God Never Does Anything by Accident - Everything He Does is for His Glory
God knew his people would be slaves in Egypt.
God knew he would rescue his people out of Egypt.
Exodus 6:6-8, speaking to Moses after his first encounter with Pharaoh, God says — “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: “I am the LORD. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the LORD!”
- You remember the plagues up to this point…
- Water into Blood
- Frogs
- Gnats or Lice (bugs from the Earth)
- Flies
- Livestock Pestilence
- Boils
- Hail
- Locusts
- Darkness
- Finally, the Death of the Firstborn:
Exodus 12 is where we have the full account of Passover
God required the blood of a Lamb for salvation.
- They eventually find themselves crossing the Red Sea, receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, and entering into a covenant as God’s chosen people… but they were quick to break that covenant…
The Jews were commanded to celebrate Passover every year.
- During Passover, the Jews would remember that there was a time when their ancestors were slaves in Egypt under Pharaoh and how God brought them out through the “strength and might of his hand”
- “Slavery” — owned by Pharaoh and subject to the will of the Egyptians
- “Miracles” — Supernatural events occurred in the saving of God’s people through Moses and Aaron
- “Sacrifice” — God instructed his people to slaughter a lamb and smear it’s blood on the doorpost and lintel of each Jewish home — that blood created a covering required to escape the death of all the firstborn in Egypt
- “Deliverance & Freedom” — an exchange of life instead of death and freedom instead of bondage in Egypt. The Israelites were told to leave quickly from the land and found immediate freedom from a land that had become their masters.
John the Baptist declared, “Behold the Lamb of God…”
- John 1:29 — “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
- 1 Corinthians 5:7 — “…Christ our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.”
- Romans 5:8-11 — “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”
Jesus was killed on Passover. (DO NOT MISS THIS!!!)
- Matthew 26:1-2 — “When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away — and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
- Matthew 26:3-5 — “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
- God’s Timing is Never an Accident — and He does what he wants, when he wants…
Jesus said, “This is my body… This is my blood…”
- Matthew 26:26-32
- While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight, all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, “God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”
God rescued Israel with the blood of the lamb, so that he could rescue you with the blood of the Lamb.
What parallels can we draw between Passover and Christ’s work on the Cross?
- Slaves to Sin — On our own we are unable to please God or meet his standard of righteousness. We are outside of fellowship and relationship because of sin.
- Christ Ministry was Filled with Miracles — The gospels provide record of the miracles of Christ and prove his power and authority over this physical and spiritual world. He has the authority to defeat sin and deliver us from its reign.
- Christ’s Sacrifice — On the cross, Christ’s blood was shed. Because of his sacrifice, we have redemption from our sin.
- Deliverance and Freedom — Through this redemption by the blood of Christ, we are set free from the bondage of sin and can now walk in newness of life and fellowship with God.
Romans 6:4 — “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”