The origin of The Passover Lamb (also known as Sacrificial) Motif of Atonement dates back to the days of the Apostles, who witnessed the life and ministry of Jesus. This reflection of His life and its meaning for humanity is often sung about in our praise and worship services:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.”
Revelation 5:12 ESV.
When God initially made a covenant with Abram (Genesis 15), He promised the following:
“Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.”
Genesis 15:13 ESV.
The movement of Abram’s (Abraham) offspring into the region of Goshen in Egypt was itself a miracle. His provision was incredible. But life for the young nation didn’t remain easy. As they multiplied, a new Pharoah who did not know their history came to power. He “ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves” (Exodus 1:13-14).
It is valid to question why God might put the nation in such a position. Why move the nation into such a poor situation, where they are exploited and oppressed every moment?
I believe it was part of God’s revelation of His character. It was to show His power, authority and love for the oppressed. It was at this time when God provided the ten plagues, including the Passover. The account of the Passover is found in Exodus 12.
To provide a basic understanding of the event, God was on the way to end the life of all firstborn creatures in the region. As an act of protection, God commanded the nation of Israel to find a spotless lamb for every household. They were to kill it, dip the blood with a hyssop branch and smear the blood over the doorframes of their houses. As darkness covered the land and God “struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:29), He passed over all houses covered by the “blood of the lamb”. Of course, there are many more details to this, but the idea is that the innocent blood of lambs took the place of God’s children. Salvation (in a broad sense) was provided by the lamb.
Every year Jews continue to celebrate and commemorate this moment at Passover. It was a display of God’s providence for His people. So the idea of Jesus being the Passover Lamb returns to this time of Israel’s history.
In the famous Isaiah prophecy about the Messiah (Jesus Christ), we read the following:
“7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
Isaiah 53:7 ESV.
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.”
Jesus accepted His mission. That doesn’t mean He didn’t struggle with it. While in the garden of Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion, Luke reported the following:
“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Luke 22:44 ESV.
And still, despite the clear anguish He faced, He went to the cross.
As Christians, we reflect on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. With the understanding the Sacrificial Lamb atonement model provides, we appreciate that Jesus took the punishment that was due to us. It was His innocent blood that spilled, providing us with salvation. Indeed, in the Gospel of Matthew, we read the following:
“This is my blood of the
Matthew 26:28 ESV.
covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
When people ask us what Jesus does for us, part of our response can be this discussion surrounding His blood. He gives us life. He gives us forgiveness. Which ultimately gives us peace with God. And when we have peace, there can be fruitful relationship with trust, understanding and mutual love and care. That is what we were made for; to be image bearers of the one true King.
God bless.
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