How does the Passover in Exodus 12:11 foreshadow Christ's sacrifice for believers? The Passover in Its Original Setting • Exodus 12:11: “This is how you are to eat it: you must be fully dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.” • God introduces a meal centered on a spotless lamb (v. 5), its blood on the doorposts (v. 7), and a people poised to leave slavery behind. Key Elements in Exodus 12:11 • Fully dressed for travel – readiness to depart at God’s call. • Sandals on feet & staff in hand – pilgrims, not settlers. • Eat in haste – urgency; no lingering in the land of bondage. • “It is the LORD’s Passover” – God’s own provision for deliverance. Christ as the True Passover Lamb • Spotless sacrifice: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). • Substitutionary blood: “…you were redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19). • Divine initiative: “…For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Foreshadowing and Fulfillment • Blood on doorposts → Blood on the cross – Passover night: judgment passed over every house marked by lamb’s blood (Exodus 12:13). – Calvary: God’s wrath passes over everyone covered by Christ’s blood (Romans 5:9). • Deliverance from Egypt → Deliverance from sin and death – Israel walks out free (Exodus 12:31-36). – Believers are “delivered from the domain of darkness” (Colossians 1:13-14). • Ready to leave → Pilgrim identity in Christ – Staff in hand: Israel’s journey to the promised land begins. – “Here we have no enduring city” (Hebrews 13:14); believers live as sojourners moving toward their heavenly home. • Haste and urgency → Immediate response to the gospel – No time to let the bread rise; salvation is now. – “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7). What This Means for Believers Today • Salvation is secured only through the applied blood of Jesus. • Life after salvation is a journey; we remain ready and mobile for God’s leading. • Worship centers on remembering the Lamb’s once-for-all sacrifice (Luke 22:19-20). • Urgency shapes witness: the same night judgment fell in Egypt, redemption was offered; so now we share the gospel without delay. Living in the Light of the Passover Lamb 1. Trust wholly in Christ’s finished work, not in personal merit. 2. Cultivate a pilgrim mindset—possessions light, obedience swift. 3. Celebrate regularly: the Lord’s Supper echoes Passover fulfillment (1 Corinthians 11:26). 4. Walk in holiness; the blood that saved also sets apart (Hebrews 9:14). The Passover meal of Exodus 12 finds its ultimate reality in Jesus, the Lamb whose blood secures eternal deliverance and launches believers into an expectant, journeying life with God. |
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