Morning, everyone. Great to be in church with you and online with you. One of the things that I
love reading about is military history. I've always had an interest in it and a bunch of
little facts, such as this one. It is known as the shortest war in history. In fact, it's one of the
greatest mismatches of power of all time. It occurred on the 27th of August, 1896. It's known
as the Anglo-Zanzibar War. It turns out a usurper had taken the throne in Zanzibar, which is now part
of Tanzania in Africa. It was an area that was kind of controlled by the British at the time.
The British didn't like the fact that this person had sidestepped the process and taken
the throne. They hit him with an ultimatum for this pretend ruler to step down, for him to stand
down his troops and to evacuate the palace, to vacate the palace. In the meantime, while that
ultimatum was out there, the British forces brought their navy in, their marines, their sailors, and they
managed to get about 900 locals on side. As it turns out, the ultimatum was ignored.
I think the deadline was something like nine o'clock on a Monday morning or something like that. It was
ignored. At 9.01, the bombardment started. The pretender to the throne lost 500 soldiers,
and the British lost one. When they say lost one, they had one soldier wounded. I think a self-inflicted
wound, but that was all. It was a massive mismatch of power. In 38 minutes, it was all done.
38 minutes, and the white flag went up above the palace. One of the biggest mismatches of power in
history. But it's not as big as the mismatch we've seen in the last couple of chapters in Exodus and
what John took us to last week. God's chosen people, Israel, are in slavery in Egypt, and through Moses,
the God of all creation calls Pharaoh to release his people that they might worship him and serve him.
Release them from slavery here that they might serve me over here. And Pharaoh, as we saw last week,
defiantly declares, who is this Lord that I should obey him? In other words, I will not submit to him.
I will not obey that ultimatum. And I'm going to continue on enslaving God's people. And so God
shows him, and in fact, as it says in the early chapters of Exodus, that all the world might see
that he is on the throne alone. And so what he does is, one by one, he defeats the pretend gods of Egypt.
And today, we come to the final one, the final plague. We've had nine. This is the last plague.
This final plague, in fact, gets us to the heart and to the uniqueness of the God of the Bible and
of the Christian faith. So what I want us to see today, three things. If you've got the St. Paul's
app, it'd be great if you open it up, because you can see the outline there. I've got three main points
and a couple of other sub points in there. What I want us to see is what this passage says about the
sacrificial lamb. I want to then trace through the Bible the drama of the lamb, and finally,
to issue a call to look to the lamb. So first of all, the sacrificial lamb. Nine times,
God has called Pharaoh to release his people, or there will be a plague. Nine times, they have ignored it.
And every time, as John said last week, every single plague is a taking down of one of the deities of
Egypt. Nine times, he's called it. Nine times, he said there will be punishment. Nine times,
there have been a plague. Every single time, they've ignored it, and there is a consequence.
And the final straw is in chapter 12, verse 12. This is the final one.
On that same night, I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and
animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. And so the final plague
is the final defeat of Egypt's deities. And the Pharaoh was regarded as the incarnation
of one of one of those deities, the sun god. The Egyptian deity, who in fact was defeated in the
previous plague, the plague of darkness. And so this final plague, number 10, the final plague
is to kill the firstborn, is to destroy the incarnation. This is the final defeat.
Of the gods of Egypt. And in verse 23, Moses is speaking to the Israelites about what God has
said. And he says this to them, he, that's God, will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses
and strike you down. One of the themes that runs through the whole Bible is that when you violate
God's design for creation, when you violate his design for our bodies and for relationships, in fact,
he's designed for everything in life, what gets unleashed at that point are forces of decay and chaos.
And all this decay and chaos has a trajectory towards a final accounting, final reckoning,
a final judgment for living life as if the God of this universe does not exist, and going about daily
life, violating all of his good purposes for life. And this is what this account here in Exodus 11 and 12
is pointing us towards. When God says the destroyer will come, he is saying that the time of reckoning is upon you.
And he's bringing it. He's the one who's bringing the reckoning. And on this one night in Egypt,
the destroyer will come and they will bring, he will bring judgment. Justice will be upheld for the
oppression of Israel. God will hold them accountable for violating his will, his design, and his purposes
for life. And in fact, the Bible, the thing of the Bible is that every single human being will be held
accountable for violating his will, design, and purpose for life.
But in Exodus 11 and 12, alongside this news of devastating, irreversible judgment to come upon
the most powerful nation on earth, there is good news in here. God also reveals at the same time
that there is only one way to stand against the destroyer. There is only one way to be protected.
There is only one way to find refuge when the destroyer comes. And the answer is a lamb.
A lamb. That's it. Our little sheep. How on earth can Israel be protected from the most devastating
power in the universe by Curly and Sean? I mean, how's that possible?
It doesn't make any sense. This is, however, what God instructs here. He instructs his people to kill
a perfect lamb. Put the blood of the lamb on your doorposts and eat the lamb in haste. And when the
destroyer comes, the destroyer will notice that your house is covered in the lamb, the lamb's blood,
blood, and it will pass over you. And then you'll be liberated from slavery.
That's the essence of Exodus 11 and 12.
Now, that is confusing at best. But it's also offensive to the modern person.
This passage here that was just read out to us makes no sense at all unless it's put in the context
context of the whole Bible in its historical context. We need to understand the drama of the lamb
to get the meaning of what's happening here in Exodus 11 and 12.
So let's look at the drama of the lamb.
The first scene of the drama of the lamb in the Bible is Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22.
So if you've got your Bibles, you can flick over to Genesis 22. We'll be there for a little bit.
God instructs Abraham to offer up his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to him.
Now, when I read that as a modern person, my instinct is to think how really inappropriate
thing for God to say to Abraham to go and offer up his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. It's insane to
the modern mind and especially the modern Western sensibilities. Surely Abraham would have thought
exactly the same as I do. Surely Abraham has the same mind on this that I do.
No. No, he wouldn't have. He exists in a different cultural context than we do.
We tend to think, and especially those of us who are marinating in a Western culture,
we think in terms of individualism. Ancient people didn't have individual aspirations.
Aspirations were for the prominence and for the success and for the prosperity of their family.
It was deeply connected to their family and tribe. If a family member acted shamefully,
then the whole family was responsible for that member acting shamefully.
We don't think like that in Western culture and certainly not in Australian Western culture.
We are our own people. We are radically individualistic.
And so if I've got a delinquent brother or sister, that's their problem, not mine.
If they're shameful, that's no shame on me. That's not how it worked in Abraham's culture.
We are radically individualistic. And yet the reality is for us is that we are so much the product
of our family for both good and bad. Abraham also existed in a time and a culture when the firstborn son
got everything. They inherited the entire estate.
And so God's message to Abraham in Genesis 22 was absolutely crystal clear to him,
even if it's confusing or monstrous to us.
In fact, Exodus 22 verse 29 helps us understand what is happening here in Genesis 22.
You must give me the firstborn of your sons.
Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.
The life of every firstborn was God's unless the life of that firstborn was redeemed.
Every year they had to pay the price of redemption for the firstborn.
Otherwise, the life of the firstborn would be forfeited for the sake of the family.
And the clear message to ancient Israel was that there is a debt that hangs over every family.
There's a debt.
The firstborn was liable for the life of that family.
And the way of life of that family.
The family goes stray.
The firstborn's responsible.
That makes no sense to the modern individualistic mind,
but it's absolutely crystal clear to Abraham what's happening here.
And that's why Abraham doesn't balk at it.
But if God...
Take God out of it.
If a voice came to Abraham and said,
Abraham, go into the tent right now and kill Sarah.
He would have gone.
That's not a voice of God.
That is not a message from God.
That is against everything that God declares to be right and true.
He would not have obeyed that one.
But with Isaac, Abraham realized God was calling in the debt.
This is God calling in the debt.
And God had a right to do it.
Isaac was going to die for the sins of Abraham and his family.
And the emotion of this moment is in Genesis 22, verses 7 and 8,
when Isaac says,
Father, yes, my son, Abraham replied,
the fire and the wood are here,
but where is the lamb?
Where's the lamb for the burnt offering?
Abraham answered,
God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.
Abraham would have been hoping with all of his being
that that would actually be true.
He's not just distracting Isaac from the truth of this matter.
He is hoping with all of his being that in this moment,
a substitute would be provided.
A lamb.
So that Isaac didn't have to die for his sin.
Now, for the modern mind,
in our individualistic culture,
this whole account here in Genesis 22 is primitive,
and it's monstrous to us.
The first objection that we tend to have
is the fact that every single person
is living wrongly and under judgment
and owes God a debt.
Don't like that concept at all.
Most of us have been marinating in
and therefore bought into the notion
that we live by our own standards,
we determine what is right and wrong for us,
and we do that either as an individual,
we do that individualistically,
or we do it as a family group,
as a tribe.
Now, if that is you,
that is you're bought into that notion,
and if you have bought into that notion,
you've got to know that for the vast majority,
and I mean, say, the vast majority,
of human existence,
no one has bought into that view.
No cultural group has ever bought into that view
for the vast majority.
So it's only just a modern concept,
modern formulated idea.
But if that's you and you have bought into it,
that there's no rights,
no absolute morals,
no right and wrong that I have to comply with,
I live life my way,
then I want you to imagine also
that you have got attached around you
a special recording device
that records everything you think,
you do,
you say,
24-7 for all of your life.
Imagine that it particularly highlights
every single moment
when you declare
how someone else ought to live.
Every judgment that you have
on another person
because they're whatever else,
they're not living up to the standards
that you think that they should live up to.
The standards ultimately
that you say you live by
that you're calling other people to live by.
Imagine every one of those moments is recorded.
If at the end of your life
that device was attached and put there
and we push record,
we push play on it,
let me tell you,
there's not a single person
who's ever lived on the face of the earth
except Jesus Christ
that can stand in that moment.
Not a single person
lives by the standards that they set.
Not a single person.
We can't even achieve
our own standards in life.
Our own moral goals.
Leave the Ten Commandments out of it.
Leave the golden rule out of it.
None of us can even live by our own standards.
Every single one of us is a hypocrite.
To our own standards.
None of us live properly.
None of us can pass
any form of moral evaluation of any sort,
let alone that of a perfect God.
The second objection
is the idea,
and again,
a modern construct,
that this idea of a debt
that needs to be paid.
We don't like that idea.
The modern construct of God,
if he exists,
is that if he's in the business,
if God does exist,
his business is to love people
and his business is to forgive people.
Shouldn't,
if he's God
and he's so perfect
and he's so great,
shouldn't he just forgive people?
Just wipe the debt clean?
And so again,
I have to ask you,
if that's your view of God,
that's your view of life,
where in life are debts ever just wished away?
Where?
Where are debts ever in life just wished away?
When someone wrongs us,
a debt is established.
If you take my phone
and you hit it with a hammer right now
and destroy it,
a debt has been established.
There's a value attached to this phone,
you know,
seven,
eight hundred dollars,
whatever it is,
and there's only two options.
If you take it and smash it,
there's only two options available.
Well,
you pay the debt
or I pay the debt.
That's the only option.
I either say,
well,
that's eight hundred dollars,
please,
or I say,
I forgive you
and release you from the debt.
But the moment I
say I forgive you,
in that moment,
I choose to pay the debt.
The debt doesn't just disappear.
The value of the phone
doesn't just go
into wherever the internet is.
It doesn't just go.
It's still there.
Someone has to pay the debt.
Either you
or me.
If I choose to forgive you
so that you do not have to repay me for this,
I have to pay for it.
I either pay for it
by going and buying a brand new one
and therefore the value of it
is costly to me
or I pay for it
by buying a Nokia
or carrier pigeons
or something,
do something different.
In one way or another,
I pay for the debt.
That is,
you pay for the debt
or I absorb the debt myself.
It's one or the other.
This happens on every area of life.
If someone robs us
of an opportunity
or of happiness
or reputation
or something else,
what happens in that moment
is a debt is accrued.
A sense of a debt
is accrued.
Justice has been violated
and a debt
has been accrued.
And there are only two choices
in that moment.
You can make them pay
by destroying their opportunities
and ruining their reputation
or you can forgive them.
But forgiveness is agony.
Forgiveness is agony
because you choose in that moment
to absorb that debt yourself.
You don't attempt
to get your reputation back
by tearing down
their reputation
or getting your opportunities back
by ruining their opportunities.
Forgiveness
always requires suffering.
Always requires suffering.
And when you don't
forgive forgiveness,
when you do not forgive,
you suffer yourself.
Evil wins.
It bottles up inside of you.
Debt never just vanishes.
Either they pay
or you pay.
There is no such thing
as forgiveness
without a payment of the debt.
And that's for you,
that's for me,
and that's for Abraham.
And the good news is
back in Genesis 22
at the very last minute,
God,
just before Isaac
is sacrificed
for the sins of the family,
God says,
stop!
And a ram
was caught in a bush
and it became
the sacrificial sacrifice,
the substitutionary sacrifice.
And so then we jump back
or forward as it may be,
but back into Exodus
and the Passover
for scene two
of the drama of the Lamb.
And notice
these two principles here
are played out for us again
in this context.
The first principle is
that we are all
equally sinful
and lost.
We have failed to live
by God's standards.
We are deserving of judgment
because the debt
has been accrued.
Have a look at Exodus 22,
sorry,
Exodus 12,
verse 22.
Take a bunch of hyssop
and dip it into the blood
in the basin
and put some of the blood
on the top
and on the door,
both sides of the door frame.
None of you
shall go out
of the door
of your house
until morning.
That is saying
when the destroyer
comes in the night,
the destroyer
will come
for everyone.
Israelite
and Egyptian.
The destroyer
is coming
not just
for the firstborns
of Egypt.
One nation,
yes,
was the oppressor
and one was the oppressed.
One worshipped false gods
and one worshipped
the true God.
but in
and of themselves,
neither Israel
nor Egypt
could stand
in that moment
of judgment.
Neither of them.
Israel
is no better
than Egypt.
Christian
is no better
than non-Christian.
No matter
our race,
our ethnicity,
our social standing,
our morals,
our beliefs,
our doctrine,
our religion,
if we are not
covered
under the blood
of the Lamb,
taking refuge
under the blood
of the Lamb,
we are lost.
The destroyer
will come
and we will die.
And so the second
principle is that
our only hope,
only hope for Israel,
the only hope for Egypt,
the only hope for anyone
is a substitute.
Every single
house
in Egypt
on that night
there was either
a dead son
or a dead lamb.
It was one
or the other.
Either a dead son
or a dead lamb.
The lamb
got what the son
deserved.
The lamb got,
in fact,
what the family
deserved.
The lamb got
what we deserve.
Either the lamb
pays the debt
or the son
pays the debt
for the family.
It's one
or the other.
The lamb's blood
is not simply
marking the doorpost,
not simply marking,
putting a cross
on top of the house
so that,
you know,
identifying it
as an Israelite family.
The blood
is a sign
that a sacrifice
has been made,
a substitute
has been offered.
So just think about it
for a moment.
Just imagine.
Imagine if there
is a God
and I owe
this God
a debt
and the value
of that debt
is my life
for not living
up to his standard.
Is it possible,
is it at all
possible
that a substitute
could still stand in
and pay that debt
for me?
You see,
as incredible
as this deliverance
is for the Israelites
in Exodus 11 and 12,
it points
to something
much deeper.
It has to point
to something
of a greater deliverance,
a more significant
deliverance.
You see,
their deliverance
here in Egypt
was a socio-political
deliverance
for one people
at one point
in history.
That's it.
As important
as the lamb
was on the Passover night,
surely that event
points to something
greater,
a need
for something
bigger,
a more significant
one.
The sacrifice
of the Passover lamb
means that there
is unfinished
business.
How do I know
that?
Who actually
thinks
that Sean
the sheep
is a fair exchange
for human life?
Who actually
thinks that?
How do I know
that Israel
didn't think
it as well?
Because God
says every
single year
you must
celebrate
this Passover
meal.
You must
remember
every single
year
and replay
it and
replay it
and replay
it.
Remember the
liberation
that you
had from Egypt
until
until a
greater
substitution
comes,
a greater
liberation
comes.
And so we
fast forward
to scene
three
in the
drama
of the
lamb.
And over
1,000 years
later
this
unfinished
business
was still
waiting
to be
resolved
and then
John
the
Baptist
sees
Jesus
Christ
walking
towards
him
and
he
says
look
the
lamb
of God
who
takes
away
the
sin
of
the
world.
And so
we push
fast forward
again
to the
night
that Jesus
was
betrayed
to death
and Jesus
Christ
is celebrating
the Passover
meal
with his
disciples
and Jesus
takes the
traditional
place of
the presider
of the
meal
who
explains
the meaning
of the
meal
and there
are two
shocks
in this
moment
as Jesus
explains
the meaning
of the
meal.
The first
is
when he
picks up
the bread
he doesn't
say
what is
normally
said
at the
Passover
this
is
the
bread
of
our
suffering.
Our
ancestors
suffered
so that
we could
be
liberated
from
slavery
in
Egypt.
Instead
he
picks up
the bread
and he
says
this
is
my
body
broken
for
you.
This
is
my
suffering
for
you.
I
am
going
to
suffer
for
your
freedom
from
sin
and
death.
And
the
second
shock
for
them
as
they
sit
at
the
Passover
meal
is
the
bread
is
there
the
four
cups
of
wine
are
there
where's
the
lamb
anyone
seen
the
lamb
there's
a
lamb
out
the
back
somewhere
has
anyone
seen
the
lamb
where
is
the
lamb
none
of
the
gospels
refer
to
any
form
of
lamb
at
the
Passover
meal
because
the
lamb
was
not
on
the
table
the
lamb
was
at
the
table
Jesus
is
the
lamb
his
death
as
the
sacrificial
lamb
is
the
central
event
in
which
all
of
God's
relationship
to
the
world
has
in
fact
been
moving
that
night
Jesus
was
going
to
remove
the
debt
that
hangs
over
every
person
and
every
family
he
was
covering
it
with
his
blood
Jesus
is
the
substitute
lamb
of
God
he
paid
the
price
for
our
debt
and
he
liberated
us
from
slavery
to
sin
and
death
human
life
for
human
life
and
so
we
fast
forward
to
the
final
scene
of
the
drama
of
the
lamb
this
one
is in
the
book
of
revelation
where
the
slain
lamb
is
now
sitting
Jesus
Christ
sitting
on
the
throne
of
the
universe
victor
over
sin
and
death
and
the
judge
of
all
humanity
and
the
one
who
offers
eternal
life
and
salvation
and
he's
gathered
people
those
who
have
come
and
found
refuge
under
the
blood
of
the
lamb
and
now
sprinkled
with
his
blood
around
his
throne
worshipping
his
praises
forever
and
ever
and
ever
in
liberation
and
freedom
and
perfection
he is
worshipped
and served
by all
creation
as the
gracious
king
over
all
creation
and
so
thirdly
with
John
the
Baptist
there's
a call
here
to
look
the
lamb
of
God
who
takes
away
the
sin
of
the
world
John
got
it
in
that
moment
he
saw
it
in
that
moment
he
got
that
the
first
born
of
Israel
were
not
saved
throughout
history
by a
woolly
animal
the first
born of
Israel
was saved
because
God gave
up his
one and
only son
that's what
Abraham and
Isaac was
pointing to
God
was going
to
walk
as
Abraham
walked
Isaac
up the
mountain
carrying
the
wood
so
God
was
going
to
walk
up
the
mountain
with
his
son
and
lay
the
wood
on
him
for
our
sakes
God
would
not
say
stop
in
that
moment
as
Jesus
is
crucified
on
the
mountaintop
outside
of
Jerusalem
the
only
way
Abraham's
beloved
son
didn't
have
to
die
was
because
God's
beloved
son
did
so
when
John
says
look
the
lamb
of
God
who
takes
away
the
sin
of
the
world
he
isn't
saying
to
the
crowd
hey
look
there's
Jesus
the
lamb
of
God
there he
is
this
is
not
a
where's
wally
moment
can
you
find
him
there
he
is
it's
not
one
of
those
it
manatee
to
your
saviour
behold
him
notice
him
think
about
him
dwell
on
him
hear
him
grasp
him
respond
to
him
find
refuge
in
him
and
only
him
there
is a
debt
against
God
that
must
be
paid
and
Jesus
died
to
pay
that
debt
as
your
substitute
as
my
substitute
it's
either
you
or
it's
him
either
you
pay
it
I
pay
it
or
he
pays
it
for
us
and
Jesus
calls
us
to
come
to
him
and
put
our
trust
in
him
to
find
refuge
from
destruction
in
him
find
eternal
freedom
in
him
that's
why
I've
got to
say
again
and
again
that
statement
which
is
on
the
wall
behind
me
up
here
it's
why
we
exist
as
a
church
we
exist
to
treasure
Jesus
to
make
much
of
Jesus
to
make
him
the
main
thing
for
God's
glory
and
joy
of
all
people
we
exist
to
make
Jesus
our
greatest
hope
and
our
greatest
delight
God
it's
why
the
major
push
over
the
next
five
years
is
to
see
the
majority
of
us
grow
much
in
faith
in
Jesus
Christ
what
I
want
for
you
is
what
I
want
for
myself
and
that
is
to
grow
and
grow
and
grow
in
a
sense
of
liberation
and
freedom
that
we
have
in
Jesus
to
grasp
him
more
and
more
growing
in
faith
is
about
growing
more
in
freedom
from
slavery
to
sin
this
brings
joy
to
us
your
personal
devotional
life
is
meant
for
joy
it's
not a
drudgery
it's
not a
rule
it's
not a
regulation
it's
a joy
as
you
grasp
Jesus
more
and
more
and
it's
a joy
that
brings
brought
to
others
you
see
when
we
grasp
his
grace
and
his
love
to
us
it
transforms
us
transforming
us
it
changes
us
coming
to
Jesus
means
we
also
grasp
hold
of
the
reality
the
very
fundamental
reality
that
we
are
no
different
than
anyone
else
we're
not
better
than
anyone
else
Israel
and
Egypt
all
in
the
same
boat
all
of
us
have
a
debt
hanging
over
us
which
have
been
released
for
every
single
one
of
us
and
it
changes
your
view
of
other
people
the
truth
of
Jesus
Christ
is a
truth
that
does
not
lead
to
oppression
of
others
it
does
not
lead
to
slavery
of
others
it
leads
to
serving
of
others
sacrificing
for
others
this
God
is a
God
of
extraordinary
grace
and it
transforms
his
people
into
people
of
grace
and
service
and
radical
generosity
in
every
area
of
life
�
love
Thank you.