“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.
The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 AMP
All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, [yet when] He was afflicted, He was submissive and opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth. Isaiah 53:6-7 AMP
But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot. 20 It is true that He was chosen and foreordained (destined and foreknown for it) before the foundation of the world, but He was brought out to public view (made manifest) in these last days (at the end of the times) for the sake of you. 21 Through Him you believe in (adhere to, rely on) God, Who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him honor and glory, so that your faith and hope are [centered and rest] in God. 1 Peter 1:19-21 AMP
At Passover, there were specific things that the Israelites were to do and specific procedures they had to follow. All this pointed to what Jesus would do and go through and was fulfilled in Him.
Comparison of the Passover lamb and Jesus, the Lamb of God:
1. Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover in this month (Deut 16:1).
“Abib was the Egyptian word for green ears, referring to the green barley that was offered as the firstfruits to God in that month. The Septuagint calls it the month of new things. Nisan is substituted for Abib after this. It means the month of flowers or blossoms” (Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible). On the 10th day of Abib, later called Nisan, a year-old sacrificial lamb was to be selected from the flock. The chief priests and the scribes were already looking for their opportunity to arrest Jesus secretly and kill Him without causing a riot, because Jesus was popular with the people (Mark 14:1-2).
2. Sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God, of the herd and the flock, in the place where God chooses to place His name (Deut. 16:2). Do not sacrifice the Passover in your homes, but at the place where the Lord shall choose to place His name (Deut. 16:6).
No family could observe the Passover in their own home. The lamb was to be sacrificed where God chose—Jerusalem—where the tabernacle was located. At the beginning of the week of Passover that culminated in the sacrifice of the perfect lamb, the disciples asked Jesus, the Lamb of God, “Where do You wish us to go and prepare the Passover supper for You to eat?” (Mark 14:12). This same 10th day was the day Jesus made His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem!
3. Thoroughly inspect the lamb for spot or blemish for 5 days (Ex 12:3+5).
Only perfect specimens were acceptable. The chief priests and the scribes had Jesus arrested. They cross-questioned Him ruthlessly and brought false accusations against Him, but no charge would stick and no fault was found. In spite of that, they dragged Him before Pilate to try to get him to do their dirty work. Pilate tried to have Him released, saying three times, “I find no fault in Him!” (John 18:38; John 19:4+6).
4. Eat no leavened bread with the Passover. Eat unleavened bread for seven days, during the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. Leavened bread shall not be seen in all your houses or land for seven days (Deut. 16:3-4).
Leaven—yeast—represented sin. Jesus had no sin in Him—He had been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning (He 4:15). The sin of the world was placed on Him. Hebrews 7:26 AMP says, “[Here is] the High Priest [perfectly adapted] to our needs, as was fitting—holy, blameless, unstained by sin, separated from sinners, and exalted higher than the heavens.” He took our place; He took our sin upon Himself; He gave us His life in exchange. 1 Corinthians 5:7 AMP says, “Purge (clean out) the old leaven that you may be fresh (new) dough, still uncontaminated [as you are], for Christ, our Passover [Lamb], has been sacrificed.” We must be washed in His blood and walk in purity before the Father.
5. Sacrifice the Passover at evening, before the sun goes down.
The acceptable animal was to be sacrificed on the evening of the 14th day—the ceremony led and initiated by the High Priest (Ex 12:6). The High Priest ordered Jesus to be crucified on this day.
6 PM was the start of the next day, so the lambs were slaughtered at 3 PM (the ninth hour of the day). At the exact time the lambs were killed, Jesus cried out to the Father and breathed out His last breath (Luke 23:44-46).
6. Roast and eat it in the chosen place and go to your tents in the morning (Deut. 16:7).
The lamb was to be roasted and eaten—symbolizing us partaking of His body—receiving all He has for us. We look to Him for life and sustenance; we live on His Word—not bread alone.
7. Neither shall the flesh of the animals sacrificed be left overnight (Ex 12:8-10).
Jesus was taken down from the cross and buried in haste, because preparation for the next day—the Sabbath—had already begun.
8. The leftovers were to be burned—nothing left behind.
For when the blood of animals is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin, the victims’ bodies are burned outside the limits of the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also suffered and died outside the [city’s] gate in order that He might purify and consecrate the people through [the shedding of] His own blood and set them apart as holy [for God]. Hebrews 13:11-12 AMP
9. Eat unleavened bread six days, and on the seventh day you shall have a solemn assembly to the Lord, and do no work on it (Deut. 16:8).
There is a rest for the people of God. “So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest reserved for the [true] people of God; 10 For he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own.” Hebrews 4:9-10 AMP
Thank God that He sent Jesus, the Lamb of God, Who was sacrificed for your sin and mine—so that we might have favor with God and receive, as a free gift, His grace and mercy.