exoDus 12:22 123
no yeast is to be found in your hous es. And
any one, wheth er for eign er or na tiveborn,
who eats any thing with yeast in it must be
cut off from the com mu ni ty of Is ra el. 20 Eat
noth ing made with yeast. Wher ev er you live,
you must eat un leav ened bread.”
21 Then Mo ses sum moned all the el ders of
Is ra el and said to them, “Go at once and se lect
the an i mals for your fam i lies and slaugh ter
the Pass over lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hys sop,
dip it into the blood in the ba sin and put
some of the blood on the top and on both
sides of the door frame. None of you shall go
out of the door of your house un til morn ing.
CONNECTIONS
When God gave the Israelites instructions for that first Passover meal, He stipulated
that it would be an ongoing celebration (see article “The Passover Celebration,” p. xxxx)
in the life of the nation. Thus, the Old Testament contains many references to Passover
directives and observances. For example, Joshua (see article, p. xxxx) led the Israelites to
observe their first Passover in Canaan on the plains near Jericho (Joshua 5:10–12), and
long afterwards, Josiah restored its observance after years of neglect by Hebrew kings
(2 Kings 23:21–23).
In the New Testament, Jesus’ events recording life and ministry (see article “The Ministry
of Jesus,” p. xxxx) took place during celebrations of the Passover on several occasions,
most significantly at the Last Supper (a Passover observance; see article, p. xxxx), prior
to His crucifixion (Matthew 26:17–20; John 13:1; see article, p. xxxx).
STORYLINE
Throughout the Old Testament, celebration of the Passover feast commemorated God’s
protection and deliverance from Egypt. But there is a much deeper meaning to the Passover,
revealed in the New Testament. As Paul (see article, p. xxxx) proclaims in 1 Corinthians
5:7, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” This is necessary to salvation, for
as the writer of Hebrews explains, “[W]ithout the shedding of blood there is no forgive-
ness” (Hebrews 9:22). So the application is clear: Those protected by the blood of Christ
will be spared in the coming judgment. And as Jesus instructed in Matthew 26:26–29, His
followers still commemorate His sacrificial death (see article “The Death of Jesus,” p.
xxxx) by eating unleavened bread and drinking wine, which, respectively, represent His
broken body and spilled blood (see article “The Lord’s Supper,” p. xxxx). There is no need
for lamb’s blood when the Lamb’s blood has been offered, once for all, for deliverance.
With this understanding, Christians echo John the Baptist’s declaration, “Look, the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
FOR FURTHER STUDY
J. A. Motyer, The Message of Exodus: The Days of Our Pilgrimage (Downers Grove, IL: InterVar-
sity, 2005); Peter E. Enns, Exodus, in NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2000); Oswald T. Allis, God Spake by Moses: An Exposition of the Pentateuch (Philadelphia:
Presbyterian and Reformed, 1958); Brevard S. Childs, Book of Exodus (Louisville: West-
minster John Knox, 2004); Stephen G. Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty: A Biblical Theology
of the Hebrew Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2003); Eugene H. Merrill, Kingdom of
Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008).
1. The description of the Passover event in Exodus does not specify that it was only firstborn males who were
killed, but this seems to have likely been the case, in light of the later parallels between the Passover event
and the requirement to redeem all firstborn Israelite males by offering a sacrifice at the temple (see Exodus
13:11–16).
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