Session 8: The Lamb

Session Overview

Creedal Statement

Coming soon.

Key Elements

• Key Passage - Exodus 11:1–13:16
• Scripture Memory - Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot. He was known before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake. 1 Peter 1:17–19
• Catechism - Q: What must God do to make his people a devoted community? A: Redemption.

Introduction

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth 1 Corinthians 5:6–8

Blessed is He Who by the True Lamb redeemed us, and destroyed our destroyer. Ephrem, Nativity Hymn III

When we give ourselves in devotion to anything other than God, our surrender ends up in brutal slavery. On the contrary, surrender to the one and only true God results in a freedom that comes from being God’s redeemed people. Submitting to Christ as our Lord and Master, we yield to a life of freedom in God’s merciful care. In his gracious and powerful act of deliverance, God purchased his people from a condition of fettered subjugation and made them free subjects in his kingdom. From this dramatic experience of redemption, God’s people respond to God in devotion and worship. Unlike the forced enslavement of harsh taskmasters in one’s former life, God’s redeemed people devote themselves to God’s service in full-orbed and wholehearted commitment. Compelled by God’s unconditional love for his people, Christians devote themselves to God out of a deep sense of being his beloved. God has loved his people enough to rescue them from slavery and make them his own. This redemptive drama—depicted in the amazing story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and fulfilled by Christ’s redemptive work on the cross—is the topic of this present session.

In Exodus 11:1–13:16, the Bible records the true narrative of God’s gracious rescue of the captive Israelites. After being enslaved to Egyptian bondage for over 400 years, God raised a deliverer, Moses, who would set Israel free. Stubborn in heart, Pharaoh repeatedly refused to let Israel go free at Moses’ command. Consequently, God sent ten fierce plagues of divine judgment on Egypt. The final plague—harshest of all—involved the death of the firstborn. At midnight, God would go throughout Egypt and kill all the firstborn. For his people, he instructed households to slaughter an unblemished lamb, eat its roasted flesh, and paint its blood on the doorposts. The blood on the doorposts would be a sign for God to pass over that house and not bring death to the firstborn. Israel would leave Egypt in such haste that they would not put leaven in their bread dough. The elements of these meals—roasted lamb and unleavened bread—would become a memorial feast for Israel in future generations: the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Israel obeyed God’s instructions, the judgment against the firstborn came upon Egypt, and the cry of their enemies was so great that they sent Israel out of the land.

This sacred exodus meal was a memorial sign of God’s redemption of his people. As it was practiced for generations to follow—and as it foreshadowed the Lord’s Supper—it would remind the community of faith that their identity as God’s redeemed people was of paramount importance. In fact, the very bonds of their community life would cohere around God’s redemptive work. Their devotion to God would be fueled by remembrance of God’s redemption. Although Israel came out of Egypt as a mixed community of diverse ethnicities, their shared reliance upon God’s redemption would supersede any of the ethnic-racial differences that existed. As a redeemed people, their worship and devotion would be a response to God’s gracious work of salvation on their behalf.

The event of the exodus, commemorated by the Passover meal and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, established Israel as God’s people. As his beloved possession, Israel’s life of worship was born as a grateful response to God’s saving work. The Christian practice of communion is a community meal that also celebrates God’s redemption. The events of the exodus are fully and finally fulfilled by Christ’s redemption on the cross: Passover is fulfilled at Calvary. Therefore, the core aspects of faithful devotion found in the sacred meal of Passover and Unleavened Bread teach us about the nature of Christian worship and communion. In the story before us, as we relive the experience of Israel’s freedom from Egyptian bondage, may we too recall how the Lord’s Supper retells the story of our own exodus from sin and Satan.

Biblical Interpretation: Hearing the Word

Study the Text: The Bible is God’s inspired word to his people. Christian disciples mature in the faith when they are grounded in God’s word. In this movement, you will study the basic details of the biblical text.

Observation Questions

Read (or listen to) the whole passage of Scripture. Discuss the questions below for each section of the story. Pay attention to the details of the text to recall what the passage is saying. Use the focus verses to guide your conversation.

Storycraft

Retell the story in your own words, recounting the overall flow of the narrative, the main segments of the story, and the major developments that take place.

Narrative Elements

Story Retell

Theological Dialogue: Discussing the Plot

Explore the Text: God’s word is his trustworthy and sufficient revelation to his people. We grow as Christ’s disciples by rooting our lives in God’s unchanging truth. In this movement, you will explore vital teachings of this biblical passage.

Discussion Questions

Summarize the biblical story. As a community, discuss the following questions. Be attentive to the truths taught in this text. Use the commentary on the next pages to uncover core principles this passage teaches about the Christian faith.

Biblical Commentary

Use this commentary to help you understand the meaning of the text. Refer to the infographic on the next page to think through how narratives work.

Passage Introduction

Key Idea

God’s redemption prompts Christian devotion of obedient worship.

Passage Overview

Human bondage can only fully and finally be remedied in Christ. In many ways, the story of Israel’s exodus foreshadows this great work of redemption. The promised plague to slay the firstborn in Egypt anticipated Christ’s defeat of our fiercest enemy, Satan. The Passover meal (along with Unleavened Bread) foreshadowed Christ’s work on the cross as the unblemished sacrifice to take away sin. The midnight slaying of the firstborn—during which Israelite households were spared who had placed the lamb’s blood on their doorposts—highlights God’s merciful act to spare undeserving sinners. As a freed and redeemed people who belonged to God, Israel would consecrate and devote itself to God in all things. In fact, when God established Passover and Unleavened Bread as memorial feasts, he gave generations the chance to narrate his saving work on their behalf and express their devotion to their Savior. It is important that we express God’s saving work on our behalf. To be reminded that we belong to a merciful and redeeming God is vital for our ongoing devotion to him in all areas of life. Take time to explore this biblical narrative with the help of the following commentary in order to understand the redemptive foundation of Christian worship and devotion.

Passage Outline

1. Exodus 11:1–10
2. Exodus 12:1–28
3. Exodus 12:29–42
4. Exodus 12:43–13:16

Building a Community of Common Faith

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.

Christianity is the only faith that has ever been able to turn the world upside down, and restore the true and original order, so that where man had become the worshipper of beasts and the slave of his own lusts, he has once more asserted the supremacy of conscience and regained dominion.

Introduction

Bondage, subjugation, and oppression plague the human condition. Prone to human rebellion, captive by a fierce enemy, corrupt by personal sin, and destined to eternal judgment, people are born into a condition of slavery, much like the ancient Israelites. No matter how favorable our external conditions, we enter into life as slaves who need freedom, rescue, and redemption. In bondage to evil, human life is characterized by sin, disobedience, and rebellion. But sinful bondage can manifest itself in many specific forms: idolatry, addiction, depression, spiritual affliction, unhealthy relationships, anxiety, trauma, or sexual immorality. Outside of Christ, we are captives to evil and destined to destruction. Those in denial about their captivity remain subservient to abusive and harsh taskmasters. Too easily, people trade one harsh taskmaster for another, never experiencing true freedom. We grow comfortable in our bondage and resign ourselves to a life of slavery. But deep within, we all long for freedom. We desire to be emancipated from cruel and evil overlords of sin and Satan, but wonder how freedom from such strong and powerful masters is even possible.

In his grace and mercy, God has secured a path for true and enduring freedom. In Christ’s work on the cross, God has provided a means for his enslaved people to be liberated. In his death and resurrection, Jesus redeemed sinners from the clutches of evil and from the tyrannical dominion of Satan. In this act of redemption, God has purchased his people as his own possession. When believers place their faith in Jesus, they renounce the enslaving masters of a former life and come under the benevolent and gracious authority of a new master: Christ the Lord. True freedom in life is not a matter of having no master. Rather, true freedom amounts to having the right master. To be redeemed from bondage is to relish the oversight and reign of the righteous King Jesus.

The redemptive work of Christ is foretold by the Old Testament story of the exodus. This historical event is narrated in Exodus 11:1–13:16. The story of Israel’s exodus is an epic story of God’s saving work on behalf of his enslaved Israelite people. Central to the life and faith of Israel, this event would become a milestone from which Israel would understand her identity, vocation, and community life for generations to follow. Under the agency of Moses, Israel experienced freedom from four hundred years of Egyptian slavery after a final plague—the death of the firstborn—brought a deadly blow to Egypt. Israel escaped God’s judgment by slaughtering, roasting, and eating an unblemished lamb whose blood they would put on their doorposts. As God promised, God came at midnight and killed the firstborn of the houses without the blood on the doorposts. Egypt sent Israel out of the land with great urgency. Israel left in such haste that they carried their bread, unleavened, with them. For generations to come, Passover and Unleavened Bread would be feasts that Israel would celebrate to remember God’s redemption of his people.

This story foreshadows the Christian practice of communion as it also prefigures the saving work of Christ on the cross. When Jesus ate his final meal with his disciples, it was the Passover meal he was celebrating with them. At that time, Jesus would infuse new meaning into that meal: greater significance in light of his own death as the Sacrificial Lamb. Needless to say, the story of the exodus faithfully hints at many aspects that give the Lord’s Supper meaning. This landmark event for Israel is also a vital historical event for Christians. It is a reference for God’s redeemed people of all ages and in all cultures. The significance of Christ’s death on the cross is vividly seen as we learn about Israel’s flight from Egypt. Because it marks a turning point in redemptive history, it also instructs us about the nature of Christian worship and devotion—what it means to walk in the freedom of God’s gracious rescue. As we explore the exodus narrative, we learn about the life of faith, the importance of the Lord’s Supper, and what it means to be God’s prized possession.

Let Go Completely: Serving God as His Liberated People

Biblical Narrative (Exodus 11:1–10)

God’s covenant promise with Abraham (Abram) endured from generation to generation. In spite of human failure, his blessing was abundant to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Eventually, this chosen family of patriarchs ended up in Egypt by God’s sovereign protection. However, after a change in Egypt’s leader, their state of favor and abundance devolved into a condition of slavery and bondage. For nearly four hundred years, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt under harsh oppression (Exodus 1:1–22). God raised a deliverer, Moses, who would bring the Israelites into freedom (2:1–25). God equipped Moses with miraculous signs and a divinely-revealed message and commissioned him to confront the tyrannical Pharaoh and demand Israel’s freedom (3:1–7:13). Ten times, Moses confronted Pharaoh with the message of freedom along with signs and wonders. Each time, when Pharaoh refused to set Israel free, God brought retribution upon Egypt with a powerful act of judgment (7:14–11:10). After many painful punishments, God enacted his final act of judgment upon stubborn Egypt: the death of the firstborn (11:1–10).

God told Moses that this final plague would result in Israel’s complete freedom from Egyptian bondage. God promised that after “one more plague,” Pharaoh would allow the Israelites to “leave this place” (11:1). Their departure would amount to total freedom—“When he lets you go, he will drive you out completely” (11:1). God would also wholly reverse Israel’s fortunes. Egypt had grown so weary of the previous nine plagues, and God had given Israel such great favor among their captors. The Israelite people had “favor in the sight of the Egyptians,” and Moses “was highly regarded in Egypt” (11:3). As a result, simply by asking for the provision of valuables—“articles of silver and gold” (11:2)—Israel’s Egyptian enemies would give it to them. God turned Israelite slaves into freedmen, cruel Pharaoh into a liberator, lowly Moses into an honorable man, and Egyptian masters into benefactors.

God explained that the final plague would result in the death of the eldest male child throughout Egypt: “Every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die” (11:5). This act of divine judgment would be the final blow that moved Pharaoh to release the captive Hebrews. At midnight (11:4), God would go throughout Egypt, slay the firstborn of the Egyptians, and bring about a cry of defeat among the Egyptians. This “great cry” would become an outcry that “has never been heard before and will never be heard again” (11:6). Although this devastating judgment would afflict the Egyptians, it would not affect the Israelites. There would be no cry of sorrow among God’s people; “not even a dog will snarl at man or beast” (11:7). In this act, God would make “a distinction between Egypt and Israel” (11:7). Then, the Egyptian officials would send the Isarelites out of the land of Egypt and out of their bondage (11:8). Although this message of judgment was grave, Pharaoh would not listen to its warning due to the hardness of his heart (11:9–10). Pharaoh’s stubborn and unbending resistance to God would give an opportunity for God’s wonders to be “multiplied in the land of Egypt” (11:9).

Biblical Principles

Divine Commission. As God called and commissioned Abram to be an instrument of his purposes in the world, so God called Moses. Moses’ work was part of the fulfillment of promises God made to Abram years prior. Specifically, Moses would be God’s chosen agent to bring captive Israel into freedom. This freedom would consecrate Israel to be God’s people, moving them to respond in devotion to God. Moses functioned as a messenger (11:2, 4, 9), a representative of God (11:3, 8), and an agent of divine power (11:10). Moses was tasked with telling the Egyptians and Israelites God’s revealed truth. He was an emissary who represented God to the people. He worked wonders, showcased God’s power, and led Israel out of slavery. Although Moses was not a king, God caused Moses to be highly regarded (11:3, 8). Importantly, Moses’ role in God’s redemptive work was only achievable because of God’s enabling power. God empowered, protected, honored, and utilized lowly Moses to accomplish God’s work. As long as Moses followed God’s will, he would enjoy God’s promised results. Moses’ call and commission as Israel’s liberator and God’s spokesman clearly anticipate Jesus—God’s Son, the Word of God, and Savior of mankind.

Freedom. Previously, Moses demanded Israel’s freedom—“Let My people go”—for the explicit aim “that they may worship [God]” (7:16; cf. 4:23; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3, 7, 8, 11, 24, 26). Israel would express their worship to God by holding a feast to the Lord (cf. 5:1; 10:9). The final plague would bring about Israel’s freedom: “He will allow you to leave this place” and “When he lets you go, he will drive you out completely” (11:1). Exasperateed by the plagues, Egypt would beg Israel to leave: “Go, you and all the people who follow you” (11:8). Herein was God’s promise that God’s enslaved people would escape from their bondage. The death of the firstborn among the Egyptians would bring about Israel’s full and final freedom from their captors. Freedom would come after death, liberty would result after divine punishment, and emancipation would be the outcome of Egypt’s decisive defeat. The exodus that followed the final plague foreshadowed redemption in Christ. In a fuller way, it is only by the death of the firstborn—Jesus the eternal Son of God (cf. Zechariah 12:10; Luke 2:7; Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15, 18; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 1:5)—that humanity could gain their ultimate freedom from sin and Satan. God-given freedom is the foundation of all Christian devotion. We worship, serve, celebrate, and enjoy the God who has won our liberty.

Divine Judgment. In God’s design, freedom from captivity comes alongside judgment of the enemy. As the final plague (11:1) brought a crippling blow against powerful Egypt through the death of the firstborn (11:4–6), “the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians” (11:3) such that their captors became their servants and providers (11:2). In God’s act of judgment on Egypt—which was an act of liberation for Israel—he would make “a distinction between Egypt and Israel” (11:7). Moses’ “hot anger” (11:8) in confronting Pharaoh was evidence against Pharaoh’s hard heart (11:10), a spiritually resistant spirit worthy of God’s judgment. But the judgment on Egypt was comprehensive: “Every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the handmill, as well as the firstborn of all the cattle” (11:5). God’s righteous and just judgment is upon every person who resists his will, defies his name, promotes evil, and worships falsley. Divine judgment was a divine conquest over evil: by crippling God’s enemies, God’s people were freed from their enemies. In a greater way, Christ’s death on the cross was a deathblow to the enemy. It brought judgment against the wicked as much as it brought freedom to the faithful and repentant. One’s posture toward Jesus and the cross—either of faith and trust or of stubbornness and unbelief—is that which makes a distinction between all people (11:7). And those who enjoy freedom in Christ, enjoy it completely (11:1).

The Christian community is devoted to God in worship and service based upon his liberating act on their behalf and his judicial deathblow to the enemy. The sacred meal of communion—enjoying bread and cup as a remembrance of the death of Jesus, the firstborn—is a feast that reminds us of the reality that the great adversary has been defeated and our complete freedom has been purchased. In Christ, we are let go from bondage, we are driven out from oppression, and we depart from slavery. Even though God’s people have been meaningfully liberated, it is all too easy to be a freedman and still live like a slave. Gratefully, the Lord’s Supper is for Christians: a consistent reminder—a declaration, in fact—that we are free in Christ. It clearly signifies and dramatically memorializes the reality that our service to God is the result of God’s just judgment of evil and gracious rescue of his people.

The Lord’s Passover: Commemorating God’s Merciful Salvation

Biblical Narrative (Exodus 12:1–28)

The final plague would commemorate a milestone in Israel’s history—a milestone of judgment and redemption—such that it would become an annual celebration among God’s people (12:1–28). Regardless of how they measured time before, this event would mark the beginning of Israel’s year (12:1–2). Israel had experienced a new beginning, and God gifted them with a new calendar: a spiritually-based way of time-keeping. Moses passed God’s instructions to the people. To commemorate the exodus as an act of divine redemption, every family would reenact the exodus events annually. On the tenth of the first month, the Israelites would take a one-year-old, male lamb without any defect and care for it until the fourteenth of the month (12:3–6). On this day, everyone in Israel would slaughter their lamb at twilight (12:6). After slaughtering the lamb, they would take some of its blood and paste it on the doorposts of their house (12:7).

Then, God’s redeemed people would roast the lamb and eat it together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (12:8–9). They were to let none of the lamb remain until the morning (12:10). Moreover, they were to eat it with a sense of preparedness: “fully dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand” (12:11). They would “eat in haste” because it was “the Lord’s Passover” (12:11). In this dramatic reenactment, the Israelites would commemorate how God slaughtered the firstborn of their Egyptian enemies, how God brought judgment upon their idolatrous foes, and how God “passed over” the Israelites in the land by not destroying them (12:12–13). Because of its redemptive significance, this day would be “a memorial” celebrated as “a feast to the Lord” (12:14). So significant was this event that it would be “a permanent statute for the generations to come” (12:14).

An important event in Israel’s history, Passover launched a seven-day celebration called the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” (12:17). During this week-long celebration (the 14th–21st of the month), Israel would eat unleavened bread (12:15–20). Anyone found to eat leaven would be cut off from the people (12:15, 19). A “sacred assembly” (12:16) would be held on the first and seventh days of this week, on which no work would be performed other than preparing meals (12:16). This feast would be celebrated throughout Israel’s generations “as a permanent statute” to remember how God brought the Israelites out of Egypt “on this very day” (12:17).

After these instructions about the future celebration of this feast, Moses gathered the leaders of the people and told them to get a lamb, slaughter it as the Passover lamb, put its blood on their doorposts, and not to leave their houses all night (12:21–22). He explained how God would pass through to bring judgment on the Egyptians and how he would pass over the houses with the blood on the doorframes (12:23). God would not allow “the destroyer” (12:23) to strike those households marked with the blood of the passover lamb. He then told them how they would celebrate this Passover as a memorial for future generations (12:24–27). It would be a means to worship God and a mechanism to pass down the faith to the next generation. At this, the people bowed in worship and obeyed what God commanded through Moses (12:27–28).

Biblical Principles

Redemptive Community. The establishment of Passover (and the Feast of Unleavened Bread) as a memorial feast gave Israel the chance to reenact God’s redemptive work on their behalf. This celebration occurred on the night of the exodus (12:21–23), and it was embedded in Israel’s annual calendar as a feast to practice every year for subsequent generations (12:1–3, 14–20, 24–27). Throughout its history, Israel expressed worship to God as a redeemed community (12:3, 6, 19, 47) through the annual celebrations of Passover and Unleavened Bread (12:1, 6, 14, 17, 42) and holy assemblies (12:16; cf. Leviticus 23:4–8; Numbers 28:16–25). These official feasts and sacred gatherings marked Israel as God’s possession. He had redeemed them from slavery. He had purchased them from bondage. They belonged to him. He had formed them into his covenant people.

That God made this month “the beginning of months” and “the first month of [Israel’s] year” (12:1) highlights the fact that, like the creation of the world, the Christian community is something that God must bring into existence. In the original creation, God made everything out of nothing. In the creation record, we see God bring order out of chaos and form the world out of a dark, formless, empty, and watery chaos. In a similar way, God’s liberation of Israel from Egypt was an act of new creation. God formed a redeemed people from the shackles of enslaved bondage. Through the chaotic waters of the Red Sea, God brought his newly redeemed people into existence. God rescued his people from the darkness of oppression and the emptiness of slavery. He organized and ordered his people by giving them a festal calendar to mark their redeemed identity and encouraged their corporate devotion to God.

Sacrifice. God’s redeemed people are formed by sacrifice. The sacrifice of the unblemished lamb (12:3–6, 21) reminded Israel that freedom comes with a cost. A sacrifice bears the cost of freedom so that it can be freely given to another. A sacrifice substitutes itself in the place of another to exonerate and liberate. God built sacrifice into Israel’s exodus, into Israel’s festival celebrations, and into Jesus’ own redemptive work. The Passover was incredibly personal. Each Israelite household had to care for the lamb during a four-day period prior to the sacrifice (12:3, 6). Each household had to put the blood of the slaughtered lamb on the doorposts of their home (12:7, 22). All Israelites had to eat the roasted flesh of the lamb as a meal as God commanded them (12:4, 8–9). Had they not personally done these things, they would have been treated like the Egyptians. The Israelites would eat this Passover meal—along with unleavened bread in the subsequent days (12:14–20; cf. 12:33, 39)—with a readiness and haste (12:10–11); delay to apply the sacrifice to their family brought the threat of judgment. God’s judgment would only “pass over” those with the blood on their homes (12:11–13, 23). God’s mercy and pity spared the lives of those who were distinguished by the sacrificial blood (12:27).

Clearly, this sacrificial lamb pointed God’s people to Jesus. Perfect and sinless, Jesus is the true unblemished lamb. His death on the cross was a slaughtering and spilling of blood. When people believe in Jesus, they are marked by his blood and escape the destruction of God’s judgment. God’s punishment passes over those whose sins have been forgiven by Jesus’ shed blood. Jesus’ death resulted in life for his followers. The haste of the meal portrays the urgency of responding to Christ without delay. Like the Israelites feasted on the Passover lamb and unleavened bread, Christians feast on Jesus in the practice of communion: the bread representing his crucified body and the cup representing his shed blood. Christ’s sacrifice is the necessary and sure foundation upon which God builds his redeemed people.

Worship. Worship is the fitting response for God mercifully sparing the lives of his people. Passover was called a “memorial,” “feast,” and “permanent statute” (12:14; cf. 12:17). The week was bracketed with a “sacred assembly” (12:16). This celebration was called a “service” (12:25; cf. 12:26), and it had an intergenerational function (12:26–27). After Moses explained the details of Israel’s feast celebrations, “the people bowed down and worshiped” (12:27). Importantly, this act of devotion and worship was consecrated by obedience: “The Israelites went and did just what the Lord had commanded” (12:28). Clearly, God’s redeemed people were a worshiping community. Through formal feasts, sacred gatherings, holy conversations, ritual acts, deep reverence, and practical obedience, the Israelites showcased their devotion to God.

Worship and devotion to God are an overflow of his saving act on our behalf. The weekly practice of communion, the festal rhythms of sacred meals throughout the year, and the holy assemblies in which God’s people gather do not bring about salvation. They are responses of worship to God for graciously redeeming his people from slavery, bondage, and sin. They are corporate expressions of faith, encouraging a life of obedience to God’s commands. A life fully submitted to God in faith and obedience is foundational to the devotion of the Christian community. The participation in the Lord’s Supper—as a culmination of the Passover meal—gives a regular opportunity for the church to remember, proclaim, and confess faith in the saving and sacrificial work of Christ. It memorializes this for the contemporary church, and it communicates it to the next generation. The memorial feast of communion testifies that God has mercifully spared his people. God has passed over those who have placed their faith in the crucified Christ. In response, Christ’s followers offer themselves to God in unreserved worship, wholehearted commitment, and earnest obedience. Even more than Israel, communion is a feast of freedom, declaring that God has redeemed and purchased his people through the blood of the sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ.

A Night of Watching: Living Free as God’s Watchful

Biblical Narrative (Exodus 12:29–42)

According to his word, at midnight, God “struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt” (12:29). The devestation from this plague was widespread and comprehensive: “from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock” (12:29; cf. 11:4–5) and “there was no house without someone dead” (12:30). This plague brought about a great cry of defeat—“loud wailing” (12:30)—in Egypt. As God promised, Pharaoh called Moses and sent the people of Israel out of the land (12:31–32). Eager for the Israelites to leave, he told them to take their animals with them (12:32). Fearing for their own lives, “the Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste” (12:33). Even though Pharaoh wanted the Israelites gone, he asked for Moses to bless him (12:32). The Israelites took their dough before it was leavened and placed their kneading bowls in their cloaks and carried them on their shoulders (12:34). At this point, they asked the Egyptians for “articles of silver and gold, and for clothing” (12:35) and because God had given Israel such favor among their enemies, the Egyptians “granted their request” and “they plundered the Egyptians” (12:36).

The Israelites left the land of Egypt—the land which had been their affliction for centuries—and they journeyed toward freedom. The group was six hundred thousand men in addition to women and children (12:37). Israel had left Egypt as a “mixed multitude” (12:38) of diverse ethnicities. Their redemption came suddenly without much time for preparation or provision (12:39). As a freed people, they were wholly dependent upon the Lord to provide for them. As their new master, God was unlike the brutal and exploitative Egyptian taskmasters. God was a good, kind, and benevolent provider. The night of their redemption became a night of earnest watching—“a vigil” (12:42)—in which they readied themselves for a redemption that would be achieved by God’s own mighty hand. This act of redemption put an end to over 400 years of slavery (12:40). In obedient trust, the people of Israel followed God’s instructions, and God brought them out of the land (cf. 12:50–51).

Biblical Principles

Faith and Trust. Israel’s freedom from Egypt was an act of God. There was no salvation or redemption unless the Lord acted on behalf of his people. The Lord struck down Egypt’s firstborn in an act of judgment (12:29–30). The Lord had summoned his people to worship and devotion (12:31; cf. 3:12; 5:1; 7:16). It was the Lord who gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians and the Lord plundered the Egyptians (12:36). In a dramatic reversal, Israel’s captors became their beneafactors (12:36) and Pharaoh looked to Moses for blessing (12:32). Amazingly, the tables were turned in a way that could only be credited to God. None other than the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt (12:42). When the Lord’s judgment on Egypt finally came, Israel entered into the joy of God’s promised freedom (12:37, 40–41). The exodus was God’s victory, and Israel became God’s people—“the Lord’s divisions” (12:41). Israel could not do anything to bring about their own rescue. Their most fitting response was to trust God to act on their behalf. Consecrated by the Passover meal, the Israelites held a night vigil, an evening of watching what the Lord would do (12:42). Although Israel was called to act in faithful obedience, their redemption was achieved simply by watching what the Lord would do for them (12:29–32). Waiting in faithful trust was the means by which Israel received God’s gracious salvation.

The manner in which Israel left Egypt also highlights the important role of faith and trust. The haste of Israel’s deliverance compelled the community of faith to continue to trust God’s provision on their journey (12:37). The faith required to receive God’s salvation is the same faith by which God’s people receive their ongoing care and sustenance. Salvation is gained by God’s gracious work, and the journey of faith is equally experienced by God’s merciful provision. In the Christian community, the Lord’s Supper is both a commemoration of salvation and a meal to nourish God’s people along the journey of faith. The life of faith is not a matter of one act of devotion. Rather, devotion is the continued submission to God in obedient trust, following his ways, trusting that he will provide for his people even when there is no time to prepare “any provisions for themselves” (12:39). Moments of worship should materialize into a sustained devotion to God throughout the pilgrimage of our lives. To receive redemption or to continue the journey of faith, we can make no provision for our salvation. Instead, the whole of life is an act of faith, trusting God to graciously provide for us what we most need but what we cannot provide for ourselves.

Numerous, Multicultural, and Intergenerational Community. The Israelite community was large, multicultural, and intergenerational. The sizable crowd of 600,000 men was larger when women and children were added, likely approaching 1–2 million (12:37). Further, Israel came out of Egypt as a “mixed multitude” (12:38) of diverse ethnic peoples. Even though they were not born Israelites, these various ethnicities had a way to enter into God’s covenant promises and practice God’s commands (cf. 12:43–49). As a divine act of salvation, the exodus liberated a community of faith that would continue into future generations (12:42). The numerous, diverse, and intergenerational community was still viewed as one people (12:42; cf. 12:47). Shared redemption minimizes human differences and forges the bonds of faith unity. Although ethnicity, generation, social class, or language might pressure to separate God’s people, the shared bond of God’s salvation is the glue that keeps them together as one.

Belonging to God: Consecrating Ourselves to God in Service and Obedience

Biblical Narrative (Exodus 12:43–13:16)

So significant was the exodus event that it would become a memorial for future generations to celebrate (12:42). Israel, being a mixed multitude, was a beautiful reality, but it also created some potential challenges. This memorial celebration was specifically for God’s people, the people of Israel (12:43, 46–47). No foreigner or outsider was to eat this meal (12:43, 45) unless they became part of the covenantal community of Israel (12:44, 48–49). In the Old Testament and New Testament alike, God established boundaries for his people but also provided avenues for outsiders to join the ranks of the redeemed.

Following the Passover celebration, the Feast of Unleavened Bread would also commemorate Israel’s freedom from Egyptian slavery (13:3–16). God delivered Israel out of Egypt “by the strength of His hand” (13:3; cf. 13:9). This miraculous and supernatural redemption would be commemorated with a seven-day feast. Israel was to celebrate this feast even when they entered the promised land of Canaan, every year, and into future generations (13:5–8). They were to keep this feast as an act of obedience (13:10), to tell the next generation of God’s saving acts (13:8), and to encourage faithful obedience to God’s word (13:9). Central to the life of Israel, the feast would be “a sign” on the hand and a “reminder” on the forehead (13:9).

God commanded Israel to consecrate all their firstborn to God. The plague that delivered Israel from Egypt was the death of the firstborn (11:1–7; 12:29–30); after deliverance, Israel would consecrate the firstborn to the Lord (13:1–2; 11–13). This practice would also continue when they entered the land of Canaan to tell the next generation how God had saved Israel from her enemies (13:14). This dedication of the firstborn to God would recall God’s judgment over Egypt and his redemption of his people (13:15–16). Foreshadowing Christ’s redemption for his people, all firstborn belonged to God (13:11–12) and could only be preserved by being redeemed with a sacrifice (13:13, 15). The blood of the Passover lamb painted on the doorposts preserved the life of the Israelites; the sacrifice of a lamb would redeem the firstborn of the Israelites after birth.

Biblical Principles

Consecration. The community of faith belongs to God. In essence, devotion and worship are a means of showing our belongingness to God. Toward this end, Passover and Unleavened Bread served as a sign (13:9, 16; cf. 12:13), memorial (13:9; cf. 12:14), statute (13:10; cf. 12:14, 17, 24, 43), and feast (13:6; cf. 5:1; 10:9; 12:14). These celebrations formed the fabric of Israel’s community worship. In particular, these meals were meant to help Israel remember her freedom (13:3), tell others of God’s saving deeds (13:8; cf. 13:14–15), pass the faith across generations (12:26–27; 13:8, 14), consecrate (13:1) and set herself apart (13:12) to God in service (13:5; cf. 4:23; 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3, 7–8, 11; 10:24, 26; 12:25–26; 31) and obedience (13:10 cf. 12:17, 24–25, 28, 35, 47–48, 50; 13:9). God’s redeemed people are fully set apart to him as his treasured and cherished possession. The reality of belonging to God—rather than being owned as slaves by violent taskmasters—is the fuel of devotion and worship.

Sacred Meals, Covenant Boundaries, and Pleasing God. Israel’s sacred meals defined the boundaries of the covenant community. To experience all that God intended for his redeemed people, just being a part of the crowd that exited Egypt was not sufficient. The mixed multitude which came out of Egypt needed to yield themselves to God’s covenant code (12:43–49). Even more basic, a sacrifice was needed to experience God’s redemption (13:13, 15–16). Those who were part of the redeemed had to be marked with circumcision to share in the meal (12:48–49). Still given as a free gift, redemption was an entrance into a life fully devoted to God. To receive the benefits of salvation and to live as one pleases is a contradiction to God’s redemptive work. God’s redeemed people have been purchased by God and belong to him. Whether an Old Testament Israelite or a New Testament Christian, our aim is to please God above all. The boundaries around the covenant community and the covenant meal help explain the means by which a person can become a part of the community of faith.

In terms of the Christian community, participation in the covenant meal of communion has boundaries. The boundaries are not ethnic, but covenantal, doctrinal, and confessional. Foreigners are welcome to the table if they enter into God’s covenant in faith and devotion. Such boundaries are not injurious to the evangelistic and missional nature of Christianity. Instead, maintaining the very boundaries of the covenant meal serves as one of its most compelling evangelistic appeals. The meal of communion practiced by a faithful community of believers is a declaration that our lives, redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, have been consecrated and set apart to God’s service and obedience in his ways. In this way, it is also an invitation for outsiders to consecrate themselves fully to God, cross the threshold of faith, apply Christ’s sacrifice to their own lives, receive the forgiveness of sins, and become marked as God’s treasured possession.

Conclusion

Israel’s bondage as Egyptian slaves was grueling, painful, and oppressive. God’s saving work on their behalf brought about judgment upon their enemies and freedom for his people. The final plague of the death of the newborn highlighted the deadly consequences of the stubborn rejection of God’s ways. God’s command that Israel commemorate the exodus with a Passover lamb highlighted that redemption would come at the cost of sacrifice. This Passover lamb anticipated the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ would provide in his own death on the cross. The Feast of Unleavened Bread reminded Israel of the swift and decisive redemption God would bring to his people. That God brought a fatal blow against Egypt through the death of the firstborn resulted in Israel’s freedom. For future generations, God’s instructions around the consecration of the firstborn, redemption of the firstborn through sacrifice, and the celebration of the Passover and Unleavened Bread would remind God’s people of how he delivered Israel out of Egyptian slavery by his strong and saving hand. God’s people responded in devotion as a community of faith as God’s redeemed people who now belonged to him.

God’s people enjoy redemption in Christ. Christians find their freedom by belonging to God. Being fully surrendered to God is the only path to freedom, and out of this freedom flow the rivers of Christian worship and devotion. Christ’s redemptive work on our behalf is memorialized in the practice of Christian communion. This sacred meal is foreshadowed by the Passover in Israel’s exodus. In this story, we learn that God’s people serve him freely as a liberated people. Prone to drift into the slave mentality of our previous life, God’s people need regular ways to celebrate, commemorate, and remember God’s redemptive work. These memorial moments, we remember God’s redemption and are prompted to live lives of obedient worship. As redeemed people, our lives belong to God and are offered in full consecration and dedication to him.

Session Synopsis

SESSION 8 SYNOPSIS
The Lamb	In this passage, we learn about God’s redemption of his people. Israel had been slaves in Egypt for four hundred years when God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from their bondage. Moses performed many miracles, and God sent punishing plagues, but Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he would not send Israel out of the land. The final plague was the death of the firstborn son. God instructed his people to slaughter a lamb and put its blood on the doorpost. Every home with the blood would be passed over, and the firstborn of that house would not die. The night of the plague, the Israelites did what God commanded, and the Egyptians suffered great loss and death. Egypt sent Israel out of the land, and God told the people to wait for the Lord to deliver them. Israel came out of Egypt a mixed multitude of various ethnicities. God instructed Israel to commemorate this exodus event with the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. God also told Israel to consecrate the firstborn to him. The exodus and Passover teach us about what it means to be God’s redeemed people. It also foreshadows the practice of Christian communion. A summary of this story’s principles is outlined below.
Divine Call and Commission	God called Moses to be his messenger (11:2, 4, 9), representative (11:3, 8), and deliverer (11:8, 10). Jesus is the fulfillment of all that Moses was.
God’s Gracious Initiative	God acts on behalf of his people (12:29–42). He righteously judges evil (11:1–10) and graciously rescues his enslaved people (11:1, 7–8). God calls his people out of slavery to a life of worship and devotion (12:31; cf. 3:12; 5:1; 7:16). Freedom and redemption lead to worship (7:16; cf. 4:23; 5:1; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3, 7, 8–9, 11, 24, 26). God has acted to redeem sinful humanity by sending his Son, Jesus.
Redeemed Community	God’s people are redeemed people (12:3, 6, 19, 41, 47). God’s people are purchased as his possession through a sacrifice (12:1–13, 21–28; 13:13, 15–16). God’s people are numerous (12:37), multicultural (12:37–38, 43–51), and intergenerational (12:1–3, 14–20, 24–27). Boundaries in the Christian community help maintain the unity of God’s people and invite outsiders into a covenant relationship with God and his people (12:43–49). God redeemed his people through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He is the unblemished, firstborn, and sinless Lamb that can take away the sin of the world.
Faith and Trust	People receive God’s redemption by faith (12:29–30). One should respond to God’s invitation with readiness, haste, and urgency (12:10–11, 14–20, 33, 39). Those who respond in faith and trust are given a new beginning of new life (12:1).
Corporate Worship and Liturgy	Israel’s feasts and celebrations served as signs (13:9, 16; cf. 12:13), memorials (13:9; cf. 12:14), statutes (13:10; cf. 12:14, 17, 24, 43), and commemorative observances (13:6; cf. 5:1; 10:9; 12:14). They were means to help the collective people of God reenact God’s redemption and grow in faith across the generations. These liturgical events and holy assemblies (12:16; cf. Leviticus 23:4–8; Numbers 28:16–25) help God’s people to remember salvation (13:3), tell others about God’s salvation (13:8; cf. 13:14–15), pass the faith across the generations (12:26–27; 13:8, 14), consecrate oneself in service (13:1, 5, 12; cf. 4:23; 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3, 7–8, 11; 10:24, 26; 12:25–26; 31) and obedience (13:10 cf. 12:17, 24–25, 28, 35, 47–48, 50; 13:9) to God. The Feast of Passover (12:1–13, 21–28) and Unleavened Bread (12:14–20; 13:1–16) foreshadow the practice of communion. It reminds us of God’s redemption and nourishes us for the continued journey of faith.

Personal Reflection: Entering the Story

Apply the Text: The word of God is binding and authoritative, the only reliable guide for faith and godliness. True disciples submit themselves to God’s word. In this movement, you will apply God’s word to your lives.

Reflection Questions

Encourage one person to share a testimony about how this story has impacted them so far. Use the reflection questions to examine your life in light of this biblical passage.

Spiritual Practice

Ministry Practice: Rehearsing the Script

Minister the Text: God’s word is living and active. Through God’s word, the Christian community is edified. In this movement, you will utilize the biblical passage to minister to other believers and build them up in their faith.

Application Questions

Look at the infographic below. Use the questions to think about how to minister this text to other believers.

Missional Outreach: Publicizing the Truth

Witness the Text: The Bible is a message of God’s gracious salvation to the world. In word and deed, God’s people proclaim the good news of the gospel. In this movement, you will use this biblical passage to reach out to unbelievers.

Strategy Questions

Reflect on the infographic below. Consider how you can use this passage to witness to the surrounding world. Use the suggested ideas to prime your imagination. Then, put together a plan to share this passage with unbelievers, Afterward, reflect on this mission experience.