For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
Today is Good Friday, the day on which, approximately 2000 years ago, Jesus gave up His life for us on the cross.
Jesus died on a Friday, but not just any random Friday; His crucifixion coincided with the festival of Passover. Of course, this wasn’t a coincidence at all but a divine design!
When the Israelites were preparing to leave Egypt, God instructed them:
“Each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household… The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect... Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.” – Exodus 12:3,5-7
Later that night, an angel of God passed judgment on Egypt, striking down every firstborn–except in the houses of the Israelites, where the Lamb’s blood covered the doorposts.
This event was the final straw for the Egyptian pharaoh, who summoned the people to leave.
To this day, Jewish families celebrate the festival of Passover annually with a special meal, but in Jesus’ days, they did so by slaughtering Passover lambs.
Jesus’ crucifixion happened during the festival of Passover, at the exact time the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the temple courtyard.😳
The blood of the Passover lambs, smeared on wood vertically and horizontally, saved the Israelites from God’s judgment for one night. But the blood of Jesus, the ultimate Passover lamb, smeared on the cross, has redeemed us forever!
“Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” – 1 Corinthians 5:7
Take a moment today to thank Jesus for becoming the perfect Passover Lamb, sacrificed for our sins.
