February 15, 2010

Jesus the Passover Lamb

When God established Passover he told the Jews to set aside the lamb on the tenth day of Nisan.

We learn that Jesus entered Jerusalem to be the human lamb by the tenth day of Nisan.

John 12:1~Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

Passover is celebrated on the fourteenth, this would mean Jesus came to Bethany on the ninth.

John 12:12~On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast [Passover], when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees...
This tells us that the following day was Palm Sunday, from this we can deduce that the Saturday was the, the ninth of Nisan.

The purpose of setting aside a lamb was to make sure it was without blemish. Jews observed and tested lambs before sacrifice. Just like Jesus was tested for five days. His authority is challenged in Matthew 21:23-27. He was asked trick questions to try and use them against Him in Matthew 23. Jesus responded perfectly, every time. They could find no fault in Him, not even Pilate could find fault in Him. This all took place between the tenth and fourteenth of Nisan.

Hebrews normally killed the lamb by 3:00pm in the afternoon so that it could be consumed, all of it, by 6:00pm. When 3:00pm arrived they would slaughter the lamb catch the blood in a basin before it hit the ground and apply blood to the doorpost. So that the angel of death would pass over that household. They would then roast the lamb and it had to all be eaten so that nothing remained for the next day. In preperation no bone could be broken. If done to instruction the lamb would need to be placed on a spit like a cross(bar) so that the body would roast evenly.

Jesus was finally crucified on the fourteenth day of Nisan (Good Friday). Nailed to a cross. With no bones broken. By the third day He had risen again.

This was all done in a way so that the Jewish people would recognize who He was and what was happening.

The result of us coming to the cross with Christ as the passover lamb? Peace with God. We become children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

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