Did you ever wonder why it is important why we spend time reading the Old Testament? In order to understand completely what God wants us to know, the Old Testament is essential to understanding the New Testament. Exodus and 1 Peter clearly link the Old Testament and New Testament. I teach a small group of people and when I agreed to teach, I started the group at Genesis 1:1. It is not possible to understand all that the Lamb did in the New Testament without understanding how God moved in the Old Testament.In Old Testament times, people were “redeemed” when someone paid money to buy their freedom. We all need a Redeemer. God’s plan is to “redeem” us from eternal damnation, not with money, but with the precious blood of his own Son – the Lamb of God. The Passover event began the message of redemption and redemption is the central theme of the Bible.
The Passover was the ‘first coming of the Lamb’ in some respects. It is important to grasp its significance. That Passover night, if you had the ‘blood of the Lamb’, God spared you from the Destroyer. The ‘second coming of the Lamb’ will again save those covered by the ‘blood of the Lamb’. Are you covered by the blood of Lamb - Jesus? Do you understand why He died for you? The Passover event delivered the Israelites from bondage. Jesus died on the cross (shedding His blood) to deliver us from our bondage. The Old Testament Passover was a foreshadowing of the New Testament event. In 2 Corinthians 5:7, Jesus is called our ‘Passover Lamb’.
The Passover is called the ‘feast of the unleavened bread’. On that night, no leavened bread was to be prepared or even to be kept in the house. Unleavened bread is bread without yeast; flat bread. Yeast makes bread rise. It is obvious that on the night of the Passover, God told the people to not add yeast because they would not have time for the yeast ingredient to work. Other things make leaving out the yeast significant. The unleavened bread set the Israelites apart as no other nation prepared bread without yeast. The unleavened bread indicated of purity whereas yeast indicated sin. Unleavened bread is ‘fresh’; it has no ‘past’. With leavened bread, it was common practice to save a little bit of leavened mixture and add this to a fresh batch of flour and water called a ‘starter’. The ‘starter’ reduced the rise time by quickening the chemical reaction. Symbolically, carrying forward a ‘starter’ carried forward old sins. Unleavened bread: fresh start; leavened bread: bringing the past forward.
Leavened bread was labor intensive. Unleavened bread was not. Significance: your personal salvation is not one of works. Jesus did that for you. Search the Scriptures and find that bread played a significant role during Israelite festivals. Jesus is called the ‘bread’ of life.
As the Passover night unfolded, the people ate quickly, prepared to leave immediately. This indicated the Israelite’s faith. God said be prepared to leave and they were. The New Testament states Jesus will return in the twinkling of an eye to claim His own. Are you ‘clothed’ and ready? Do you trust Jesus to do what He said He was going to do?
At midnight of the Passover night, God hovered over the land of Egypt and the Destroyer moved across the land. Only the Israelites, protected by the blood of the lamb, were saved. Just as the blood of the spotless lambs protected the Israelites from the angel of death, Jesus’ blood was shed to protect us from the destruction described in Revelation. By professing our faith in Him, we are covered by His blood. On the last day, God will judge every person who ever lived and will ‘look’ for the unblemished Lamb’s blood on you. If you are covered by the blood of the Lamb (have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice), God will protect you from the fires of Hell and will take you to live with Him for eternity.
The Passover lamb was a sacrifice; a substitute for the person who was saved from the Destroyer’s touch. The Israelites understood that to be spared from death, an innocent life had to be sacrificed in their place. A life that was spotless; without blemish.
We also must realize we cannot escape the penalty for sin (the wages of sin is death) without a Redeemer. Only then will we understand the “power of the blood” – shed by a spotless Lamb. Jesus paid for you with His precious lifeblood. He was the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” Jesus redeemed us on the cross. We need only trust Him and accept Him. Have you?
- - - Mr. Joseph Mcklemurry received his Masters in Biblical Studies with Trinity Seminary in Newburgh, Indiana and is an ordained minister serving as a praise and worship leader with Beautiful Feet Church in Fort Worth, Texas.
