The Final Passover

 

[the Lord said] “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, 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 pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on 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 are. 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.” (Exodus 12:7-13 ESV).

 

No event in Israel’s history was more recognized and remembered than the Passover. The Feast of the Passover was celebrated every year. It recalled how the angel of death “passed over” the houses of Israel but killed the firstborn of the Egyptians. The Passover was the event that finally set Israel free from slavery in Egypt. Later Jesus would reference this event when He said:

 

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:7-9 ESV).

 

What made the difference between life and death? What determined whether a family’s house was passed over or the firstborn died? Blood. God told the people of Israel to choose a lamb without defect and to offer it as a sacrifice. They had to smear the lamb’s blood all around the door of their house, and when the angel came and saw the blood, he would pass by that house. Everyone in that house would be spared. The blood of the sacrificed lamb would protect them. But in every home that did not have the blood of the lamb, the firstborn would die. On the night before he died, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples one last time. The next day he would die on the cross as the true Passover lamb. He shed his blood for us, and his blood saves us from eternal death. Every true awakening of God is centered in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.