I Will Pass Over You

I Will Pass Over You

God was preparing to rain down his final judgment on the Egyptians, causing the death of the firstborn son in every home. But God also provided a way to be protected from this storm of death:

On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. . . . But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. (Exodus 12:12-13)

When God said he would “pass over” the houses marked by the blood of a lamb, it meant more than merely skipping over something to avoid contact. The Hebrew word used here means spreading the wings over and protecting. It tells us that God not only passed by the houses of Israelites but stood on guard, protecting those behind blood-marked doorways.

God established the feast of Passover to celebrate the protection he provided. He gave detailed instructions for the feast and the lamb that would be sacrificed, but it was not just so the people would look back and remember his provision of protection but also so they would look forward to his fuller provision of ultimate protection to come in Christ. All along, God intended to show us his mercy through “Christ, our Passover Lamb, [who] has been sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

The Passover lamb chosen for the Israelites’ feast had to be a choice male lamb in the prime of his life; Jesus was in the prime of his life as well: “Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry” (Luke 3:23). The lamb had to be physically flawless; Christ was “the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” (1 Peter 1:19). The Passover lamb had to be slain; Jesus, too, was “slaughtered, and [his] blood has ransomed people for God” (Revelation 5:9). The bones of the lamb could not be broken; when Jesus was crucified, “they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs” (John 19:33). John the Baptist saw Jesus as the Lamb from the very beginning, saying when he saw Jesus walking toward him, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

God of wrath and mercy, see the precious blood of the Lamb of God covering my life, and pass over me. The blood of your own Son has written across my life: protected, covered, paid for, marked as mine.