The Passover Lamb

From The Pulpit for March 2012 by Joe Laughlin, Victory Church,  Omaha


The Passover Lamb

As Christians all over the world prepare in two weeks to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, at Victory Church that preparation includes celebrating the Passover. The Passover meal recounts Israel’s bondage as slaves in Egypt, and how God sent Moses to lead His people out of bondage and into the land of promise. In Exodus 12, we see it was God who gave specific instructions how the Passover meal was to be prepared. Each household was to take a lamb without blemish and kill it at twilight. The blood from the lamb was to be placed on the doorposts and lentil of the house, and then they were to eat the Passover meal inside the house. When the judgment of God came upon the land because of sin, the death angel passed over every house where the blood of the lamb was applied. All who were not under the protection of the blood of the lamb, were under the judgment of sin.
        This of course is a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is referred to in John 1:29 as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. It is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all our sins. When we receive Jesus into our hearts as Lord and Savior, we are in effect placing His blood on the doorposts of our hearts by faith. The judgment of God is coming upon all mankind, but to those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, that judgment will “pass over” all who are found to be “in Christ”.
        The Passover meal allows an opportunity for all of us to reflect on this fact, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Every one of us has felt the sting of the bondage of being a sinner. But God has made a way to be free of the judgment of sin, if we call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Acts 4:12 Peter declared of our Lord, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved”. Salvation is found in no other, but “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). It is by calling on the Lord Jesus and receiving His forgiveness and cleansing that we are set free from a life of bondage under Satan. Through the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, we are delivered from the slavery of sin and set free to serve the living God in the land of promise, both in this life and in the life to come.
        If you have never taken that step to receive the forgiveness and cleansing that Jesus offers, why not do it today? Salvation in Christ is not complicated, but it is not automatic. We must come to God and admit that we are sinners in need of a Savior. The bible tells us that judgment is coming on all unrighteousness, but that God has sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to bear the punishment of sin for all mankind. All who accept these truths, and to as many as will receive Jesus as Lord, to them God gave the power to become children of God (John 1:12). Jesus is indeed our Passover Lamb, slain for us, that we could escape God’s judgment on our sin. Thank you Jesus!