Friday: Further Thought – Passover
Daily Lesson for Friday 1st of August 2025
Further Thought:
Read Ellen G. White, “The Passover,” Pages 273–280, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“The Passover was to be both commemorative and typical, not only pointing back to the deliverance from Egypt, but forward to the greater deliverance which Christ was to accomplish in freeing His people from the bondage of sin. The sacrificial lamb represents ‘the Lamb of God,’ in whom is our only hope of salvation. Says the apostle, ‘Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.’ 1 Corinthians 5:7. It was not enough that the paschal lamb be slain; its blood must be sprinkled upon the doorposts; so the merits of Christ’s blood must be applied to the soul. We must believe, not only that He died for the world, but that He died for us individually. We must appropriate to ourselves the virtue of the atoning sacrifice.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 277.
To this day, observant Jewish families around the world celebrate Passover, Pesach. They have what they call a “Passover Seder” (“Seder” means “order/arrangement”) during which they recount the Exodus and then enjoy a special meal as a family. Amazing that this has been kept since, literally, the time of the Exodus! Only the seventh-day Sabbath, which observant Jews keep as well, goes back even farther into antiquity.
Discussion Questions
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*How fair was it that God killed First Borns in Egypt?*
The final warning given to Pharaoh in Exodus 11:4–6 marked a critical moment of decision. God explicitly declared that the firstborn of Egypt would die, but Pharaoh, hardened in pride, dismissed the warning. This set the stage for a decisive confrontation between divine authority and human defiance. Pharaoh’s continued resistance forced God to act in judgment, proving once again that His word never fails. As Scripture affirms, “God is not a man, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). He demonstrated His unmatched sovereignty—none could stop His hand (Isaiah 43:13).
The tenth plague revealed the impartial nature of God's judgment. The only safeguard against death that night was the blood of the Passover lamb applied to the doorposts (Exodus 12:13). Death visited every household—either the death of a lamb or the death of the firstborn. It wasn't a matter of nationality but of obedience. Even an Egyptian who heeded God’s instruction could have been spared, and any Israelite who failed to obey would have suffered loss. The decisive factor was not faith, but obedience. As James 2:17 reminds us, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Ultimately, the death of the firstborn was both an act of divine judgment and a picture of salvation through substitution. The plague showed that God's justice is perfect and that His mercy is available to all who receive it. Pharaoh rejected that mercy, and so faced the consequence. The Israelites, too, were spared not by merit, but by grace. As Romans 6:23 states, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God's justice is flawless—He sees all, knows all, and acts without error. Though we may not fully grasp His judgments, we can trust that He is righteous in all His ways (Psalm 145:17).
I disagree with the decisive factor being obedience. They first had to believe before they obeyed. It was a classic salvation by a faith which works. True faith always obeys. Our righteousness is by faith, a faith that appropriates, and lives out the righteousness of Christ in real time.
Exactly! This exchange demonstrates how easy it is to make a "works" issue out of a faith issue, and I think we all do it at times.
I believe that every sin is, at the base, a lack of faith. We do our own thing because we don't really believe that God loves us enough to ask us to do only what is for our own good. So we choose to do it our way ... not always consciously, but often out of habit.
The sin of Adam and Eve was a lack of faith in their Creator. Our sins are the same.
True obedience is not just about following rules it is the natural outflow of true faith. The Israelites obeyed God's command to apply the lamb’s blood because they believed His word. As Hebrews 11:28 says of Moses, “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.” Their obedience was the visible evidence of inward trust. This agrees with James 2:17, which reminds us that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Real faith moves us to action faith and obedience always go hand in hand.
I took a lead from my grandsons and did a deep dive with the search engines to find a range of conservative Christian views on the tenth plague. Most of the responses were similar to the ones that we have put forward in our discussion this week but one response was a bit out of the box and challenging enough for me to report it here.
In the lead-up to the tenth plague, the Egyptians had seen the power of Yahweh demonstrated. When the warning went out that a devastating tenth plague was coming, they were also told of a way to protect themselves from it. The lamb's blood on the doorposts and the lintel wasn't just for the Israelites but for anyone willing to believe. Salvation was offered before judgement was executed.
I don't have a biblical reference to back that notion up, but if you read the story of the tenth plague, there was a fair bit of interchange between the Hebrews and the Egyptians leading up to the tenth plague. The Hebrews received parting gifts from the Egyptians, and it does not take much imagination to think that there would have been some exchange regarding the prophesied effect of the tenth plague. What we do know is that there was a "mixed multitude" who went with the Hebrews on the exodus from Egypt.
Perhaps we should carry this thought with us into our modern thinking. All too often we think of salvation for ourselves and much of out language we use to describe it is in terms of "our salvation". But salvation is available for "whosoever"
What is the meaning of the symbolic saying that believers are covered by the blood of Jesus and that His blood cleanses them from all their iniquities?
I do believe that Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. I hear the Saviour say, "thy strength indeed is small, child of weakness, watch and pray, find in Me thy all and all"
Romans 8:26.
2 Corinthians 12:9.
We trust that God will cleanse us from all sin. No man can cleanse himself. Yet I know Christ cleanses me, because I have asked for forgiveness and claim his promise that He will purify me from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9.
Through faith we receive the grace of God; but faith is not our Saviour. It earns nothing. It is the hand by which we lay hold upon Christ, and appropriate His merits, the remedy for sin. And we cannot even repent without the aid of the Spirit of God. The Scripture says of Christ, "Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Acts 5:31. Repentance comes from Christ as truly as does pardon. The Desire of Ages 175.4.
Is not God wonderful? I believe so. What's more He is making a home for us who have turned to Him. A home beyond the stars. We don't deserve it our only duty is to turn to Him.
Hebrews 7:25
John 14:1-3.
I understand and am marveled at the beauty of what the Passover represents. What puzzles me is why did Paul continue to keep it and why did John also teach others to so. The controversy over the keeping of the Passover based upon the Scriptures and what is called Easter continued for some time. Check this out.
https://www.gci.org/articles/the-passover-easter-quartodeciman-controversy/
Thank you, Daniel, for pointing us to this excellent article on the Quartodeciman controversy. I understand that was one of the issues addressed at the first Council of Nicea, without being fully resolved.
As for Paul: The way I see it, he was a Jewish Christian. The festivals were part of his DNA, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he took part in other festivals as well - not because he believed they needed to be kept, but because it was part of the Jewish calendar.
The article to which you pointe us says this
I don't see that as Paul teaching others to keep the 14th day of Nisan. Note that Polycarp's argument "was not so much scriptural as it was traditional." It seems he was referring to the tradition of Passover that continued to be kept by the early Christians as a memorial of the Lord's death. (I also address this under Monday's post.)
Have you run into any other suggestion that Paul taught the keeping of the traditional Passover as a memorial of Christ's resurrection?
Just as some Jews today commemorate Passover mainly as a cultural or historical tradition—focused on heritage rather than its deeper spiritual meaning—many Christians, unfortunately, approach the resurrection of Christ in a similar way.
For some, Easter becomes more about seasonal celebration, family meals, and symbolic customs like eggs and springtime imagery, while the profound spiritual significance—the victory over sin and death, the hope of eternal life, and the foundation of Christian faith—is downplayed or even forgotten.
The danger in both cases is reducing God's mighty acts of deliverance to mere rituals or stories from the past. Passover was meant to be a perpetual reminder of God's power to save, and the resurrection is central to the Christian’s living hope (1 Peter 1:3). If we lose sight of the spiritual core, we risk having a form of godliness without its power (2 Timothy 3:5).
True observance calls us to remember, internalize, and live out the implications of what God has done—not just annually, but daily.
No one answered the question....
How fair was it that God killed First Borns in Egypt?*these children are innocent was not given a fair judgement individually but suffered the sins of their fathers.Does that made God's judgement towards their wicked fathers unfair to the firstborn?
As I mentioned in one of my previous comments, we must live with some unanswered questions. In science, we often have to say, "insufficient data". It is not very satisfactory, but until the data becomes available, we have to live with it.
We should avoid providing a speculative answer based on unreliable assumptions. That does more harm than good.
I believe it is important to consider the perspective from which we, in our time - the age of the indwelling Holy Spirit – ‘judge’/interpret the events unfolding during the time of the Exodus.
It appears to me that God dealt with two battles: the Egyptian’s ignorance and misplaced allegiance to false gods, and the Hebrews’ doubt and trepidations. Both needed to find out who this God was who claimed to hold supremacy and power over all gods – the "I AM WHO I AM - claiming to be the God of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The struggle between knowing about God’s Will, and the application of His Will by faith, is the struggle all who are called to trust in Him will experience. Following Him by faith becomes easier with time, though only the unmitigated Love of our Creator revealed and established within us by His Holy Spirit is able to bridge the deep divide between flesh and spirit.
As born-again Christians we are taught to open our heart and listen to what the Spirit reveals. Faith in our just, loving, caring, compassionate heavenly Father will motivate us to engage in acts of righteousness designed for us to engage in - Eph.2:10; Rom.1:17; 1 John 3:1-10.