Jesse Tree: Passover Lamb (December 9, 2014)

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I have yet to write the children's version of this story, though it can be found in Exodus, chapters 12:1 to 14:3. But for you, set aside this time to consider the Passover, a sacrifice and feast that would be celebrated each year. A remembrance of all that had come to pass. As the Israelites consumed the meal it signified even more than they knew. It prophesied of another lamb that would give up its life for our freedom and mark the doors of our hearts for God.

Day 9:  Israelites Saved (Exodus 12:1 – 14:3)

Yesterday we read that the Egyptians believed the goddess Isis could cure the sick and bring the dead back to life, but on the night of the 10th plague every first born son in the land of Egypt died and she could not interfere.  God's righteous judgment had come upon Egypt.  No other sign could have turned their hearts to him, but now they knew that YAHWEH is the One True God.

You may be wondering what happened to the Israelites?
Did their sons face the same fate?

We will need to go back a little, to when God sent Moses to warn Pharaoh of this one final plague with which he would judge the Egyptians and all in the land, revealing once and for all his justice and mercy.

Moses stood before Pharaoh.

This is what YAHWEH says:  At midnight I will go throughout Egypt and death will come to every first born son in Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh to the firstborn son of the female slave, even the firstborn of the cattle will not be spared.   There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt--worse than there ever has been or ever will be again.  But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.  Then you will know that YAHWEH makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.  Your officials will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, "GO, you and and all the people who follow you!" And when they do, I will leave.  

Moses left Pharaoh, and oh, he was so angry!  Pharaoh had refused to obey YAHWEH nine times and he would receive no more chances.  He had been warned.  God planned to kill every firstborn son in Egypt, and only after that would Pharaoh be convinced - so convinced that he would force them to leave - he would drive them out of the land completely!

Then YAWHEH told Moses and the Israelites to ask their Egyptian neighbors for things made from gold and silver, and you know what?  The Egyptian magicians and people had come to have such respect for YAHWEH, and Moses, and God's people that they DID give them their gold and silver things!  Has the heart of Egypt changed? Even while the heart of Pharaoh is rock hard?
 

But YAHWEH had reminded Moses that all along, while it looked like Pharaoh was in control, refusing to let them go, that it was all a part of God's plan to save the Israelites from slavery.  It was a part of his plan to defeat the false gods of Egypt and reveal himself as the One True God.  It was part of his plan to make his name known - yes to Moses, to Israel, but also to the Egyptians, and to Pharaoh.  No one in the land would have any doubt that he is YAHWEH, the One True God.  It was YAHWEH who had hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he could do all these wonderful things!  God is always in control, even when things seem like they're going wrong!

God planned for them to remember what would happen next FOREVER.  He told Moses about a new Feast they were to share each year in the month of Nisan.  The Passover.

This month, Nisan, will become the first month of the year.  It will be your new year.  Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a male lamb for his family, one for each household.  Make sure that it is just enough to feed your household.  No more.  The lamb should be a pure and spotless lamb without defect, and it must be a year old.  

God went on to tell them his plan, and what this lamb had to do with it.  

Take the lamb into your household and care for it for fourteen days.

Can you imagine it?  Living with a cute, little, fluffy, sweet, innocent lamb?  It just might make a good pet!  But God wasn't finished yet.  This arrangement couldn't go on forever.

He continued...

After you have cared for your lamb for fourteen days, on the fourteenth day all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.  You must kill your lamb.  It is part of my plan to save you!

What God would say next was VERY important.
For the Israelites it would mean the difference between life and death.

Once you have killed the lamb, here is what you must do: take some of the blood and put it on the sidese and tops of the doorframes of your houses.  You must eat the lamb - the whole lamb, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.  Do not leave any of it till morning; if any of it is left over, you must burn it.  You must eat it quickly, with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals already on your feet and your staff in your hand.  This is YAHWEH's Passover.

On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals.  I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt.  I... AM... YAHWEH.

The Israelites bowed down and worshipped him. 

They ate the meal ready to run - fully dressed, sandals on, and walking stick in hand.  They were to eat it quickly because the Angel of Death was coming.  If they opened the door at night, the Angel of Death wouldn't pass over their house.  It would come inside.  But if they were shut inside as God commanded, the blood of the lamb would protect them.  God was finally going to finish his work, judging Egypt and all their false gods, but if the Israelites failed to obey they would be judged right along with the Egyptians! 

They obeyed him.  Every word.  And it happened just as YAHWEH had said.

The meal they shared that day, the Passover Meal, would be shared each year.  A remembrance of all that had come to pass.  A celebration that would mean even more than they realized, as it prophesied another lamb that would give up its life for their freedom and mark the doors of their hearts as belonging to God. 

We are awaiting the birth of this little lamb.  Jesus Christ, our Savior!

He came into the world as a babe.  He grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.  And John, when he saw Jesus coming his way cried out, "Behold!  The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" 

One year, as the Passover approached, the chief priests and teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus.  They hated him, and wanted him gone.  There was a spiritual battle going on.  The devil was about his plan to get rid of Jesus, and his demons were busily trying to bring about this evil plan.  Then, Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples.  

Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and they talked about how Judas might betray Jesus.  They were more than happy to pay him if he would, and Judas agreed.  He watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when there weren't too many people around.  

Then came the day the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed.  The day they would remember how the lamb died to save them from bondage.

On this night Jesus shared the meal with his disciples.  Perhaps it looked something like the Seder meal that Jews share for Passover.  Perhaps it went something like this:

Jesus stood up and spoke to his disciples.  Today is the 14th day of Nisan.  The Passover.  Tonight, the Passover Lamb is sacrificed and we remember how the lamb died so our firstborn sons wouldn't have to.  The blood of the lamb saved them from death!

All people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  And the penalty for sin is death!  All people deserve to die!  Examine your heart and confess any sin in your life now - and you will be saved.  Pray with me.  

YAHWEH, Father, your people have sinned before you.  Please forgive them.  Renew your people so that we can live a holy life for you.  Amen.

My dear friends, I have been eagerly waiting to eat this Passover Meal with you before I suffer.  I will not get to eat another Passover meal with you again until the feast is fulfilled at the end of time!

Jesus lit a candle.

My friends, this candle represents the Law - the true law - that is written in the Bible.  Follow all of God's laws!

He lit a second.

This candle represents the prophets who spoke the truth of God to us, even when it was hard for us to hear.  Always speak the truth as they did.

I am the Light of the World - I am the Word of Truth that brings light to the world.  I fulfill all that was written in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms.  I will bring to light the fullness of what the Bible means!  Remember the word of God! 

Jesus filled a cup with wine. 

Each Passover we fill our cup four times.  The cup reminds us of the four reasons that YAHWEH saved the Israelites from slavery.  

YAHWEH saved the Israelites to save us from hardship.  YAWHEH freed us from being slaves.  YAWHEH judged the gods of Egypt with his power.  YAHWEH is our God, and he chose us to be his own people.

Now, I will do all this for you.

I will save you from the hardship that sin has brought upon you and the world.

I will free you from your bondage to sin.

I will take the wrath and judgement of God that you deserve onto myself.

I will take you to be my own as I go to prepare a place for you, so that you can be with me one day in heaven.

Jesus held up the cup.

Baruch atah Adonai...  Blessed be the Lord.

This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.

And they drank.

He took the bread in his hands.

We have removed all the yeast from our houses and today we eat unleavened bread.  It reminds us that our people had to escape quickly when Pharaoh demanded that they leave.  There was not time to let yeast work its way through the whole batch of dough.  Not time to let it rise.

Sin is like yeast that spreads through the whole lump of dough.

I am the Bread of Life, and like this bread I have no yeast in me - I have never sinned.  I will break this bread because my body will be broken so that you may be whole.

Raising up the bread, Jesus prayed.

Baruch atah adonai...  Blessed be the Lord.

This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.

He broke the break, and each took some.

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.  But make sure that before you eat this bread that you've gotten rid of the yeast in your life.  If anyone eats this bread or drinks this cup while they still, knowingly harbour sin inside, will be guilty of sinning gainst my body and my blood.  

They choked down the lump of bread.

Jesus continued...

This roasted lamb bone represents the innocent lamb who died at the first Passover to save them from sin and from death. I am the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world!  Soon you will understand!

This horseradish is bitter to bring tears to our eyes, reminding us of how our people felt as slaves.  It also reminds us that we have been slaves to sin.  And we cry for the people we know who are still slaves to sin.  I have come to free you from that slavery.

Celery, green to remind us of spring.  A time of new life and new hope!  If you follow me you will become a new creation - I will give YOU new life!

And this bitter lettuce.  It reminds us of how sad it was that the innocent perfect lamb gave its life to save the firstborn son.  I will give up my life like that lamb.  I will suffer and die for you, to save your life.  For me it will be bitter and painful, but I love you, and I will do this for you.

They finished the meal with a sweetend mixture of apples, nuts, and spices.  

Brown, like the mortor the Israelites used to hold the bricks together, but it reminds us of how sweet it is that we are not slaves anymore!  I want to offer you the sweetness of freedom.  God has heard your cry, and he has sent me to save you!

Jesus hung his head.

Someone here has betrayed me.  Judas.  The time has come for me to die.

Perhaps it happened this way.  Or perhaps the disciples were left with the mystery of what all this meant, and his disciples would learn to piece it all together in his word, the Bible, only later.  But Jesus left us with a new feast to celebrate.  A new Passover Meal that is his body and blood.  The renewed covenant that calls us to live without sin!

"...For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Corinthians 5:7, 8)

It was on this basis that Christians were "not to associate with sexually immoral people - not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters.  In that case you would have to leave this world."  But Paul wrote that "you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexualluy immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler."  As Paul writes this he is dealing with an issue of incest in the church - that even the pagans do not tolerate!  While God judges those outside the church, Paul reminds us that we are to judge those inside, expelling the wicked person from among us so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.  

...We have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been temped in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

 This baby that we await is the Son of God who came to become a lamb,  a male lamb, a pure and spotless lamb, slaughtered in our place, whose blood stained the cross and now covers the door of our heart and frees us from the bondage of sin and death.

We have lived in a foreign land, far from him for so long.  We honor him with our lips but our hearts can be far from him.  We fall for human rules and forsake God's commands.  It can be hard to remember him.  Hard to remember his love.  His strength.  His overwhelming power.  His goodness.  Sometimes we forget the hope of freedom, and yet he never does.  It is ever on his mind.  Ever in his plan.  We wait for Christ to walk us out of this foreign land, so different from the one God formed, into the promised land of freedom, healing, salvation.  

Pray together:  

Lord God, when you come I will go with you!  I wait for you.  I hope in you.  I am yours.

Sing together:

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Maranatha Celtic)


Noel (Chris Tomlin)

Give me Jesus (Her Heart Sings Project)