In most cases, the thought of getting passed over is seen as a negative experience. Maybe you have been passed over for a promotion at work, or when you were younger perhaps you were passed over when teams were being picked for a game of basketball, baseball or whatever other team-oriented games you may have enjoyed. In all of those cases, getting passed over was likely not an enjoyable experience, and certainly not something that you would describe as a blessing. However, in Exodus chapter twelve we see an example of how getting passed over is exactly that, a blessing.

Today we will look at the Three-fold progression of the Passover Lamb and see how being passed over is truly the best blessing that you could ever experience.

And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Exodus 12:1-13

A Lamb is necessary

Why was a lamb necessary in the first place? Well, before we can go into the reason that a lamb is necessary, we must first take a look at where the Israelites are in their history:

Pharoh deserved judgment because he refused to obey God, and we have all failed to follow the commands of God; therefore every individual deserves judgment

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 3:10-12

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 3:23

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

James4:17

God Judges Sin by the Lord Jesus Christ:

Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

Acts 10:41-42

In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Romans 2:16

Judgment is certain

Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.

Proverbs 11:21

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Hebrews 9:27

Ways in which God judges sin

• Causes sin to bring evil to the sinner

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.

Esther 7:10

He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.

Psalms 7:15-16

• Uses the governmental legal system

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

1 Peter 2:13-14

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Romans 13:3-4

• Physical Death

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 5:12

For the wages of sin is death;

Romans 6:23

• Ultimately resulting in spiritual death

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Revelation 21:8

We need a lamb to avoid the judgment that we deserve, but as you will see next, not just any lamb will do. We need The Lamb…

The Lamb

In exodus 12:4 we see that the progression goes from a lamb, to the lamb. That is because you need a specific lamb, that meets very specific requirements.

In order to avoid God’s judgment on sin you need the sacrifice that is acceptable to God, we don’t get to decide what is acceptable:

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Isaiah 1:11-15

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Isaiah 64:6

• We must enter in through the door that he has provided

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 10:1-10

• Jesus is that door, and is the only way to God

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:6

• The sacrifice that was made by Jesus on the cross, is the only acceptable sacrifice

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

Hebrews 10:10-12

So far, we have seen the necessity of A Lamb, and the progression to The Lamb, next we see that you need to take The Lamb and make him Your Lamb

Your Lamb

In order for the sacrifice that Jesus provided to be applied to your account, you must make him your lamb, it has to be personal.

• Jesus is The Lamb that you need

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

1 Peter 1:18-19

..For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

1 Corinthians 5:7

• Grace and mercy are made possible by the sacrifice and the resurrection

The sacrifice needs to be applied to your account, just like how the blood had to be applied to the door posts in Egypt.

• The blood has to be applied to your account

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin

Psalms 32:5

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Proverbs 28:13

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:9-10

Jesus was crucified over the passive (John 13:1) making it possible for God to pass-over you during the coming judgment:

Have you made Jesus your Lamb?

If so, His grace should influence your character:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Romans 6:1-2

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Titus 2:11-14

If you have never made Jesus Your Lamb, there are only four things that you need to know:

1. You are a sinner
2. There is a debt that needs to be paid
3. That debt has been paid for you
4. accept the payment and apply it to your account today!

Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.