Exodus 12:3-8
“3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: “On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb.
“5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall KILL IT AT TWILIGHT. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; ROASTED IN FIRE…….”
Little lambs are so cute, cuddly, and playful, aren’t they? You can’t be around one for very long without completely falling in love with it.
Can you imagine taking that sweet, innocent little lamb into your family, getting attached to it, falling in love with it then, five days later, have to slaughter it or watch as it is killed? π That is exactly what happened in every Jewish household every Passover since the first night they left Egypt.
The 10th Of Nissan.
God explicitly told the Jewish people they must take a young male in it’s first year of life into their homes on the tenth day of the Nissan, the first month of their religious calendar. They were to keep it until the fourteenth day. That’s five days, the number of grace, by the way.
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During that time they were to examine it thoroughly to be sure it had no blemishes or defects. Then the whole congregation was to kill it exactly at twilight. Twilight, in Hebrew time, is 3pm.
Pre-Enactment.
Here is how the sacrificial lamb was prepared by the priests in the tabernacle up until Jesus came:
1. The day it was to be killed, the lamb was tied to a wooden stake at the bottom of the ramp of the bronze altar at 9am, the time of the morning sacrifice. A Ram’s horn was sounded at that time.
2. Then the high priest walked UP THE RAMP of the bronze altar (bronze is a typology of judgment in the Bible), and slit the throat of the lamb at exactly 3pm.
3. The priest then turned around, spread his arms, as in the posture of someone hanging on a cross, and cried out with a loud voice to all the congregation, “It is finished”
4. The ram’s horn was sounded once again at this exact time.
5. Those who were to eat the lamb must only eat it after it had been “Roasted in fire.”
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Does all of this sound oddly familiar? It should! It’s kinda like a re-enactment. Only it can’t be a re-enactment because the event hadn’t happened yet. It would not occur for some 1500 years. It’s actually a “Pre-enactment!” π
(Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.)
The Final Passover.
Fast forward now to the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He entered the city on the 10th day of the month of Nissan, the first month of the Jewish religious calendar. The five days later, He was crucified.
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Hmm…..the FIVE DAYS leading up to His death on the 14th, where was the Lamb of God? In the house, of course; His Father’s house that is, meaning the temple. What He was doing there? BEING THOROUGHLY EXAMINED by the Pharisees. Why?
Because at the end of that week, FIVE DAYS LATER on the 14th of the month, He would become the real Passover Lamb, the Perfect, ONCE-FOR-ALL sacrifice. Jesus death, however, would not merely cover our sins for one year, but CLEANSE THEM ALL FOR ALL TIME WITH ONE APPLICATION OF THE BLOOD on the “doorposts” of people’s hearts.
(Jesus answering the Pharisees who could find no fault in Him.)
Unlike the yearling lambs, however, Jesus was not only without “SPOT,” He was without “WRINKLE” as well. What’s the difference? Simply this: We are not born with wrinkles; they come with age. In other words, He was born without sin (without spot) and, as He walked this earth, He did not commit any sins either in thought, word, or deed (no wrinkles).
If you are at all familiar with the five offerings of Leviticus, you understand what all that means. If not and you want to read more on the topic, you may follow the link below:
The Final Sacrifice.
The year that Jesus died was unlike any other. As the customary sacrificial lamb was tied to the bottom of the altar at the temple, THE PERFECT LAMB OF GOD WAS LIVING IT OUT IN REAL LIFE OUTSIDE THE CITY WALLS.
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As the high priest ascended the bronze ramp of judgment which, by the way, is in the shape of a cross, (see picture above) Jesus, our Great High Priest, was ascending the final hill (ramp) of judgment to the final altar atop Mt. Calvary. At precisely 9am, the first nail was driven into His hand as He was nailed to that wooden cross, just as at precisely 9am, the shadow sacrifice of the lamb at the temple was tied to a wooden stake at the bottom of the bronze ramp. A ram’s horn (shofar) was sounded as was customary.
Why a ram’s horn? Because you can only get one through the death of a male lamb, a picture of Jesus.
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No doubt the sound of that horn (Shofar) could be heard as far as the hill outside the city where the Perfect Lamb was about to give His life and die for the sins for the sins of the whole world. In so doing, Jesus fulfilled both the morning and evening sacrifices on that day.
A Passover Like No Other.
Now, there are two times when it was lawful to consume the Passover meal: The evening before or in the evening on the actual day. Jesus ate the Passover on the earlier night so that He could be the REAL PASSOVER LAMB the next day. But some events were about to happen that year that were VERY DIFFERENT. It would be a Passover like no other. At high noon, day became darker than the darkest night ALL OVER THE ENTIRE EARTH and remained so for three hours as its Creator hung on a cross, suffering, suspended between heaven and earth. π
Chinese Historians.
This 3-hour period of darkness is not just a myth or a made up story, Church. It was an event that was actually recorded by Chinese historians! π² You see, more than any of the peoples in the entire world, Chinese are scrupulously accurate in their documentation of celestial and historical events. They may not have known or understood what caused it to be as dark as midnight in the middle of the day, but they certainly recorded it.
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Incredibly, this darkness occurred at a time of year when total eclipses or, for that matter, eclipses of any kind, NEVER happen. NEVER…..except for that year. π€―
Roasted In Fire.
It was during those three hours of darkness that all the fiery wrath and judgment of a thrice Holy God rained down upon His Son until IT WAS COMPLETELY SPENT. Our Lamb was literally “Roasted” in those fires of judgment that day. That’s why the shadow lamb had to be ROASTED IN FIRE. It was a picture of what would happen to our precious Jesus some 1500 years in the future. It was because of that fire that Jesus cried out, “I thirst.” He was literally parched.
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FINISHED!
At precisely 3pm, as the high priest killed the representative lamb at the top of the ramp and cried “Finished,” while out that hill outside the city, Jesus, the True Lamb, THE FINAL SACRIFICE, cried out with a loud voice from the cross that very same word: “FINISHED!” You see, in Hebrew it is only one word: “FINISHED: KΕ«-lΓ‘h!.”
Unlike the sacrifices of old, however, that were completely burnt up by the fire, our Lamb lived through it to cry “FINISHED!” Then, He dismissed His spirit, as one would dismiss a servant, bowed His head and died.
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Why did He have to do that? Normally, when humans die, we don’t have any choice in the matter. We die because our spirit leaves us on its own. But Jesus was in full control, and in the presence of the Spirit of God, NO ONE CAN DIE, including Jesus. His wounds, though grievous, did not cause His death. He had to send His away so that His physical body would die.
He was not slain or murdered by either Jews or the Gentiles, though they all conspired to condemn Him to death. Our sins were laid on Him at the cross so that He could pay the full price for all of them. He chose the cross. He willingly LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US. No one took it from Him.
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At this time, the final triumphant blast of the shofar was sounded again. It is said that demons tremble when they hear it because it signifies the death of the male ram, meaning IT SIGNIFIES JESUS’ DEATH, THE ONE WHO SAVED HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS AND CRUSHED THE SERPENT’S HEAD.
HALLELUJAH!!! Jesus’ work of redemption is COMPLETE! In heaven today, you and I FOREVER have a Lamb without spot or wrinkle!
