Event
The Passover Lamb
Blood on the doorposts, judgment passing over
The shadow (Old Testament)
On the night Israel left Egypt, every household killed a spotless male lamb, painted its blood on the doorposts, and ate it roasted with bitter herbs. When the destroyer went through the land, he passed over every house that was marked by the blood (Exodus 12). Israel wasn't spared because they were better than the Egyptians — they were spared because they were covered.
- Exodus 12:1-13— The Passover instituted
- Exodus 12:46— No bone broken
The substance (Christ)
When John the Baptist first sees Jesus, he names Him "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Paul says it just as plainly: "Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus was crucified at Passover, and — as the law required of the lamb — not one of His bones was broken (John 19:36; Exodus 12:46). The picture and the person line up down to the smallest detail.
- John 1:29— Behold the Lamb of God
- John 19:36— Not one of His bones broken
Apostolic commentary
The New Testament writers — especially Hebrews — explain this type:
- 1 Corinthians 5:7— Christ our Passover
- 1 Peter 1:18-19— A lamb without blemish
Take it in
God's judgment doesn't pass over us because we're good; it passes over us because we're covered by the blood of the Lamb. That's the difference between religion and the gospel.