4.14.26 ~ Protection!

The Passover is an entry point for every individual into the family of God. It is said frequently at most Messianic Passover seders that Jesus is the Passover Lamb. The lamb died so Israel could live. Jesus died so we can live. What is the confusion? But if that image—if that is the one that you reach for first, the one that has the instinctual pull—turns out to be doing something different than it is assumed to do, then we have to ask questions about how we read other texts related to this particular issue. In plain English: similar wording does not always mean similar meaning. This can become a very big issue.

Let us open to Exodus 12, your assignment from yesterday, and see what it actually says—the instruction God gives for the first recorded Passover. The instructions are pretty detailed, pretty specific, and pretty different from what is often assumed about the Lord's Passover (Ex. 12:1–13):

  • Each household selects a lamb on the tenth day of the month and keeps it until the fourteenth day.

  • On the fourteenth day, they slaughter it at twilight.

  • They are to take the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the house where they will eat it.

  • They will roast the lamb and eat it, all of it, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

  • They will eat it in haste—sandals on feet, staff in hand, ready to move.

  • And then God says, "Boys and girls, here is the reason why" (Ex. 12:12):

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.
(Ex. 12:12)

The blood shall be a sign for you on the house. No plague shall fall upon you to destroy you.
(Ex. 12:13)

This is where we get the name Passover (Pesach). It means more than just "Passover," and in its root form it also means "protection."

At the core, what is present is a family meal. A family meal: a lamb that is eaten, blood on the doorposts, haste, unleavened bread, bitter foods, protection, deliverance, a memorial for future generations. What is completely absent? There is no altar. There is no priest. There is no confession of sin. There is no laying on of hands. No sprinkling of blood on an altar. No burning of fat on a fire for God. No language of sin. No language of atonement. No language of forgiveness. No language of punishment. No language of substitution or of wrath is being satisfied. None of it. Not a single word along that thematic approach. Surprised?

When the Torah describes actual sacrifices—the korbanot (offerings) to draw near (Lev. 1–9)—you will see a very different and specific set of actions. The offerer brings the animal to the Tabernacle, lays hands, and performs the slaughter actions. The slaughterer utilizes the priest in the process. The blood is collected. It is applied to the altar in specific ways—whether smeared, sprinkled, sprayed, or dabbed, depending on the type of offering, which determines where the blood goes. The fat is burned. There is a protocol. There is a system. There is a location. There is a mediator.

Passover has none of those elements. There is no Tabernacle. There is no priest. There is no altar. The blood does not go to an altar; it goes on a doorframe. It is not applied by a priest; it is applied by a father, the head of the household. The lamb is not offered to God; it is eaten by the family. This is a meal. And what is the blood? The blood on the doorpost does not pay for any sins. It is not settling any debt. It is not absorbing punishment. The text says it is a sign (ot). "When I see the blood, I will pass over you."

The function of this blood is protection—to turn away (apotropaic) the destroyer. The blood on the doorframe marks the household as belonging to the God of Israel. It distinguishes Israel from Egypt, and it does not absorb death. It identifies and protects. And think about what God is doing in this chapter: He is executing judgment on Egypt and Egypt's gods. That is explicitly what He said in Exodus 12: "Against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgments" (Ex. 12:12).

What about the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)? One truth at a time, one truth at a time :-)

Shalom!
Happy Omer counting (Day 10)!

Alan

P.S. If you missed the first Passover for 2026, God makes it such a priority that Scripture provides the opportunity for a second Passover Sheni (Num. 9:9–14).

Last night's Zoom call: "How the Tongue Affects Our Home, Our Clothing, and Our Lives: Lashon HaRa (The Evil Tongue) vs. Psalm 34."

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