Without that lamb, death will come to the household. Without that lamb, death would come to every household in the whole of Israel. Without this substitute, Israel cannot stand before holy God. Israel cannot hope to survive as a nation without this lamb.
We must ask, “What kind of substitute is this?” God makes clear to Isreal in verse 5 that the lamb is to be an unblemished male a year old.
What is God communicating to Israel with these requirements? Why couldn’t a female lamb be taken? Why couldn’t the spotted or crippled lamb be taken?
Israel likely would have recalled the ram which God provided as a substitute for Isaac, when God called for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. The idea of a substitute is central to the history of Israel. Without that ram in the thicket in Genesis 22 Israel wouldn’t be a nation, but here there’s a specific character to the lamb. It’s to be a spotless lamb. For over 1000 years Israel is going to be bringing spotless lambs into their houses for Passover so that they can be sacrificed in memory of God passing over the houses of Israel, sparing them from His judgement. What are all those years of spotless sacrifices teaching Israel?
For starters, not every sacrifice is the same! There are some that are worthy and some that are not. The perfect justice of God is not going to be satisfied by whatever man has to offer. Genesis tells us this even in chapter 4. God was not pleased with Cain’s sacrifice, yet Abel’s was pleasing. We don’t get to define what is satisfying to God. God in his perfection get’s to define by His holy justice what is satisfying to Him.
Furthermore, God is not going to accept an imperfect substitute to pay the price. An unclean and imperfect substitute bears the debt of its own faults, how can it pay for another?
Suppose for a moment I owe a debt to the bank. The bank has decided it’s calling my loan, and it’s time to pay up in full. Every penny I’ve loaned is due tomorrow. I can’t pay the debt. I have no money. My bank account is utterly dry. What can I do? I call a friend to pay the debt for me. I call my friend and he says sure, I’d be glad to help. He asks which bank I’m using and he heads straight over there. He approaches the teller and says, I’m here to pay Mr. Hardesty’s debt. The teller says, “Wonderful, how would you like to pay for it?” He provides his account number to the teller and it turns out his account his dry and he too owes a debt to the bank.
One debtor and can’t pay another persons debts! One blemished and imperfect sacrifice cannot pay for the guilt of a blemished and imperfect soul. A perfect substitute is required! A perfect, spotless lamb.
The truth is that God really did passover their guilt by the blood of the perfect lamb on that first passover night, but Israel would remain sinful and blemished. Time and again they would offer the passover lamb, year after year, decade after decade, century after century waiting for the Messiah, the perfect lamb to come who would be their once and final substitute. They looked ahead in faith to the same lamb to which we look back in faith.
Something more than even a spotless lamb was required to accomplish what God intended!
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 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.
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What God was teaching Israel through the Passover is perfectly displayed and perfectly accomplished in the death of Christ. Christ, in the perfection of His righteous life, the perfect lamb, accomplished what the blood of bulls and goats only taught yet could never accomplish.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
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There’s a very simple matter of application for us this morning in the Lord’s Supper. The importance of our remembering what Christ accomplished is conveyed in Christ’s own words, do this in remembrance of me. If you’ll notice, almost all of chapter 12 vs. 14 through the end is devoted to remembering so we’ll cover that in detail next week.
For our time this morning, I’d like us to reckon with the perfection of Christ’s sacrifice. What does that mean for us today?
I’ll put it simply, nothing less and nothing more than the perfect substitute, Jesus Christ, can deliver us from the just punishment of Holy God.
Nothing less means that if our faith and our comfort before God is placed in anything less than Jesus Christ and Him crucified when God comes in judgement to call our loan if you will, there is no substitute, no one to stand in the gap and bear the wrath we deserve.
No matter the extent of our good deeds before God can assuage His just demand for perfection.
No matter the extent of our self-sacrifice can satisfy God for God will not accept an imperfect sacrifice.
It does’t matter if we go to church every Sunday, our parents are Christians, or we’re more upstanding than our neighbor.
If our faith is in something less than the perfect blood of Christ spilled for us, then we stand before God without a substitute.
If you’re hear this morning, and you recognize you’re not perfect and your faith is in something less than the perfect blood of Christ spilled for you, don’t wait. The offer of Christ is free. He calls us to repentant, to turn from our sins and all the false sacrifices we’ve trusted in and to trust in Him alone. It’s through faith in Christ alone in which we will know salvation because He is the only perfect sacrifice. There is no other.
For us who are believers we need remember, there is also nothing more than the perfect sacrifice of Christ which can satisfy our holy God. Nothing can be added to perfection of the lamb precisely because He is perfect.
There are times in our Christian walk where I believe we wait inside the house, the blood is on the doorposts, we enjoy the nourishment of the lamb with each other, yet in our waiting for the day of the Lord we wonder, will the blood be enough?
Should we entertain that doubt we begin to add to the perfection of the sacrifice. We take out an additional insurance policy if you will just in case...
There’s nothing we can add to what Christ has accomplished!
As the Nicene Creed puts it:
God of God, Light of Light, Holy God of Holy God. This is Christ our perfect sacrifice! Might we rest in His perfection!
10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
...
As Israel gathered the lambs for every household special attention would have been given to finding a spotless lamb, yet the purpose of the lamb was not merely to be a perfect substitute to remain in the house. There was a day when it was time for the lamb to die.
The blood of the lamb - the penalty
The blood of the lamb - the penalty
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. 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.
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In the provision of the lamb, it’s important we recognize the character of the lamb, but the character of the lamb is of little help to us if the lamb doesn’t ultimately die. To really understand the purpose of the lamb we really need to go back to the beginning. Like I’ve said, Israel’s problem goes beyond their slavery to Egypt at the beginning of Exodus. Israels’ problem goes all the way back to their slavery to sin at the beginning of Genesis. When Adam and Eve sinned what was the penalty for their sin?
17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
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Israel may soon be free from the curse of Egypt, but they still bear the curse of sin: death.
We’ve talked about it in past weeks, but we recognize that God’s intentions for Israel are not simply to be free for freedom’s sake. God has a purpose for their freedom: that they would dwell with God, His presence is going to be among them, and that they would rightly worship Him as a holy people. Exodus has been revealing this to us little by little over the course of the book so it should only be natural for us to ask, how will God and man dwell together while the curse of sin still remains? Israel is going to be transferred from the service of Pharaoh to the service of God!
In truth we should be asking, how!?!? We might be tempted find relief once Israel is free from Egypt, but the real crisis of all of Scripture still remains: the wages of sin is death!
From the very beginning of their service to God, even before Israel even escapes their captors in Egypt, God makes it clear to them: The only way you can abide with me is if justice is served and someone dies. God’s not going to welcome man and woman back into the garden on a whim. Justice must be served. Blood must be shed!
We must recognize with the writer of Hebrews, the blood that was shed, the death of these lambs, bulls, and goats would not ultimately satisfy. The system of sacrifice which God implements here in Exodus was never intended to be a means of ultimate justice. If it were then the first passover would have been the only passover. The fact that Israel repeated these time and again, year after year, attests to the need for a death which would ultimately satisfy. A death which could bear the burden of the curse of sin for all the redeemed.
We must again look to Christ!
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
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Because He was perfect, His death satisfied God’s justice for all who believe! Apart from His shed blood, apart from His death, then the curse of sin still remains!
Again the writer of Hebrews assures us:
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.
In the shedding of the blood of Christ, the spotless lamb, we can know forgiveness, because justice has been satisfied.
....
Unfortunately today, there are all kinds of explanations for why Jesus came or who Jesus is.
There are some who might say, Jesus was a good teacher or a prophet! A moral exemplar who spread the good news of charity, compassion, and self-sacrifice.
Others may even say Jesus is God, yet deny the fact that God would punish His own son in death.
Many others believe Jesus never existed.
I’m afraid many people are comfortable with these conclusions about Christ because they see that their problem is with Egypt and not with God. As long as our problems are horizontal we don’t need to be forgiven. As long as our problems are out there with this nation or that, this crisis or that, the problem isn’t in me, and I don’t need to reckon with the curse of sin. The problems out there... why would I need someone to die for me?
The truth is the greatest problem we face is our own sin before a holy God. A sin that bears the curse of death before God’s justice. In the end someone needs to die because He is just... Praise be to God for the coming of Christ who came not simply be an example, not simply to die before the wrath of the Jews, but to die before the wrath of God that should have been poured out on us. A Savior who delivers from Egypt or Rome in the end is no Savior at all. A Savior who delivers us from the curse of sin, the only Savior Jesus Christ, through his death on the tree bearing our curse, that is the only true salvation.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
...
As we continue to follow our narrative we recognize more fully the salvation through the shed blood.
The deliverance through the lamb - the atonement
The deliverance through the lamb - the atonement
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. 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.
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I find the contrast here rather striking. What this spotless lamb has accomplished has spared Israel from judgement and destruction. Let’s just look to the end to start. (vs.12) What falls on Egypt: the firstborn will be struck down, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments - I am the LORD.
There’s holy judgement being served in all that land of Egypt yet what does God say of His people.
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.
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This is what the death of the spotless lamb has accomplished! Atonement. The people of God are spared for their trust in the perfect blood of the lamb, and the blood was sufficient. It paid the price! It atoned for Israel that they might live and proceed to enjoy their deliverance to the glory of God. This is the conclusion, but you’ll notice starting in verse 8 God preparing them for this life they are about to live.
Israel is about to go on a serious trek, and before they go, God instructs them to eat the lamb and to do so in a posture of readiness. As much as it’s the firstborn who are spared, there isn’t one person in all of Israel who hasn’t enjoyed the nourishment of the lamb before they leave the slavery of Egypt. All of eaten. All have reckoned with the atonement that’s been accomplished for the people of Israel in the form of a simple meal.
Isn’t it extraordinary to think that while God is exercising holy judgement outside the people of God are enjoying a meal of lamb together inside, though it’s not just any meal. God is serious about the posture with which they eat this meal.
Their loins are to be girded, sandals on, staff in hand, and the meal is to be eaten quickly!
I’m sure we’ve all been on the verge of some important event that demands a little more readiness. Maybe you’ve had an international flight that you know you can’t miss! All the bags are packed sitting by the door. You wake up early to eat breakfast. Your shoes are on as you walk all around the house making sure you haven’t forgotten anything. You go through the checklist in a bit of a frantic haze until it’s finally time to go the airport. That’s what God wants of His people. This is important! Don’t miss it. Their lives have been spared by the blood of the lamb and now they are going to be brought out in a hurry so that they can worship God as a free people. No one will be without a meal, and everyone is going to be ready!
I find a striking resemblance to our Christian walk in this simple narrative. God didn’t send Christ to the cross to atone for our sins so that we could go on malnourished in slavery! The appropriate response to the atonement of Christ for our sins is gratitude for one, but also a readiness and desire to be free from the godlessness of the world and all false religion.
1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
We are not to go on as slaves to the law trying to do what Christ has accomplished, nor are we to be slaves to the flesh trying to satisfy our souls with what only Christ can satisfy.
We’ll see this very real battle go on in the hearts of Israel in weeks to come as they consider the difficulty of the wilderness and reckon it might be better back in slavery.
The writer of Hebrews gives us some encouragement for the journey that’s before us
1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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When we’re weak.. when we wander and falter in our race where do we look? We look to Christ for our own nourishment! Yet what about Christ, “The author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross..” The perfect lamb of God atoning for the sins of His church, our Savior and our salvation. This is where we look when we are weak and stumbling. This is where we look when we feel we can’t take another step in this wilderness. Only He can truly sustain us through the wilderness of this broken world. In the end the work we have before is fueled by the work which Christ has already accomplished. For centuries, Israel would be reminded of all that God accomplished for them in the passover because what God accomplished through the lamb in delivering them from slavery would be the hope for their future. In a similar way, we look to Christ, the lamb which accomplished our deliverance.
In conclusion,
Only in Christ, the spotless lamb, can we find the perfect substitute which God demands. In His perfection He can take our place.
Only in Christ can we find the one who is able to pay the price we owed in full. He died that we might live!
Only in Christ can we find atonement, forgiveness and salvation. He endured the cross in order that we would endure to the end through faith in Him!
Let’s pray.
