Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. (Exodus 12:1-2)
Nisan is the first month on the Jewish calendar
Approximate secular date: March-April
Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the 10th of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household(Exodus 12:3)
The feast of Passover falls in this month.
Household Salvation
Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the 10th of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. (Exodus 12:3)
God told the Israelites, “Take a lamb, a lamb for a household.” It was a lamb for each family. This tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our true Passover Lamb, is for whole families to be saved!
So your children are blessed once you receive Jesus. Your unsaved spouse and grandparents are blessed too because Jesus is now the Lamb for your whole household. Your unsaved loved ones will enjoy the blessings of the saved. The Bible says that the sanctified will sanctify the unsanctified. (1 Corinthians 7:14) Yes, they will still need to personally receive Jesus as their Savior, but God has marked them for salvation because you are saved!
Today, if one person receives Jesus - the Lamb of God - the Savior is available for all in that dwelling.
In Joshua 24:15, we read: “And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua made the decision to serve God, and his decision affected his household.
Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump since you truly are unleavened. For indeed, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. (1 Corinthians 5:7)
And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. (Exodus 12:7)
The Lamb was then killed, and its blood put on the two doorposts and lintel of the house (Exodus 12:7), such that it speaks of the cross. Today, the destroyer has to pass over every family that believes in the finished work of Jesus at the cross and puts its faith in His blood because there has already been a death. The blood proves it—the innocent Lamb for the guilty family!
The Feast of the Unleavened Bread
And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. (Exodus 12:29-30)
It is very interesting to note that the Lord chose the midnight hour to strike at the Egyptians. You may call it coincidence, I call it significant.
A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock. (Exodus 12:38)
A mixed multitude could perhaps refer to the believing Egyptians. Those who, having seen the power of God, chose to follow the Lord.
At the end of the 430 years, even that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out of Egypt. (Exodus 12:41)
Speaks of angelic beings.
It was a night of watching unto the Lord and to be much observed for bringing them out of Egypt; this same night of watching unto the Lord is to be observed by all the Israelites throughout their generations. (Exodus 12:42)
This is a powerful reference to night prayer.
12 Amazing Similarities Between Jesus and The Passover Lamb
1. The 14th day
The Passover Lamb was slain on the eve of Passover, on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan, which is the first month of the Jewish calendar.
Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed on the 14th of the first month.
2. Without blemish
The Lamb had to be without blemish.
Jesus was without blemish. He was sinless. (1 Peter 1:19)
3. One year
The Lamb had to be one year old, in the prime of his life.
Jesus was in the prime of his life when he was sacrificed as a young adult.
4. Man
The Lamb was necessarily a male.
Jesus came to earth as a man. (1 John 3:5)
5. Everyone
Every house and each family had to have their own Lamb.
Everyone has to open their own heart for what Jesus has done for them and personally accept him as their Lord and Savior.
6. Four Days
The Lamb had to be brought into the house four days before the 14th.
Four days before his death on the cross on the eve of Passover, Jesus was brought into Jerusalem on a donkey.
7. Broken Bones
The Israelites weren’t allowed to break the bones of the Lamb. Not during the cooking and not even during the eating.
David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote, “He keepeth all His bones: not one of them is broken.” (Psalms 34:20). None of the bones of Jesus were broken.
8. No leftovers
The Lamb had to be consumed entirely on the eve of Passover. Nothing was to remain overnight.
Jesus was taken off the cross on the same evening of his crucifixion, although this wasn’t customary.
9. First Born
The Lamb died in place of the firstborn of the Israelites.
Jesus died in our place. He died on the cross in order to reunite us with God.
10. Blood
The Israelites had to sprinkle the blood of the Lamb on their doorposts as a sign to God. Whoever hid behind the blood of the Lamb was safe from God’s judgment against the Egyptians.
Whoever hides behind the blood of Jesus is safe from judgment.
11. Liberation
The Lamb opened a way to liberation from the years of slavery in Egypt.
Jesus’ sacrifice liberates us from the bondage of sin.
12. Consume
The Lamb had to be consumed entirely on the eve of Passover.
We have to get Jesus in our lives and consume his word every day. We also symbolically drink his blood and eat his flesh during the Lord’s Supper.
God gave the Israelites the Passover (12:1-13) to signify their readiness for change. It represented day one of a new start—a new life—of trusting in and following the Lord (12:2).
Three features of the Passover emphasized how they could prepare for that new life:
• a sacrifice
• sandals and
• a blood mark.
First, all of the Israelite families were to offer a sacrifice of an unblemished sheep or goat (12:3-6). Offering the sacrifice would signify their faith in and obedience to God.
Second, the people were to eat the Passover sacrifice while being “dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand” (12:11). Doing this would show that the people were prepared to follow the Lord’s guidance whenever and wherever He took them.
Third, the families of Israel were to smear the blood of the sacrificial animal on the doorposts and lintels of their houses (12:7). This mark would protect God’s people from the death angel whom God was about to send in judgment throughout the land of Egypt (12:12-13).
Centuries later, Christ would become the sinless sacrifice, slain for the sins of all people. His shed blood would provide forgiveness of sin and a new start for all who believe in Him.
Today, Christians continue to show their readiness for Christ’s glorious return when they participate in the Lord’s Supper. Paul reminded the Corinthian believers that “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
Chapters
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 28
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 32
- Chapter 33
- Chapter 34
- Chapter 35
- Chapter 36
- Chapter 37
- Chapter 38
- Chapter 39
- Chapter 40