For many, Easter is a time for reflection on the agony and suffering of Christ, for others it is a part of religious tradition with many symbols, some completely unrelated to the real meaning of events in the Bible. Through Exodus 12, we are reminded how the Passover is a foreshadowing of a present reality, so  that Easter,  Pesach in Hebrew is not just a memorial of suffering but a reminder of the complete work of Christ. In Exodus 12:28-30 we see how in the definitive moment of departure, Israelites obey the divine instructions and in the dark of the night, the grip of Egypt is powerfully broken. Today, therefore, this Good Friday, we are being reminded that Pesach is not just tradition but a declaration of our new reality in Christ.

This analysis examines three interconnected motifs depicted through symbols in Passover, the fourth point a call to action, but first the reading. 

Instruction: Exodus 12:21-23 
Exodus 12: 21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and said to them, “Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal. 22 Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses. And no one may go out through the door until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the Lord will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down. 

Event: Exodus 12:29-30
29 And that night at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died. 

1.   The Lamb representing “The Lamb of God”, the ultimate sacrifice —1 Cor5:7  

Exodus 12:3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice… 5 The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects. 

In the 10th plague, the sacrifice of a lamb is the substitute, a life given for the salvation of the community of Israelites 

The lamb foreshadows Jesus the perfect “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

The lamb represents the efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ for forgiveness and help in all our struggles  

Jesus wasn’t just a victim of Roman execution He was the sacrificial lamb to enable us “to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires” (2 Peter 1:4)

 Paul sums this up in his lament about the powerlessness of the law and struggles with human nature, with a powerful resolution in the end, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ the Lamb of God]—our Lord

2.  Blood represents the ultimate protection/cover—"under the blood”

The blood applied on the doorposts created a boundary that death could not cross.“But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt." — Exodus 12:13.

The "Blood of the Lamb" is our spiritual protection. 

  3.  The saving of the firstborn son representing our Redemption

Exodus 12: 29 And that night at midnight,