Tuesday: The Passover Lamb
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 6th of May 2025
The book of Revelation refers to Jesus as “the Lamb” nearly 30 times. From the earliest days in the plan of redemption, God’s people have used lambs as a symbol of the coming Messiah. Abel offered “the firstborn of his flock” (Genesis 4:4, NKJV), and before the Israelites departed Egypt for the land of promise, they were instructed to redeem every firstborn person or animal with a one-year-old lamb (Exodus 12:5).
Read Exodus 12:1-11; Isaiah 53:7-8; 1 Corinthians 5:7; and Revelation 5:6. What do these verses teach us about Jesus as the Passover sacrifice? What does that mean for each of us?
Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com
Years after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, Peter reflected on what had transpired, and he wrote, “Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19, ESV).
Jesus lived the one human life that satisfied the holiness of God; the rest of us have sinned, and the way we live our sinful lives quite literally tells lies about the nature of our Maker.
Jesus, however, became the “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45). Where we had failed, He lived perfectly. In His humanity, He was everything the human race was supposed to be. He reflected God’s glory perfectly. “If you have seen me,” He told Philip, “you have seen the Father” (John 14:9, CEV).
Jesus, meanwhile, was crucified on Passover, further demonstrating that He is the antitypical Lamb. In John 18:19-20, Jesus said that He “spoke openly” (NKJV) of His doctrine. In a parallel way, regarding the Passover lamb in Exodus 12:5-6, the children of Israel were instructed to choose a lamb for Passover, and “keep it,” or put it on display during the days leading up to the sacrifice. When the high priest questioned Jesus about His teachings, Jesus made reference to the fact that He Himself had been on open display in the temple for everybody to consider. His life, His works, His teaching—all revealed who He really was. He is the Lamb without blemish, the most powerful expression of God’s righteousness and glory.
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How can we better reflect the perfect character of Jesus in our own lives? |
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The Passover sacrifice was a remembrance of God’s final attempt to rescue the Children of Israel from captivity in Egypt. While Christians do not celebrate the Passover in its original form, its spiritual substance remains the same. We are called to live out its message. We are a people saved by the blood, called from the world of darkness, walking in obedience and claiming the name of Jesus, who saves to the uttermost. This was more than a religious ritual. It had spiritual and practical lessons. Let us reflect on a few of them:
1. We should live a life of gratitude and humility, knowing that we were saved through the blood of Jesus. Our choices in this life should reflect the knowledge and the understanding that we have that someone died in our place (1 Corinthians 5:7)
2. We should live a life of faith and obedience. Simply killing a lamb was not enough; its blood had to be applied. Professing the name of Jesus without living His life is simply futile religion.
3. As the Israelites were ready to leave Egypt behind, we too should be separated from the worldliness. As they ate the lamb with unleavened bread, we should not allow sin to contaminate us again.
4. The Passover is a celebration of God’s faithfulness to save. The same God can be trusted in all our current situations.
As we reflect on the act of slaughtering a lamb and smearing its blood on the doorposts, it is essential to note that those non-Jewish, the Egyptians (Exodus 12:38, Exodus 12:48-49), who did the same were spared from the last plague (the death of the firstborn). This reminds us that Jesus, the lamb of God, is the Saviour for all mankind.
“Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread[b] of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth. ( 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, NLT)
Amen, I really like your discription of how we should lookat the Passover observence after Christ paying the ultament for our sins. Thank-you Omwenga.
Amen, I really like your explanation of Christ as our Passover. Depicting the way we should look at and put into practice the Passover after the ultimate sacrifice Christ did for all. Thank-you Omwenga.
I am compelled to add in these lyrics by Frances Havergal
A story is told of a conversation in a trench full of wounded men during the First World War. One of the men had been terribly injured, and he knew he has only a limited time to live. He had a friend with him, one who had lived bad life. He'd made wrong decisions. He'd already served time in prison. In fact, he was wanted, back home, by the police again. The wounded man, the dying man, pulls the wanted man down, close to his face. He takes his dog tag, his ID chain, and presses it in the hand of his buddy. "Listen, Dominic, you've led a bad life," he said. "Everywhere you are wanted by the police. But there are no convictions against me. My name is clear, so, here, take my dog tag, take my wallet, take my papers, my identity, my good name, my life, and quickly, hand me your papers that I may carry all your crimes away with me in death."
That is the same offer that Jesus gave each of us at the cross, for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God...we were criminals awaiting condemnation, Christ offered us a lifeline through his saving death on the cross - and his life-changing resurrection.
Jesus, the Lamb of God, still offers to take my sins to the cross with him. And because of the resurrection, I can take his good name ... Christ .......I can live in freedom finally.
How can we better reflect the perfect character of Jesus in our own lives?
Exercising love, humility, forgiveness, compassion, and obedience to God, through daily prayer, studying Scripture, serving others, and relying on the Holy Spirit for guidance and transformation.
Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
1 John 2:6 (NIV)
How can we better reflect Jesus's perfect character in our own lives? By spending time with Him, being His friend, and studying and contemplating His deeds in the Bible. "Tell me whom you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are."
Behold the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
We are called to reflect this Lamb in our daily lives.
Are we living up to the high calling of the Lamb or are we
sending mixed signals by the life we live????
I have always assumed that Adam and Eve were taught by God Himself about the Sacrificial Service when He sacrificed the first animal to provide covering for their nakedness. This is suggested in an earlier SSN lesson from several years ago.
"Although unstated, it may be reasonable to assume that an innocent animal had to die for this, and perhaps even that it was understood as a kind of sacrifice (Gen. 3:21)."
Wonderful job.thanks for the highlight and may The Lord keep guiding you