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The Lord's Deliverance

This month we celebrate Easter and Passover.  Passover commemorates the exodus of the Hebrew people from captivity in Egypt and Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, God's Son from the dead.  Both are celebrations of the Lord's deliverance of His people. 

In conjunction with Passover, the Hebrews also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the name of the observance of the two collectively called Passover. In the Book of Exodus we can read about the Feast of Unleavened Bread to get the sense of it:

"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months:  it shall be the first month of the year to you.  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, in the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb according to the house of the fathers, a lamb for an house:  and if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:  ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:  and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month:  and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two wide posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.  Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.  And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.  And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste:   it is the Lord's passover.  For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment:  I am the Lord.  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are:  and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.  Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses:  for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.  And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt:  therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses:  for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land."  Exodus 12:1-19

The first thing we notice here is the lack of leaven or yeast.  In the Bible, leaven symbolizes sin.  The Hebrew people do not realize the symbolism of their actions, but God is painting a picture of redemption.  The people are told to put out the leaven.  Then they are told to prepare a lamb to sacrifice.  The lamb must be closely watched for a period of four days to make sure it had no infirmities.  The lamb was probably kept with the family during this time frame.  On the fourteenth day the lamb was killed.  Descriptions of the execution of the lamb are astounding in its gentleness.  The lamb's throat is cut with a very sharp knife so quickly that the lamb is unaware of what has happened.  The blood is drained into a basin most likely.  God instructed the people to paint the side door posts and the upper door post with the blood, the shape of the cross.  Then the lamb was to be roasted and eaten.  Each home with the sign of the cross painted with the lamb's blood was spared from God's judgment of death to the firstborn.  From this day (the fourteenth) to the twenty-first day, no leaven was eaten.  This was to be a memorial of what God had done for the Hebrew people in delivering them from the Egyptians.

Believers too celebrate a special time of deliverance by God, Easter. Jesus demonstrated the connection between the Passover and Easter.  Consider this account of the last supper:

"Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.  And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Him; for they feared the people.  Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being the number of the twelve.  And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.  And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.  And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray Him unto them in the absence of the multitude.  Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, 'go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.'  And they said unto Him, 'where wilt thou that we prepare?'  And He said unto them, 'behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.  And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, the Master saith unto thee, where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?  And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished:  there make ready.'  And they went, and found as He had said unto them:  and they made ready the passover.  And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  And He said unto them, 'With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.'  And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, 'Take this, and divide it among yourselves:  for I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.'  And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you:  this do in remembrance of me.'  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.'"  Luke 22:1-20

Here we see the Passover being celebrated by Jesus and the Disciples, but with a twist.  He takes up the unleavened bread and likens it to His body.  This would indicate His sinlessness.  Next He takes up the cup, likening it to His blood.  His blood was shed on the cross, purging the penalty for sin God's Law requires.  Jesus took on the role of sacrificial lamb; one without blemish.  Like the passover lamb, Jesus had been watched and found blameless by His disciples, then one of His own betrayed Him, delivering Him into the hands of His executioners.  Remember the Lamb was slain by the family it had come to love for their salvation from God's wrath. 

Conclusion...

With Jesus' crucifixion, we saw the Lamb of God slain.  Unlike the sacrificial passover lamb which had to be sacrificed yearly, Jesus' death and resurrection occurred once.  What Jesus did satisfied God's Law for all time.  His resurrection signified His triumph over death and judgment, for now Believers will have eternal life, reconciled to God because their sin is forgiven. 

Where's the proof? 

The much beloved disciple, John, wrote John the Baptist's account of Jesus coming near to him.  John the Baptist testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God because He saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus following His baptism.  He identified Jesus as the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world.

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29

"And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God."  John 1:34

John wrote of the account of finding Jesus' tomb empty, and of Jesus coming into the room with the disciples, alive and well.  In fact in the Book of Acts, we read that Jesus was seen over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3), and in Corinthians we read that Jesus was seen after His resurrection by over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:6). 

Truly, Jesus is the Son of God and is ALIVE!  He is our Deliverer from the penalty of sin.  He is the living, resurrected Savior and Lord of all.