The Passover

The Passover Lamb is a Type of Christ

The Passover, or the Passover lamb, is a type of Christ

1.     When John the Baptizer saw Jesus coming towards him, John exclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29b).

2.     Paul called Christ our Passover in 1Cor. 5:7b (Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed).

3.     The Passover lamb is with the family for a few days in part to scrutinize the lamb for any blemishes and also so that they might grow some attachment for the lamb. Jesus Christ was under public scrutiny (some of it hostile) for a period of three or four years during His earthly ministry and He was found to be blameless in all things. The charges brought against the Lord in order to get Him to the cross were phony. Jesus had broken no laws. Luke 11:53–54 John 8:46 18:38 1Peter 1:18–19 2:22 3:18.

4.     The lamb, having been tested (inspected for defects), must be slain (Exodus 12:6 Matt. 16:21 John 12:24 Heb. 9:22). The blood of the lamb must be used in order for God to pass over the house. There is no other way for any family of Hebrews (or Egyptians) to be passed over; including invoking a deity of Egypt. The writer of Hebrews warns us that, ...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Heb. 9:22b) God sees the blood of the lamb, representing the blood of Jesus Christ, and He does not take the life of their first-born. The great tragedy to the unbeliever—even more than losing one’s firstborn—is to spend eternity in hell, burning in judgment, separated from God.

5.     As per Scofield, this ritual "refutes universalism" (Exodus 12:7, 12b John 3:36 Acts 4:12). For the Jew (and any Egyptian household that followed suit), applying the blood was proof of their faith in Y^ehowah and God's Word (as spoken by Moses). It was a sign of their faith but not the means of their salvation (Exodus 12:13 Heb. 9:11-14, 22, 28).

6.     Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone, as He took upon Himself the punishment for our sins (we thus bypass the judgement due us). This deliverance from judgment is illustrated by the application of the blood around the door, which caused Y^ehowah to pass over their household. God refrained from executing judgement upon those in the house. Exodus 12:13 Heb. 9:13–14 (For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.) Heb. 10:10 1John 1:7

7.     The blood of the first Passover is put on the top of the door sill (which would drip to the threshold) and on both sides of the door. This picture foreshadows the cross, foreshadowing the bleeding of Jesus from His feet, His hands and His head. The application of the blood foreshadows in the True Passover (Jesus dying for our sins). Exodus 12:22 1Cor. 5:7

Blood on the Header and Side Posts of the Door Foreshadows the Cross (a graphic); from Blogspot; accessed March 31, 2021.

8.     The feast afterwards was a foreshadowing of our memorial supper, the Eucharist (which foreshadows eternal fellowship with God).

9.     The eating of the flesh of the slain lamb is analogous to believing in Jesus Christ, as eating is the non-meritorious function which all humans are able to do. Today, we eat the bread as Christ's body, to illustrate our faith in Jesus Christ, Who is the bread of life (Matt. 26:26-28 John 6:31-35, 46–58, 19:18 1Cor. 11:23–26).

        a.     As an aside, the bread does not actually become Christ body.

        b.     This heresy came about because some person did not understand the concept of a metaphor (hundreds of figures of speech are found throughout the Scriptures).

10.   Scofield: To observe the feast [of the Passover] was a duty and a privilege but not of condition of safety. Nor is eating the meat (or bread) salvation; those things are analogous to salvation. 1Cor. 10:16 11:25 Rev. 13:8

11.   One of the most chilling phrases found in Exodus is Exodus 12:6b, when speaking of the Passover lamb, reads: Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it. Can’t you just hear in those words the Jews in a.d. 33 calling for Jesus to be crucified?

Scofield quotes are from https://biblehub.com/commentaries/sco/exodus/12.htm accessed December 9, 2020.

All Bible quotes are from the ESV (capitalized).

The Passover was fraught with meaning. However, it meant one thing to the Hebrew people at this time; but it means something different to us in the Church Age. In fact, there is more meaning to be found in the Passover today than during the Age of Israel.

The ESV; capitalized is used below unless otherwise indicated.

The Symbology of the First Passover

Symbol

Meaning to Hebrews

Meaning to Church Age Believer

The plague is the death of the firstborn.

The Hebrew people understood this to be simply a judgment against the Egyptians and those who did not believe the warning of God, which required the use the blood of the lamb.

We understand that the death of the firstborn to be related to Jesus Christ dying for our sins, as He is called the firstborn of God (Rom. 8:29 Col. 1:18 Heb. 1:5).

The lamb.

The lamb is an animal sacrifice, as God requires. Its blood needed to by painted on the doorframe. The Hebrew people acted out of obedience to God.

The lamb represents Jesus Christ dying for our sins. Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1Cor. 5:7b)

Jesus takes the penalty for our sins upon Himself.

The observation of the lamb.

It would be normal for a family to develop some sort of attachment to a lamb which they watch over for 3 or 4 days.

The people of Israel were able to observe Jesus for 3 or 4 years, to confirm His sinlessness and that His power was from God.

The blood of the lamb.

All things were cleansed by blood in the Old Testament. This very much describes the first quarter of the book of Leviticus.

The blood of the lamb represents the spiritual death of our Lord. It was not Jesus’ physical death on the cross; or His physical suffering which saves us. It is the judgment for our sins which He endured. 1Peter 1:19 Rev. 7:14

The blood of the lamb on the door.

God would see the blood and pass over that house. There would be no judgment for the occupants inside.

The blood reveals the cross 1500 years prior to the crucifixion. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we are trusting His work on the cross for our deliverance. 1Cor. 5:7b

The lamb is to be eaten, having been roasted with fire; not raw and not boiled in water.

These are simply God’s requirements for the lamb sacrifice. The people respond in obedience to what God requires.

Roasted with fire refers to judgment by God. We cannot place our faith in a Jesus Who is just a teacher; nor can we place our faith in a watered down gospel. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1Cor. 2:2)

All of the lamb must be consumed by morning.

These are God’s simple requirements for this sacrifice.

There is a time frame (while we are alive) during which we must believe in Jesus Christ. Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2Cor. 6:2b)

The lamb is to be eaten in haste.

The Hebrew people were to leave Egypt soon afterwards. They had no time to waste.

We are to believe in Jesus as soon as possible. It is a big mistake for a person to understand the issue and to kick it down the road. 2Cor. 6:2b

Those eating the lamb must be wearing sandals and a belt.

The Hebrew people would be ready to move out when they were ordered to.

We must be equipped as saints. A more detailed equipment for the saints is described in Eph. 6:11–17. We are equipped by the Holy Spirit and knowledge of Bible doctrine.

Unleavened bread

Because the Israelites had to move out so quickly, there was no time for the bread to rise.

Leavening represents corruption; we are not to believe a corrupt gospel. The Lord’s Supper is practiced with unleavened bread. 1Cor. 5:6 Gal. 5:9

Bitter herbs

These are God’s requirements for this sacrifice.

This represents the bitterness of Jesus Christ taking upon Himself our sins. Zeph. 1:14

God would see the blood and He would passover that house.

The blood on the door posts allowed God to see which house was to be passed over.

This blood of Jesus allows God to pass over us when it comes to eternal judgment. Heb. 9:12 He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His Own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

This celebration was to be observed throughout the future years of Israel.

Israel was to always be able to look back on this time to see God’s acts on their behalf.

We observe the New Testament version of this, which is communion (which should be accompanied with teaching). We also look backwards. 1Cor. 11:25–26

In many cases, the Hebrew people simply did as they were told out of obedience to the Revealed God. Obviously, they must believe in the Revealed God in order to be obedient to Him. Faith in God, as He revealed Himself, is the means of salvation for the individual Hebrew.

When going into a thorough study of the timing of the events of Exodus 10–12, it became clear that the events overlap (not actually presented as such in the narrative of Exodus); yet they provide a fascinating set of parallel events.

The Passover Gospel

The First Passover

The Ministry of Christ Jesus

God told Moses about the events which were about to transpire; Moses was to tell these things to the people of Israel.

God told His prophets about the events which would transpire for the life of the Messiah. These prophets then revealed this information to the people of Israel.

The sons of Israel were to select a lamb who would be offered up for their household. They would observe their lamb from the 10^th to the 14^th of the month.

Jesus is the Lamb of God Who had come to Israel, God’s people. He would offer Himself up for the salvation of Israel (and for all mankind). Israel would be able to view the public ministry of Jesus for 3–4 years.

While Israel prepared for the Passover, the 9^th judgment took place, where all of Egypt was plunged into darkness. No one could see anything; but the Israelites had light in their dwellings.

Jesus appeared to the people of Israel, giving light to them; whereas, the rest of the world was in spiritual darkness.

Each house of Israel had already selected their lamb; so they would be observing their lamb in their own home, in the light, during these 3 days of darkness.

Israel could observe the Lord during His ministry (if they chose to do so). Jesus presented Himself to them as the light of the world.

At the end of this period of time, all Israel would rise up and slaughter their lamb. Its blood would be painted onto specific parts of their door frame.

At the end of the Lord’s public ministry, Israel would rise up against Jesus and call for His execution. When put on the cross, the blood of the Lord would be seen in the same 4 places as seen on the door frames.

The Destroyer passed over the houses of those who had the blood painted on their door frames. The slaughtering of the lamb and the smearing of its lamb were an indication of faith in the Revealed God.

The Lord’s death for our sins allows us to avoid eternal death by exercising faith in Him.

Portions of the parallels found here are only discoverable when one considers carefully the actual timeline of these events (which is not clearly laid out in Scripture).

Before covering more regulations for the Passover, let’s get an idea as to what the Seder is.

The modern-day celebration of the Passover is called the Seder, and it is barely a shadow of what the original Passover celebration was.

The Seder (from Wikipedia and YouTube)

There is a brief 4 minute video on YouTube which discusses the various ways Seder is celebrated today. What ought to stand out is, this seems to bear no resemblance to the Passover which we are studying.

The table setting is a screenshot from the YouTube video. The foods which are presented here are not universal, but then, very little in Judaism is. Do you see what is missing? Lamb. What is the most fundamental element of the Passover? The lamb. What does the lamb represent? Jesus Christ paying for our sins on the Roman cross. So what is fundamentally missing from Judaism? Their Savior.

Wikipedia: Seder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom. The Seder is the most commonly celebrated Jewish ritual, performed by Jews all over the world.

Observed by     Jews, Samaritans, other groups claiming affiliation with Israelites

Significance:     To retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt

Celebrations     In Jewish practice, one or two festive Seder meals on the first two nights

Date 15th day of Nisan

Related to Three Pilgrimage Festivals (particularly Shavuot which follows 49 days from the second night of Passover)

Table set for the Passover Seder (a photograph); from Wikipedia.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover_Seder accessed July 8, 2021.

See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzsuL9U1a_k

My point here is, we do not have two religions—Christianity and Judaism—which have their basis in the Old Testament. There are few celebrations or customs which are more important than the Passover; and yet, the popular celebration of this evening meal in Judaism today bears little resemblance to the customs clearly defined in the Old Testament.

Please do not think that this is some sort of antisemitic viewpoint. It is simply a fact that modern-day Jews, who observe the tenets of Judaism, do not fully embrace the teachings which we are studying. What takes place today in the faithful Jewish home bears little resemblance to the rituals as described in the Scriptures.

Part of what we are learning is, Judaism as practiced today, is not an adherence to the Old Testament (and a rejection of the New Testament). Judaism today is a celebration and an observation of the teachings of rabbis over a very long period of time. It is not a faithful practice of the Mosaic teachings which we are studying.

As an aside: this does not mean that a form of Judaism will not crop up, more faithful to the original text of the Old Testament. There is always the possibility that some form of Judaism will arise that is much more faithful to Moses than the many forms of Judaism observed today.

It would not surprise me in the least that the Temple is rebuilt, at some point in time, and many of the historic traditions which we are studying, reinstated. I am not saying that this is going to happen; I am simply saying that it could.

The Abbreviated Doctrine of

Definition of Terms

Passover

The Passover is a ritual observed by the Hebrew people, going back to the period of time that God, through Moses, led them out of Israel. For the first Passover, the people had to put blood on the header and side doorposts so that their firstborn would not be taken. See the Passover (HTML) (PDF) (WPD); Grace Notes (HTML) (PDF); Grace Doctrine 7 Feasts of Israel; Maranatha Church Doctrine of the Passover.

Rebound (Restoration to fellowship with God)

In the New Testament, this is naming your sins to God, so that you are both restored to temporal fellowship with God and are then filled with the Spirit of God. In the Old Testament, naming your sins to God would result in a restoration of fellowship and, in some cases, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit once again (the Holy Spirit was not given to all Old Testament believers). See the Doctrine of Rebound (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

The Revealed God (or, the Revealed Lord)

We all come to a time of God-consciousness where we understand the concept and possibility of the existence of God. At that point, we face 2 great questions: (1) do we want to know this God and (2) are will willing to believe in God as He has revealed Himself or do we make a god in our own image and worship that? In both the Old and New Testaments, God will make Himself known (He reveals Himself) to those who will believe in Him and to others as well. We know Him firmly and concretely as Jesus Christ; and in the Old Testament, He is known as the God of the Jews, the Creator of the Universe, the God of Moses (or of Abraham), etc.

Spiritual Death

There are 3 classifications of spiritual death: (1) The unbeliever is said to be spiritually blind or spiritually dead; he does not understand the things of the Spirit; these things are foolish to him. (2) The believer out of fellowship is said to be spiritually dead. This means that he is temporally dead; he is not acting under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He is operationally dead (that is, the believer is not producing divine good). (3) On the cross, when bearing our sins, Jesus suffered spiritual death. That is, God poured our sins upon Him and judged those sins. We understand by the context which of these is being referred to. The phrase, blood of Christ, refers to the Lord’s spiritual death on the cross. What is spiritual death? (Got Questions); 29 Bible Verses about Spiritual Death (Knowing Jesus); Bible Verses about Spiritual Death (Open Bible).

Type

Persons and events often foreshadow future persons and events. The real person or event in the past is called a type; and that which follows it as an historical parallel is it antitype. See Typology (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Universalism

The doctrine, held especially by some Christian groups, that all people will eventually be saved. Definition from Wordnik.