Pick Me
The defining event in Israel’s history was, undoubtedly, the exodus from Egypt.
God had demonstrated His power in nine plagues against the Egyptians and yet Pharaoh refused to let His people go. So, God readies the Israelites for the final – and most devastating plague. The firstborn of every household – from the throne of Pharaoh to lowliest servant to all of the livestock – would die. The Israelites were to sacrifice a lamb and smear the blood of the lamb on their doorposts as a sign to the angel of death that this house was protected by the Lord. When the angel of death saw the blood, he would pass over that protected home.
The Israelites were victims of oppression at the hands of the Egyptians. But they were not without sin of their own. They were very bit as deserving of God’s judgment.
That judgment was poured out on the sacrificial lamb.
As the angel of death carried out God’s judgment upon the Egyptians, the Israelites gathered in their homes to eat their last meal in Egypt.
This last meal in Egypt, however, would be the first of many meals commemorating their last meal in Egypt. In fact, before they even left Egypt, God instituted this meal as an annual celebration called Passover.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the people recognized that He was claiming to be king. They laid their cloaks before Him, waved palm branches, and shouted “Hosanna! Save us!”
They were ecstatic at the coming king!
But they missed a key detail in His coming.
The day itself was strategic.
Listen to what Exodus says:
Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. (Exodus 12:3, NLT)
“Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.” (Exodus 12:6, NLT)
Jesus entered Jerusalem on the day that every other Jewish family came to choose the lamb that would be sacrificed as a reminder that God had rescued them from their slavery in Egypt – the lamb that would be sacrificed as a reminder that God’s judgment upon His enemies had graciously passed over them because of the sacrificial blood that marked them as His own.
It’s as if he’s saying, “Pick me! Let me be your lamb!
The crowd of Zealots wanted Him to be a roaring lion.
Jesus came as a sacrificial Lamb.
But unlike the many lambs sacrificed before Him, Jesus’ death would be once and for all.
We may wonder why God couldn’t simply forgive sin without the need for a sacrifice of any sort.
The reason is that God is a God of love and a God of justice.
Sin – all sin – deserves death. It is eternal offense against the eternal – and holy – God.
He cannot sweep it under the rug and pretend as though it never happened.
That would not be just.
Yet His love.
Jesus entered Jerusalem on the day everyone selected their Passover lamb.
He offers Himself as the mark upon our doorframes – the blood that declares the penalty for sin has been paid in full.
He offers Himself are your Lamb.
Will you choose Him?
Read Exodus 12:1-13 and reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice in light of Passover.