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Outline 023 of 100 · Exodus

The Passover Lamb

Exodus 12:1-13 — Substitutionary blood as the only shelter from judgment

Hands-free narration of this study — good for the car.

Synopsis

On the night of the final plague, no Israelite family was spared because of good behavior; every family was spared only because of blood applied to the doorposts. The lamb had to be without blemish, its blood shed, and applied — not merely shed in the yard but personally painted on the door by the household itself. This is the gospel in miniature: Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us, but the blood must be personally appropriated, not merely acknowledged from a distance. 'When I see the blood, I will pass over you' — God's judgment does not ask about the character of those inside the house, but whether the blood is on the door. The lamb was also to be eaten that night, roasted with fire, showing that the benefits of the sacrifice must be inwardly appropriated, not just outwardly applied. Passover teaches that safety in judgment rests entirely on substitution, and that substitution must become personal experience through faith, not remain a historic fact admired from afar.

  1. I. The lamb selected

    • Without blemish, in its prime
    • Set apart four days for examination
    • A picture of Christ's sinless, tested life

  2. II. The blood applied

    • Shed blood alone was not enough
    • It had to be struck on the doorposts personally
    • Faith must appropriate what Christ accomplished

  3. III. The judgment passed over

    • "When I see the blood, I will pass over you"
    • Not the character within, but the blood without
    • Justice satisfied by substitution

  4. IV. The feast that followed

    • The lamb eaten, not merely observed
    • Unleavened bread — a life purged of sin
    • A memorial kept perpetually
The appeal

The blood has been shed once for all at Calvary, but it must be applied by personal faith to the door of your own heart. Will you appropriate today what Christ has already accomplished, or merely admire it from a distance?

Key points

  • Safety from judgment rested on applied blood, not personal merit.
  • The lamb without blemish pictures the sinless sacrifice of Christ.
  • Substitution must be personally appropriated by faith, not just historically acknowledged.

Key passages

  • Exodus 12:5-7
  • Exodus 12:13
  • 1 Corinthians 5:7
  • John 1:29