Jesus, hidden in the blood that keeps you safe
Exodus 12:13: “Now 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 the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (NKJV)
The Bible is filled with images of Jesus and the perfect work He did for us on the cross. The story about the first Passover in Exodus is yet another example of Jesus’ sacrifice for you and me on the cross.
The night before the Israelites were destined by God to leave Egypt, the last plague came down which involved the death of the firstborn of both man and animal. Only the households who had the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts were spared.
In Exodus 12:3 we read about God telling the Israelites to, “Take a lamb, a lamb for a household.” The results for those who were obedient to this instruction: the entire household was saved by the application of the blood.
The lamb was not supposed to be just any lamb but had to fulfil specific requirements. It had to be without blemish. It had to be a male in its first year, meaning in the prime of its life (Exodus 12:5). The lamb was to be slain and roasted in fire (Exodus 12:8). Not one bone was to be broken (Exodus 12:46).
Why?
John 1:29: “…Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (NKJV)
The lamb typified Jesus Christ who was without sin. No wrong could ever be found in Jesus’ conduct. Even though He came in the likeness of man, He never sinned. Jesus was sacrificed in the prime of His life, in His thirties. The sufferings of Jesus were excruciating, even unto death, the death at a cross. The wrath of God is like fire and Jesus became a curse for us on the cross so that we can be set free and never have to undergo the same punishment which He took in our place. The requirement that not one bone be broken is expressly said to be fulfilled in Jesus.
John 19:32-33, 36: “Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and 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...For these things were done that the Scriptures should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken.’” (NKJV)
Exodus 12:7 says that the blood of the lamb should be put on the doorposts and the lintel of the house, which typifies the cross of Jesus.
Today, you and I as believers in the finished work of Jesus on the cross are protected by the blood of Jesus. As we place our faith in His blood, we do not have to suffer the punishment of death for our sins because He already suffered it on our behalf. The blood proves it…the innocent lamb died for the guilty sinner.
When Jesus instituted the greater Passover, His deliverance was not from Pharaoh and Egypt, but from the punishment of sin (Ephesians 2:5). Egypt represented a place of slavery but today we have been set free by Jesus’ blood from the bondage of sin to a life of freedom in Christ.
Maretha Retief
Illustration by Jeanne de Villiers