If you want to follow along in
your Bibles this morning, I'll be looking at Exodus chapter
12. Exodus chapter 12. Now, in the
book of Exodus, as well as Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, four last
books of Moses. There are many, many ceremonies
and ordinances and feasts and observances given. All of them
were pictures or symbols, symbolic things, ceremonies of Christ
crucified. Pictures of who Christ is and
what he was to do when he came here. And this one in Exodus
chapter 12 is the first one which was given. This was the first
observance, and it's the last one which Christ told his disciples
to observe, because Christ said of himself, I am the first and
I am the last. Here in Exodus chapter 12, The
Lord, who had chosen his people, Israel, chosen, loved Jacob and
his sons, elected his people and called them by his grace,
is now bringing them out of Egypt by great deliverance. Look at
verse 13 with me in Exodus 12. This is the theme of the whole
Exodus 12 verse 13, the Lord says, And the blood shall be
to you for a token upon the houses where you are. And when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be upon
you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. God is about
to destroy all the firstborn in Egypt. but he is going to
save, he is going to spare or pass over in mercy the children
of Israel who they themselves deserve wrath also for they are
sinners like the Egyptians. But God had chosen them and God
had determined purpose to save or pass over in mercy his people. All of this is a picture of salvation. Now the Lord is bringing them
out of Egypt is going to take them to the Promised Land. All
of this, as I said, is a picture of salvation. Salvation is of
the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, from the call to the conclusion,
from first to last. All right, let's read in Exodus
12, verses 1 and 2. And the Lord spake unto Moses
and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto
you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of
the year to you." The beginning, the first. And for every true
child of God, life begins when Christ is revealed to their mind
and to their heart. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son shall
not see life, he does not have life, he or she is dead in trespasses
and sin. But when Christ comes, when Christ
reveals himself to a sinner, then life begins, a new creature
is formed. Life begins with Christ. Verse
3, Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel. The Lord told Moses
and Aaron to speak unto all the congregation of Israel. All of
Israel was to hear this message. Declare, preach unto all Israel. And this is how all of the elect
are saved, by the hearing of the gospel. Faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. And Peter said, this is the word
which by the gospel is preached unto you. Yes, how shall they
hear without a preacher? God, it pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. So the Lord told Moses
and Aaron to speak or declare or preach this message unto all
Israel. What is the message? What was
it Moses and Aaron were to tell all the people? What was it they
needed to hear? What would be the good news which
the children of Israel what it were to hear. Verse 3, I read
on, "...in the tenth day of this month they shall take to them
every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a
lamb for an house." The message Moses and Aaron came to the people
with, the message of salvation, the good news concerns a lamb. Yes, a lamb. Their salvation was to be in
a lamb. Verse 4, I continue, And if the
household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor
next unto his house take it according to the number of the soul. Every
man, according to his eating, shall make your count for the
lamb." Every man must have a lamb count for him. He that hath a
lamb hath life. And that's what I quoted a moment
ago, what John said, he that hath the son hath life. No son,
no life. No redemption. All right, now
the Lamb was to be observed for a while. Every lamb was to be
watched carefully for a good while to make sure that it was
indeed perfect. The Lord later on in Leviticus
22, 21 said, It shall be perfect to be accepted. The sacrifice
you bring, the lamb that is, must absolutely be determined
that it is perfect. And it was to be watched over.
Look at verses 5 and 6. It says, Your lamb shall be without
blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take it out from
the sheep, from the goats, keep it up until the fourteenth day
of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation
shall kill it in the evening. The whole assembly of the congregation
of Israel shall kill it in the evening. So it was to be without
blemish, the firstborn and a male, and to be observed for some time
by the whole assembly." In other words, it was to be spotless,
it was to be perfect, an altogether lovely, pure, and perfect Lamb. That's a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. who was observed for thirty-three
years by God, man, and devils to be without sin, one day he
stood before the multitude and said, Which of you convinces
me of sin? None could. The devil came and
found nothing in him. God said, I approve of him, well
pleasing my son in whom I am well holy, unblameable, unreprovable,
the altogether loveliest Son of the Most High God, the Lamb,
the Lamb, God's Lamb provided for His people. Taken, it says,
from among the sheep and goats. Psalm 89, 19, David, in prophecy
of Christ, said, I have exalted one, yes, only one, chosen out
of the people. There is one mediator between
God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, a male, not Mary and no
other man, but this one, one name given among men under heaven
whereby we must be saved, not Allah, not Confucius, not Mohammed,
not Krishna, Jesus Christ, the only one, a male without blemish. And it says the whole assembly
of congregations shall kill it in the evening. Yes, we all,
Peter preached at Pentecost, that we all with wicked hands
have taken and crucified the Lord of glory. And this whole
assembly, the congregation, killed this lamb. And we're all guilty
of the blood of Christ. But the very blood which was
shed by us for God's elect, God's chosen, that blood was shed for
the remission of their sin. Not all, but those people. Just like the Israelites were
the chosen of God, and that blood was for them, and the message
was sent to them. Not the Egyptians, not the Amalekites,
no other, but the Israelites, which is a picture of God's chosen.
All right, verse 7, I read on. It says, And they shall take
of the blood of that lamb, and strike it on the two side posts
on the upper door posts of the house, wherein they shall eat
it. Who was applying this blood to the houses? Every man? Anyone who decided to? Anyone? No. Verse 21. You go on down
in verse 21, it tells us who did this. Moses called for all
the elders of Israel and said unto them, Draw out and take
you a lamb according to your families, kill the Passover,
take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that's in the basin,
and strike the little and two side posts. with the blood. So the elders of Israel were
the ones who put that blood upon the houses. Now, the Holy Spirit
of God is the one who applies the blood of Christ. Not us. We do not apply the blood. We
do not make the blood effectual. No, no. We do not put the blood
upon our souls. The Holy Spirit of God does that.
The elder, as it were, of God applies the blood of Christ to
the heart, mind, and soul of all of God's elect, the body,
soul, and spirit. Yes, the blood was applied by
another. It wasn't the people who applied
the blood, but it was another who applied it for them. There
were some too little. Some of those first born were
too small to even reach the lintel of the doorpost. Some were too
young to hold the hyssop, to apply the blood. Yes, but that
blood was applied by another. And the blood of Christ, which
was shed before the world began. He is called the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. That blood was counted for and
imputed to all who were in Christ, all who were in the Lamb's book
of life before the foundation of the world, before anybody
was born, before there was ever a first sinner, there was a Lamb
slain. Why is that? Why is this important? Number one, because every sinner
must be under that blood always. There's no time in which the
people of God, the chosen of God, are under the wrath of God.
They must be under the blood of God to be under His mercy.
And secondly, if we apply the blood, then that means we get
credit for part of salvation. No, faith is not even of yourselves,
people. It's the gift of God. And it's
the Holy Spirit who grants that faith. All right? Now, these
people were to eat this Passover feast. Now, they did not apply
the blood, but they were to observe this feast. They could do. They could observe
this feast in remembrance, in thanksgiving, in worship of the
Lord who saved them, who called them, who chose them, who spared
them. Now, salvation is of the Lord.
We don't do anything in salvation, but we are commanded to be baptized
and confess Him before all. We are commanded to observe the
Lord's table to remember Him. Now, just as Christ was slain
once, God's people confess Him once in baptism. But, he said
concerning the Lord's table, as often as you do this, you
do show the Lord's death till He comes. As often as we do this,
the Lord's table, we remember, we worship, we give thanks to
Him. Let's read these things very quickly. I'm running out
of time. Verse 8, he says, eat the flesh and that night roast
with fire. Christ said, except you eat my
flesh and drink my blood, you have no part in me. And he said,
tonight, do it tonight. Hebrews says, today is the day
of salvation, or that is tonight. These are the last hours of the
last day. He said, eat it, roast with fire.
Christ suffered the fiery wrath of God on Calvary's tree. He
went through hell for his people. Read on. with unleavened bread
and bitter herbs. Christ warned of the leaven of
the Pharisees. That was hypocrisy, insincerity,
mere religion from the lips, not from the heart. Don't eat
with unleavened insincerity. Eat it unleavened, that is, with
a sincere, true heart in faith. Verse 9. Not raw. Don't eat it raw. Christ finished
the work. It is well done. Nor sodden with
water, it says. Nothing is to be added. Nothing
is to be mixed. Just a lamb. No spices. No extra. Christ alone is salvation. Christ alone. You must have a
complete Christ. And Christ alone. Nothing added
to it. Nothing of our works. Not even
our faith added. Oh, no. Read on. Nothing shall
remain. Verse 10. Christ did not spill
His blood, He shed His blood, and it was applied to the people. No, no, that's a particular redemption
of Christ, applied to His people. No, Christ's blood was not poured
out on the ground for anyone and everyone to have, but applied
to the hearts and minds and souls of His people. I must go. Let's read verse 11. Eat it with your loins girded,
Paul talked about the truth. Shoes on your feet, that's the
gospel. Staff in your hand, that's the Word of God. Eat it in haste.
It is the Lord's Passover. I will pass through, he said.
I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. But when I see
the blood, verse 13, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. When I see the blood, whosoever
is under the blood, whosoever eat it, whosoever is girded with
the truth, whosoever believeth by the grace of God, God will
pass over them.