What connections exist between Exodus 12:20 and Jesus as the Passover Lamb? Setting the Scene: The Original Command • Exodus 12:20: “Eat nothing leavened; you are to eat unleavened bread in all your homes.” • Given on the night of Israel’s deliverance, the verse establishes a complete, house-to-house ban on leaven for the Passover week. • The instruction follows the sacrifice of the lamb (Exodus 12:6-8), linking the lamb’s blood on the doorposts with a diet that is free from leaven. What Leaven Symbolizes • Throughout Scripture leaven pictures the permeating power of sin and false teaching. – Luke 12:1: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” – Galatians 5:9: “A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough.” • Removing leaven, therefore, is a tangible portrayal of removing sin’s corrupting influence. Jesus, the Sinless Passover Lamb • John 1:29: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” • 1 Peter 1:18-19: redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.” • In Him there is no “leaven” at all—He is utterly without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). • 1 Corinthians 5:7 identifies the fulfillment plainly: “For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.” Prophetic Timelines That Match • Jesus was crucified during Passover week, precisely when the lambs were being slain (John 19:14; Mark 14:12). • Passover segues directly into the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5-6). The sinless Lamb dies, and an immediate, week-long picture of sin’s removal follows—just as Christ’s sacrifice immediately offers cleansing to believers. Feeding on the Unleavened Bread of Christ • Israel ate the lamb with unleavened bread (Exodus 12:8). • At the Last Supper—on “the first day of Unleavened Bread” (Matthew 26:17)—Jesus took unleavened bread and said, “This is My body” (Matthew 26:26). • Thus the meal becomes a living sermon: the sinless body (unleavened bread) and the sacrificial blood (the cup) together proclaim redemption. Practical Connections for Today • Salvation’s Foundation – Just as Israel trusted in the lamb’s blood, believers place faith in Christ’s finished work for deliverance from judgment (Romans 5:9). • Ongoing Purity – 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 urges the church to “get rid of the old leaven” and celebrate “with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” – The redeemed community is to reflect the sinlessness of the Lamb by confessing and forsaking sin. • Continual Nourishment – Feeding on unleavened bread for seven days points to a lifestyle of learning from and submitting to the pure Word (John 6:35; 1 Peter 2:2). • Corporate Witness – Israel’s entire household participated; likewise, congregations today collectively display Christ’s holiness when they guard doctrine and practice (Titus 2:7-8). In sum, Exodus 12:20’s call to banish leaven and eat only unleavened bread is inseparably tied to the sacrifice of the lamb that saved Israel. Jesus perfectly fulfills both images—He is the spotless Passover Lamb whose death secures redemption, and He is the unleavened Bread whose sinless life becomes our model and sustenance. |
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