During a weekend retreat, I carried a small stuffed lamb around with me everywhere I went—during meals, games, and teaching sessions. Many attendees asked me why I was carrying that stuffed animal. But it wasn’t until the closing session of the retreat, when I led a celebration of the Lord’s Supper, that I explained the significance of that stuffed toy: Jesus is our Passover Lamb.

In Exodus 12:1–14, we find the institution of the Passover. God instructed the Israelites to select a lamb for each household on the tenth day of the first month. The lamb was to be without blemish, a male, one year old. On the fourteenth day, the lamb was to be slaughtered. The reason why there were several days between when the lamb was selected and when it was sacrificed was to observe the lamb closely to make sure it had no defects. The lamb had to be perfect. Once the lamb was killed, its blood was placed on the doorposts and lintel of each house (v. 7). That night, the meat would be roasted and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (v. 8).

The blood on the doorposts served as a sign for God to “pass over” the homes of the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt (v. 13). This act of obedience and faith marked the Israelites’ deliverance from bondage and the beginning of their journey to the Promised Land. The Passover lamb, therefore, was a symbol of sacrifice, protection, and deliverance.

As believers today, we recognize that the lamb in Exodus 12 foreshadows Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. The apostle Paul clearly proclaims that Christ is “our Passover lamb” (1 Cor. 5:7). Just as the blood of the lamb saved the Israelites from death, the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross, saves us from eternal death and brings us into new life.

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