The Passover was instituted by God as a memorial of His deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. On the night of the tenth plague, God struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, but spared the homes of the Israelites who had obeyed His command to apply the blood of a lamb to their doorposts. Exodus 12:13 says, “Now the blood shall be a sign for you… when I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
Each household was to take a lamb without blemish, kill it at twilight, and roast it with bitter herbs. They were to eat it in haste, with their belts on and staffs in hand, ready for departure (Exodus 12:5-11). God commanded that this event be remembered annually as a feast to the Lord throughout their generations (Exodus 12:14).
The Passover marked the beginning of Israel’s redemption and the Exodus. It became a symbol of substitutionary atonement—the innocent dying in the place of the guilty.
In the New Testament, Jesus is revealed as the true Passover Lamb. John 1:29 declares Him as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” At the Last Supper, which was a Passover meal, Jesus took bread and wine and gave them new meaning, pointing to His body and blood (Luke 22:19-20). 1 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”
The Passover shows that judgment passes over those who are under the blood, and it prepares the way for understanding the full redemption found in Christ.
