So, we are in Exodus 12:14–20, and I have entitled this section, “Passover Forever.”
This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.
This yearly celebration, remembrance of Passover, was to remind the Israelites of several things. First, the generosity of God's grace–not earned, it was chosen and given. Second, his willingness to unleash his power for their salvation and protection. Third, his uncompromising holiness. He will judge evil in righteousness. Fourth, the importance of trusting and obeying him.
But there are things embedded in the yearly memorial that the children of Israel probably didn't understand. One, that this memorial didn't just look to the past, it defined their present. As they were that night in Egypt, they were now totally dependent on the generosity of God's grace, the generosity of his provision, and his continued willingness to unleash his power to defeat enemies they had no power to defeat. The Passover pictured the utter, complete, and total dependency of Israel on the God who had chosen to place his love on them.
But this memorial didn't just look to the past and define the present. It was a finger pointing, not just to the future hope of the Israelites, but to the future hope of all who believe. There would be a night when Jesus would sit with his disciples and declare that the Passover was about him. He was the Passover Lamb, and hope would be found in his broken body and his shed blood.
But there's a third thing. At the center of the Passover memorial was bread. The Israelites probably didn't understand that that bread had a prophecy embedded in it. Because there would be one who would come who would declare that he was (Ready for this?) the bread of life. That faith is about eating that bread, consuming him by faith. And he's the bread that alone has the ability to satisfy our hunger. So on that night, God is not just rescuing his people from slavery, but he's painting this beautiful picture of what is to come. First, their complete, total dependence on him. And then, the hope of the world that would rest on Jesus, the Lamb of God, the bread of life. And he is your hope, too!
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. Why do you think it’s so significant to see the beauty of the gospel in Old Testament passages like this one? What stood out to you in these verses from Exodus that helped you to see, understand, appreciate, and love the sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf?
2. Why is grace the overarching theme of this passage in Exodus as you think about the clear commands God gives to the Israelites? Why do you personally need the same grace extended to you from God as you consider the wages of your own sin? Why will your own human righteousness never be enough to escape the wages of your personal sin? Why is the passover Lamb a necessity for you just as much as it was for the Israelites?
3. How can you be sure that the wages of your sin (death) won’t be on your head? How does the blood of Jesus protect you from spiritual death?
4. If you have been covered by the blood of Jesus by grace through faith, you are one of God’s chosen people—how does this truth make you want to respond? Why don’t you need to feel guilty or afraid of the consequences of your sin anymore? Explain in your own words what the substitutionary life and sacrifice of Jesus is and what it means to you.
For Younger Children:
1. When a person does something wrong or sinful, why do you think that person needs to be punished? Why do you think our own personal sin needs to be punished?
2. What is a substitute? When it comes to the punishment for your own sin, the Bible says that you deserve death—how can Jesus be your substitute and take your punishment? Why is this the most important thing in the world for every single person to hear?
For Older Children:
1. In what ways does the passover story in Exodus 12 help you understand the gospel and the sacrifice Jesus personally made for you? How does this Old Testament story help you understand the grace of God more deeply?
2. Why do you think sin requires a sacrifice of such an extreme nature (blood)? Have you ever thought of your sin as that extreme? Why or why not?
3. Why is the gospel message (Christ in your place) the most important message history has ever known? How does it apply to and impact you personally? How can I help you understand it more clearly?
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