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The Meaning of Passover

Exodus 12:1-30

To convince the Egyptian Pharaoh to let His people go, God sent 10 plagues upon Egypt. The tenth plague would take the life of very firstborn male in Egypt, whether man or beast. Failing to respond to the first nine plagues, Pharaoh relented after the tenth when he, a father, lost his firstborn son (Exodus 11:5). But the firstborn of the Israelites would be spared in order to point out to Pharaoh that God distinguished between His people and the Egyptians.

The saving of the Hebrews' firstborn required obedience on their part. They were to take a perfect, year-old male lamb, slaughter it, and paint its blood on the doorposts of their houses: "And when I [God] see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:13). They were to prepare a meal of the lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs and eat it in haste since it would be their last meal before leaving Egypt.

The Hebrew slaves obeyed God's instructions, their firstborn were saved, and they were led out of Egypt the next day. That meal was to become "a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations" (Exodus 12:14). The Passover festival became one of the three main celebrations in the Jewish calendar (along with the Feasts of Weeks and Feast of Tabernacles).

Jesus' last meal with His disciples was the Passover meal, after which He, as "Christ, our Passover [Lamb], was sacrificed for us" (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7). Those who embrace God's ultimate Passover Lamb by faith will be spared God's judgment for sin that He will bring upon the world. Only one thing could save the Hebrew slaves from judgment in Egypt—the blood of a lamb. Only the blood of Christ, our Passover Lamb, can save us today.

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