Christ our Passover

Christ our Passover

Most Christians probably know that Jesus is our Passover Lamb and that he fulfilled the type of Himself as shown in the Passover lamb. Yet, when I started looking for a list of the aspects that were fulfilled in the crucifixion, I could not find a complete list. Therefore, this is an attempt to compile a fuller list:

Jesus is called  “the Lamb of God”: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ” (John 1:29)

  • The lamb was to be selected on the 10th of the month Nisan (the first month of the year). It was then to be examined until the 14th to make sure that it was without blemish (Exodus 12:3-5). Deuteronomy 17:1: “You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God”. Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan, riding on a donkey. He was examined by the same chief priests who were examining the lambs until the 14th when He was crucified.
  • Just as the Passover Lamb was to be perfect and without blemish, Jesus was found to be perfectly sinless (Matthew 26:59-60; John 19:4,6; 1Peter 1:19).
  • In preparation of the Passover, the Jews would go through their houses in search for leaven (leaven represents sin and impurity – Matthew 16:6-12, Luke 12:1, 1Corinthians 5:2-8) and clean all the leaven from their houses. In Matthew 21:1-13, Jesus went into Jerusalem and cleansed the temple. Thus at the same time the Jews were cleaning the leaven from their houses, God was cleaning the leaven (sin) from His house.
  • The lamb was to be a year old, meaning it was to be in its prime (Exodus 12:5). Jesus was 33 years old – generally accepted to be when a man is in his prime.
  • The lamb was to be a male just so Jesus was a male (Exodus 12:5).
  • The Passover Lamb was to be slain on the eve of Passover, on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan. Jesus was hanging on the cross and dying at the very moment that the Passover lambs were being killed in Jerusalem (Matthew 27:45-50).
  • Just as the lamb died in the place of the oldest of the family – Jesus died in our place.
  • The killing of the Passover lamb prepared the way for Israel to be delivered from the bondage of Egypt. The Jews call the Passover, “the festival of redemption”. (The Jewish Festivals by Hayyim Schauss). Jesus’ death also sets us free from the bondage of sin (Galatians 3:13, Titus 2:13-14 etc).
  • The Passover lamb had to be killed in Jerusalem, but outside of the city gates. (Deuteronomy 16:5-6). Christ was killed in Jerusalem, but outside of the city gates. (John 19:16-19, Hebrews 13:10-13)
  • The last words from the high priest as he cut the Passover lamb’s throat was “It is finished” (The Seven Festivals of the Messiah by Eddie Chumney). “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30). That means that at the same time that the high priest was saying, “It is finished” (referring to the Passover sacrifice), The High Priest (Jesus) was saying the exact words (referring to the sacrifice of Himself).
  • Not a single bone of the Passover lamb was to be broken. (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12). In spite of the tremendous trauma He endured, and the custom to break the legs of the crucified, not a single bone of Christ was broken. (John 19:31-36). In both cases it would be expected for bones to be broken, yet contrary to what would be normal, no bones were broken in the Passover lamb and Jesus (Psalm 34:20).
  • The blood of the Passover lamb was to be applied to the wooden doorposts and lintel (Exodus 21:7). The blood of Jesus was shed on a wooden cross.
  • The Passover lamb was to be roasted in fire (Exodus 12:9). Fire is always a symbol of God’s wrath. Jesus endured God’s wrath on the cross (Romans 5:9).
  • Just as the blood applied to the doorposts saved the inhabitants of the house from God’s wrath (Exodus 12:13), so the blood of Christ, applied to the life of the sinner, saves him from God’s judgement (Romans 5:9; 1Peter 1:18-19).
  • The eating of the flesh (body) of the Passover lamb was to be an everlasting memorial of their deliverance (Exodus 12:14). In the same way the eating of Christ’s body, symbolized in the bread, is to be a perpetual memorial of our salvation (Luke 22:19; 1Corinthians 11:24).
  • The Israelites were to remain inside their houses, trusting in the efficacy of the blood to protect them. We cannot work for our salvation. We need to remain “under the blood”, trusting in the blood for our salvation. It did not matter who (even an Egyptian) was behind the blood, he would be safe. It does not matter who we are or how much we have sinned. All God is looking for is the blood in order that his wrath my pass over us. But should an Israelite not apply the blood, he would die, meaning that our spiritual or ethnic heritage does not save us – only the blood of Christ.
  • The Lord decreed that the whole assembly of Israel shall kill the Passover lamb. (Exodus 12:6). In the same way, the whole world, everyone who ever lived, is responsible for the death of Christ through our sin.
  • The lamb had to be consumed entirely on the Passover evening. Nothing was to remain overnight (Exodus 12:10). Jesus was taken off the cross on the same evening of his crucifixion and was not to hang overnight, contrary to custom (John 19:31-36).

Once again, we can only marvel at the unity of the Scriptures and how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament types in the minutest detail. The Bible and our Gospel are not the fabrications of human minds but were marvelously planned and executed by an all-knowing and all-powerful God.

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