Some believe that time looks more like a ribbon with many folds, rather than a straight line. In this passage Exodus 12 from the ancient past is folded up to touch the present day, and what is revealed changes our understanding of Jesus forever.
Exodus 12 gives instructions for the Passover. The Passover is a God-ordained party to commemorate the Hebrews “exodus” from Egypt. Specifically, it celebrates their deliverance from the last plague, the death of the first born. You probably remember that after 9 plagues Pharaoh still refused to let Moses and the Hebrews go, so God delivers what will be the knock out punch. Every first born son in the land will die. Hey, pay attention! I said EVERY first born son. That includes the Hebrews. The only way to have the angel of death “skip” your house is to paint the doorframe with the blood of a lamb. When the death angel sees the blood of a lamb, he passes over that house. “Passover”, get it? That is the whole holiday in a nutshell.
Of course, the Hebrews don’t share this information with the Egyptians, so only the Egyptian first born sons die. That’s enough for Pharaoh, he kicks Moses and his people out of the country.
In the desert, God says to Moses “from now on until the end of time I want you remember this day.” Here’s how they were to do it. They would eat bread without yeast for 7 days, and remember the lambs blood on the doorframe? Well, the slaughtered lamb was to be roasted and eaten. All of this was to be done while retelling the story.
So it continues for about 1,000 years. As it pertains to the Passover celebration, nothing much changed in all that time. Until Jesus sets his disciples down in the upper room and says “I have eagerly been waiting for this day”. Then He explains to them (although they didn’t understand) that HE is the lamb this time. It’s because of HIS blood that the angel of death will not be seeking us out. When the blood of Christ is figuratively “painted” over our lives, we are “passed over” by the death angel. This is why Christians talk about being “under the blood”. Just like the blood of Christ is something to be celebrated, The body of Christ is something to be devoured. And as Jesus gives them the bread He says “this is my body broken for you, do this as often as you remember me” and then He eats the bread. They Hebrews ate the lamb, and we eat the bread which represents the Lamb. The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
Suddenly, 1,000 years of celebrating an ancient event has come full circle and has new meaning. Not only meaning, but depth, because you understand that God has been planning this very day for over 1,000 years. And, if our feeble minds can even comprehend this…go back to Genesis 3:21 where God makes clothing from animal skins….I would bet that God slaughtered lambs for those skins. God planned redemption from the very beginning. He is forgiving, and loving and so very patient.
I love to re-read the passage in this chapter where Jesus says to Peter “after you have repented,…” Jesus knows that Peter will come up short, and He knows that Peter will repent and God will restore Him. It doesn’t mean that God caused Peter to sin, or that Peter doesn’t have to voice his repentance, since God knows He is sorry. No, he still has to act on his own.
But God has told Peter in advance that His death would count for him. Even though Peter has denied him, and sworn that he doesn’t know Him, God is still willing to die for Peter. And God is willing to die for you and I in the same way. In fact, the Bible says that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.
What a Savior! The next time you receive communion, whether it’s every week, every quarter or once a year, remember that it signifies what Christ did for YOU, not just for Peter, or for the Hebrews, but for YOU. His blood and His body broken for your sins. And as you receive the communion elements, you accept Jesus Christ into your life. So take communion seriously, and thankfully….but never carelessly. Some folks were receiving communion without being repentant for their sins…and it made them fatally ill.
There’s a happy note to leave on for today….
Blessings to you as you receive the One who insulates us against death!
Receiving Jesus with thanksgiving,
PR