Behold the Passover Lamb

“Every man shall take for himself a lamb… Your lamb shall be without blemish… and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day… and kill it at twilight.” (Exodus 12:3–6)

Tomorrow night (Saturday) Jewish families, both secular and religious, in Israel and in the nations, will gather around their tables for the traditional Passover meal, the first feast of the biblical year. A growing number of believers will also join in retelling the Exodus story of deliverance from bondage and slavery into freedom.

Passover is not simply a celebration of freedom, it is a declaration of deliverance by blood. At the heart of this special feast lies a single, vital element - the lamb. Not a metaphor, not a symbolic gesture, but a literal lamb, chosen, sacrificed, and its blood applied. Exodus 12:3–8 brings this into full view, laying out God’s divine prescription for Israel’s survival on the night judgment fell upon Egypt.

“Every man shall take for himself a lamb… Your lamb shall be without blemish… and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day… and kill it at twilight.” (Ex. 12:3–6)

Don't miss the intensity of this moment. Each family was instructed to select a lamb—a young, male, unblemished lamb. They were to keep it in the house for four days, tending to it and caring for it. This wasn’t a last-minute run to the butcher for some chilled meat. The lamb became part of the household, but then, on Passover eve the knife would fall.

However that wasn’t the end—it was just the beginning. God’s instruction was clear: take the blood and apply it to the doorposts and lintel of the house. Not the walls. Not the floor. The frame. A boundary marked in blood. Then, as the Lord passed through Egypt, He would “pass over” the homes marked by obedience and covered in blood.

Being passed over wasn’t about nationality. Salvation came through the blood, and only the blood. Anyone who was in a home with blood on the doorpost and lintel would be saved, whether Hebrew, Egyptian or any other ethnicity, and in all probability, there were those from among the Egyptians who were saved by being in a home marked by the blood.

Fast forward nearly 1,500 years to the banks of the Jordan River. A locust and wild honey-eating prophet clothed in camel hair (John), fixes his gaze on a solitary figure and cries out:

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

This was not poetic talent. John was pointing to the very fulfillment of Exodus 12. Messiah Yeshua - Jesus - is the Passover Lamb. Chosen. Without blemish. Publicly examined. Sacrificed at the appointed time, on Passover eve.

Paul doesn’t mince words when he declares, “Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Peter echoes the same message: “You were redeemed… with the precious blood of Messiah, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18–19).

This is the gospel in Exodus clothing. The Lamb was central then and the Lamb is still central now. For all believers today, Jews and Gentiles, Passover is not just a Jewish holiday celebrated in Israel or by Jews around the world. It is part of our inheritance and is the complete picture of our salvation. As believers we get to tell the story of Passover with its subsequent fulfillment in Messiah. Passover without Messiah is only the first half of the story, just as Messiah without the foundation of Passover is only the second half of the story, and we need both for a complete picture.

The command was not simply to kill the lamb and apply its blood. The lamb had to be eaten. Internalized. Received.

What a powerful image. Yeshua told His disciples during His final Passover meal, “Take, eat; this is My body” (Matthew 26:26). He wasn’t creating a new ritual so much as He was fulfilling an ancient one. To follow Him is to partake of Him. His sacrifice isn't a mere spectacle to be admired, it’s a meal to be consumed.

Just as the blood on the doorposts signaled safety from judgment at the Exodus, the blood of Messiah covers those who trust in Him today, for “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22)

The lamb and the blood of the lamb are the focal point of the Passover celebration. Most Jewish families still do not recognize who the Passover Lamb really is so they don't have the second half of the story, they do not have atonement. As those who are blessed to have both. Let this weekend be a time to pray and intercede for the Jewish people to recognize who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, that they can also receive and partake of his loving sacrifice made for all who will believe and call upon his name.

Blessing you and your loved ones with a very happy Passover!