How does Exodus 12:6 connect to Christ's sacrifice as the Lamb of God? “Keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter the animals at twilight.” The Passover Blueprint Revealed • A lamb chosen on the tenth day (v. 3) is kept four days, then slain. • Its life is taken “at twilight,” the moment daylight fades into darkness. • The entire congregation participates, underscoring corporate need and deliverance. Timing That Mirrors Golgotha • Jesus entered Jerusalem on the tenth of Nisan, welcomed by crowds (John 12:12–16). • Four days later, on the fourteenth, He was sentenced and crucified (Mark 15:25). • By late afternoon—twilight—He breathed His last (Luke 23:44–46). • The exact Passover schedule set in Exodus is fulfilled down to the clock in Christ’s passion. The Unblemished Substitute • Exodus 12:5 demanded “a male without blemish.” • Jesus lived sinlessly (Hebrews 4:15), qualified to be the perfect sacrifice. • No flaw in sacrifice → no flaw in Savior. Corporate Participation, Universal Provision • “All the congregation of Israel” slew the lamb—no bystanders (Exodus 12:6). • Jew and Gentile leaders, soldiers, and crowds together called for Jesus’ death (Acts 4:27–28). • What seemed collective rebellion became collective redemption (Romans 3:23–25). Blood Applied, Wrath Averted • In Exodus, lamb’s blood shielded households from judgment (12:7, 13). • Christ’s blood secures eternal protection from God’s wrath (Romans 5:9; 1 Peter 1:18–19). • Passover night guaranteed physical survival; Calvary guarantees everlasting life (John 3:16). Scripture Echoes Pointing to the Lamb of God • John 1:29 — “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” • 1 Corinthians 5:7 — “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” • Revelation 5:6 — the slain Lamb enthroned forever. • Isaiah 53:7 — the silent, willing Lamb led to slaughter. Living in the Shadow of the Cross • Passover marked freedom from Egyptian bondage; Christ’s sacrifice grants freedom from sin’s slavery (Romans 6:6–7). • Annual remembrance became a once-for-all atonement (Hebrews 10:10). • The twilight of Egypt’s deliverance dawned into the eternal light of resurrection morning (Luke 24:1–6). Exodus 12:6 is more than ancient ritual; it is the precise, prophetic sketch of the moment God’s own Lamb would lay down His life, bringing perfect and permanent redemption. |
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