Passover: A Story of Rescue and Grace

Perhaps there is no clearer narrative in the Bible showcasing God’s strength over the rebellious powers of this world than the ten plagues that led to the Israelites leaving slavery in Egypt. In one act after another, God clearly displayed his power and exposed the supposed power of Pharaoh and his “gods” as utterly impotent. Like the curtain being pulled back on the imposter pretending to be the “great and powerful Wizard of Oz,” revealing him to be no wizard at all, Exodus 7–13 shows that God alone is sovereign and that the forces of this world hold no power next to him. The culmination of this dramatic masterclass in God’s sovereignty is the story of the Passover, which matches God’s power with God’s grace.

The backdrop of the Passover event is the tenth plague, which is the most devastating of them all: the death of the firstborn child in every home not marked by the blood of a lamb. This plague is God’s retribution against Pharaoh for his killing of the baby boys of the Israelites in Exodus 1.

God essentially tells the Israelites to set their calendars by this powerful event. He tells Moses, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year” (Exodus 12:2). The Passover event marks a new beginning. It’s not simply about departing from Egypt; the Israelites were instructed to mark time by this event as their identity-defining national holiday. It was a new beginning for God’s people, a fresh slate.

The Blood of the Lamb: Foreshadowing Christ’s Sacrifice

God gave Moses careful instructions to relay to the Israelites regarding what they were to do that night. They couldn’t just choose any animal to kill and spread the blood around their doors. God specified that it needed to be a year-old male without defect (see 12:5). The blood of the lamb on their doorframes caused God to pass over the homes of the Israelites: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (12:13). The blood of the year-old lamb is a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ poured out for God’s children at the cross. First Peter 1:19 tells us that God redeemed sinners by “the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

Along with the blood on the doorframes, God instituted a meal for his people, and he instructed them to practice this meal as a lasting ordinance (see Exodus 12:14). In this way, the Israelites would continually reenact their story of deliverance and God’s grace toward them. Reading these instructions should make us ponder where, in our lives and yearly routines, we take time to remember and reenact God’s grace to us through Jesus Christ. What are the particular practices, worship services, and occasions of remembrance that anchor us deeper in the memory and hope of God’s grace?

Remembering Deliverance—and Welcoming Outsiders

As we read on in God’s Passover instructions to the Israelites, we find provision even for outsiders to enter the community and celebrate this memorial of God’s grace: “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land” (12:48). Take a moment to appreciate how dramatic this is: even those who aren’t part of the story—those who weren’t themselves liberated nor are descendants of those who were liberated from slavery in Egypt—may still enter God’s family of grace as though they were born among God’s people. This recalls God’s promise that Abraham’s descendants would be a blessing to “all peoples” (Genesis 12:3). Outsiders are invited to join God’s people and inherit the story of God’s grace as their own. See Psalm 87 for a dramatic picture of this; even Israel’s greatest enemies—Babylon and Egypt—receive the gracious announcement, “This one was born in Zion” (Psalm 87:6). Amazing grace indeed!

Observing Passover was to become, Moses said, a way for parents to teach their children about God’s powerful acts of deliverance. Moses instructed the people to say this out loud: “On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’” (Exodus 13:8). Our faith cannot just live in our heads; we need concrete practices to show the next generation what we believe. When I was a child, my family would often put up a Jesse Tree during the season of Advent. This was a flannel wall hanging on which we would add characters from the Bible during the weeks leading up to Christmas to be reminded of how God’s plan of salvation unfolds across the pages of Scripture. Concrete, embodied practices like this are a wonderful and necessary way to display our faith to younger generations. Other examples may include lighting Advent candles or—in keeping with the Passover practice—hosting a Seder meal at your church during Passover.

For Christians, the story of Passover finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Christ was crucified in Jerusalem during Passover. Just as blood on the doorframes saved the Israelites in Egypt, so the blood of Christ saves all God’s children from everything that could separate us from the love of God. Christ’s death opens the door for us to become children of God, freeing us from the power of sin and death. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:7–8, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Through Christ, we have freedom from slavery to sin and a new beginning in God’s grace. Thanks be to God!

Adapted from the study material from the NIV Application Bible based on the NIV Application Commentary series.