Turn with me to Exodus chapter
12. Exodus chapter 12. Let's begin reading at verse
1. Our Lord in one of His many encounters
with the religious leaders of His day, who were continually
saying to Him, we don't need you because we have Moses. He
told them in John chapter 5, if you believe Moses, you will
believe me. because Moses wrote of me." The
first five books of the Bible written by Moses, we could put
that, those words rather, of our Lord at the head of each
chapter. Moses wrote of me. And how plain
that is here concerning the Passover lamb. Let's begin reading at
verse 1 of Exodus chapter 12. 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. Speak ye unto all the congregation
of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall
take to them every man of land. according to the house of their
fathers, a lamb for a house. 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. Your lamb
shall be without blemish. A male of the first year, you
shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats. And ye shall
keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month. And the
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening. And they shall take of the blood and strike it on
the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses
wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh
in that night, roast with fire and unleavened bread, and with
bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, neither sodden
at all with water, but roast with fire, his head with his
legs and with the pertinence thereof. And you shall let nothing
of it remain until the morning. And that which remaineth of it,
until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye
eat it, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and
your staff in your hand. And ye shall eat it in haste,
for it is the Lord's Passover. For I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night, and will smite 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. And the blood
shall be to you for a token upon the houses wherein 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. Now look down at verse 29. And it came to pass that at midnight,
the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the
firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the firstborn
of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn
of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night,
he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians. And there
was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there
was not one dead. The title of my message is Christ
Our Passover. This is one of the plainest places
in scripture of our Lord being prefigured, typified by the Passover
lamb. Look, if you will, in chapter
11 for just a moment, here in Exodus chapter 11, verse 4. We have these words. And Moses
said, Thus saith the Lord, about midnight will I go out into the
midst of Egypt. And all of the firstborn in the
land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that
setteth upon his throne, even as of the firstborn of the maidservant
that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts.
And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt,
such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But it doesn't stop there, does
it? Look at that first word of verse 7. But, God is just. He must execute judgment. He must do right or he would
cease to be God. He says, I will pass through
the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment upon
all the gods of Egypt. But, verse 7, there's that word
of grace. Sweet, amazing grace. A word
of exception. A word of exception. There will
be exceptions. Let's read it in verse 7. against
any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue
against man or beast that ye may know how the Lord hath put
a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." Chosen. God made a difference. And thank God that he did. Thank God that there was a remnant. According to what? their deservings,
their merit? Did they earn this? Oh, no, there's
a remnant according to the election of grace. But, but, thank God
for that word of grace, that distinguishing grace. Paul asked
the church at Corinth. He asked them to ask themselves,
to remind themselves, Who maketh thee to differ from another? God put the difference between
the Egyptians and Israel. The purpose of God includes the
choosing, but it also includes redemption. Redemption is necessary. Those he chose must be redeemed,
and only Christ could redeem them. This was the theme of the
psalm in Exodus chapter 15, after the death angel passes through.
After Moses leads the children of Israel, who had been in bondage
for 400 years in the land of Egypt, he leads them out. After
he crosses the Red Sea, they stand on other side and they
sing the song of the redeemed and of the Lamb of God. The best
commentary that you can find on this chapter in Exodus 12
is in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 7. Paul says, but even Christ
our Passover is sacrificed for us. This is our message. Christ
our Passover. Once a year. Once a year, Jews
still observe this Feast of Passover. But in reality, in reality, the
last Passover was scripturally, legitimately observed that night
just prior to our Lord's arrest. Turn, if you will, to Luke's
Gospel, chapter 22. Here was the last legitimate
observance of the Passover. After this, it was finished. After this, it was done away.
The Lord's Supper sweetly blended and took its place in Luke chapter
22 verse 7. Then came the day of unleavened
bread when the Passover must be killed. Must be killed. And he sent, that is our Lord,
sent Peter and John saying, go and prepare us the Passover that
we may eat. Verse 13. And they went and found
as he had said unto them and they made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, the
hour was come. My soul, how do you illustrate
that? The hour was come. The hour for which God created
this world. The reason why he that was God
and never ceased being God became flesh. Flesh of our flesh and
bone of our bone. That axis, if you will, on which
the hinges of eternity revolve. Eternity past, eternity to come. That which we read of in Exodus
chapter 12 that looked forward to it, that prefigured it. That
which the angels sang about that we read of earlier in Revelation
chapter 5. It all pointed to this hour. What an hour! There was never
another like it. When the hour was come, that
hour, that time, when the Son of God, when the Son of God would
enter into the most holy place, when the Son of God, who knew
no sin, that's the only being that could ever be said of. He
knew no sin. In Him was no sin. He did no sin. He did always those things that
pleased his father. From that first breath he drew
in the manger in Bethlehem until he expired that last breath upon
the cross saying, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. He always did those things that
pleased the father. that he was about to be made
sin. And when the hour was come, he
sat down, verse 14, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said
unto them, What desire I have desired to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer? For I say unto you, I will not
eat any more thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of
God. Now, we as believers, observed
that which he accomplished. Not that which the Passover lamb
simply typified and figured, but all now in the observance
of the Lord's table, we observe that which he accomplished by
his death. Not merely pictured, but that
which he actually obtained. that which He actually did. This is what the Scriptures teach. What Christ did upon the tree,
what Christ did upon Calvary was an obtaining of redemption. It was an actually taking away
of sin. It was an actually bringing in
of eternal and everlasting righteousness. This is what we observe. Under
this figure of a Lamb, is what John the Baptist pointed our
Lord out by. Remember? Remember he stood that
day as the crowds came around. It was popular to be baptized. They all came out to see this
one in the wilderness, this strange man, John the Baptist. And he
said, I'm not the Christ. I'm not the Messiah. I'm just
a voice. I'm just the voice of one crying
in the wilderness. And then that day, Jesus of Nazareth
passed by. And John said, there he is. There he is. Look away from me. Look past me. If you stop with
me, you've not gone far enough. If you stop with me, you miss
Him. He must increase and I must decrease. And John said, Behold, look! Look! Oh, may God open our eyes
to see Him. The Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb
of God. He's the One, not I. He's the
One that taketh away the sin of the world. No longer the type,
but the fulfillment of the type. That's what we observe in the
Lord's Table. Not the shadow, but the substance. May God grant that we might behold
Him again today. A fresh reviving view of Christ
our Passover. Remember? Remembering that we
were redeemed? as Peter wrote, not with corruptible
things, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot. This is where the holy God himself
looked for satisfaction. He looked to Christ. That's what
we read of, didn't we? In Exodus chapter 12, God said,
when I see the blood, when I see the blood, their safety was not
the bolts upon the door, Oh no, it was the blood marked over
the door and on the side post. God said, when I see that, when
I view that, that's the reason, the only reason that I'll pass
over you. The Holy Lord God looked to Christ
for satisfaction. He looked to Christ for payment.
He looked to Christ for atonement. And if we ever have peace with
God, If a sinner ever has real peace with God, he'll look where
God himself looks. He'll look to Christ who by himself
made peace with God, who reconciled us to God by his death upon the
cross. Christ our Passover. Look, if
you will, at verse 13 again of Exodus chapter 12. Verse 13. The Lord God said, and the blood
shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. A token, that is a mark, a symbol of safety, of refuge. Let's consider several things
about this token, about this blood of that spotless Lamb of
God. It was a distinguishing mark,
was it not? The difference in all the houses
in Egypt was only this. Only one thing made the difference. The blood. The blood. Anyone walking through the streets
of Egypt that night could plainly see the blood applied on the
side post and on the top post of the door. But it was the eye
of God and that alone that really mattered. God said, it's when
I see the blood. When I see the blood, I'll pass
over you. God himself required this and
God himself provided it and promised to accept it and was satisfied
with it. We are spared because he wasn't. Turn, if you will, to Romans
chapter 8. This is exactly what Paul says in Romans chapter 8. We're spared because he wasn't
spared. In Romans chapter 8, look what
Paul writes at verse 32. He that spared not, he spared
him not. Oh, how holy, just God must be. When he saw sin upon his son,
he spared him not. that spared him not. He that
spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all. How shall
he not with him also freely? Freely. Don't you like Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again. Who is even at the right hand
of God who also maketh intercession for us? And now with that in
mind, look what Paul says in verse 1 of Romans 8. Because
he spared not his own son, Look what it says concerning all those
that are in his son. There is therefore now. Now. I don't know what your now might
involve. I don't have any idea what now
may include for you. Now you may be bearing a very
heavy load. Now you may be enduring a very
severe trial. but also now. Now. God help us to remember this.
There is therefore now no condemnation. No condemnation. To who? My soul. Who are these individuals
that before the throne of the all-knowing, all-seeing God,
have no condemnation? Who are these blessed ones that
stand before God without a spot or a blemish or any such thing? Who are these that God says,
when I see, I'll pass over? Who are these? There are those
and those alone that are in Christ Jesus. This is what Paul says,
there is therefore now no condemnation. No condemnation. Don't you like that? Now that's
a blanket you can wrap up in. That's a sheet long enough to
cover you. Oh, that's a robe of righteousness
in which you can be clothed from head to foot. That's a robe with
which you can stand before the Holy God and He'll look at you
perfectly content. perfectly satisfied, and you'll
be as accepted before the Holy God today, tomorrow, all the
days of your life, when you pass out of this world and stand before
Him, you'll be accepted eternally. You know how accepted? How accepted? As accepted as God's own Son. Because his garments is what
I stand before God clothed in. This is what Paul says. This
is the reason. There is therefore now. I declare, it's hard not just
to pitch tent there. Just stop right there. No condemnation. to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. No condemnation. And never will be. Never will
be. This is an eternal now. An eternal now. The applying
of the blood upon that door was a confession of all those inside,
we deserve death. We deserve death, but death has
already come here. Death angel, go your way. Don't enter here. Death has already
been here. Death has already visited this
house by a substitute. Are you back in Exodus chapter
30? Or chapter 12, I'm sorry. Look what we're told at verse
23. For the Lord will pass through
and smite the Egyptians. And when he seeth the blood upon
the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over
the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in until
your house is to smite you." Will not suffer the destroyer
to come in to smite you. Why? Why? Because he's already
been there. in the person of the substitute,
in the lamb that was slain, and payment God cannot twice demand. Do you hear that, child of God?
God cannot. If He's a just God, if He's a
righteous God, payment God cannot twice demand. First at my bleeding
surety's hand, and then again at mine. See Christ our Passover
standing there? Behold the Lamb of God. That's who was figured. That's
who was typified by this slain Lamb. It's His blood that God
saw. The Lamb of God slain from the
foundation of the world. He stands before the house on
which the door was sprinkled by the blood of the Lamb. And
He says the truth and justice, go your way. Go your way. Don't stop here. Don't enter
here because death has already come here in the person of the
Lamb of God. Truth and justice cries loud
as God's love with Jesus' blood. Every sinner bought with blood
must escape the wrath of God. It must. Justice, mercy, truth
and love, shiny bright in Jesus' blood, makes you hear our place
above, one with Christ, approved of God. That blood Christ, substitution. Substitution. Death's already
been here. Christ actually. Actually. This is what the scriptures teach. The Scriptures know nothing of
a possibility redemption. Men talk about that, but God
never does. No, the Bible always speaks of
the death of Christ as an accomplishment. He actually bore our sins in
his own body on the tree. He was really made sin through
us. I can't explain that. That's
a mystery. I cannot explain. I cannot understand. much less tell you how he who
knew no sin was made sin. That's what it says. He was made
sin itself. Not just that sin was imputed
to him, it says that he was actually made sin. I don't understand
that. I don't know how that could take
place, but we're told that it did. He was made sin with this
certain result. with this fruit following. This travail of his soul that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. In him. In Christ Jesus. Accepted in him. This is what
we're told in Isaiah. Turn if you will to Isaiah chapter
53. Isaiah chapter 53, the evangelical
prophet, as he's been called, the fifth evangelist. In Isaiah
53, he speaks of the sufferings of the Messiah. He speaks of him being deserted
by God, afflicted. But then he goes on and speaks
of the outcome. What's the result of all that?
God afflicting him, God making him to be sin, him bearing our
sorrows and our grief, stricken of God and afflicted, wounded
for our transgressions. What's the outcome of all that?
When he hangs upon the cross and his cry pierces that darkness,
my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Why did God forsake
His Son? Was it for a maybe? Was it for
a hope so? Was He only making something
possible when He died upon the cross? Was He only making redemption
a possibility, a maybe? Or was it for a certain outcome? The Bible says it was for a certain
outcome, an accomplishment. And this is what Isaiah speaks
of in verse 10 of Isaiah 53. Listen to this. Yet, yet, it
pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, what will happen? What will be the outcome? He
shall see his seed. He shall. Notice the shalls here. No maybes, no perchances, no
hopesos. He shall prolong his days. And the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand. He shall see a travail of his
soul, and he shall be satisfied. How in the world, by any stretch
of common sense, could it ever be said that he would be satisfied
if in glory he looks down and sees one whose sins he bore on
Calvary's tree, suffering for those same sins in hell? How could the Son of God ever
be satisfied if that should be the case? But it never can be.
and it never will be. His death shall never be proved
a miscarriage. Every one that He redeemed, I
mean every one that He redeemed, every sinner for whom He suffered
the wrath of God, He will bring before the throne of God in glory
with Him to be with Him forever. He shall see the reveal of His
soul and He shall be satisfied. content. Why? By his knowledge
shall my righteous servant do what? Justify many. Many. He shall justify many. Why? For he shall bear their
iniquities. Justify. Therefore will I divide
him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoiled
with the strong because he had poured out his soul into death
and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bare the
sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. Isn't
that what he told his disciples that night? He took the glass
and said, here, pass this among yourselves. All of you drink
from it. because this is my blood which is shed for many for the
remission of sins. One hymn writer put it like this.
I quote hymns a lot. I find them helpful. They help
me express what I cannot express otherwise. He wrote, complete
atonement thou hast made, and to the utmost farthing paid,
whatever thy people owed. Nor can God's wrath on me take
place, if sheltered in thy righteousness and sprinkled with thy blood. Isn't that what God himself said,
brother Lloyd? Didn't he say Moses tell to him,
when that blood is applied, that blood of that sacrificed lamb,
that blood that pictured our glorious Redeemer, God said,
when I see that, not when I see your faith, your repentance,
your prayers, your preaching, your giving, not when I see anything
about you. It's when I see Him, when I see
the blood, I'll pass over you. That's what satisfied justice.
That's what appeased God. That's what brought in an everlasting
righteousness. That's the grounds on which a
holy God justifies a guilty sinner. He sees the blood. And payment
God cannot twice demand. Turn, if you will, to Hebrews
chapter 10. The very thing we read of in
Exodus, the writer speaks of here in Hebrews chapter 10, the
blood of a substitute. Our glorious substitute. It's
no wonder that those angels and elders in Revelation chapter
5 say worthy is the lamb. The lamb
that was slain, because he had redeemed us to God by his own
blood. He actually did it. In Hebrews
chapter 10 verse 1, for the law having a shadow of good things
to come and not the very image of the things can never can never,
with those sacrifices which they offered year by year, continually
make the comers thereunto perfect? For then would they not have
ceased to be offered? And of course the answer is yes.
If they really made the comer thereunto perfect, accepted by
God, then they would have ceased to be offered. But they weren't
because that the worshipers being once purged should have no more
conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there
is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore, when
he cometh into the world, when he cometh, Jesus. Who? Jesus. That one that should
save his people from their sins. When he cometh, he said, sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not but a body as thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou has had no pleasure. Then said I lo. I come in the
volume of the book it is written of me to do thy And above when
he said sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings, and offering
for sin, thou wouldst not neither have pleasure therein which are
offered by the law. Then said he, lo, I come to do
thy will, O God. He taketh away the first that
he may establish the second. And here's the result. Here's
the result. By the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,
forever, never to be repeated. Verse 12, but this man, but this
man, the God-man, the Lamb of God, after He had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever, did what? He did what that earthly
priest could never do. He sat down at the right hand
of God. Why? Because redemption's work
was done. He redeemed His people. In chapter 1 of Hebrews we're
told, after He had by Himself, all by Himself, without any contribution
from you or I. All by Himself, then and there,
at the cross, He purged our sins. Glory to His name. He took them
away. This is what we observe. This
is what we remember, a finished work. This is why we rejoice. This is why this is a feast of
remembrance. We remember Him who actually
bore our sins away. And God helped us to cry as they
cry in glory. Worthy is the Lamb. Glory to
His name. No wonder Paul said in Galatians
3, God forbid, Let the legalist, let the Pharisees if they want
to, glory in their flesh. But he said, God forbid that
I should glory. Saving the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And I hope you know, Paul wasn't
talking about the emblem. He wasn't talking about the piece
of wood that our Lord died upon. He was talking about the atonement
that he obtained there. The redemption that he accomplished
there. Not the literal piece of wood,
but what he did upon that cross. His sufferings. What did he do?
What did he accomplish? What did he obtain? This. This, child of God, this is why
you said her this morning, and God looks down and says, no condemnation. God looks at you, and in your
heart of heart, aren't you thankful? I would not want. I would hate. It would embarrass me. I would
run out that door in shame if there was a screen behind me
right now showing the very thoughts I've had since I entered this
place. Showing the pride that's mixed
with this message that I'm trying to preach. I would be ashamed
of it. But God Almighty looks down and
He doesn't see that. He doesn't see that. He doesn't
see sin. I cry out, O wretched man that
I am, who's going to deliver me from this body of death, this
old fallen nature? But God looks down and smiles
with absolute satisfaction. Why? Why? Because he sees me. He sees this sinner in his son. in His Son, accepted in the Beloved,
as accepted as He is, as near as He is, as dear as He is. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Paul says, that's what I gloried
in. Christ entered in one time. into the holy place, into the
very presence of God Almighty, not with the blood of bullocks
and goats and lambs, but with His own blood. And there He obtained
eternal redemption for us. Worthy is the Lamb. When I see
the blood, this shall be a token for you. This is our ground of
assurance, is it not? God says so. God will never refuse
what he himself appointed, what he himself ordained. We're assured
of God's acceptance of Christ by him raising Christ from the
dead. That was proof that he was pleased,
content, with what our Lord did upon Calvary's tree. And all
his people are accepted in him. Paul in Ephesians 1 said, accepted
in the Beloved. In the Beloved. First he sees
Jesus. And then he sees me in the beloved,
accepted and free. Listen to this verse in Ezekiel
concerning that infant, that aborted infant that was cast
out into the field to die and was left alone and nobody pitied
him, nobody cared for him. But God, but God, he came to
where to where I was. And he didn't say, Larry, you
take the first step and I'll do something for you. No. He came and said, live. Live. Joe, he didn't offer to give
me life. He gave me life. He said, live. And he clothed
me. He clothed me in the perfect
righteousness of Jesus Christ. And Ezekiel said, Thy renown
went forth among the heathen, for thy beauty, listen, child
of God, for it was perfect. For it was perfect through my
comeliness which I put upon thee, saith the Lord God. Isn't this
what you said? Unto him that is able to keep
you from falling and to present you faultless, before the presence
of His glory. John in Revelation 14 said, I
saw them without fault before the throne of God. Yes, the blood
of Christ speaketh better things than that of Abel. It speaks
everlasting satisfaction to God's justice. Christ our Passover,
again, 1 Corinthians 5 and 7, Paul said, for Christ our Passover
is. Why did he not say it was? He
said, is, present tense. Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us. Meaning, it's always working. It's always enough. It's effects,
it's merit, it's worth are always everlastingly effectual. It always speaks satisfaction
to God. It's all that will ever be needed. It speaks to God's justice and
says, it is finished. It speaks to God's offended law
and says, deliver his soul. Deliver his soul from going down
to the pit. Why? I found the ransom. Remember who suffered? Who suffered
and died? Who he is gives value. and merit
to what he did. It was the blood of the spotless
Lamb of God. It was the blood of Christ that
he shed for his people. and his blood must surely cleanse
from all sin, all the sins of all of his people for whom it
was shed. And if he shed his blood for
the whole world, the whole world must be saved, if that was the
case. But it wasn't. He saved his people
from their sins. This blood is shed for you. God
help us to remember the speciality of it. when we, in a few moments,
take that wine and drink of it. God, help us to remember this
is the only thing that makes me the differ. My mother called
me this morning and told me that my cousin had died. I hadn't seen him for years,
but I used to run with him. Ran in all manner of ungodliness. And I thought when I hung up
the phone, well, if he died as he lived when I last saw him,
and then I thought, who made me to differ from another? What
have I got that I didn't receive? Christ says, when I see the blood,
or God rather says, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. His blood must reconcile me to
God. His blood must present me without
spot or blemish or any such thing. The blood means something to
God and to the redeemed. It's a real redemption that really
did redeem His people from their sins, meaning that we've been
bought with a price, meaning acceptance before God always,
meaning perfect safety inside the house, standing beneath the
sacrifice of Christ. The hailstones of God's divine
wrath can never fall. can never fall and the blood
of Christ, our Passover is our passport to heaven. Our passport
to glory. I enter into there because he
loved me and gave himself for me. The same reason for my acceptance
by god now will be the reason for my acceptance before god
in glory. When I see the blood, I'll pass Where is thy sting? Where is
thy sting? Christ endured the sting of death
for me. Because the sting of death is
sin. And Christ was made sin for me
in my stead. And the result is, I go free. I'm free. Free from the law,
oh happy condition. And when I'm to die, receive
me, I'll cry. For Jesus has loved me, I cannot
tell why. But this thing I find, we two
are so joined. He won't be in heaven and leave
me behind. Remember what he prayed that
night before he was arrested, before he stood out in front
of his sheep and said, I'm he. You found me. Take me. Take me. That's what he did, didn't he? He went to Calvary. And he bore
our sins in his own body on the tree. And the divine justice,
the sword of God's holy justice, he said, here I am. Take me. Take me. Pour out your wrath
on me. But my sheep go free. My sheep
go free. Glory to his name. When I see
the blood, I will pass over you. Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us. Amen. Amen. Lord bless you.