Jesus Became Our Passover Lamb

Today, I would like to share with you a forgotten lesson from the passover of old. The first passover concerned Moses and the Israelites. They were to sacrifice lambs in order to protect them from the last plague that God brought upon Egypt.

However, Jesus fulfilled this through His sacrifice on the cross. Since that time, we no longer need to sacrifice animals for passover, or atone for our sins. Instead, we honor Jesus through remembrance, by taking communion.

We are going to learn about the passover of old, and compare it to Christ’s fulfillment. When He sacrificed Himself on the cross, becoming our Passover Lamb.

Jesus The Passover Lamb

Turn your Bible with me to,

1 Corinthians 5:7
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.

There we have it.

The Bible said, Jesus is our Passover.

So what does that mean, and when should we celebrate this Passover of the Lord?

To answer that question, turn your Bible to Exodus chapter 12. Let us travel back to the time of Moses, the time of bondage when the Israelites served as slaves in the land of Egypt.

The First Passover And Its Fulfillment

Before we begin, I would like to make a note. In the chapters preceding this one, the land of Egypt was smitten with nine plagues that God brought about. After each of the plagues, Pharaoh refused to release the Israelites. Yet, it was God Himself who hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

Why would He do this?

God wanted to reveal Himself, and make known to all of Egypt, and through them, the whole world that He is the One True God, and there is no other. The Egyptian gods could not re-produce the plagues, nor could they stop them, as they were nothing more than statues.

The First Month

Exodus 12:1-2
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying,

2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

What month would this be?

From Exodus 13:4, we learn it is the month of “Abib,” (also: Deuteronomy 16:1). The month of Abib begins at the Spring Equinox, which is equivalent to March 19th this year.

The Unblemished Lamb

Exodus 12:5
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats.

In the prior verses, God said every household should take a lamb for the feast, an event that would soon be known as passover. In verse five, God states, the lamb must be without blemish, a perfect sacrifice.

Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb was without blemish, just as the passover lamb of old, (1 Peter 1:18-19). Make a mental note through this study, Christ, ‘did not come to change the law, but to fulfill it,’ (Matthew 5:17). The only thing that changed was Jesus became our Passover which did away with the blood ordinances.

Today, we no longer sacrifice animals, that would be sacrilegious.

Exodus 12:6
And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

We have another time element here.

The passover lamb was to be kept until the 14th of Abib and then killed in the evening. We need to understand, the Israelite day started at sunset. So the killing of the passover lamb would take place just hours before the 15th of Abib. This equates to the evening of April 2nd this year (2024).

Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb was slain at the same time as the passover lambs in the days of Moses. Christ died at the 9th hour which is equal to our 3 pm, (Luke 23:43-46).

This not only displays the divine accuracy of our Father, but proves that Jesus could not have partaken of the lamb at the last supper, as those lambs were being slaughtered when He was crucified on the cross. The last supper with Him was the night before He became our Passover.

The Blood Redeems

Exodus 12:7
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

God had instructed the Israelites to place the blood of the passover lamb upon their doors. In so doing, the last plague would have no effect on their household.

The Blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb redeemed us from our sins, (Ephesians 1:7). His Blood was worthy, so we no longer have to perform those blood sacrifices. Through His Blood, the “destroyer” being Satan cannot harm us, as we have power over him through Jesus, (Luke 10:19).

The LORD’s Passover

Exodus 12:8, 10-11
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.

11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s passover.

God had instructed the Israelites to eat the passover lamb that night (the sun is now down and we are at the 15th of Abib) and leave nothing until the morning.

Exodus 12:12
For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

This would be the final plague of Egypt, which set the Israelites free from bondage. However, we must remember that it was God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart each and every time he refused to release the Israelites.

God did this to make a point to the Egyptians, that Jehovah is the One True God of the whole earth. We will soon witness an event of this scale just before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ when hail the size of a talent (120-180 pounds) reigns down on the enemy, (Revelation 16:21)

The Destroyer

Exodus 12:13
And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

In essence, the blood of the passover lamb on the door kept the “destroyer,” (Exodus 12:23) from smiting that household with the last plague, which was the death of the firstborn. As stated, the “destroyer” is Satan, who is the spirit of death, and who better to work under the cover of darkness as he always does, (Hebrews 2:14).

Let me prove that.

Revelation 9:11
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Apollyon” means “destroyer (i.e. Satan)”. I also want you to note, Satan entered Judas who betrayed Jesus by night, (Luke 22:3-4).

Remember Passover

Now turn your Bible back to,

Exodus 12:14
And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

And so we remember the passover to this day.

We remember what it meant during the time of Moses, and we remember what it means for us today. Jesus becoming our Passover removed the need for lambs blood, for as Scripture so beautifully states, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,” (Revelation 5:12).

Communion

Going forward, Jesus told us how we should remember Him and how we should remember Passover.

Let me show you.

1 Corinthians 11:23-24
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread.

24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Jesus took the stripes and we get the healing, (Isaiah 53:5). He is the bread of life, and that bread is symbolic of His body that was broken for us.

Take and eat all of the bread as He instructed.

1 Corinthians 11:25
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, without His Blood there is no life, (John 14:6). So take the cup of wine which is symbolic of His Blood that is shed for the remission of our sins.

Take and drink all of the wine as He instructed.

1 Corinthians 11:26
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

The 14th of Abib (April 2nd this year 2024) is Passover. This is how we remember and honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. By partaking of the unleavened bread, the wine, and remembering what each one symbolizes.

The blood of the passover lamb in the days of Moses protected the Israelites from the “destroyer”. It caused him to pass-over their homes, this enabled them to be free from bondage, and led them to the promised land.

The Blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb protects us from that same “destroyer.” It frees us from the bondage of our sins, that through repentance, we may be led to our promised land…

The Eternal Kingdom of our God who reigns forever.

Amen.

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