NIV Once a Day Easter
Day 4
EXODUS 12:3,5-7,12-13
“Tell the whole community of Israel that … each man is to take a lamb for his family … The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect … All the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs … On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”
JOHN 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
READ ALSO ISAIAH 53:7,1 CORINTHIANS 5:7-8 AND REVELATION 5:11-12.
MEDITATION
God has been consistently clear: Deliverance requires sacrifice; salvation comes through the shed blood of another. It was like that for Adam and Abraham, and it is like that for us. It certainly would have been an act of faith for God’s people in Egypt to believe the message and do as God asked. It must have been a long, dark night that first Passover, families huddling together and wondering if God really would pass over them and keep them safe. Imagine the celebration as their fear turned to relief and doubt became trust.
Now roll the calendar ahead 1,500 years to Jesus celebrating the Passover with his closest friends. They ate the lamb and poured the wine, continuing their traditions throughout the meal. And then Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20).
Just as the sacrificial lamb delivered the children of Abraham in Egypt, so also Jesus’ blood delivers those who believe in him from the judgment of God. His death, which occurred at the same time as Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the temple, was no accident. His blood, in a sense, was applied over the “doorways” of our lives and, by our faith, now rescues us from death. Jesus’ blood was shed for us all; what remains is for us to accept his sacrifice in faith and obedience.
PRAYER
Father, I believe the blood of the sinless One, the spotless Lamb of God, takes away the sins of the world, including mine. Thank you for forgiving my sin. Strengthen me in my faith and obedience. I invite you into more of my life and desire that I might become conformed to the image of your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.