Two weeks ago Annie, our youth leader, gave a sermon before Passover about the Passover.
Her message started with reading Exodus 12: 7 (I’m sorry I didn’t write down the entire citation of what she read. I forgot to go back to include in my notes, but for the purpose of understanding, feel free to read until verse 30).
This is the passage where the Lord instructs the Israelites on what to do when He passes over Egypt. He is going to strike down every firstborn in the land and bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12).
He asks them to paint the blood of the lamb on their doors. This will be a sign that the family in that house is Israelite and He will not strike their first born.
In the Matthew 26:26, Jesus and His disciples are taking what we now call the Holy Communion. He offers them the bread as a symbol of His body being broken and the wine as a symbol of His blood being poured out for the forgiveness of sins.
In this passage, Jesus reminds them that He is the Passover Lamb. The passover lamb in the old testament was the sacrifice of the Israelite people to God; Jesus is the sacrifice on the cross to connect us with the Lord. He was pierced so that we might be well. He is the new covenant.
It is important to understand that no one is more righteous than anyone without God. We are all sinners, therefore without God, we are all slaves to sin.
What does Jesus do?
Jesus sacrifices himself for us. Jesus pulls us out of sin nature. We need Him to do that so that we may not be slaves to sin and He “passes” us over from death and hell. His life as a sacrifice is what makes us well with God. This sacrifice was important and necessary for us and because of it, we are no longer slaves to sin and no longer condemned to spend eternity in hell but instead we are rewarded to live in eternity with God.
We were in debt with God because of original sin but we no longer owe Him anything because Jesus paid it all. It is like the story one of my campus pastors’ shared. He started by saying that He went to jury duty in LA and, long story short, the person was found guilty. He then made the connection that we were once found guilty, but instead of being sentenced to death by God, someone stepped in into our place and decided to take the punishment for us. His name is Jesus and that is what this is about. We were once guilty but Jesus made us well; He set us free by taking the punishment, when He was innocent. This sacrifice required an innocent to take the punishment for the guilty. Just like in the old testament when the sacrificed animals had to be without blemish and basically perfect, Jesus was that sacrificed lamb.
Since Easter is coming up this coming Sunday, we should all take the time to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and the meaning it has for our lives. The reason why it is important is because without this sacrifice we would have been separated from God for eternity but that was counterbalanced with His ultimate sacrifice.
I hope that this post finds you all well and reassured that Jesus paid it all. We are no longer slaves to sin and we should not be beating ourselves over past sins if we have decided to commit to Him and turn away from sin. If you have not done so, this is the time to do it. He is coming back soon and taking all that belongs with Him and you do not want to stay behind. Stop beating yourself and accept that Jesus paid it all. Turn away from sin; live a new life in Christ. His sacrifice sets you free from your past. You longer need to walk around in shame, guilt, doubt.
and I’ll end with these two lines from two beautiful songs…
My chains are gone,
I’ve been set free,
my God my Savior,
has ransomed me,
and like a flood His mercy reigns,
unending love, amazing grace…
…Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow…
God bless you.
