[0:00] Good morning. Welcome to the service this morning. It's good to see each and every one of you.
[0:11] As we gather to celebrate what today we say, Good Friday, I don't know if I think that's a good term or not, but the Jews call it the Passover. And I think that's what it is to us as well, the Passover, as we celebrate Jesus' Passover in judgment.
[0:46] And thank you for reading the passage here, Ben. I appreciate that. But we're going to have a communion service this morning, and we'll have the regular message, and then we'll dismiss the children downstairs, and then we'll take part in communion.
[1:09] And so this morning, we want to go back and start with the first Passover that God ordained in Exodus, as was read for us. And to get a feel what happened back there, and why did God do what He did.
[1:31] And so to get the context, what were the children of Israel facing back in Egypt when God instituted the Passover?
[1:46] I'll gladly get some feedback from you. So what were some of the circumstances, some of the context that they were facing? Slavery, okay.
[2:00] They were in bondage, in hard bondage, right? And how many years had they been in Egypt? Close to 400?
[2:15] 430. 430. And Exodus 12, later on, actually says that. 430 years, he says, on that very day, God brought them out.
[2:30] So 430 years, they have been in Egypt. Why did they go to Egypt? Because of the famines when Joseph was ruler in Egypt.
[2:44] And how many people went down? Seventy. And how many left? Trivia quiz here, or what?
[2:59] Yeah, there were 600,000 men plus women and children and a mixed multitude on top of that.
[3:12] So keep that in mind. There was at least 600,000 families that took part in the Passover, that butchered a lamb.
[3:23] So that's also something to keep in mind. Now, what had just happened in the previous weeks in Egypt, leading up to this?
[3:39] The plagues. The plagues. The plagues. The plagues. They have witnessed God bring about nine plagues.
[3:52] And if I'm correct, the last six of them, the Hebrews or the Israelites were spared. Their part of Egypt didn't experience those plagues.
[4:06] And so they had seen the mighty hand of God over and over and over again leading up.
[4:18] But the Pharaoh refused to let them go to worship. And God's plan was He would lead them out.
[4:30] And when Moses would ask Pharaoh to let them go, what did he do? He had to let them go to their heart and he made it worse for the Hebrews. And they had it tougher in their slavery.
[4:43] And instead of giving them straw to make bricks, they had to go get the straw as well. They were exposing their babies. Their male children, they had to kill them.
[4:57] By order of government. This is the conditions. And this people group, the Israelites, they're in a tough, tough spot when they look around.
[5:18] Life doesn't look so very great. And I just bring that home a little bit. We look back at the past two years and we had a few restrictions.
[5:34] And some of us or all of us maybe thought we had it a bit tough. But when we allow our hearts to go here, the Israelites were in a bind.
[5:52] And no one short of God's hand could get them out of here. So that's kind of the background here. The pressure was huge.
[6:04] And then the Lord says to Moses, I'm going to do one more plague. I'm going to kill all the firstborn of the land in Egypt.
[6:20] And then Pharaoh will let you go. And he will in fact drive you out. I will smite all the firstborn of the land.
[6:32] And so that's the background of this. Now, in chapter 12, those verses that were read, God laid out what they were to do.
[6:48] Specific instructions for keeping the first Passover. And I've categorized it into ten steps. And we'll just briefly look at them to not take too much time.
[7:01] Starting in verse 3, in chapter 12, he says, Speak to all the congregation. On the tenth of this month, every man shall take for himself a lamb according to the house of his father, a lamb for his household.
[7:22] So they were to take a lamb on the tenth day of the first month of their spiritual calendar year, which corresponds to our March, April.
[7:37] It was the Jewish New Year. And so the tenth day of that month, they were to separate a lamb, to choose a lamb. They were to set it aside on the tenth day of the month.
[7:52] This lamb had to be unblemished. It means it could not have any fault or any marring to its character.
[8:09] It had to be perfect in appearance. There couldn't be one ear cut off or torn or limping or anything. That lamb had to be healthy and in appearance without fault.
[8:26] And so unblemished is one of the conditions here. It had to be a male of the first year. So every family took a lamb, unblemished, a male of the first year.
[8:44] And they were to take it into their home or into their courtyard. And they were to keep it until the fourteenth day.
[8:56] So on the tenth day, they selected a lamb and on the fourteenth day is when the Passover would happen.
[9:07] So four days, they were to observe this lamb to ensure that it was without blemish. They presented the lamb and watched it to make sure.
[9:22] There's also the aspect that this lamb, and from what I understand, some would literally bring it into their home. And it became dear to them or a bit of a pet.
[9:39] And it made this even more significant when God asked them to kill it. And so this is what God is telling them.
[9:49] verse 4, 4, 5, and 6, And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him take his neighbor next to his house, let him and his neighbor next to his house, take it according to the number of the persons, according to each man's need, you shall make your count for the lamb.
[10:14] So if you're only a few people in your home and the lamb is too much, join together with your neighbor and have a lamb together because you shall eat it, as instructed later, and nothing left over.
[10:32] They shall eat the whole thing. So they were instructed to, if your family is big, you can have your own lamb. If it's not, share with another family. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.
[10:46] You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. And now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. And then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.
[11:00] So when is twilight? When is twilight? Late evening. It's towards the going down of the sun.
[11:14] And in Israel, that could be, depending on the time of the year, but in spring there, it could be five o'clock in the afternoon.
[11:26] And so twilight. So they were to kill it at twilight. Verse seven. 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.
[11:41] So they were to kill this lamb on the fourteenth day, four days after they had chosen it. They were to catch the blood. And then they were to take the blood and they were to smear their doorposts, both sides, and the lintel, the top, with the blood of this lamb.
[12:10] And it's a bit of a strange request to smear your house with blood, the blood of a lamb. But there is a reason for it.
[12:23] For God tells them, when I send the death angel to strike all the firstborn in Egypt, when I see the blood, I will pass over.
[12:36] I will pass over. And that was the case there. Then they were to, in verse eight, they were to eat the flesh on that night, roasted in fire, with unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
[12:56] Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire, its head with its legs, its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.
[13:15] And thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, so you shall eat it with haste. It is the Lord's Passover.
[13:27] So they were to eat unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs. And the unleavened bread, maybe we should turn to the ladies here, but when you use leaven, it lengthens the process for making bread, because you have to wait for it to rise and to permeate through the dough, right?
[13:53] So part of the reason here, unleavened bread, they were to be ready to go at a moment's notice. And they had their dough ready without leaven.
[14:09] Later, leaven also symbolizes sin. At this point, I don't know that we can apply that aspect, because they still had sin.
[14:22] God was showing that to them. In the feast that followed, they had a whole week of unleavened bread. And it's called the unleavened bread. Every year, and that symbolized, they were to clean their houses of leaven, and that symbolized, they were free of sin through the Passover lamb.
[14:46] It was symbolic of that. So unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs. And literally, they were to eat the lamb, the mutton, on a bed of herbs, bitter herbs.
[15:01] And the herbs reminded them of the bitterness of Egypt. the burden, the heavy load they were carrying Egypt.
[15:16] Life was not fun there. And so, the bitter herbs reminded them of that. And so, that's how they were to eat the lamb.
[15:30] Also, they were to not break any bones. And we read that in verse 46. I'll just turn the page and read that.
[15:43] In one house, it shall be eaten. You shall not carry any of the flesh outside of the house, nor shall you break one of the bones, and all the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
[15:57] So instruction, not break any bone when you eat this lamb, when you butcher it, and so on. Doesn't tell why. Doesn't say why.
[16:08] But no bones shall be broken. And then, verse 12, for I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment.
[16:30] I am the Lord. Lord, this is the fruition, the climax of it. On this night, I will pass through the land and I will execute judgment.
[16:46] This is God speaking. I will execute judgment on Egypt and on their gods. all ten, all ten of the plagues represented a judgment on one of Egypt's multiple gods.
[17:06] and here, it was judgment on the pharaoh because he was not exempted either that his firstborn would die and on the Egyptians as a whole on all of their gods.
[17:22] This was ultimately a blow to all of their gods that God would kill their firstborn. And so he is executing judgment and he's telling Moses, this is what's going to happen.
[17:39] But you and your people, this is what you shall do. What would we have done?
[17:55] What would we have done? Doesn't it sound a bit foolish to take blood and smear it on the posts of your door?
[18:14] My response is, I don't know what we would have done because we are not in their circumstance. We're not under that kind of pressure.
[18:27] But they obeyed. They obeyed. They took this serious. And it sounds like everyone from the Israelites did this.
[18:43] And also some Egyptians that had observed the faith of the Israelites and their God at work and a mixed multitude followed them.
[18:56] And so I'm assuming that some of them put the blood up as well. Their way of acknowledging God, the true God.
[19:10] They had just witnessed nine plagues that devastated, utterly devastated the land of Egypt. And now God says once more and I will lead you out.
[19:25] and they took it serious. They took it serious. And they obeyed their God. And turning to verse 29 and 30, it says, and it came to pass at midnight, 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 the livestock.
[19:59] And so Pharaoh rose in the night, he and 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.
[20:16] Can we imagine? Egypt is a big country. Not one household where there wasn't a dead except among the Israelites.
[20:31] The Jews must have felt a sense of deep awe that God had spared them.
[20:49] And that day, that night, they gathered their bowls and their staves and they headed out. They left the land.
[21:02] They were ready to go. And, but I can't help that there must, or to think that there must have been an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God for passing over them.
[21:19] And hence, hence we sang that last song, when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
[21:31] when I see the blood. I want us to follow through this morning to this whole, to what this whole practice is pointing to.
[21:52] And we all, I think, know that it's Jesus Christ, the Passover lamb. But let's take the time and all ten points that I mentioned, let's look at how Jesus fulfilled that.
[22:11] And so the first point is they were to select a lamb. A lamb. And a few scriptures, we're going to be looking at New Testament scriptures now, just to gather that.
[22:28] Starting in John chapter 1. John 1, 29. John 1, 29. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
[22:54] So this is Jesus starting his ministry and John the Baptist recognizes the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world.
[23:07] And also 1 Corinthians 5, 7. He says, Therefore, purge out the old leaven that you may put on a new lump since you truly are unleavened for indeed Christ over was sacrificed for us.
[23:38] So the last part of that verse, for Christ our Passover doesn't use the word lamb, but Passover lamb was sacrificed for us.
[23:49] So a fulfillment of what happened back there. So John, if you want to bring up a chart, I did a comparison between the two.
[24:02] It's a bit small. The guys in the back probably can't read that clearly. But I'll just be pointing across. So this is Egypt, what we just went through, and then here's Jesus fulfilling.
[24:14] So he is the lamb, our Passover lamb. Secondly, they had to set the lamb apart from the tenth day to the fourteenth day.
[24:29] And Jesus, too, was set apart. And last Sunday, we celebrated Palm Sunday.
[24:40] Jesus rode into Jerusalem, presented himself as the Passover lamb. And what did he do those four days before they killed him?
[24:55] He presented himself. He was in the temple every day. And they questioned him, and they tried to corner him, and they could find no fault.
[25:08] They could find no fault in him. And we had that last Sunday. And so he was unblemished. That's the third point. He was proven to be unblemished.
[25:22] And here I have some scripture verses. John 19, 6. It is amazing how God fills the details to the T.
[25:39] Everything. So John 19, 6. He says, therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, crucify him, crucify him.
[25:55] Pilate said to him, you take him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. we have nothing to find in Jesus to accuse him of.
[26:12] And 1 Peter 1.19 as well. He says, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
[26:33] The perfect lamb of God. So Jesus, it was verified in the New Testament that he met that. Perfect without fault.
[26:45] He had to be a male, a male lamb back in Egypt. Jesus, too, was a male. I don't know that we need to turn there. Luke 2, it's the story of Christmas, the birth of Christ, and she had a son.
[27:05] She brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Jesus was a male as well. I'll turn to Luke chapter 3, though.
[27:24] in the Old Testament, it had to be a lamb in its first year. And since it was the beginning of the year, to take a lamb of the first year, it would have been coming up to a year old.
[27:40] It would have been right around a year old. And in sheep language, that is a prime, healthy male lamb. Luke 3, verse 23, Now Jesus himself began his ministry of a page, being as was supposed the son of Joseph, the son of Haley.
[28:08] And so Jesus began his ministry at age 30. So men, when are we in the prime of life? We might argue that, right?
[28:21] But it's age 30, roughly. We're in our prime. And Jesus, like all the priests, began his ministry. And so he fulfilled exactly what God had required of him.
[28:37] And then they were to sacrifice the lamb. And let's turn to Matthew 27. Matthew 27.
[28:50] A few verses there, starting in 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45.
[29:00] 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. 45. Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness all over the land.
[29:10] And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out, sorry, I'm in the wrong passage. 27. 22 to 25.
[29:22] I'm getting ahead of myself here. So Matthew 27. 22. And Pilate said to them, what then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?
[29:34] They all said to him, let him be crucified. And then the governor said, why, what evil has he done? But they cried out all the more, saying, let him be crucified.
[29:48] And when Jesus saw that he could not prevail at all, when Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person.
[30:09] You see to it. And all the people answered and said, his blood be on us and our children. And so they condemned him to die, even though Pilate sought to set him free.
[30:26] they condemned him to die. Crucify him, crucify him. Let us bear the consequences of this.
[30:39] And surely the Jews have done that since then. The follow-through of that, let his blood be on our shoulders and our children.
[30:50] to kill the lamb at twilight. And now let's turn to verse 45. And now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
[31:08] And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, Eli Eli lama sabbatani, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[31:22] Some of those who stood there when they heard that said, this man is calling Elijah. Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink.
[31:36] The rest said, let him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to save him. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
[31:51] So when did God forsake his son? At what hour? Anyone?
[32:06] the ninth hour. And what is that in our clock? That is three o'clock in the afternoon.
[32:21] From noon, from lunch, twelve o'clock, till three, there was darkness over the land. And then at three o'clock, Jesus cried out to his father, why have you forsaken me?
[32:39] And it was after that, he took the sin of the world upon him, and after that, he yielded up his spirit. After three o'clock, twilight, towards the setting of the sun.
[32:57] God, he will have fulfilled prophecy. I marvel at our God, how he has fulfilled prophecy all the way.
[33:15] Not one bone shall be broken, and John 19, let's turn there as well, John 19, 31-33.
[33:39] It says, Therefore, because it was the preparation day, that the body should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, that they might be taken away.
[33:55] And then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and then of the other who was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
[34:10] Not one bone shall be broken. And Jesus was not killed, he yielded up his spirit. he gave up his life.
[34:25] And they marveled that he was dead already, for it wasn't normal to have such a quick death on the cross. Jesus said, I have the power to lay down my blood and take it again.
[34:41] And here it is demonstrated. And so hence, they did not break his bones to speed up the death, as they did to the other two criminals. Back in Egypt, they had to put blood on the doorposts, on the lintel.
[35:07] They were covered by the blood overhead. They were covered by the blood. on the cross, we have the blood of Christ flowing out to cover us.
[35:28] It's the full picture of it. And turning to 1 Peter, you were there once, let's read the verse previous. 1 Peter 1, 18.
[35:41] Knowing that you were not redeemed with incorruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
[36:06] And also 1 John, two books down. 1 John 1, verse 7. As we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all blood.
[36:31] Back in Egypt, that lamb that they separated and then killed and applied the blood was substitutionary for their death.
[36:47] They were spared because they killed that lamb. Jesus died to take our place.
[36:58] grace. It should have been me and you hanging on that cross.
[37:12] The love of God put His Son up there and the blood covering our sin and paying for it. We're redeemed by the blood of the lamb.
[37:28] They were to eat the lamb and we are to eat the lamb. And let's turn to John, the Gospel of John chapter 6.
[37:40] verse 51 through 53.
[38:04] He says, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever and the bread that I shall give is my flesh which I shall give for the life of the world.
[38:17] The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you.
[38:38] we are commanded to eat of the sacrifice. Yes, we do not physically eat Christ, but we partake of him as we invite him into our life, as we surrender to him, and furthermore we partake as we have the living word of God in us.
[39:03] we partake of eating the sacrificed lamb. And so even that part has fulfillment in the church, in us today.
[39:20] And the last one, judgment was avoided back in Egypt, and so it is for us that we too under the blood of Christ are spared the judgment of God.
[39:40] What are the wages? Death. Death. Death. And Romans 8 says, there is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ.
[39:59] No condemnation if you are in Christ. And John 5, I'll read that one, 24, most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment but has passed from death unto life.
[40:28] This is marvelous. This is the heart of God. This is what he has done for us.
[40:39] And if we picture the Egyptians being spared the death of their firstborn, how much more for us.
[40:52] All of us have been spared of eternity in hellfire as we're covered by the blood. This is a call unto salvation.
[41:09] This is God wanting all of us to be under his blood for he has no delight in the death of anyone.
[41:22] And how marvelous it is. And when Jesus cried out his last words, it is finished.
[41:38] It was on your behalf and on my behalf. let us be filled with gratitude as we look at this picture for what God has done for us.
[42:00] The substitutionary death for me and for you on the cross. God is so rich in imagery and what he did in the Old Testament and then literally fulfilled it in the New.
[42:22] That we can grasp this and become so meaningful. And so hence, to me, it's not Good Friday. It's Passover.
[42:34] Passover. We celebrate God literally passing over my sin. Not judging me, which would lead to hell.
[42:49] May the Lord bless us with these thoughts. We're going to close and then go on with the service. Let's pray.
[43:00] Father, thank you for the plan of salvation. But thank you for the pictures in the Old Testament.
[43:13] They're real life stories, God, that you've given us to understand. And the richness of how you brought that about in their day and then fulfilled it in our day.
[43:28] And so God, this morning, as we celebrate the Passover, may you fill our hearts with gratitude, with worship for the one and only God.
[43:44] As we partake of the bread and the wine, may that become real to us as we do this in remembrance of what you've done for us.
[43:57] I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.