The Passover

"When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down."  Exodus 12:23

At first glance it appears that the Israelites escaped the last plague, the plague of death.  But actually there was a death in every household in Egypt.  The firstborn son in every Egyptian family died, but in the houses of the Israelites a lamb died in the place of the firstborn sons.

The Israelites were instructed to put some blood from the lambs they had slain on the sides and tops of their door frames.  When the death angel came through, he passed over the homes with blood--hence the name Passover.

The blood of the lambs that were slain foreshadowed Jesus' blood that was shed on the cross for us.  When God sees those who have been covered by Jesus' blood, He forgives their sins.  To be covered by Jesus' blood, we must acknowledge that we are sinners deserving God's punishment .  We must also acknowledge that Jesus died to pay the penalty we deserve for our sins.  Then we ask Jesus to the the Savior of our lives, committing ourselves completely to Him.  When we do this, we become God's children and are given eternal life.  There are some wonderfully reassuring words in Romans 8:1, which says,  "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

In essence, Jesus is our Passover Lamb who frees us from the penalty and punishment of sin.  John the Baptist called Jesus "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" in John 1:29.  In  Revelation 1:5 Jesus is called "him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood."  And in I Corinthians 5:17 Paul calls Jesus "our Passover Lamb."  He says, "For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.  Just as the Israelites' Passover lambs were sacrificed to provide the blood over the door frames, the precious, holy Son of God gave Himself as a Sacrifice so we could be forgiven and live eternally in heaven.  Are you covered with the blood of God's Lamb?

I thank You and praise You, God, for Christ, our Passover Lamb.  I praise you and thank You, Jesus, for Your sacrifice on our behalf.  Amen.