Ladies Bible Study
“The Blood of Jesus Part 2
Fulfillment and Power”
“Jesus Our Passover Lamb”
In the last lesson we discussed God’s plan of redemption for sinful man starting with His covenant with Abraham, a blood Covenant and His salvation of the Jewish nation form slavery in Egypt. It is important to realize that the Hebrew nation had to be in bondage, separate from all the other nations to grow and become a separate distinct nation, not intermingled with the other heathen nations of the time. The way God accomplished this was in Egypt. They had to grow into a separate nation from the roots of Abraham. When the time was right, God proved Himself God of all, by proving, through a series of ten plagues that the gods worshiped by the Egyptians were false God’s. We all remember the plagues, turning the Nile into blood, the plagues of frogs, lice and flies. God then killed all the Egyptians cattle and sent the plague of boils and sores on the Egyptians. Before the next plague, God tells pharaoh, that he has been raised up for this time, to show God’s greatness and then God sent the plague of locusts, followed by hail and fire destroying what was left of the Egyptian economy. The ninth plague was three days of complete and utter darkness, attacking the sun god Amun-re.
God had proved his sovereignty not only to the Egyptians but to the Hebrews as well.
They had lived around this idol worship for five hundred years and even though they knew about the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they did not fully know or understand His power.
The final plague will be our topic tonight, the institution of Passover and the passing of the destroyer over the land.
John 1:29: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
1 Corinthians 5:7: 7. Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
Jesus was indeed the sacrificial lamb of God, sent to be the blood sacrifice for us.
Turn with me to the book of Exodus.
Exodus 12:1-14:. Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
- "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3. "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: `On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4. `And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5. `Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6. `Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7.`And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8. `Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9. `Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire its head with its legs and its entrails. 10. `You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11. `And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover.
- `For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 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. 14. `So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
Let’s look at the important elements of God’s plan.
- The Lamb:
The lamb is a year old male, lamb or goat, without blemish.
Exodus 12: 3. "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: `On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4. `And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5. `Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
Hebrews 4:15: 15. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Matthew 4:1-11 tells us of the time Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The two important things I want to recall to you is, that Jesus defeated the devil, withstood the temptations by standing on the Word of God and secondly, that the Scriptures tell us here, that satan left Jesus for a season. This was not the only time Jesus was tempted or tried, but it is left for us as an example. To show us as spirit filled believers how to stand against the enemy in times of trial and to know that even though we emerge victorious, he will return. He returns because his mission is to kill, steal and destroy us and our witness! Amen!
Jesus fulfilled this role as the spotless lamb of God.
- Killing the lamb:
The lamb is kept until the fourteenth day of the month and then the entire congregation kills it at twilight.
Exodus 12: 6. `Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.
Numbers 9:3: "On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.''
According to Jewish tradition at 9:00 on the 14th day of the month of Nisan in the
morning the perfect lamb was put on display in the temple by binding it to the altar.
At the same time, Jesus our lamb was put on public display and hung on the cross.
At exactly 3:00 in the afternoon the High Priest ascended the altar and at the sound of the shofar, cut the throat of the lamb, declaring, “It is finished” or it is paid in full.
At that same moment in time Jesus cried from the cross, “it is finished” and died, fulfilling his role as our sacrifice so that the sin debt could be paid. Our debt was paid by the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ. (The Hidden Power of the Blood of Jesus by Mahesh Chavda, pages 39-40.)
- Sprinkle the blood:
The lamb is bled and the blood collected and applied to the doorposts and lintel with hyssop.
Exodus 12: 7.`And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it… 22. "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.
Hyssop is a member of the mint family, an aromatic shrub that grew under three feet tall. It had yellow flowers and grew in rocky crevices and was cultivated in terraces.
It was plentiful in the area, available to all. In addition to being used to sprinkle the blood, it was used in purification ceremonies. (Leviticus 14:4, 6:cleansing of lepers,
Leviticus 14:51-52: cleansing of leprous house.) It was also used to relieve Jesus thirst at the crucifixion. (John 19:29) It has been equated with the act of faith by many, as it is available to all and had to be used to be effective, as was the application of the blood over the doors. It was not enough to believe that painting the blood over the door would save them, they had to act on this belief and physically apply the blood to their dwelling. They then had to be obedient and not come out from under the protection of the spilled blood or they would die. Any one could kill the lamb and apply the blood, even the Egyptians, they had to hear, believe and accept just as we do today to receive the salvation offered by the blood but is was always available to them.
One lamb served one average family, the average number of people it covered and fed were fifteen. All who were in the house at the time, were covered and saved, Hebrew, slave, free, Gentile, Egyptian, it made no difference to God. What made the difference was the act of faith and obedience today. It is the same with us today, it is our acceptance and act of faith, by declaring our belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus that saves us. It is not enough to believe we must act on that belief and confess it as well. Amen?
- Roast and eat the lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.
Exodus 12: 8. `Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9. `Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire its head with its legs and its entrails. 10. `You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.
The Hebrews were to kill the lamb and roast the entire thing head, entrails and all and eat it that night leaving nothing for the morning. It had to be roasted well, no blood for they were forbidden to eat blood, for it is the life.
Deuteronomy 12:23-25: 23. "Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat. 24. "You shall not eat it; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 25. "You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
The lamb had a two-fold purpose, it gave them initial nourishment for the upcoming journey, which would be begun in haste, and it also was a reminder of Christ’s broken body for us. It is important to also remember that the lamb’s bones were not to be broken also a symbol of upcoming prophecy regarding Jesus body.
1 Corinthians 11:24: 24. and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.''
John 19:31-33: 31. Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
- Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
It is also significant for us in a very spiritual sense. We are saved by the blood applied to our heart, then we are to feast on the Word of God, and become strong. Amen!
The unleavened bread represented the ridding of sin in their lives; it also represented a hurried preparation and departure. The bitter herbs represented the bitter struggle the Hebrews had endured for hundreds of years. We partake of this element when we rid ourselves of sin, repent and move on and understand that Jesus took our sins and the bitter cup from which we were to drink and suffered for us, so that we did not have to.
Glory to God!
- Eat in haste quietly, being ready to leave.
Exodus 12:. 11. `And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover.
God was about to perform such an awesome act, that no one would ever forget it. He was about to allow the destroyer to pass over Egypt and those not protected under elements of His Covenant, that is blood, would die, all the first born from great grandparents down to cattle. Every firstborn, male or female, man or animal would die if not covered by the blood of the lamb. It was a horrific act of God’s judgement and a foretelling of the sacrifice of his firstborn for us. As the Hebrew people sat quietly and probably a little in awe in their homes, the destroyer went about all Egypt killing many.
Pharaoh immediately let the Hebrew leave and immediately the wealth of the wicked was shifted to the wealth of God’s Covenant people. They were ready to depart and nothing stopped them, if fact the Egyptians helped them leave! Glory to God!
God instituted this feast as way for the Israelites to always remember their deliverance from oppression. Today we as Christians remember Christ as our Passover through the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper or Communion. It is not to be taken lightly or in sin. We must cleanse ourselves of any thing in our life that separates us from God, fully believe in Christ as our Savior and then partake of communion in a holy, reverential way, properly discerning the Lord’s body.
1 Corinthians 11:29-30: 29. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
Paul is telling us here, that many of us continue to be sick and not to receive our healing because we do not fully understand what Jesus did for us on the cross. We partake of His body in an unworthy manner in disbelief or sin and it turns out to be a hindrance for
us.
My prayer for you tonight is that you will begin to see the significance of the blood of Jesus, what it meant in the past and what we will be discussing it means in the future.