Turn over to Exodus chapter 12. Exodus chapter 12. Christ said to his disciples
at one time, right before they partook of that Passover supper. He said, with desire, I have
desire to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. And I can
truly say that about this evening, and I hope you can say the same,
that this is a blessed time, a blessed ordinance. Now, here
in Exodus chapter 12, we find the story of the institution
of Passover feast. We've looked at this before.
We've preached on it before. But each time that I look at
this, I see something new here. I see something new every time.
Because His mercies are new every morning. Every morning. And may
the Lord bless our study of Himself. Look at here, Exodus chapter
12, beginning with verse 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses
and Aaron in the land of Egypt. while the people were still in
Egypt, right before he was to lead them out of Egypt. He said,
this month shall be unto you the beginning of months. This is the beginning. It shall
be the first month of the year to you. Why? Because they were
coming out of Egypt. And when the Lord speaks to a
poor old sinner that's in Egypt, that is under bondage. sin and
the law under the law of God, when God reveals his Son to him
by preaching in the gospel, it's just the beginning. It's the
beginning of days with him or her because he is born again,
a new creature. Old things pass away, as we said
this morning. All things become new. The scriptures
open up. The world opens up. All things
become new when God reveals to an old sinner Christ and brings
him out of Egypt. Old things become new. And this
is the story that does that. This is what brings the sinner
out of Egypt. Right here, verse 3. God said,
Speak unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth
day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb,
a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for
a house. Now, he said, speak to all the
congregation. There's a sense in which God
speaks to all men through his word, through providence, through
creation. God speaks to all men. He does. And all men are accountable in
that way. But there's a special sense right
here when God is speaking to his people. He's speaking about
his people, calling his people by grace, speaking to them by
the gospel in his heart. And he said, Speak unto the congregation
of Israel, and say to them, Every man take a lamb. Now look at
verse 21. We notice this before. When Moses
gave these instructions back to the people. Now that was the
Lord talking to Moses there. So Moses went back and rehearsed
these things with the people. Look at verse 21. Moses called
for all the elders. You see that? He called for the
elders of Israel and said unto them, you draw out and take you
a lamb according to your families and kill the Passover. And the
elders were to kill this lamb. They were to take the lamb and
they were to kill the lamb. And this is a picture, this is
a type that we don't take the lamb, we don't We don't apply
the blood. We don't do this thing. This
thing is of God. It's God's work. It has to be
by an able man. It was God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit who took the lamb from the Father's
throne and sent him down here to us. We didn't go get him,
did we? We didn't ask for him. Oh, no.
We wanted to send him back. And we killed him, though. Yeah,
we did, but it was God that killed him. We did what God had determined
before to be done. And look at it. It says in verse
3, take every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers. According to the house of their
fathers. Every man a lamb. Every man a lamb according to
the house of their fathers. One lamb according to the father's
house. And there's one lamb for God's
house, for God's congregation, God's people. One lamb, one sacrifice
for sin, Christ, one sacrifice. Verse 4, 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 souls. Every
man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Now, the elder of that house. The one that took the lamb, that
elder, was to determine how many people were in his house, if
there were enough people to partake of all of that lamb. If there
weren't, go next door to make a full account of that lamb,
of that sacrifice. Make sure that there were enough
people for that lamb, that that lamb was not to be wasted, not
a part of it. He was to number his people. and make sure that there were
a proper amount of people so that all the lamb was used up.
Look at verse 10. Verse 10, it says, Let nothing
of it remain until the morning. There's not to be any waste of
this precious animal. God's coming through. The overflowing
scourge of God's wrath is coming through. And there's got to be
enough blood for the people. There's got to be enough lamb,
and not too much, not too little. And you know what this is a type
of? This is particular redemption. This is how God numbered the
elders. That's God. In his wisdom, he numbered his
people. He chose a people from the foundation
of the world. He knew exactly how many there
were going to be in his house, in his congregation. He knew
how much blood it would take. And he wasn't about to waste
the blood of his precious son. It's too precious, too vital. And there's got to be enough
to go around, and his blood's able. able to save all that come
unto God by him, but there is none wasted, none left until
the morning, no manna in the morning. Just enough, just enough. This is particular redemption.
God provided himself a lamb according to the number of souls, the exact
number of people he had written down in his book, the exact number. Not one drop of his Son's blood
was ineffectual or unused. It said there, every man, according
to his eating, counted for the lamb. Scripture says, whosoever
believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ is counted for the lamb, or in
the lamb, is counted in Christ, made to be partakers of his blood.
Look at verse 5. Now your lamb, this is a description
of that lamb, your lamb is to be without blemish, without blemish. We've seen this before. God used
a lamb because a lamb was perhaps the most meek and mild and harmless,
submissive of all creatures upon the face of the earth. A lamb.
I don't know if any of you have ever held a lamb, a baby lamb,
a baby sheep, a lamb in your arms, or petted them. But if
you have, you know what I'm talking about. It's the most gentle of
all creatures. It's just harmless, helpless. undefiled, a meek and gentle
creature. And a lamb, nearly every single
part of a lamb is useful to man. It's coat, it's meat, every part
of that lamb is useful. And this is a picture of Christ
who is meek. He said, I'll take my yoke upon
you and learn of me. I'm meek and lowly. Meek. There's none so meek as Christ.
Meek and lowly. He was holy. He was sinless.
He was undefiled, submissive. as a little lamb, as a lamb of
sheep before her shearers is dumbed, so he opened not his
mouth. He is submissive to the Father's will. And he was sent,
every part of Christ was sent to serve man. Christ didn't come
to be ministered unto, but to minister. He came to express
purpose of serving us. Yes, he did. It's coming a day
when he's no longer serving. We're going to be serving him.
But he came to this earth to serve us, the Lamb of God. And it says he's to be without
blemish. without blemish. By a man came sin. By the first
Adam came sin. So it had to be another man come
without sin. Another man had to come without
sin. We couldn't do it. We could not live the perfect
life that God requires of a man. But a man had to do it. In order
for men and women to be accepted by this Holy God, a man had to
live perfectly. So God sent Christ, his Son,
and he lived a perfect life that we couldn't live. And he was
without blemish, without spot, without blemish, without sin.
That is, he had a perfect righteousness, a perfect righteousness, a man,
a holy man approved of God. Scripture says, Mark the perfect
man. The psalm says, Mark the perfect man. Mark him, behold
the man, the cross of Jesus. And it says here, look at it,
he is to be without blemish, a male of the first year. A male, you know in the olden
times, Jewish times, a young man, a man was not considered
a man until he was thirty years old. Thirty years old, and for
practical purposes a year is about ten years. So Christ was
in his first year as a man, a man, when he came down here, thirty
years old when he started his public ministry, a male. A man. Now, don't let the Methodists
have taken all gender out of the Bible. This was a man. A
man. Because this was the perfect
type. You can't do it. Henry, you slaughter this type,
don't you? Had to be a male. A male lamb. A male lamb. And Christ was a man. A male
of the first year. He was God's only begotten Son. The Son of His first year. Son
of God. He was with the Father from the
beginning. One perpetual eternal year. son of the first year. And look at this, verse 5, "...taking
from out of the sheep." How about that, Nancy? I've exalted one
chosen out of the people. He was taken from among his brethren,
chosen from out of the people. Listen to this verse, "...cry
out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, people of the church,
for great is the Holy One that is in the midst of thee. He's
right in the middle of his church. Taken out from among the sheep
and goats. And there's some goats in this flock too, but someday
he'll separate them. Sheep and goat. Well, look at
it. It says here, and you'll keep
it up, verse 6, you'll keep it up until the 14th day of the
same month. That is, you're to observe it.
They were to take this lamb, male, of the first year, it was
without spot, couldn't spot, couldn't have any blemishes,
had to be a perfect lamb. That's the perfect picture of
Christ, who had to be without sin. And they would put this
lamb up in a pen, put it up in a pen and observe it and watch
it and make sure that there wasn't anything wrong with that. Make
sure it didn't stumble or just really closely observe that lamb. God said it had to be perfect
to be accepted. Why was this? Because Christ
lived thirty-three and a third years upon his service and was
observed by God, was observed by men, observed by the devil
himself. And men tried to find something
in him but couldn't. The devil tried to find something
in him but couldn't. And the Father certainly saw
no sin in him. Perfect. And the Father said,
this one will do. He said, he'll do. He's perfect. I accept this man. I approve
of this man." So they were to keep this lamb up and observe
it. And then, after the fourteenth day of the same month, the whole
assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening. In the evening, the whole assembly.
And Terry, we have taken and with wicked hands have crucified
the Son of God. Both Herod, Pontius Pilate, and
all the people were gathered together. against God, against
his anointed one, against Christ. Killed Christ. We killed him.
We have killed him. But we did what God had determined
before to be done. This is exactly what God told
the people to do, and we killed him. Christ didn't suffer as
a victim of man's whims. This was the will of the Father
in sacrificing his Son for our sins. We did what God had determined
before. to be done as a sacrifice for
sin. Look at verse 7. He said, They
shall take of the blood, that is, the elders, and strike it
on the two side posts and on the upper door post. That's three
areas that they were to apply this blood. Strike it on the
two side posts, on the upper door post of the house wherein
they shall eat it, the tabernacle that they are to consume this
sacrifice in. You remember this scripture,
Leviticus 1711. Remember that. This is the heart
of our religion, Leviticus 1711. It's the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. That's our plea. This is our
hope. This is our foundation. It's the blood, not the blood
of bulls and goats, not my blood, the blood of a perfect sacrifice,
the blood of the Lord Jesus, the precious blood of the Lamb.
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the blood that makes atonement
for the soul, because the scripture says, we read it in Hebrews 9,
without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Not my
blood, his blood, perfect blood. Now, as I said before, there
is a sense in which every believer Every believer appropriates,
or that is, applies the blood of Christ to his own soul by
faith. That's what we're doing. Joe,
that's what we're doing by faith, is saying, I receive, I believe
that this blood was shed on my account. By faith we're saying,
Lord, I want this blood to be on my heart and soul. I want
it to be applied to me eternally. But, as I said, chiefly, it's
God the Holy Spirit. That elder, that great elder,
who must give faith in Christ, who must apply the blood and
apply the gospel to our hearts. He must do it. He's got to apply
that blood to three areas. Three areas. Mind, body, and
soul. Two side posts and an upper door
post. Mind, body, and soul. And also,
heart, head, and hand. You've got to apply it to your
conscience's purge from dead works to serve the living God,
your heart sprinkled with the blood, and your lives anointed
with this blood to walk in Christ. So, that's the sense in which
the Holy Spirit applies it to the two doorposts and the upper
and the lintel. And just, you know, the reason
that the elders were to apply that blood to the doorposts and
so forth was because in those houses there were young people,
there were sick folks, there were old folks, people that were
unable or unable to, maybe unwilling, that didn't believe. And that's
us. We're too weak, we're too sick,
we're too helpless to get the job done. God must do it, and
he does it in the beginning. From the foundation of the world,
this blood was shed. Christ is the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world, and he shed that blood. And back
then, Terry, is when he applied the blood to all his elect. We
weren't believers then. When Christ died on the cross,
we weren't even around. And there were people in the
house then that weeped sickly, helpless. And you know, think
about this. In those houses, this will give you some comfort,
in those houses there were all types of people, all types of
people, different degrees of courage and strength and faith.
Now there was the elder that applied the blood and he came
in and closed the door behind him and he came in and sat down
and they sat down at the table and he gave thanks for the food
and they began to eat and he ate and didn't Didn't seem to
say much. Smile on his face. But there's
somebody else at the table shaking. Oh, scared. How's it going to
work? His dad, is it going to work?
Don't worry. And somebody else, you know,
that didn't believe at all. I don't believe this thing's
going to happen at all. There's all kinds of, all degrees of
faith in that house. What made the difference? The
faith? No, that weak, That weak one, that doubting one was saved,
just the same as that strong elder. There's comfort there,
if I made that clear. There's comfort. Well, look at
it. Verse 8. And they shall eat the
flesh in that night. That night. Verse 8. Look at
it. Verse 8. They shall eat the flesh
that night. That night. Eat it. Christ said,
except you eat my flesh and drink my blood. He had no part in it.
What is that? That's taking Christ in by faith.
That's taking him in by faith in the heart, not the head. He
didn't say, take a little taste and, you know, like a wine tasting,
gurgle it and spit it out. I said, eat it, eat it. And this
thing is not just mere head faith or mere tasting or looking at
it. It's good, yeah, it's a nice
meal. It's actually to consume Christ.
It's actually to believe, trust, rely upon, love, follow after
Christ with the whole being. When you eat something, it consumes
your whole being, doesn't it? When you eat something, it goes
throughout your whole body. Your whole body is affected. There's
no part of your body that's not affected by the food that you
eat, whether it be bad food or good food. And if we're to partake
of Christ, truly partaking of him by faith, there's not any
part of our being that's not affected. It'll affect our head,
it'll affect our way of thinking. Old things have passed away,
new principles, new ideas, new attitudes. It'll affect our hands,
what we do, our feet. It'll affect how we walk, where
we walk. We'll walk with Him, behind Him, follow Him. It'll
affect our inner being, out of our bellies shall flow rivers
of living water when Christ dwells within. Right? Right. He said, eat it. Eat the flesh
that night. Today's a day of salvation. We're
not promised another day, are we? Boast not thyself of tomorrow. We're not promised tomorrow.
Not at all. Today is the day of salvation.
We're to believe on Christ now. Somebody once said, over there
in Hebrews, when it says that these things, some people let
them slip, and they use the interesting illustration that most people,
when God saves most people, He saves them pretty quickly. I
mean, when they hear the gospel, it's not too long after that
that they believe and they confess Christ and they follow Him. And
people that continually hear it year after year after year
and after year after year, it doesn't usually work that way.
It does sometimes, but it doesn't usually work that way. And that
night, eat it that night, and look at it, it says, roast with
fire. Roast with fire that night. You know, Christ suffered under
the wrath and the condemnation of God for us. He was made sin.
It was a fiery death. upon that cross, a brutal, torturous,
people in hell are tortured. It's fiery. Christ said, I thirst. He was
under the fiery wrath of this God who is a consuming fire.
God was consuming the sacrifice. Sacrifice had to be consumed
with fire. And Christ was upon that cross under the heat of
the sun, but also under the heat of God's wrath against sin. What
we deserve is the wrath of God. God is a consuming fire, and
we deserve to be under that wrath of God. But Christ took it in
the place of his people. Justice was poured out upon Christ
for us, and look at it. After he was roasted, and you
have unleavened bread. I like that illustration of how
bread is made. You drop a corn of wheat in the
ground, and then it raises up. It comes up as a tender plant.
He grew up before us as a tender plant, the root out of dry ground,
and it grew in stature and wisdom and stature and favor with God
and man. That wheat grows up and becomes a young stalk, a
tender stalk, and then finally a full ear of corn, and then
he's cut down right in the Right at the heart, at the peak time,
he is cut down, and Christ was cut down right in his most virile
time as a man. Strongest point, a man my age,
he was cut down. Then that wheat is taken and
ground up, broken, ground up, broken, kneaded. Christ was broken,
ground up under God's wrath, and thrown into the oven. thrown
into the fire, the fire of God's wrath. And after he opened that
door, it rises, that bread rises, and it comes out sweet-tasting
bread, unleavened bread, without sin. And that's Christ, our manna. Christ went through that fiery
furnace of God's wrath, and came forth a sweet-smelling savor,"
a sacrifice, sweet manna, and we partake of that bread, the
bread of Christ. He says here it's also to be
eaten with bitter herbs. See that? It's roast with fire
and unleavened bread and with bitter herbs also. What's that? Christ said, in the world you
shall have tribulation. Although we partake of Christ,
yet we partake of afflictions and trials and troubles and sorrows
and heartaches, and so the trial of your faith being precious,
precious bitter herbs, bitter herbs, this bitter sorrow in
this life that we're to partake of. Look at verse 9. Don't eat
of it raw. Don't eat it raw, nor sodden
with water. Not raw or sodden with water, but roast with fire.
You know, a baby in the manger won't do. people constantly looking
to a baby in the manger, aren't they? A Christ still on the cross
won't do it, will it? Uh-uh. It won't do. Not raw. He's got to be the full,
whole Christ, doesn't he? He's got to be fully God, and
you've got to hear a full gospel, too, not a raw gospel, not an
uncooked or unrevealed Christ. No, you've got to know the true
Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ in his true person. You can't
be saved by a Jesus who can't, but you must be saved by a Lord
who did, who did. Now, no man or woman, and I've
said this before, and this is important, no man or woman confesses
an unrevealed Christ. Can't do it. We can only believe
and confess the right one. That's what it says there, you'll
eat of it raw. unconfessed or an unknown Christ,
nor sodden with water." See that? A watered-down, weakened version
of the gospel won't get it either. Well, it said some good things.
It won't get it. It's got to be THE good thing,
got to be THE good news, got to be THE gospel, THE truth.
How God plans salvation, the Holy
Spirit applies salvation, Christ purchased salvation. It's got
to be the full gospel. A weakened-down version of the
gospel won't do. And he says there, he makes sure
it's got to be roasted with fire. See that? He says it again. Roast
with fire. This tells me that a man's got
to understand something of this thing of just and justifier.
He said, why did Christ die? I don't know. Well, then you
don't know what the gospel is, do you? You don't know why you
need sin taken away. Why did Christ die? In order
that God may be just and justified. There has to be an understanding
of the holiness of God, his wrath against sin, my sin, and how
God, in anger toward my sin, killed his Son. The only way
God can accept me is to kill his Son in my stead. The only
way God can be just, that is, be holy and receive a sinner
like me, is to pour out his justice on his Son. That's the reason
Christ came. That's the reason he died. that God might be just,
that he'd punish sin and justify me, that he'd give me his righteousness.
It's the only way, and a man that doesn't understand that,
or a woman that doesn't understand that, they don't see any real
need of Christ to come down here and die. Brother Tim James once
said, you know, you tell me that God loved me and Christ died
for me, that doesn't tell me anything. That's like me telling
my wife, I love you honey, and taking a gun and killing myself.
What did that accomplish? God loves you and Christ died
for you. Why? Put away sin. Why do you have to do that? I'm
not saying that this is a mere intellectual understanding, but
there needs to be a knowledge here. You can't believe an unknown
Christ and an unknown gospel. You can't do it. You have to
understand why Christ came down here, because he was made sin
for us. Made sin. He was made my sin. If you don't
understand that, You may be tempted to think that there's still something
you've got to do. You see, if you understand fully
that Christ did it all, that he was made sin, he was made
a sacrifice for me and put away my sin. If you understand that,
then you realize, hey, there's nothing I've got to do. Christ
was made sin for me and I'm accepted in him. If you don't really understand
that, if you believe he just was a martyr and just died and
just kind of feel sorry for him and believe him, believe who
he is or whatever, but you probably still think there's something
for you to do. But that's not so. That's not so. He's got to
be not a sodden with water sacrifice, but a meat and milk, butter and
honey. And look at it. He says, roast
with fire his head, with his legs, and with a pertinence thereof.
There you go. That's it. That's Christ and
all his offices. all his office. You can't have
him as Savior and not have him as Lord. You can't have him as
Jesus and not have him as Lord. He's got to be in all of his
offices. Prophets, priests, and kings.
All of his offices. Verse 10, And ye shall let nothing
of it remain until the morning. Nothing. That which remaineth
of it until the morning, ye shall burn with fire. Nothing. Every
bit of it is to be consumed at once. There's no more sacrifice
to sin. Catholicism with the mass and
all, they re-sacrifice Christ every time they observe the mass.
They really say that the wine and the wafers turn into the
body and blood of Christ. And that's sacrificing Him all
over again. And the priest administers salvation to the partaker. No, that's blasphemy. That's
hideous. He's not to be sacrificed. There's
no more sacrifice for sin. Christ was once offered to bear
the sins of many. He's not to be crucified afresh. Verse 11, "...and thus shall
ye eat it, with your loins girded." Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Trust him. Follow him. "...with your loins
girded." That right there is what I was just talking about.
Paul said over in Ephesians 6, "...your loins girded with truth."
How shall they believe in him whom they have not heard?" We
can't believe a Christ that's not revealed to us, can we? We
can't do it. You've got to know the true Christ
to believe on him. Having your loins dirt with truth,
the truth of the gospel concerning the Christ who saves, who really
saves. He doesn't try to, but does save. Look, it says, have your shoes
on your feet. Shod with the gospel, the gospel of peace. the way,
Christ the path, Christ your walk, and your staff in your
hand." What's the staff? Staff in hand, the Word of God
in hand. The Word of God in your hand
and your head and your heart, written upon your heart. Look
at it, he said, "...eat it in haste." on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe
him now, quickly. Why? It's the Lord's Passover.
This is his only salvation. It's his Christ. Salvation is
of the Lord. God said this in verse 12, 4,
I will pass through the land of Egypt. And God's passing,
going to pass through this old Egypt. He's going to pass through,
Henry, isn't he? He's coming. The coming of the
Lord draws nigh. He'll pass through the land of
Egypt and he'll smite all the firstborn of the land of Egypt.
God's going to smite this world. both man and beast, and against
all the gods of Egypt." Boy, my! He's going to smite this
religious generation, and he's going to execute judgment, justice. They're going to see who God
is, who Christ really is. He said, I am the Lord. And the blood, our only hope,
our only plea, is the blood. The blood shall be for you a
token. upon the houses where you are."
The blood of Jesus Christ is a token of God's love and God's
mercy and God's grace upon the houses. He applies it. He applies
it. And he said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Not when
I see your works, not when I see your faith. Like I said now,
there was people in those houses, some didn't believe very much,
some didn't believe at all. None of us believed until he
Gives us faith, doesn't he? But he applies that blood, first
of all. But then there are some people strong in faith. But there
are all different kinds. But the blood is what made the
difference. The blood. When God passed over and saw
that blood, he passed over. And the plague, as Scott says,
the plague shall not be upon you. Not be upon you to destroy
you. No way. When I smite the land
of Egypt, Not going to destroy you, never. Verse 14. And this day shall be unto you
for a memorial. A memorial. Tomorrow is Memorial
Day. Somebody, I didn't realize it,
but Barbara pointed that out to me. Christ said this day in remembrance
of me. Oh, we remember our loved ones. I had a brother who was
killed in the war and so forth, but it's really only one person who
needs to be remembered. one person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, Remember me. That's
the only memorial day that we're instructed to remember, the memorial
of Christ. He said, And this will be unto
you for a memorial, and you'll keep it a feast to the Lord throughout
your generations. Keep it a feast by an ordinance
forever. Blood of the everlasting covenant.
Look over verse 22. I like this. Verse 22. This is
when he told the elders, take the blood, dip it in the blood,
hyssop in the blood, in the basin, strike the doorpost, and so forth,
and look down at the bottom. And none of you shall go out
at the door of the house till the morning. Nobody is leaving. Any possibility of anybody getting
out of the house? No, the elder would see to it. God said something. God told that elder, nobody's
coming out of the house. That's particular redemption,
Joe. Ain't nobody coming out of the house when the blood's
applied, is there? Ain't nobody going in either. Right? Right. Nobody's coming out. Nobody, none of you shall go
out. And folks, there is therefore
now no condemnation of them that are in Christ Jesus. Nobody coming
out. Need not worry. Need not worry. Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? Is God the Justified?
Who is He that condemns? It's Christ that died. The blood's
on the door. Not coming out. He'll never forsake
you and never leave you. And trusting and believing and
depending upon the Lord Jesus Christ, His person and His righteousness,
His blood applied to your soul, you're justified. Justified,
accepted by God Almighty. And when the overflowing scourge
of God's wrath passes through this old land of Egypt, It'll
not come now to you. Why? Well, only one reason. It's under
the blood. He's saying that's all, because
you're under the blood. It's precious blood, too. Precious
blood. Men service the bread.