Behold the Lamb

Welcome to Passion Week! The Passion of Christ refers to the last week of Jesus’ life – from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem to His eventual crucifixion on the cross and resurrection from the dead. The word passion is from the Latin pati, which simply means “to endure†or “to suffer.â€Â 

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is not only the central event in human history; it is the historical fact upon which Christianity is based. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “And if Christ has not been raised]; then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.†The atoning sacrifice and victorious resurrection of Jesus changed the world forever and continues to shape and influence the modern world. 

However, Jesus’ death and resurrection were pictured and predicted long before they actually took place. For centuries the Jewish people have celebrated the Festival of Passover, which commemorates their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The book of Exodus records the origin of Passover. God promised to redeem His people from bondage (Ex. 6:6) and sent Moses to demand that Pharaoh “let my people go†(Ex. 8:1). When Pharaoh refused, God sent a series of plagues (Ex. 7-12), culminating in the death of all the firstborn in the land (Ex. 9:5). 

To protect the children of Israel from this final plague, God gave the Israelites specific instructions: take a lamb without blemish, kill the lamb at twilight, cover the doorposts of your house with the blood of the lamb (Ex. 12:3-7), and then said, “The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you…†(Ex. 12:13). 

God went on to establish the celebration of Passover for the Israelites as a “statute forever,â€Â and Jews all over the world continue to celebrate Passover in obedience to this command. 

The Passover is a vivid prefigurement of the sacrificial death of Christ. When Jesus began His earthly ministry, John the Baptist announced His arrival by declaring, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!†(John 1:29). Jesus Christ is the true and better, once-for-all Passover Lamb whose blood covers our sin and protects us from the just wrath of God. 

Throughout this Passion Week, we will journey together through the last week of Jesus’ earthly life while paralleling it with the final week in the life of a Passover lamb. 

Passover is a purposeful celebration. It intentionally rehearses and graphically pictures God’s redemptive plan of salvation for His people. And Jesus purposefully selected the Passover festival as the setting for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. He intentionally connects His sacrifice to Passover – even instituting a new celebration in remembrance of His death (Matthew 26:23-29).   

So, join us as we celebrate Passion Week together. Rehearse the deliverance of God from slavery to sin and rejoice in His provision of a Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. 

Dan Francis
Interim Senior Pastor

 

This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall select a lamb.

EXODUS 12:2-3

Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!â€Â And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?â€Â And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.â€

MATTHEW 21:9-11

For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:21

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.â€

MATTHEW 20:17-19

It was no accident that Jesus chose Selection Day to announce Himself as the promised Messiah. Selection Day, or Nissan 10 on the Jewish calendar, was  prescribed by God in Exodus 12:3 as the day the Passover lambs were selected for sacrifice. 

Passover inaugurated the new festival year on the Jewish calendar and began with the first new moon after the standing grain’s ripening (Deut. 16:9). The New Year could not start until sheaves of grain were known to have ripened (Lev. 23:11). It was the priests’ responsibility to inspect the grain planted near the temple daily, so they could announce the time of the ripening of the first sheaves. Once the grain ripened and the new moon arrived, the countdown to the Passover celebration began. Ten days into the new year, each family selected their Passover lamb.

As prescribed by God, Passover served as a memorial day and was kept throughout the generations and celebrated with a feast (Ex. 12:14). Over time, Selection Day evolved into a day of pageantry and parade. On Selection Day, the Israelites would assemble at the Temple and join the High Priest for a procession out of the city through the Damascus Gate to select perfect yearling Passover lambs in the fields north of the city. Once selected, the Passover lambs were then paraded back through the streets of Jerusalem with great fanfare to the Temple, where they would be inspected daily by the High Priest to ensure that they were “without blemish†(Ex. 12:5) and therefore worthy of sacrifice on Passover.   

On Selection Day, Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem along the very same procession route the priests used to parade the Passover lambs back to the Temple. This is why a crowd gathered – to witness the procession of the Passover lambs.

Further Reading: Psalm 118

Key Thought: Jesus is the true and better Passover Lamb. God selected Him to make atonement for sin, to pay the penalty of the sins of all who believe in Him.

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His words.

MATTHEW 22:15

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

HEBREWS 9:22

Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

1 PETER 1:18-19

The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you.

EXODUS 12:13

And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?†Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 

MATTHEW 21:23-24

Once the Passover Lamb was selected, it was inspected to ensure that it was “without blemish†(Ex. 12:5). A pure sacrifice was necessary to sufficiently atone for sin. To ensure the Passover lamb was worthy, the priest spent four days examining each lamb to certify it for sacrifice. This examination is paralleled in the life of Jesus.

For four days, Jesus was also inspected, interrogated, accosted, intimidated, and challenged by the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers (Matt. 21-26). Like the Passover lambs themselves, Jesus was examined to ensure that He was worthy of atoning sacrifice as the Messiah. 

So, why was it necessary to ensure that the Passover lamb is “without blemish� 

In the Old Testament sacrificial system, a sin offering needed to be “sinless†or “spotless†to atone for the people’s sins adequately. Because God is holy and set apart from sin, He can have nothing to do with sinful people unless their sins have been atoned for by a sufficient sacrifice. Therefore, it was essential to ensure that sacrifices were “without blemish†and acceptable or pleasing to the Lord.

The Old Testament sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the perfect, “once for all†sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Heb. 7:27). The only way to reconcile with a holy and perfect God is with a holy and perfect offering, which we would not have had if Jesus Christ was not without sin.

The sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ makes peace with God. As the true and better Passover Lamb, He takes our place, and His blood covers our sin and satisfies God’s wrath.

Further Reading: Isaiah 53

Key Thought: Jesus is sinless, sufficient Passover Lamb. His blood alone brings peace between God and humanity.

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.â€Â And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

MATTHEW 26:26-28

This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

EXODUS 12:14

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!â€Â And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

MATTHEW 27:27-31

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

JOHN 3:16-17

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

EXODUS 12:5-6

On the fourteenth day of Nisan, the High Priest killed the Passover lamb and prepared it on the Holy Place’s High Altar. All the Passover lambs brought to the temple by the pilgrims were prepared in the Temple Mount’s gigantic ovens. One by one, they were given to the pilgrims to be eaten in the Passover dinner at their home celebrations. This occurred on the eve of the fifteenth day of Nissan. 

Jesus observed the Passover celebration with His disciples on the night He was betrayed (Matt. 26). During the last supper, Jesus reframes the Passover celebration as a memorial of His death. He uses the familiar picture of God delivering His people from slavery in Egypt to now represent God’s plan to deliver His people from slavery to sin.

After finishing the meal, Jesus and His disciples went out to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus spent time praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Meanwhile, the Passover celebration has just begun. The lamb has been sacrificed and the feast is being eaten.

Thatnight, Jesus is betrayed by one of His own disciples, illegally tried before the Jewish Council, and subsequently handed over to the Roman Governor for sentencing.

Crucifixion is a brutal way to die. And in many ways, at least on the surface, the crucifixion of Jesus seemed senseless and vengeful. Why did He have to die? And yet, it was all part of God’s glorious redemptive plan.

Further Reading: Psalm 22

Key Thought: Jesus died as the once-for-all Passover Lamb. His sacrifice is sufficient for all who believe.

For all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.

NUMBERS 3:13

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-23

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

REVELATION 1:4-6

You shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’

EXODUS 13:12-15

Not only did Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem coincide with a significant Jewish Festival, but His resurrection from the dead also corresponded intentionally with another celebration – the Feast of Firstfruits. Jesus was crucified as the Passover Lamb and rose from the grave at the Feast of Firstfruits. 

Firstfruits was a Jewish feast held in the early spring at the beginning of the grain harvest. Observed on Nisan 16, the Feast of Firstfruitswas celebrated on the third day after Passover and the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Firstfruits was a time of thanksgiving for God’s provision.

Firstfruits and firstborn are significant in the economy of God. They are set apart as a special offering – consecrated for a special purpose.

Again, it is no coincidence that Jesus rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. The firstfruits offering found its fulfillment in Jesus, whose resurrection has paved the way for our resurrection.

As “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,†Jesus led the way in life after death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is important as a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike other religions, Christianity possesses a Founder who transcends death and promises that His followers will do the same. Every other religion was founded by men or prophets whose end was the grave. As Christians, we know that God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected on the third day. The grave could not hold Him. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 15

Key Thought: Through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, God provides us with the gift of eternal life.