One Lamb
Exodus 12:1–13
And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Exodus 12:13

I am sure you have noticed in your study of the Bible how often the New Testament writers refer to the sacrifice of the lambs in Israel as an explanation of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul writes, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7). Peter remarks, “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18–19). These references are not accidental. Nor are they merely examples of the choice of a vivid Hebrew image.

Why is the death of the Lord Jesus Christ described in this way? It is described in this way because God himself took this means to explain it. In some ways it was a lesson that God had been teaching throughout all the years of man’s history. As far back as in the Garden of Eden, God had killed an animal in order to clothe our first sinful parents. Here it was a one-to-one relationship—one lamb for one person. On the night of the Passover one lamb was killed for each family—one lamb for several persons. Later at Sinai, when the law was given to the newly emerged nation, God taught that on the Day of Atonement one lamb could be killed for one nation. And years later when Jesus Christ was about to begin his public ministry, John the Baptist cried, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). One lamb for all humanity. Thus one lamb for your sin, however great or heinous it may be.

Where is your sin? How is it to be judged? It can be in only one of two places. It can be on you. In that case you must bear its judgment, and you are today in the same position as a first-born Egyptian or a first-born Israelite apart from the sacrifice that God has provided. You must be judged for it. Or—and this is the glorious possibility—it can be on Jesus Christ. In that case, he has already borne its judgment. He has paid its penalty. His blood was shed. He has become your Passover. If your faith is in Christ, then the angel of death has already passed over you, and there is nothing left for you but heaven.

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.