Scripture: Exodus 12:21-23 | John 1:29-36

I. We are saved through judgment.

A. We see who is going to be judged in the Passover in Exodus 12:23: the Egyptians. God said Israel was his firstborn son (Ex. 4:22-23). God told Pharaoh and Egypt to let his son go to worship Him. If Pharaoh did not let God’s firstborn son go, Egypt’s firstborn son would die in judgment. God judged Egypt for her sins on Passover night. But God also saved Israel on Passover night. God saves those who turn to Him through His acts of judgment. God’s salvation has always been and always will be accomplished through acts of judgment.

II. We are saved through a perfect sacrifice.

A. The people of Israel could not just slaughter any old lamb in obedience to the command of Ex. 12:21. Exodus 12:5 says: “Your lamb shall be without blemish.” When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said in John 1:29, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” Jesus never sinned. He was perfect. He was prophesied about in Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”

III. We are saved through substitution.

A. The details of substitution are found in Exodus 12:3. The lamb would be substituted for the household, the lamb would die in an act of God’s judgment rather than the people. On the morning after the Passover, there would be a corpse in every home. The only question was would the corpse be a lamb or a person. It would be a substitution then that would save Israel. The lamb died in place of the people in the house. 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

IV. We are saved through faith.

A. What was the difference between life and death on Passover night? Exodus 12:23. “When he sees the blood… the Lord will pass over.” It was the blood of the lamb that made all the difference. The killing of a lamb and sprinkling the blood on the doorframes was an act of faith. The blood proved that the people in that house believed God. They believed that God’s judgment was coming and that the blood of a perfect lamb would save them. A Christian is saved because they have faith that the blood of Jesus Christ will protect them from God’s judgment and hell.

Application:
Christians, look for signs of faith in your life. Non-Christians, put your faith in Jesus to save you.

Sources:
The Bible
“The Lamb of God” by Nancy Guthrie, “Exodus Old and New” by L. Michael Morales, Commentaries by T. Desmond Alexander, D.A. Carson and Tim Chester

Sermon Discussion Questions

1) What is Passover all about? How does it foreshadow what will take place in the New Testament?

2) Passover shows that Israel was redeemed not only from slavery. What else were they redeemed from? Was it only Egypt that was being judged for their sins on Passover?

3) How did Israel reveal their faith on the night of Passover? How do we reveal our faith today if we want to be saved from God’s judgment?