When we take a look at the feast of Passover through the study of the scriptures, we will see very clearly that it all has to do with Jesus Christ. There is no meaning in Passover without Jesus Christ. The Jewish apostle Paul referred to Christ as the Passover sacrifice:
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: (1 Corinthians 5:7)
Paul referred to the crucified and risen Jesus Christ as our Passover because Jesus was in fact the very true fulfillment of the Passover and every other sacrifice also. In the Old Testament book of Exodus the children of Israel were told to take a lamb without blemish, KILL IT and then apply that blood to the side and upper posts of that their doors. [Exodus 12:5-7]
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 12:12-13)
What beautiful words are they indeed: “When I see the BLOOD, I will pass over you.” The Lord protected His people, and the firstborn were saved from destruction by simple faith in their Lord. Fast forward to the 21st Century and there are literally millions of people who serve the very same Lord that those children of Israel served back then. I serve the same Lord that Moses served and His name is Jesus Christ. I can say today that His BLOOD is upon the doorposts of my heart and that I too will be saved from destruction because of the BLOOD of Jesus Christ. In fact, the BLOOD that Jesus Christ shed is the reality of all of those types and shadows which pointed to Him.
If one were to study the Day of Atonement one would learn this also pointed to the person of Jesus Christ. On that day the Jewish High Priest would enter into the Holy Place [Holy of Holies] behind the veil into the very presence of God. He would bring the BLOOD and apply that BLOOD to the mercy seat which covered the ark of the Covenant. The BLOOD was to atone for the sins of the people. But there is a greater BLOOD sacrifice which took place almost two thousand years ago, that superseded and put out of commission all of those Old Testament sacrifices, and that was the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross.
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the BLOOD of goats and calves, but by his own BLOOD he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the BLOOD of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the BLOOD of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:11-14)
The big difference between those Old Testament sacrifices [offered under the Law], and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, was the fact that Jesus Christ offered Himself willingly. Jesus Christ left the glory of Heaven and was manifested in the flesh for that very purpose.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament [covenant], that by means of DEATH, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15)
The New Covenant is in the BLOOD of Jesus Christ because it was He who laid down His life for the sin of the world. If you travel to Israel you will not see a Tabernacle, or a Temple anymore, because the Lord Jesus Christ was the final sacrifice for mankind. There will be no more sacrifices. To reject the very Son of God is a most serious matter because this is the only one who was sent by the Father to die for our sins. It does not matter whether a person is Jewish or Gentile, the BLOOD of Jesus Christ is still the only atonement for any person alive today, and the only BLOOD that will keep you out of Hell.
For the life of the flesh is in the BLOOD: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the BLOOD that maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11)
When Jesus Christ died on that old rugged cross the veil in the Jewish Temple was torn in half from top to bottom by a supernatural act of God.
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost [DIED]. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; (Matthew 27:50-51)
That happened because Jesus Christ, the ultimate High Priest, had just entered behind the true veil. Jesus Christ cried out “It Is Finished” [John 19:30] because it WAS finished and He knew that. To reject this BLOOD atonement is to reject salvation itself and to remain in one’s sins. It is that simple and it is that clear.
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:23-24)
What heavy words did the Lord Jesus Christ use against the religious leaders of Israel when He spoke right there. Could it be any clearer than that? The Lord Himself declared that the Jewish people were doomed without faith in Him. God is an equal opportunity God, and He shows no partiality. Those words apply not only to the Jewish people but to every single one of us. The majority of people in the world still reject Jesus Christ and therefore they will die in their sins without Him.
We would all be in sad shape if the story ended on the cross where Christ died, but I thank God that it did not end there. The Lord rose from the dead just like He said He would.
And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:38-47)
The Lord is the only Passover Lamb who got back up from the dead. Is that not awesome? The Lord was the perfect unblemished Lamb of God, of whom John the Baptist spoke about when He first saw Him:
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)
The BLOOD of Jesus Christ is still as powerful to save souls as it was back then when He died on the cross. Do you want to know what keeps the majority of the human race, (including YOU) from getting SAVED and making it to heaven? The majority of people never see themselves as UNGODLY in the sight of God! It does not matter whether a person is Jewish or Gentile, because the scriptures show us that ALL people are UNGODLY outside of Jesus Christ. That was the whole purpose of the DEATH of Jesus Christ in the first place. Jesus died to save us from our sins. I encourage you all to come to the place where you see yourself the way God sees you and turn to him for the salvation of your own soul.
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time CHRIST died for the UNGODLY. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now JUSTIFIED by his BLOOD, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were RECONCILED to God by the DEATH of his Son, much more, being RECONCILED, we shall be SAVED by his life.” Romans 5:6-10
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. (Romans 10:9)
