As we celebrate this week of Passover, check-out these five hidden Hebraic mysteries that identify Jesus as our Passover Lamb!
1. A lamb was the required Passover sacrifice.
Lamb: God told Moses to have each
family choose a perfect, spotless lamb from
their herd to be a substitute-sacrifice for the sins of their family. (Exodus 12:3)
Jesus: The bible tells us that Jesus
led a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15) – making Him the perfect and only Sacrifice to
take our place and remove our sins (John 1:29).
2.
Each family took the Passover lamb into their house four days before it was
sacrificed.
Lamb: After choosing a lamb to be
sacrificed for the sins of the household, the family would bring the lamb into
their home to live with them for four days prior to the sacrifice. In fact,
Jewish tradition goes on to tell us that they would name, handle and play with the lamb, essentially making it a family pet. All of this was done
to assure that each family member would personally feel the impact, sacrifice and loss at the death
of the lamb. (Exodus 12:3,6)
Jesus: The Bible is specific to inform us that exactly four days before His
crucifixion, Jesus entered Jerusalem with people praising Him and calling Him by name. Jesus then ministered throughout the city, giving the hometown crowd the opportunity to personally meet, connect with and "handle" Him before His crucifixion. (Matthew 21:1-11)
3.
The Passover lamb was roasted upright on a stake.
Lamb: Jewish tradition tells us that one of the required regulations for
preparing the Passover lamb was for it to be roasted and placed upright on a spit or a stake. Another stick was inserted across the shoulders to spread the front legs wide-open. Many
rabbinic sources admit not understanding the exact purpose behind the mandatory upright, wide-open ‘posture’ of the lamb other than to fully cook the lamb.
Jesus: To Christians, the purpose of this command paints a vivid, undeniable picture of Jesus crucified up-right with His arms stretched open - suspended between
heaven and earth on the cross. (Matthew 27)
4.
The Passover lamb was to have no bones broken.
Lamb: Specific instruction was given
by God to Moses to not break any bones of the lamb. (Exodus 12:46)
Jesus: What would be the illogical purpose in 'not breaking a bone of the lamb' other than to foreshadow a specific detail of Jesus' sacrifice? Remember - the bible takes specific effort to inform us that not one of Jesus' bones were broken throughout His crucifixion process. Just interesting... or intentional? (Psalms 34:20, John 19:31-37)
5.
The Passover lamb’s intestines were placed on top of lamb's head.
Lamb: Rabbinic writings (Mishnah - tracte Pesahim) tell of the required procedures in preparing the lamb, accompanied by a curious Jewish tradition of placing the lamb's intestines atop of its head as it stood upright on the stake. No real purpose was identified, yet for centuries, the Passover lamb was adorned with a type of 'head covering' - called the "crown of the Passover lamb".
Jesus: One of the brutal elements intended to mock and torture Jesus during His crucifixion was to have a 'crown of thorns' placed on His head. Again, looking back to the lamb's intestine-covered head, it is easy to see the foreshadowing of the crown Jesus would one day wear on His head as He hung suspended between heaven and earth. (John 19:2)
Please understand that many, many more parallels and connections could be made to identify Jesus, the "Lamb of God", to the Passover lamb mentioned in Exodus. However, Hebrews 10:1-18 identifies the one glaring difference... Jesus is the 'ultimate and final sacrifice' and His death as the "Lamb of God", the final Passover sacrifice, has atoned for the sins of all mankind for eternity!
Chag Sameach! (Happy Passover!)
