The Passover Ritual, Part 2

By Bruce K. Waltke

[Bruce Waltke is Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Knox Theological Seminary, Fort Lauderdale, and professor emeritus of biblical studies at Regent College, Vancouver. During his professional career he also held professorships in Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, and Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando.

This is article two in a three-part series on the Passover ritual. In their original form the articles were a series of evangelistic radio addresses delivered in the 1960s on “Heritage,” a radio program produced by Haddon W. Robinson for Dallas Seminary. They are published here for the first time by permission of Bruce K. Waltke.]

Chapter 2: The Typology Of The Passover

An Exposition Of Exodus 12:1–11

Introduction

In this series of articles we are considering the Passover ritual, a ritual celebrated by the Israelites centuries ago. The details for the instructions of this ritual are given to us in Exodus 12:1–11. In this passage God gives detailed instructions to the Israelites on how to kill a lamb, how to take of its blood and strike it upon their homes, how to cook it, and how to eat it.

Now I think it is perfectly obvious to all of us that the Bible is neither a handbook for butchers on how to kill lambs, nor a cook book on how to prepare a good lamb dinner. As we shall see, when God prescribed this ritual for the Israelites, they and the whole land of Egypt were under a sentence of death. Surely on such an ominous occasion as this, God was not telling his people how to prepare a tasty lamb dinner.

In fact, to my taste it wouldn’t be a very good dinner at all. As we shall see, the lamb was charred black, even as the Samaritans serve it to this day. The side dishes were bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Now quite candidly, I hope you never invite me to your home for charred lamb, a bitter salad, and matzah. Obviously God had something else in mind than just a lamb dinner.

Is it not more reasonable to suppose that this supper was more like the Lord’s supper, which we celebrate in our churches? When we eat the bread or wafer, and drink the wine or grape juice, we are not eating a meal as we eat any other meal. In fact the apostle Paul told the Corinthians that if they ate the Lord’s supper just to feed their bodies, they actually were eating and drinking damnation to themselves instead of nourishment for their bodies. In a word, we eat the Lord’s supper to teach ourselves and remind ourselves of spiritual truths. The bread reminds us of the body of Jesus Christ, and the red grape juice or wine reminds us of the blood of Jesus Christ. So likewise, God gave the Passover ritual to the Israelites to teach them and us spiritual truth.

Before we begin to consider these spiritual truths, I think we should also observe that while God prescribes many of the details for the enactment of the ritual, we would discover, if we actually tried to carry it out, that to a large extent we would have to improvise, for there is much left unsaid concerning the enactment of the ritual. Therefore, does it not seem plausible to assume that every prescribed detail had some spiritual significance?—otherwise God would not have bothered to give the explicit instruction.

The Passover Lamb: A Type Of Christ

Now the whole ritual revolved around the killing and eating of a lamb. What is the lamb a picture of? What does it stand for? As a Christian I believe that the lamb represents the Lord Jesus. But perhaps you are saying, how in the world did you come to that conclusion? And perhaps you are continuing to argue, “As I understand it, our Jewish neighbors who do celebrate the Passover don’t believe in Jesus Christ. How can we be sure then that the lamb is a picture of Jesus?”

The Testimony Of The Apostle Paul

There are several considerations that convince me that the lamb is a type of Jesus Christ. The first reason I believe the Passover lamb represents Jesus of Nazareth is because the apostle Paul, who was the greatest theologian this world has ever heard, said that the lamb is a picture of Jesus Christ. To the church at Corinth he wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:7 “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.” What the Passover lamb was to the Israelites of a bygone day, Christ is to the believer today. So then, the Passover lamb sacrificed by Israel is a picture of Jesus Christ, the Passover lamb sacrificed for the church.

It is interesting to note that while God explains to the Israelites the spiritual meaning of the side dish, the unleavened bread, he does not reveal in the Old Testament the spiritual significance of the main dish, the lamb. In a future article we shall speak on the spiritual significance of the unleavened bread. But is it not strange that the significance of the main dish is never once stated? This silence certainly must have excited the curiosity of the Israelites, even as it excites our curiosity today. In reality, he could not indicate the significance or the deeper meaning behind the symbol of the lamb to the Israelites because they had never experienced or seen the reality behind the symbol. But after Jesus Christ, his Son, had lived and died, and the Israelites had seen him firsthand, the symbol could be explained as the apostle Paul has done for us in 1 Corinthians 5:7.

The Testimony Of Jesus Christ

In the second place, we not only have the clear teaching of the inspired apostle, but Jesus Christ himself intimated that the lamb was a picture of himself. You may recall that our Lord deliberately instituted the Lord’s supper, the bread and the cup, while he and his disciples were celebrating the Passover supper. At one point in the Passover ritual the unleavened bread is broken and distributed among the family. It was probably at this time that our Lord took the bread and said, “This is my body which is given for you” (Luke 22:19). At another point in the ritual, a glass of wine is passed around to all these participating in the Passover. It was probably on this occasion that our Lord said, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). The Lord’s supper sprang directly out of the Passover supper. In this way our Lord was showing the unity of the two suppers. Both spoke of him and his death. The Passover supper anticipated the cross; the Lord’s supper remembers the cross. For almost fourteen hundred years the Israelites ate the Passover supper in anticipation of his death. For two thousand years now the church has been eating the Lord’s supper in remembrance of his death.

The Testimony Of The Similarities

Moreover, there is a third reason why I believe the Passover lamb depicts Christ. Not only did the apostle Paul say so and did Christ intimate it, but also there are striking similarities between this Passover lamb and Jesus Christ. As we continue in this series, we shall continue to point out these similarities. Candidly, they are just too striking and too many to be accidental. It is really these similarities that have convinced Christians throughout the ages that the lamb is a picture of Christ. Let us look at one striking similarity: both the Passover lamb and our Lord were slain for precisely the same reason.

One Striking Example Of The Similarities:

Both The Passover Lamb And Jesus Christ Were Slain For The Same Reason

Pharaoh’s Refusal To Liberate The Enslaved People Of Israel

Why did the Israelites slay the Passover lamb? At the time God instituted the Passover ceremony, the Israelites had been exiles in Egypt for 430 years. Toward the end of this period of time, the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves and imposed hard labor upon them. The Israelites had to build Egyptian temples and large public buildings. Even today archaeologists are probably discovering the remains of some of these colossal buildings which the Israelites had to build under forced labor for the Pharaohs. The Egyptians made them serve as slaves in their fields. In all these labors they treated them ruthlessly. For example, they set the quota of bricks beyond human capabilities; and when the Israelites failed to achieve these prescribed quotas, the Egyptians beat then, flogged them, and even put them to death. Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, also ordered that all the Israelite male babies be killed at the time of birth for he feared the Israelite population explosion (Ex. 1:8–22).

When God saw the affliction of the Israelites, he had compassion upon them and through Moses demanded that Pharaoh let the Israelites go. But Pharaoh refused. In response to this refusal, God sent horrible plagues upon Egypt which decimated their land (Ex. 5:1; chs. 7–10).

The Lord’s Warning Of Judgment Upon The Firstborn In Egypt

But when Pharaoh continued to harden his heart and obstinately refused to let the people go, God finally said to Pharaoh through Moses that every firstborn male in Egypt would die at midnight on the night of approximately April 14, 1400 bc. So we read in Exodus 11:4–6, “Moses said, Thus says the Lord, ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again.’” In reality the plague of death was imposed upon both the Egyptians and the Israelites.

The Lord’s Instruction To Slay The Passover Lamb

It was not God’s desire to judge men in this way, however. God does not delight in bringing death upon any man. Thus God warned them that this judgment was coming; and even more than that, he provided a way of escape from the threatened judgment. He instructed the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb and to strike the blood of the lamb on the two side posts and on the upper door post of their houses. If this were done, God promised them in Exodus 12:13, “The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” In summary, God instructed the Israelites to slay the Passover lamb in order that they might escape the threatened judgment of death.

The Lord’s Plan That Christ Be Slain To Deliver Us From The Sentence Of Death

For precisely the same reason, God ordained that our Lord Jesus Christ be slain upon the cross. Today every man, including you and me, is under a sentence of death. We all took part in the original rebellion of our parents, Adam and Eve, against God. From those first parents an inherent sin nature has been passed on to each of us. Even at the time of our conception sin was already present in us (Ps. 51:5). This sinful nature expresses itself in our bitter attitudes toward other men, in our wars, in our lying and our cheating, in our lustful acts, in our pride, and in our scoffing attitudes toward a future judgment. Because of these sins, God has threatened eternal judgment and damnation upon every man.

It is a popular notion that we have our judgment in this life. It just isn’t true. It isn’t true either according to our experience or according to the Scriptures. Many wicked people die at a ripe old age in prosperity and in a condition which we would normally call successful. This philosophy that we have our judgment in this life is also contrary to the Word of God. God said in Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” That judgment is described in Revelation 20:13–15: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Jesus Christ, Our Passover Lamb, Saves Us From Coming Judgment

But it was never God’s desire to judge men in this way. Isaiah says that judgment is God’s “strange work” (Isa. 28:21, KJV). As in the days of Israel, so now, God has provided a Passover lamb. That lamb is Jesus Christ. He died to save us from the coming judgment. Like the Passover lamb of Israel, he died in our place; he bore our judgment upon the cross. He died to save us from the coming judgment in precisely the same way the Passover lamb died to save Israel from God’s promised judgment.

For these three reasons then (the testimony of Paul, the testimony of the Lord Jesus, and the testimony of the similarities), I believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Passover lamb; that Jesus Christ has provided a way of escape from the judgment to come.

Summary: The Blood Of The Lamb Must Be Applied

But the Israelites had to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to their homes in order to be saved from that judgment. So we too must apply the blood of Christ to our homes if we are to be saved from the threatened judgment. Obviously we cannot literally take his blood and strike it upon our homes. That was merely an outward symbol of their faith in the lamb. So we too must place our faith in our lamb, Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The apostle Paul says, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5). Christ has died for you and me. It now remains for us to trust him. Paul says in Acts 16:31 to a man who desired to be saved, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” I pray that God will give you the grace to trust the lamb that he has provided for you, which is Jesus Christ, his Son.

Chapter Three: The Supply Of The Lamb

Introduction

Before putting our two-year-old daughter to bed, my wife or I usually read her a few bed-time stories. Of course the books are filled with pictures which our little girl loves to look at and study. As we get older, we really don’t change too much, do we? Most of us, when we read through a book or magazine, linger on the pictures and briefly skim the narrative that accompanies the pictures. Many times we find photographs are more fascinating and actually more revealing than theaccompanying narrative. The Bible is somewhat like a picture book; it is filled with pictures and accompanying theological narrative. The Passover ritual serves as one picture in God’s picture book. It is a picture of our salvation and sanctification through Jesus Christ, as the accompanying theological narrative in the Bible explains.

When we see a photograph or drawing that is very sharp and filled with detail, we study it all the more closely. The Passover ritual is such a photograph or drawing. It is very sharp and filled with many details. This picture is found in Exodus 12:1–14. As we look at this wondrous picture more closely, we discover that it has two main parts. The first part, verses 3–7, focuses on the slaying of a lamb. The second part, recorded in verses 8–11, focuses on the supper of the lamb. The first part, focusing on the slaying of the lamb, depicts truths with regard to our salvation. The second part, focusing on the supper, or the eating of the lamb, depicts truths with regard to our sanctification through Jesus Christ.

If we look still more closely at this picture, we discover even smaller details in it. In the section focusing on the slaying of the lamb in Exodus 12:3–7 there are four sub-divisions. In Exodus 12:3–4 God gives instructions concerning the supply of the lamb. In verse 5 and the first part of verse 6 God gives instructions concerning the standard for the lamb. At the end of verse 6 he gives instructions concerning the slaying of the lamb. Finally, in verse 7 he gives instructions concerning the sprinkling of the blood of the lamb. Thus to help our memory, we have alliterated the content of these verses:

• The Supply of the Lamb, verses 3–4
• The Standard for the Lamb, verses 5–6a
• The Slaying of the Lamb, verse 6b
• The Sprinkling of the Lamb’s Blood, verse 7

Of course we must keep in mind, as we sought to demonstrate in earlier messages, that the lamb of this ritual is a picture of Jesus Christ, our lamb for our salvation and sanctification. But now let’s look at our picture through a magnifying glass. In this chapter I wish to center our attention on the supply of the lamb, prescribed in verses 3–4. There are two truths I wish to bring out here. The first truth I want us to notice is this: the supply was sufficient.

The Supply Of The Lamb Was Sufficient

You will recall that prior to this God had said through his prophet Moses that on April 14 at midnight of the year 1400 bc he would go forth among the Egyptians and the Israelites to slay every firstborn male in the country of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the slave girl who labored behind the mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. But God also said that there was a way of salvation. God said that he would spare the oldest son if the family sacrificed a lamb and threw the blood of that lamb on the entrances to their homes. God went on to say, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you” (Ex. 12:13).

Now suppose you had been there on this historic day. Suppose this mighty prophet Moses, who had predicted other supernatural events, all of which had come to pass in an uncanny fashion, said to you: “You are going to die at midnight unless you sacrifice a lamb.” What would you do? Or suppose Jean Dickson [nationally know for her annual predictions during the second half of the twentieth century], who prophesied the assassination of the late President Kennedy, said to you: “Tonight you are going to die unless you kill a lamb and splatter some of its blood on the door of your home.” What would you do? I think the first thing you would do is that you would make sure you had a lamb.

As I read this narrative in verse 3, I discover that everyone who wanted to be saved had a lamb. There was a lamb for every house. Look at verse 3. God said, “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.’” The word that catches my attention is the word “each one.” This implies that there was a lamb for every man who wished to be saved. God would not have instructed every man to take a lamb unless one were available. God does not mock us. He does not ask us to do something which we are not able to do. Therefore when God instructs every man to take a lamb, I presume that there was a sufficient supply. No one died that midnight because he lacked a lamb; he only died because he failed to apply the blood of the lamb.

The accompanying narrative to this picture explains the relevance of the picture to us today. We too, all of us, are under a sentence of death.

Do you remember that Jesus Christ, who did far greater miracles than Moses, and prophesied with far more precision than Jean Dickson, warned of the danger of hell fire? In Matthew 5:21 he said, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ (or “simpleton”) shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matt. 5:22). Again in verses 27–28 he said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” He then went on to say that it is better that our bodies be destroyed, or one of its members be destroyed, than that the whole body be cast into hell (Matt. 5:29–30). Who of us has not been angry? Who of us has not had an immoral thought? We all have, and hence we all are in danger of hell. But there is a lamb, a lamb who can save you; and the supply is sufficient. That lamb is Jesus Christ. He died for every man.

The apostle John says in 1 John 2:2, “And Jesus is the satisfaction for our sins; and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Christ died for all the sins of every man. The supply is sufficient. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” Did you notice the last clause? The great apostle said, “I am the chief of sinners.” Just before this he wrote that he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious. That is an accurate statement. Before his conversion, Paul was responsible for the death of many Christians, and yet God saved him and changed this chief of sinners into the chief of missionaries and apostles. If Christ died for Paul and saved him, be assured, my friend, that he also died for you and can save you. In the next verse, 1 Timothy 1:16, Paul says: “I am a pattern for them which should hereafter believe on Him to everlasting life.” If He died for the chief of sinners then he also died for you. Later on in the same epistle (1 Tim. 2:4), the great apostle wrote that God “desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” In 1 Timothy 2:6 he wrote that Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom for all. The apostle Peter also agrees with the apostles John and Paul that Christ died for every man, for he wrote in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” That includes you. Christ died for you, and now God only asks that you trust in his lamb Jesus Christ as the one that died for you and provided salvation for you through his blood.

The Supply Of The Lamb Was Precious And Not To Be Wasted

Now, let’s take a look at the picture again under our magnifying glass. This time I want us to notice that the supply was not only sufficient but precious, and was not to be wasted Let us look closely at Exodus 12:4. There we read, “And if the household be too little for the lamb let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according unto the number of souls every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.”

Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived in the 1st century ad, tells us that an average lamb could feed between ten and fourteen people. Now the problem arose that there were some small families in those days with less than ten to fourteen people. Perhaps a family was very small (and of course you understand that these are purely relative terms) and had only five or seven people. What were they to do with the leftover lamb? Should they keep it over for another meal or should they throw it away? Or just what should they do with it? God said in effect, “No, you must not keep it over and you must not throw it away; it is too precious for that. Rather you are to share it with your neighbor” (cf. Ex. 12:4). Perhaps a neighboring family also had five or seven people. Then the two families were to come together and entirely consume the lamb. We do the same thing sometimes at our Thanksgivings and Christmas. We share the dinner with others. Thus the Israelites were to share the lamb, for it was precious and was not to be wasted.

The accompanying narrative informs us that our lamb, Jesus Christ, is the precious Lamb of God, and He, too, must not be wasted. Though he died for all and this supply is sufficient, let no man count him a common thing to be refused or despised or treated indifferently. He is precious to God. The writer of Hebrews makes the point exceedingly clear when he wrote in Hebrews 10:29: “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” Did you get that? The person who tramples underfoot the Son of God—that is, he despises Jesus Christ and rejects him or treats him indifferently, and counts his blood a common thing, that is, he considers that his blood is no more precious than the blood of any other man, and he rejects the promptings of the Holy Spirit that he ought to place his faith in Jesus Christ—that person, God says, will receive greater punishment in the day of judgment than the person who never heard of the salvation through Jesus Christ. Like the blood of the Passover lamb, the blood of Jesus Christ is exceedingly precious and must not be wasted.

Conclusion

Have you ever seen a picture of the great Sphinx of Egypt? It is the colossal statue with the body of a lion and the head of a human being. The Sphinx was fashioned almost five thousand years ago. It is one of the rare relics from antiquity and is undoubtedly one of the most precious statues on this earth. Until just a few years ago this precious statue, formed many centuries and even millennia ago, had been preserved in perfect condition. But after all these many years, fairly recently, soldiers quartered in that area of Egypt senselessly shot off its nose and marred its face.[1] As we look at that marred image we feel a sense of outrage. These senseless soldiers who had no eye for or understanding of the beauty or value of this masterpiece destroyed it. Or have you ever seen a serene lake surrounded by wooded glens, but littered with beer bottles and tin cans? Such a sight as this sickens us, for we realize that some person has had no sense of appreciation for the beauty of nature. The way we feel when we see something beautiful marred and destroyed must reflect something of how God feels when he sees somebody indifferently or deliberately reject and despise his Son, Jesus Christ. He is exceedingly precious, and God desires us to value him. Do you see the value of Jesus Christ? He is God’s Passover lamb for you. May you not trample his blood underfoot in indifference or throw him away in complete rejection. May God give you the grace to trust the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, to save you.

Notes

1. The popular story is that Napoleon’s soldiers used the Sphinx for target practice in 1798.