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Passover Faith

Delivered September 18, 2005
by Pastor Werner De Jong

Text: Exodus 12:1-14

Main Idea: Passover reminds us that God has acted and will act to set people free (the first Passover looked forward to God's free and gracious deliverance of his people from Egypt; thereafter the Passover celebration commemorated God's salvation. For Christians, the Passover foreshadows a much greater deliverance–it is a sign of the freedom Jesus brings).

Purpose: To challenge the listeners to place their faith in the goodness of God who wants to set them free from the things which bind them. To encourage the listeners that God sees their struggles and will help those who in faith ask for it.

Introduction: This morning we are considering the Passover, which is one of the great events in biblical history. Above all else the Passover celebrates God's free and gracious deliverance of his people from their slavery in Egypt. To this day the Jewish people commemorate God's great rescue with an annual Passover celebration. It reminds them of the day when God acted to set them free. God observed their misery, God heard their cries, and God came down to save them.

      Perhaps the greatest thing about the Old Testament is that it reveals so much to us about the character of God. The same God who set Israel free from bondage is the God who longs to set all people free from the things that enslave them. God is a liberator. This is why God sent Jesus to the world–to liberate us from everything that enslaves us and keeps us from abundant living. This doesn't only include physical enemies, like Pharaoh and the Egyptian army; God also wants to deliver us from slavery to sin, from the pride and self-obsession which lie at the root of human suffering. Therefore God offers not only forgiveness from sin, but also the power to overcome it. As flawed human beings, even as Christians who have had our sins forgiven, we can become ensnared by habitual actions which demoralize us. There can be certain things in our lives that we have struggled with a long time and can't seem to overcome--a judgmental spirit, a bad temper, the inability to control our tongue, a secret addiction which leaves us feeling ashamed, feelings of bitterness and resentment toward someone else, a lack of discipline in our devotional lives–all these things and more may be exerting power over us. But the good news is this: God observes our misery, God hears our cries, and God has come down to save us through Jesus Christ. As we study the Passover story, we will be better able to understand what the New Testament authors mean when they portray Jesus in light of the Passover: as the Passover lamb sacrificed for us, as the one who can lead us to a new found freedom people, the freedom that is the destiny of the people of God.

Passover: Our text from Exodus 12 speaks of the Passover in two different ways. In verses 1-13 it speaks of the very first Passover, and of the careful preparation the people of Israel needed to make for it, especially with respect to the Passover lamb. Then in the final verse, verse 14, God tells the people that the Passover is to become an annual remembrance. Every year they were to re-enact it. As we know, Jewish people today continue to observe Passover. It is a strong reminder of how God acted on Israel's behalf when they were powerless and held fiercely in the grip of forces stronger than they were. This pattern already provides a framework for understanding the New Testament: Jesus is the Passover lamb, who has set us free from forces stronger than we are–from sin, from Satan and even from death itself. Therefore as great as the first Passover was, our Passover is far greater still. This "new and greater Passover" also has a memorial celebration–the Lord's Supper, when the church looks back through taking the bread and the cup and remembers how Jesus acted to gain our freedom.

      But what specifically was the first Passover about? We can't understand it unless we look at the greater context. The first Passover occurred before the tenth and final plague which God sent upon Egypt. God sent the plagues in order to persuade Pharaoh to release the Israelites, that they might go to a land of their own, a land God had promised them. But after each of the first nine plagues, Pharaoh refused to let God's people go, even though the plagues caused significant suffering throughout Egypt: the water of the Nile River turned to blood; frogs swarmed the whole country; there were outbreaks of gnats and of flies which settled on humans and animals alike; there was a disease epidemic which ravaged the cattle herds; festering boils broke out on people; a terrible hailstorm destroyed crops throughout the land; a devastating cloud of locusts devoured whatever plants survived the hail; and for three days a terrible darkness covered the land. Yet in spite of these tremendous displays of God's power, Pharaoh continued to refuse to let God's people go. But then came the tenth and final plague, when God resorted to an extremely drastic measure. God decreed to Moses that every firstborn in the land of Egypt would die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the lowliest slave to the firstborn even of the cattle. When this happens, said God, Pharaoh will finally release the Hebrews. So Moses told Pharaoh of the horrific plague to come, and then left him in order to warn his own people.

      For there was a way out for them. God had promised to spare the Israelites from this devastation, provided they made careful preparations. They were to take a lamb without any blemishes, and slaughter it at twilight, and roast it and eat it that same night, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. But the heart of the ceremony was this: they were to take the blood of the newly killed lamb and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of their homes. In this way, when the destroying angel came later in the dead of night to claim all of the firstborn, it would pass over any house which had blood on the doorframe. That is where the word Passover comes from. It comes from the Hebrew verb which means "to pass over," or "to spare." The first Passover therefore celebrates the fact that Israel was spared from the judgment that fell on Egypt, and thus gained a new and glorious freedom. For not even Pharaoh wanted to have the people of such a dangerous god around anymore.

The God of Freedom: So Passover is all about freedom and the God who acted to set his people free. It reminds us that no one can stand up to God. No power is great enough to keep God's people in bondage. It is not difficult to see then why the New Testament authors sometimes spoke of Jesus in terms of the Passover. In 1 Cor. 5:7 Paul actually describes Jesus as our Passover lamb who was sacrificed for us. Just like the Passover lamb, Jesus was without blemish. And because his blood was spilt, a new exodus is possible: an exodus out of sin and bondage and into freedom. Some people have even pointed out that the blood on the door posts and the lintel above the door actually resembles the shape of a cross. It may be reading too much into the text, but it is an intriguing image. But the main point is this: like the lamb, Jesus' blood was shed. And the end result is freedom. For when Jesus died and rose again he defeated not merely human power like that of Pharaoh and his empire, but he defeated the greatest enslaving powers in this world–the power of sin, and Satan, and death.

      This teaching should give great hope to those of us who may feel trapped by our own weaknesses. It reassures us that there is no enslaving power that is able to withstand the might of God. The God who freed Israel from the oppression of Egypt is able to free us from the might of anything that has us in its grip. We of course are not slaves in the physical sense, as the Israelites were, or as African people used to be in the United States. But there is a worse slavery than physical slavery–it is slavery to sin, slavery to shameful habits, slavery to the temptations that in our better moments we yearn to break free from but cannot seem able to do.

      None of us should think that we are immune from becoming trapped by sin, even as Christians. And none of us should look down on people who are. For when we become Christians we don't automatically overcome the power of sin in our lives. Our sins are forgiven, but the process of sanctification, of overcoming sin and growing into Christ's likeness, takes a lifetime. Jesus has broken the power of sin, but we need to appropriate that power in our own lives. It doesn't happen automatically. Now as Christians we should be making steady progress in this area. But we can become bogged down. Many Christians testify that they have gone through times in their lives when there were certain sins that they committed again and again, and couldn't seem to overcome: lust, jealousy, addiction, anger, prayerlessness. The worst part of it was that they didn't know where to turn. They were afraid to confess their failures to their fellow Christians out of fear that they would be judged, rather than helped in a spirit of grace. When this happens to us, when we feel isolated and alone with our weaknesses, when we feel unable to break free of various temptations, and find ourselves succumbing to the same thing again and again, then it fills us with guilt and shame, and affects our Christian living. But take heart–you don't need to continue living that way. For God sees, and God understands, and God still loves you. And the good news is that Jesus is able to liberate you from any power that has you in its grip. A new life of freedom is possible, and it is in fact the very thing which God wants for you. As our call to worship put it: "Tell the whole congregation of God's people: this is the day of new beginnings."

Freedom Through Faith: But how can this freedom be achieved? That is the key question in all of this. Once again, we can learn so much about God and God's ways from studying the Old Testament stories. And for learning about freedom there is no better OT account to consider than the Passover. What does it teach us?

      First and foremost, it teaches us that God loves his people and is on their side, regardless of their weaknesses. The people of Israel, like you and I, were not perfect. There is some indication that many of the Hebrew people were actually worshipping the gods of Egypt, for in v. 12 of our text God declared not only his intention to strike down the Egyptians, he also declared he was going to execute judgment against the gods of Egypt. God was intent on judging whom- or what-ever it was that kept his people in bondage. The main point here is this: God wasn't against his people, he was against the things that enslaved them. His main desire was to free them from false allegiances so they could give all their allegiance to him, and enjoy the fullness of his favour. If you are a Christian but are struggling with an area of your life, the same holds true. You belong to the people of God. You are a forgiven person. You are loved by God and precious in God's eyes. God isn't against you; God is against whatever sin or power prevents you from reaching your full potential. Your sin is displeasing to God, but you aren't. God is not against you. God is against whatever keeps you away from an intimate relationship with him. But God is for you. God wants to set you free, so you can enjoy your salvation. The first step on the road to freedom is realizing how much God loves you.

      This leads to the second step, which is closely related and equally as important. The step is simply this: to believe this good news, to receive it in faith. God always responds to the faith of his people. If we acknowledge our weakness and inability to extricate ourselves from the things that have a hold on us, and in humility turn to God and cry out for help, God will hear us. The problem many people have is this–they mistakenly believe that they must overcome their weaknesses on their own strength. We may believe that God initially did all that was necessary to secure our forgiveness, but after that we're on our own. But faith is not only necessary at the beginning of the Christian life–faith is vital to every aspect of Christian living. And it is certainly true that we cannot overcome the power of sin in our own strength. Those who attempt to do so will grow increasingly more and more frustrated with themselves and their faith, to the point perhaps where they simply give up trying to live a holy life before our holy God.

      In we return to the Passover story, we see that faith played a very important part. The word faith itself is not mentioned in our text, but it is certainly described. Where do we see it? We see it in the obedience of the Hebrew people to undertake all of the elaborate preparations God asked of them. When we initially read this account we may wonder why God asked the people to make such preparations. They were to buy a lamb four days ahead of time, a lamb without any blemishes. They were to prepare it in just the right way, roasted not boiled, with just the right spices. They were not to leave any leftovers, and if there were leftovers, they were to be burned. And the most peculiar instruction of all from their point of vies was to sprinkle the lamb's blood on their doorposts using a branch of hyssop. How many of them understood why they needed to do that? It must have seemed somewhat magical. But it did require a step of faith. Why did God ask the people to go through all this trouble? Because God wanted to see their faith in action. Who would take the trouble to undergo such a detailed ritual without at least some faith that God would preserve them from harm, and lead them to the promised freedom? The obedience of the people in actually seeing this ritual through to the end is an example of faith in action. The author of the NT book of Hebrews clearly sees faith at work in this story. For Hebrews 11:28 says: "By faith Moses kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel."

      The fact that God expected to see faith is made even more clear when we read about the manner in which the people were to eat the Passover meal. It wasn't to be a leisurely banquet. They were instructed to eat it in a hurry, with their travelling clothes on, with sandals on their feet and a walking stick in their hands. It is not how our mothers taught us to eat, but the implication is clear: they were to eat the meal in full expectation of faith that God was going to deliver them that very night. While they were still in Egypt, and while it was dark outside, and when the powers of evil still seemed undefeated, they were to transfer their allegiance to God by faith and to prepare for the future. And God did deliver them, and the promised freedom which seemed only like a dream became a reality.

      In the same way we can experience freedom from the things that bind us. The original Passover was a mere foreshadowing of the much greater freedom available to God's people in Jesus. If ancient Israel was set free by observing the Passover ritual, how much more will be set free by placing our faith in the eternal lamb of God. The freedom the Hebrew people experienced was only a foreshadowing of the much greater freedom available to those who recognize that Jesus has broken the power of sin itself, and the power of Satan, and even the power of death, and is therefore more than abundantly able to help us in our time of need. The good news is that our freedom doesn't depend on our own strength to overcome enslaving forces; it depends on Jesus who has already defeated them. And it is through faith that his victory becomes our victory.

      If we are afraid that our faith is too weak, remember Jesus' encouragement that faith as small as a mustard seed is able to move mountains. When we even begin to look to God with sincerity of heart and humility of spirit, God's heart is deeply moved. Our faith stirs God's compassion. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, and not on ourselves, we will find the strength we need to overcome anything that stands in the way of faithful Christian living.

Help for our Faith: And God in his grace has also given us some provisions to help strengthen our faith. In the first place we have been given the Lord's Supper, in which we remember how decisively God has acted on our behalf, just like celebrating the Passover helped the people of Israel remember their deliverance from Egypt. Looking back at God's past action on our behalf has a wonderful effect–it gives us hope for the future. Jesus who died for us will not abandon us now. There is hope for you, and for me, and for all of God's people, no matter what mess we may presently be tangled up in. For Jesus is greater than our troubles, and Jesus loves us, and Jesus wants to set us free.

      And God has not only given us a commemorative meal to help strengthen our faith. God has also given us the gift of one another. Just like God used Moses to help free Israel, so God can work through our brothers and sisters in Christ to help lead us to freedom over sin. The church is intended to be a fully supportive community, where we bear one another's burdens. The book of James goes so far as to encourage us to confess our sins to one another. That proposal frightens many people, because it asks us to put ourselves in a very vulnerable position. But the person who has found someone they can trust, someone they can open up to without fear of judgment, someone they can share their deepest shame or guilt with, that person has found a great gift from God. For when those we open up to still love us, and still show respect for us as children of God, and want to help us overcome our weakness, rather than judge us, it helps us to see ourselves in a new light, it helps us to see ourselves as God sees us. For that is how God deals with us. When we are overwhelmed with our own sense of failure, we need nothing more than to see the truth that God loves us anyway.

Conclusion: Let's conclude with some words from the first letter of John: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1:8-9). And later on John says: "Faith is the victory that overcomes the world." On account of what Jesus has done for us, there is always great hope for the children of God. Amen.

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