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Author: Stephen Weller
592 words, 3 minutes read time

The Passover Lamb

In the previous lesson we considered possible days for the death of Jesus. In this lesson we will look at the Passover lamb and its application to Jesus.

What is Passover and how does it involve a lamb? In Exodus 12 we read about the original Passover: ¹ “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household.” (Exodus 12:1 – 3 ESV).

The month is called “Nisan” and a popular view for establishing Nisan 1 is the sighted new moon nearest (on either side of) the spring equinox. On Nisan 10 the lamb is chosen to become the Passover lamb. ⁵ “[That] lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, ⁶ and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month (Nisan 14), when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight” (Exodus 12:5 – 6 ESV).

⁷ “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it” (Exodus 12:7 – 8 ESV). That blood was to be a sign to God to pass over that house and not kill the firstborn. (Exodus 12:13). Since the next day of Nisan begins at sunset, they would be eating the meal on Nisan 15.

Years later when the Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem the animal was slain on the eve of the Passover, on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan. The sacrificial service took place in the courtyard of the Temple. If Nisan 10 was a Sunday when the lamb was chosen, on the week Jesus was crucified, then when it was slaughtered on Nisan 14 it would be Thursday with the meal that evening being eaten on Nisan 15, a Friday. The important point is the death of the lamb on Nisan 14, a Thursday in the example.

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 ESV). In 1 Corinthians 5:7, Jesus is referred to as our Passover lamb, for by his blood we are saved from death.

Conclusion

God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:2 ESV). On their way to the place where Abraham would offer up Isaac, Isaac asked where the lamb for the burnt offering was. Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So, they went both of them together” (Genesis 22:7 ESV). Just as God provided a substitute for Isaac, he provided a substitute for us in the person of Jesus, our Lamb of God.

Reference Material

The Death Angel
The Passover Lamb
Lamb Selection Day
Palm Sunday
Jesus the Lamb of God