The Passover
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Happy New Years!
I love the thought of the new year because of the hope that springs with it. Now I’m not much on making new year’s resolutions since they merely bring guilt due to the inevitable inability to keep them. But I like New Years because of the thought of having a clean slate — the hope of having a start of something new.
Please turn in your Bible to .
Not starting a new series
This is intended as a “stand alone” message
Of course that could change
The decision to preach this message came while studying for a new series on the Passion of Christ from Matthew’s account
First Sunday of a new year and new decade
Message about the marking of the new year for the nation of Israel
Our outline for this morning will be very simple: we will look at the History of the Passover, the Application of the Passover, and the Ultimate Passover.
Our outline for this morning will be very simple: we will look at the History of the Passover, the Application of the Passover, and the Ultimate Passover.
Let’s begin by readying
Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
“This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.
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.
‘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.
Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
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.
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.
They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
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.
And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.
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.
‘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.
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.
Let’s consider first:
The History of Passover
The History of Passover
Note that:
God had a plan for the redemption of His people
Israel’s move to Egypt
The raising up of Moses and Aaron
The Plagues on Egypt
Blood
Frogs
Gnats
Flies
Cattle
Boils
Hail
Locusts
Darkness
Death of Firstborn
If I understand correctly, the first three plagues were felt by both Egypt and Israel, while the last seven were only on Egypt.
Our passage is about the preparing Israel for the final plague
The final plague opened the door for Israel to leave Egypt
Hence the new year for the nation of Israel
The preparation for this plague provided for the redemption of Israel from bondage to Egypt
The preparation provided protection for God’s people
The preparation prefigured the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross
We’ve been looking so far at the events leading up to the Passover. Let’s consider next:
The Application of the Passover
The Application of the Passover
Note that:
Something had to die to offer protection for God’s people
The first step in the Passover Preparation was to set apart a lamb or kid for each household
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.
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.
This plan included familiarity with the sacrificial victim
I’ve read somewhere that part of the process was to actually take the lamb or kid into their home and care for it as a pet
If true, this would make the sacrificing of this innocent lamb all the more difficult
This plan pointed to the sinlessness of Christ
Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
This plan had to be applied to each individual household
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.
‘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.
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.
This plan included the eating of the sacrifice
They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
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.
And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.
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.
My reason from preaching this message today
It was sparked by a statement I read in my studies for expositing Matthew 26:1-5
Leon Morris, in his commentary on Matthew summarized the things we have been looking at regarding the Passover celebration — not necessarily the original Passover as we are looking at, but the memorialized version of it. Then Morris made this statement, which got my mind thinking:
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Matthew A. Preliminaries, 26:1–5
The people made preparation for it by clearing all leaven out of the houses; then on the fourteenth day of the month Abib they solemnly slew a lamb or a kid for sacrifice in the temple and threw the blood on the altar. They took the carcass home and roasted it; it formed the main feature of a meal in the evening, which was taken reclining, a symbol of the rest God gave his people.
The statement that got me thinking was about the carcass of the lamb becoming the main feature of the Passover meal. Notice what Matthew had to say about what occured during the Passover meal which the twelve celebrated with Jesus on the night of His betrayal:
While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;
for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Jesus is indicating that He is the True Passover Lamb. As John the Baptist had indicated before Jesus even began His public ministry:
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
We understand the eating of the flesh of Jesus to be symbolic. But the symbolism is important. Jesus voluntary sacrifice provides far greater protection of God’s people than the blood of lamb and goats ever provided. Jesus’ death on the cross atoned for the sins of the people of God. It provided a covering for the people of God so that we can stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
In other words, Jesus is:
The Ultimate Passover
The Ultimate Passover
The Passover, as with every other OT sacrifice and offering, found it full fulfillment in the death of Jesus Christ. But we would be amiss if we thought that the story ends there.
Note that:
Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice has ramifications for God’s people in the here and now
Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth
An incestual relationship was being tolerated with the church
The church seemed to pride themselves regarding how tolerant they were of this individuals sexual preference
Paul chided the church for not disciplining this individual
After instructing the church to do their job and exercise church discipline, Paul stated this:
After instructing the church to do their job and exercise church discipline, Paul stated this:
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.
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
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.
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 learned apostle brings the people back to the OT ritual, by means of the death of Christ, to indicate how God’s people should behave in view of Christ being our Passover.
Get rid of the sin that is in your midst
This is in reference to both corporate sin as well as to personal sin
Corporately the church was sinning by not exercising proper church discipline
Personally this one individual was sinning by entering into such a relationship with his father’s widow!
When sin is tolerated its effects spread like gangrene
Clean out the old — bring in the new
Live in sincerity and truth
As we begin this new year, each of us who are believers in Jesus need to evaluate our own spiritual walk. Is there sin our own lives that needs to be dealt with? How are we doing with cleaning out the old and bringing in the new? Are our lives characterized by living in sincerity and truth?
Spurgeon Study Bible
MacArthur Study Bible
Spurgeon related our text to believers
Regarding the eating of the roasted lamb he wrote: “As the lamb was to be roasted and eaten, we who are saved by Christ’s death must continue to live on Christ … Christ must be food to our minds and nourishment to our hearts. We must love Him, trust Him, and endeavor to know Him better. This feeding on the lamb was to be on a roasted lamb — not raw, nor boiled, “but roasted over fire.” Christ is food for our hearts as having suffered for us — as having passed through the fire of God’s wrath against sin.
I rejoice in Christ as He is now exalted at the right hand of the Father, but first of all, I must know Him as despised and rejected. Christ’s second advent is proper and lawful ground for joy but not until we understand His first advent and see Him in His humiliation on Calvary. Christ on the cross is to be the one object of our faith; we must look to Him there even as the Israelite was to look on and feed on the lamb roasted over the fire. Think what Christ has endure for us. Oh what a fire our Lord Jesus Christ passed through that he might become food for our souls!”
This morning we have only scratched the surface of the significance of the Passover. We have looked the historical background, the application, and the ultimate Passover.
I invite you to feast on the Passover meal. To find your spiritual appetite satisfied in Christ, for in Christ alone will you find satisfaction.
Let’s pray.
While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;
for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
Closing Song: #345
What a Wonderful Savior!
