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Flat crackers. A bitter herb. A lamb. A small leafy twig. Sandals and a walking stick. What could all these things possibly have in common?
They all belong to one meal, eaten on the most important night in Israel's history. Jewish families still remember that night every year at Passover. At the burning bush, God said he had come down to rescue his people. In this lesson you find out how, and you discover that the rescue costs something.
What you'll learn
- Why God sent the plagues on Egypt
- What happened on the night of the Passover, and why the blood of a lamb kept people safe
- Why Christians call Jesus "our Passover lamb"
Ten plagues and a hard heart
Moses went to Pharaoh with God's message: let my people go. Pharaoh refused, and made the slaves work even harder. So God sent plagues on Egypt: blood, frogs, gnats, flies, dead livestock, boils, hail, locusts and darkness. Each time, Pharaoh either refused or promised to let them go and then changed his mind (Exodus 5–11).
Two things help make sense of the plagues:
- They were a contest. Egypt worshipped gods of the Nile, the sun and the land. Through the plagues, God showed that he rules over all of them (Exodus 12:12).
- Pharaoh's heart grew hard. Sometimes Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exodus 8:15); sometimes God hardened it (Exodus 9:12). Each time Pharaoh said no, he became more fixed in his choice.
The tenth plague is the hardest part of the story: the death of the firstborn in Egypt. It is serious and sad, and it's OK to find it difficult. But notice three things. Pharaoh himself had ordered Israel's baby boys to be killed (Exodus 1:22). God had warned him long before, and gave nine warnings first (Exodus 4:22–23). And God gave a way to be safe, open to anyone who trusted his word.
The night of the Passover
God gave Israel careful instructions for that night (Exodus 12:1–14). Each one meant something:
| What God told them to do | Why it mattered |
|---|---|
| Choose a lamb for each household (12:3–4). | Every family needed a lamb. No one was safe without one. |
| A year-old male, without any defect (12:5). | It had to be perfect, the best they had. |
| Kill it at twilight (12:6). | The lamb died. |
| Put its blood on the doorframe with a twig of hyssop (12:7, 22). | The blood showed that a death had already happened in that house. |
| Eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (12:8). | Bitter herbs recalled the bitterness of slavery. Flat bread meant there was no time to wait for dough to rise. |
| Eat dressed to travel, sandals on, staff in hand (12:11). | Be ready. Rescue is coming tonight. |
| Remember it every year (12:14, 26–27). | So every child would ask about it, and hear the story. |
Then comes the key verse:
"The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." (Exodus 12:13)
The key idea: a substitute
So what kept a family safe that night? Being an Israelite? Being a good person? Look again at verse 13. What God looks for is the blood.
The Israelites weren't safe because they were better than the Egyptians. They were safe because a lamb had died in their place. That is what substitute means: someone (or something) that takes the place of another.
And the way of safety wasn't only for Israelites. Exodus 12:38 says that a mixed crowd of people, not only Israelites, left Egypt with them. People from other nations had trusted God's word too.
At midnight, the judgment fell on Egypt. That same night, Pharaoh finally told the Israelites to go (Exodus 12:29–32).
Jesus, our Passover lamb
Hundreds of years later, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming towards him and said:
"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’" (John 1:29)
Jesus' last meal with his disciples was a Passover meal (Luke 22:7–20). He took the bread and the cup and said they were his body and his blood. The next day, at Passover time, he was crucified. The apostle Paul puts it simply:
"Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." (1 Corinthians 5:7)
| The Passover lamb | Jesus |
|---|---|
| Without defect (Exodus 12:5) | Lived a perfect life without sin (1 Peter 1:19) |
| Died in the place of the firstborn | Died in our place, for our sin |
| Its blood marked the door, and judgment passed over | His death means those who trust him are not condemned (Romans 8:1) |
| No bones broken (Exodus 12:46) | None of his bones were broken (John 19:36) |
| Remembered with a meal every year | Remembered at the Lord's Supper (Luke 22:19) |
| Led to freedom from slavery | Leads to freedom from sin and death |
There's one big difference. The Passover lamb had no choice. Jesus chose to give his life, and then he rose again.
The rescue road: sign 2
| Where? | What did God do? | How does it point to Jesus? |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt, the night of the Passover (Exodus 12) | Passed over every house marked by the blood of a lamb. | Jesus is our Passover lamb, who died in our place (1 Corinthians 5:7). |
Key words
- Passover: the night God "passed over" the houses marked with blood; also the yearly feast that remembers it.
- Plague: a disaster sent as a judgment.
- Unleavened bread: flat bread made without yeast.
- Substitute: someone or something that takes the place of another.
How this points to Jesus
In Egypt, a family was safe not because of who they were, but because of whose blood was on the door. Christians believe the same is true for us. Jesus is the Lamb of God. When people trust him, God's judgment passes over them, because Jesus has already died in their place.
Think about it
Why did the Israelites put blood on their doorframes?Show answer
Because God said that when he saw the blood, he would pass over that house. It showed that a lamb had already died in that family's place.
Why do you think God chose a lamb, a weak and gentle animal, to be at the centre of his rescue?Show answer
A lamb shows that God's rescue doesn't come through strength or violence but through an innocent one giving up its life. That points forward to Jesus.
Is it fair for one to die in place of another? What makes Jesus' death different from the lamb's?Show answer
It is a hard question. Jesus is different because he chose to give his life out of love, and he didn't stay dead: he rose again.
Take it further
Jewish families still tell the Passover story every year so their children will ask about it. This week, see if you can tell someone the Passover story in under two minutes, and explain why the blood on the door mattered. Your worksheet helps you work through Exodus 12 and compare the Passover lamb with Jesus.
If you'd like to, you could pray:
God, thank you that you made a way to be safe on the night of judgment. Thank you that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who gave his life in our place. Help me to trust him. Amen.