How the Passover Points to Jesus

The connections between the Passover and Jesus are astounding.

Image created in Canva.

Jesus is the central figure of the Scriptures.

As we go back and study the Scripture, we find this to be true over and over again. Even when we study the Passover, we find Jesus there.

Here is how the Passover points forward to Jesus Christ.

Exodus 12 – The Beginning of Passover.  

We won’t explore every detail about the Passover, but hopefully, this will be an informative brief overview of how the Passover got started.

As God was about to send the tenth and final plague upon the Egyptians, He gave commands to the children of Israel regarding what would be later called “the Passover.”

A male lamb without blemish was to be taken and killed during the late afternoon (Exodus 12:3-6). No bones of the lamb were to be broken (Exodus 12:46). The blood of the lamb was to be spread around the doorframe of the houses where the Passover meal was eaten (Exodus 12:7).

The meal was to be eaten that night and included the lamb, which was roasted in the fire (Exodus 12:8-10). They were to eat in a hurry, ready to travel because the Lord would execute judgment against all the firstborns in Egypt that night (Exodus 12:11-12).

The blood around the doorframes would be a sign to God – and He would “pass over” their house and not destroy them along with Egypt. They were to remember this always (Exodus 12:13-14, 22-23). Their children were to be told what the Passover meant (Exodus 12:25-27).

The Passover Points Forward to Jesus.

The apostle Paul wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ is our Passover Lamb, sacrificed for us.

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

Jesus was crucified on the Preparation Day of the Passover – the day when the lamb would have been prepared to eat the Passover meal.

Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” (John 19:14)

Jesus died late in the afternoon – around the same time the lamb for Passover would have been killed.

Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour [3:00 PM]. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:44-46)

Not one of Jesus’ bones was broken – just as no bones of the Passover lamb could be broken.

For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” (John 19:36)

Jesus is that lamb without blemish sacrificed for us – just as the Passover lamb could not have any blemish.

…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2:21-24)

The Importance of the Blood in Passover.

As we mentioned earlier from our study of Exodus 12, the blood around the doorframes of the house was a sign to God, and He “passed over” the Israelite houses with blood on the doorframe. They were spared from the destruction brought upon the firstborn of Egypt.

The blood of Jesus spares Christians from God’s wrath upon sin.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. (Romans 5:8-9)

The Passover was a Reminder of God’s Deliverance.

Every time the children of Israel ate the Passover meal, they were to remember and tell their children about how God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt and brought them to a new home in Canaan.

Burial with Jesus in baptism and being raised up to walk in newness of life sets us free from the slavery of sin – our cruel captor - through the sacrifice of Jesus (Romans 6:3-7, 17-18).

The ones pictured around the throne of God – enjoying the eternal home with Him - are the ones who were washed in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14-17; 1:5; Acts 22:16).

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper at the Passover (Matthew 26:19-20, 26-29) – every time we eat the Lord’s Supper, we remember how Jesus is our Passover Lamb who died in our place, to set us free from the slavery of sin to live a new life for Him, looking forward to our eternal home with Him.

---

The more I study the Old Testament, the more I’m amazed and humbled by what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

What glorious good news that has been brought to us that we get to proclaim to the world and live out in our lives!