God's Passover

Well, good morning.

It's good to have you with us.

We are going to continue in our series this morning in the book of Exodus.

And if you haven't been here, we've been waiting breathlessly for chapters 11 and 12.

Because the whole book of Exodus we know is leading up to or is going to tell this story of deliverance.

The story of God intervening on behalf of his people to do a great work to save them from slavery.

And we've been waiting for 10 long chapters.

10 long chapters of detours and 10 long chapters of disappointments.

And 10 long chapters of hardened hearts and nine plagues.

Plagues and over and over again.

And we've finally gotten there.

We finally, as we come to chapters 11 and 12 this morning, we finally get to see what will it take for God to deliver his people.

This is the question that our passage reminds us of this morning.

And if you haven't been here for the last couple of weeks, I want to recommend you go to our website and listen to the last two sermons.

Because Pastor Nick preached two weeks ago on the nature of the nine plagues.

The nature of the way that God was preparing both Egypt and Israel for this work of deliverance that he was going to do.

And that God was in the process of doing that.

Demonstrating his greatness, his sovereignty, his majesty over all things.

And then the week after, Pastor Greg tackled the challenging question of the hardness of Pharaoh's heart.

And called us to examine how easily we harden our hearts.

And helped us to see how much we need a sovereign God to intervene in our lives.

To help us to respond to him in ways that we cannot do on our own.

This is where we've come to in the story of Exodus.

And it leads us to this great question.

How will God actually deliver his people?

What will it take to do that?

Now, it's early.

So I'm going to take a risk here and read more than I thought this morning.

I want you all to stand up.

We're going to stand for the word of God.

And we're going to read most of 11 and 12.

I'm going to give you guys a little bit of a break.

Because chapter 12, verses 14 through 20, is all about not the work of deliverance, but the memorialization of it.

Which is what Pastor Nick is going to preach on next week.

So come back next week.

You'll get that.

But I'm going to read chapters 11 and 12 for us.

So let's look at God's word together this morning.

The Lord said to Moses,

And moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt,

in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people.

And so Moses said,

Thus says the Lord,

About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt,

and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die.

From the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne,

even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the hand mill,

and all the firstborn of the cattle.

There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt,

such as there has never been nor ever will be again.

But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel,

either man or beast,

that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

And all these servants shall come down to me and bow down to me,

saying,

Get out, you and all the people who follow you.

And after that I will go out.

And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.

And then the Lord said to Moses,

Pharaoh will not listen to you,

that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh,

and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart,

and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

this month shall be for you the beginning of months.

It shall be the first month of the year for you.

Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month,

every man shall take a lamb according to their father's houses,

a lamb for a household.

And if the household is too small for a lamb,

then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons,

according to what each can eat.

You shall make your count for the lamb.

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male, a year old.

You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,

and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the month.

Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel

shall kill their lambs at twilight.

Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts

and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

They shall eat the flesh that night,

roasted on the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

They shall eat it.

Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water,

but roasted its head with its legs and its inner parts,

and you shall let none of it remain until the morning.

Anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.

In this manner you shall eat it with your belt fastened

and sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand,

and you shall eat it in haste.

It is the Lord's Passover.

For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night,

and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,

both man and beast.

And on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.

I am the Lord.

The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are.

And when I see the blood, I will pass over you.

And no plague will befall you to destroy you

when I strike the land of Egypt.

And then skipping down to verse 21.

And then Moses called the elders of Israel and said to them,

Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans

and kill the Passover lamb.

Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin

and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin.

None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning,

for the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians.

And when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts,

the Lord will pass over the door

and will not allow the destroyer to enter your house,

to strike your houses, to strike you.

And you shall observe this right as a statute for you

and for your sons forever.

And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you as he promised,

you shall keep this service.

And when your children say to you,

What do you mean by this service?

You shall say,

It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover.

For he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt

when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.

And the people bowed their heads and worshipped.

Then the people of Israel went out and did so,

as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

So they did.

Just as a note,

all of this is now preparation.

We've heard it over and over again.

The Lord is telling Moses.

Now Moses is telling the people.

And now finally we get to, in verse 29,

the action that happens.

At midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn of the land of Egypt,

from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne,

to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon,

and all of the firstborn of the livestock.

And Pharaoh rose up in the night,

he and all of his servants and all the Egyptians.

And there was a great cry in Egypt,

for there was not a house where someone was not dead.

Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said,

Up, up, go out from among my people,

both you and the people of Israel,

and go serve the Lord as you have said.

Take your flocks and your herds,

as you have said, and be gone.

And bless me also.

And the Egyptians were urgent with the people

to send them out of the land in haste,

for they said, We shall all be dead.

So the people took their dough before it was leavened,

their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders.

The people of Israel had also done,

as Moses told them.

For they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing,

and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians,

so that they let them have what they asked.

Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

And the people of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth,

about 600,000 men on foot besides women and children.

A mixed multitude also went up with them,

with very much livestock, both flocks and herds.

And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough

that they had brought out of Egypt,

for it was not leavened,

because they were thrust out of Egypt

and could not wait,

nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

And the time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years.

And this is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Go ahead and take a seat.

Friends,

the question I proposed at the beginning this morning is,

what will it take?

What will it take for God to deliver His people?

And what we see as we read this story

is that God's deliverance

displays both a terrifying judgment

and a gracious provision

to save a people for Himself.

That's what we're going to look at.

Basically, those two ideas,

a terrifying judgment and a gracious provision

as the dynamics by which God saves His people.

So let us first consider

the nature of this terrible judgment.

Friends,

we maybe know this story too well

and are easily numbed to the horror of it.

This night would have been a more terrifying night

in the nation of Egypt

than we probably could imagine.

Let's look at it for a minute

to remember the nature of this judgment.

First of all,

we want to see that it was predicted

way back in chapter 4.

Turn with me for a second.

Turn back a few chapters to Exodus chapter 4

Exodus 4:22

verses 22 and 23.

Moses has returned to Egypt

and the Lord is telling him

what is going to happen.

He's saying,

you will go

and you will do all these miracles

but Pharaoh will not let you go.

And then in verse 22,

then you shall say to Pharaoh,

thus says the Lord,

Israel is my firstborn son

and I say to you,

let my son go

that he may serve me.

And if you refuse to let him go,

behold,

I will kill your firstborn son.

So when we begin to explore

the nature of this,

this death of the firstborn sons

throughout the history

or throughout the nation of Egypt,

what we see is that

it is happening

because Egypt

has withheld God's firstborn son.

That is,

his people

from actually worshiping him.

There is a judgment on Egypt

because they have not responded

to God's call to respond.

This judgment is

as horrific as it is

with the death of all of these children.

It is also,

as we've seen before,

in a deeper and more severe pattern,

like the plagues that have come before,

it is the undoing of creation.

Just as the creation story in Genesis

reaches its pinnacle

in the creation of human life,

now as God shows his power

over all of creation

and as he shows how

the dissolution of creation

creates chaos and destruction,

so here he brings death

to show his power over death and life.

not only does it do that,

but it also strikes

at the very nature

of the gods of Egypt.

For Osiris and Anubis

were the gods

that ruled over the underworld

and ruled over the afterlife.

And in fact,

they viewed the son of the Pharaoh

as the son of God,

the son of light,

who was immortal

and could not die.

And God says,

you have refused me

again and again and again,

and I will show you

that your gods are false

and they do not have the power

that they promise.

Friends,

the nature of this judgment,

the death of the firstborn,

was universal in the nation.

Every household,

without distinction,

that's what verse 12

and verse 29 says.

Every household

will be struck by this.

From the throne room

in Pharaoh's palace

to the prisons

to the most menial of workers,

from the ivory towers

to the homeless shelters,

this judgment

would have gone

throughout the nation.

Even the livestock

were subjected to this.

And friends,

I want you to recognize

that even the Hebrew households

that were not covered

with the blood of the Lamb

would be subject

to this judgment.

God was bringing

one final,

great judgment

to show that He is God.

God also says

that this judgment

will come swiftly.

His instructions

to the people of Egypt

is to basically

have the Passover meal

with their jackets on

and their car keys

in their pocket

and their wallets

ready to go.

That's what it means

by keeping your sandals on

and tightening your belt.

It will come swiftly

and when it comes,

you must be ready to go.

It is also

an extremely personal judgment.

Turn with me

to chapter 12,

verses 12 and 13.

I want you to look

at this with me again.

The other judgments,

God said He was going

to do it,

but inanimate objects

were changed

or transformed

or controlled.

The weather was,

the sunlight

was manipulated.

The gnats

or the bugs

were moved.

But here,

God Himself

is the agent

of this plague

and of this sign

and of this judgment.

Verses 12 and 13

of chapter 12,

I want you to hear it again

just to hear

the number of

personal pronouns.

For I will pass

through the land of Egypt

that night

and I will strike

all the firstborn

in the land of Egypt,

both man and beast,

and on all the gods

of Egypt,

I will execute judgments.

I am the Lord.

The blood shall be

assigned for you

on the houses

where you are

and when I see the blood,

I will pass over you

and no plague

will befall you

to destroy you

when I strike

the land of Egypt.

God is not using

means anymore.

God is coming Himself

to execute

this judgment.

And friends,

we need to sit

and to see

how horrific it was.

The narrator

tells us this.

And a cry arose

in Egypt

so great

that it has never

been heard before

or since.

I wonder how many

of you all

are firstborn children,

firstborn males.

I wonder how many

of you have

firstborn males

in your family.

Stop and think.

how terrible

would it be

in one night

for death

to come

that fully.

Friends,

if we don't

understand the horror

of it,

we won't understand

the greatness

of the deliverance.

That's why we're

spending all this time

thinking about this

incredibly

uncomfortable subject.

we recognize

the effect

that it had

on Pharaoh

and on the people

of Egypt.

Finally,

Pharaoh,

who had wavered

and hardened

his heart

and then

who had professed

maybe he'd let them

go and then

changed his mind,

he finally did not

change his mind

and his heart,

though hardened,

was now broken

by the death

of his son.

And he said,

go,

serve your God.

And the people

saw that,

the Egyptian people

saw that the presence

of the Hebrews

and the God

of the Hebrews

in their midst

was such a dangerous

thing

that they said,

go,

lest we all die.

Friends,

it's hard to imagine

how to combine

the destructive

power of a hurricane,

the sudden fear

of a terrorist attack,

and the overwhelming

threat of a nuclear war.

But if you can wrap

all of those

into one event,

maybe you will begin

to see how terrible

this judgment

was on Egypt.

God had warned them.

God had said

it was going to come.

He prepared them

for it.

But when it came,

it was just as terrible,

probably more terrible

than they imagined.

And of course,

we're sitting there,

you're sitting here

this morning,

and we struggle

with this,

don't we?

How can God

do this?

Is God fair?

Is God right

to do this?

We recoil against it.

Is the God

of the Bible

not a God of mercy

and a God of love?

Why would God

do this?

Friends,

there's a

long,

long answer

to that question

that I can't fully

give you

this morning.

There are many

aspects to it,

but I'm going to

take one tack

at it this morning

that I hope

will be helpful

for you.

As I was reading,

one commentator,

a woman wrote

a great study

on the book

of Exodus,

said this,

if you want

a God

who would never

hurt a fly,

that will have

to be a God

you manufacture

in your own

imagination.

That is not

the God

of the Bible.

Nor will

He allow you,

nor will it

allow you

to define Him

on your

preferred terms.

The God

of the Bible

is,

in fact,

dangerous.

He's not

capricious

or impulsive

about expressing

His anger.

In fact,

it is obvious

from this story

that He is,

in fact,

slow to anger.

But there is

always an end

to God's patience.

We can be sure

that His patience

with those

who continue

to reject Him

will come to an end,

just as His patience

with Pharaoh

came to an end.

We may want

God to be kind

and to let

everyone get a pass,

but what she is

saying is,

that is not

the God

of the Bible.

Why is this?

Why do we

understand this?

Well,

here's what I want

to propose to you

as your thought

for this morning.

The terrifying

nature of this

judgment

reflects the

terrifying nature

of rebellion

against God.

God.

Remember,

Pharaoh arrogantly

set himself up

and said,

I,

have you ever seen

the Steven Spielberg

Prince of Egypt

animated version?

I am the morning

and the evening.

I am the sun

and the moon.

He,

I rule the world.

I am God

to you.

And if I declare it,

so it is.

I have the power

to define reality.

Pharaoh set himself

up against God

like this.

And in fact,

what the Bible

says

is that

we are not

so different,

are we?

If you want

to read

the full argument

in Romans 1-3,

I recommend it

to you.

The Apostle Paul

gives you a lot

to think about there.

God is not

but what he says

fundamentally

is that we are

all born

with an intuitive

sense

of the divine,

that there is

something greater

than us in the world.

And in fact,

that God has made

himself known

and yet,

to the degree

that we know him,

we have rejected him

and instead

worshipped

something else.

Worshipped ourselves,

worshipped the creation

rather than the creator,

as he says

in Romans 1,

we have set up

something else

in God's place,

just like Pharaoh

set himself up

in God's place.

And we need

to recognize

that this is

a great

offense

against the creator

God.

It is like

a petulant

17-year-old

looking at

a Supreme Court

justice

and saying,

you aren't

the boss over me.

You can't tell me

what's right and wrong.

The offense

against the office

and against the role

of a Supreme Court

justice

is unimaginable.

And yet,

this is greater

than that.

And the Bible

says that that is

true for all of us.

We have this

God aspiration

in our hearts.

We long

to be our own

gods.

And this rebellion

and this rejection

of God

is what fundamentally

the Bible calls

sin.

Sin isn't doing

something wrong.

I mean,

it is,

but it's much

greater than that.

Sin isn't merely

doing something wrong.

It's not simply

antisocial behavior

or destructive

tendencies,

but sin

is this fundamental

rejection of God

saying to God,

God,

I don't want you

to be God

in my life.

I want to be

the God in my life.

Is this not,

in fact,

what Adam and Eve

said in the Garden

of Eden

when they rejected

God and said,

no,

I would like to be

God myself

rather than

submitting to

and receiving

from a good

God.

The Bible says

that we all

have this

spiritual infection,

this heart

bent

away from

God.

And so we're

like the Egyptians.

We make our

own idols.

We don't

worship snakes

and frogs

and gnats,

do we?

But we worship

other things.

Our needs

become the driving

force in our

marriages.

Our independence

shapes our

relationships

and our

friendships.

Our lust

controls our

bodily appetites.

Our reason

becomes the

final arbiter

of what is

right and wrong.

Our self-righteousness

becomes

the bulwark

by which we

protect ourselves

from admitting

that we're

wrong

or that we

failed

or that we

are weak.

Our

self-sufficiency

allows us

to reject

our need

for others.

And our

desire for

control,

control over

all of our

lives,

is the very

spirit that

looks at God

and says,

God,

why can you

do this?

this is wrong.

We put God

as the object

of our

judgment

as we try

to replace

him in our

own hearts

and lives.

And friends,

if we believe

the Bible,

we know that

this is a

terrible thing.

And if we

believe that

God is the

expression of

all that is

good and right

and lovely

in the world

and our

rejection of

that is to

move away

from it

and that a

good God

must judge

evil for

otherwise,

evil will

triumph in

this world

and in our

own lives.

We are

faced with

the reality

that it is

a fearful

thing to

fall into

the hands

of the

living God.

As we

read the

story of

the tenth

plague and

the judgment

on the

firstborn

and the

terrifying

nature of

it,

we ought

to be

terrified

that God's

judgment is

worse than

we imagined

on sin

and that

we ourselves

deserve it.

But friends,

this is not

the end of

the passage.

And isn't

that good

news?

This is not

the end of

the story.

And this

is in fact

is not the

pinnacle for

what we

see here

is that

the judgment

is a part

of God's

delivering

act.

But it is

not the

final.

God has

intervened and

in this

judgment he

has provided,

he has given

a gracious

provision to

his people

so that they

might be

delivered,

not only from

slavery to

Egypt,

but from the

very judgment

that he is

raining down

upon them.

And this

is what I

want to spend

the rest of

our time

thinking about

this morning.

How is God

delivering his

people?

Well, he's

breaking Egypt's

God-exalted,

self-exalting

power.

But he is

then now

providing for

his people so

that they might

be covered.

Let's look

again.

The fundamental

thing that God

provides is the

blood of a

lamb.

which seems so

small and yet

is so sweet

and so precious.

Let's look at it

for a little bit

together.

Look with me at

the beginning of

chapter 12.

We'll see some

of the things

about the nature

of this lamb

that is provided.

Right?

This lamb must

be a perfect

lamb without

blemish,

without flaw,

because he must

reflect the

perfection that

God himself is

and that he

demands from us.

this lamb

that is,

that is,

that the people

are called to

gather,

right,

is a lamb

that is dedicated

for this one

purpose.

You might wonder,

why did he talk

about the not

boiling and not,

like, and then the

burning up and all

that, like, what is

all that about?

It's because,

it's because God

wants this lamb

to have one

single purpose.

The single purpose

is to die so that

the blood may go

on the doorframe

and so that the

people may feast

on it.

It has a single

purpose.

It is also,

this lamb is

sufficient.

Did you notice the

little piece about,

like, oh, and if

your household is too

small to have a lamb

all by yourself,

you go get your

neighbors and you

bring them in,

and you think,

what in the world

is all that about?

It's because this

lamb was meant to

be eaten fully and

so this lamb was

meant to be sufficient

for the gathering

of the people.

And so if your

household was too

small, you'd bind

together with your

neighbors so that

the meal would be,

so the lamb would

be the right,

the proper,

the sufficient

offering for the

number of people

who were there.

This lamb, of

course, is a

substitute.

For the very

nature of this

judgment is that

death would come

to every household.

And recognize,

friends, this is

exactly what happens.

There is no

household to which

death does not

come.

It is either the

death of the

firstborn, of the

families that reject

God and His

instruction, or it

is the death of

the lamb, those who

receive God's

instruction.

salvation.

This lamb is a

substitute for the

firstborn, and it is

a sacrifice.

The lamb is killed, and

before it's cooked, the

blood is taken, and it's

painted on the doorposts

to say, here we have

obeyed the Lord.

Here we have submitted to

His instruction.

Here we have done what

God has asked us to so

that death might come to

this house in this way,

rather than in the way

that it will come in

judgment.

Friends, not only the

provision of the lamb, the

nature of the lamb, a

beautiful thing, but it is

also a call for all to

turn to God and trust

Him.

Think about the

Egyptians.

They've watched over the

last, we don't even know

how long, a couple of

weeks, a couple of months,

just the destruction of the

society in Egypt, the ways

that these plagues have

systematically unraveled the

beauty and the glory of

this place.

And now God is saying, do

this, and it will finally

happen.

They've longed for the

deliverance, but maybe,

like some of us, they were

skeptical.

Really, God?

Are you really going to do

it this time?

Do I really have to obey

you this time?

Are you really going to do

it?

They've waited a long time

for it.

But the call to act, to do

this exactly the way God

did it.

Not only kill the lamb, put

the blood on the doorpost,

but also pack your bags.

Pack your bags, because when

this comes, you have to be

ready to go.

Have you ever thought for a

moment, if your house

started to burn down, what

would you go and grab and

take?

God is saying, pack those

things.

Have your go bag ready, because

when it comes, it's going to

come quickly.

Do you believe this?

If you do, prepare for it and

be ready.

And friends, just as the

judgment that would fall on

every household without the

blood on the doorframe would

come to the Egyptians and the

Israelites, I want you to see

that so too the provision is

offered to the Israelites and

the Egyptians.

It is true that God says, I

will make a distinction between

the Egyptians and the

Israelites, between the people

who stand up against me and

those who submit to me.

But God always invites those

outside of national Israel to

submit and to believe and to

come.

And so you saw at the very end

in verse 38 of chapter 12, it

wasn't just Israelites who

were saved.

That's what that phrase, a

mixed multitude, means.

That there were Egyptians who

believed and Egyptians who were

saved.

And God's saving work is not

ethnic.

It's not national.

It's universal.

And it has been always.

And it always will be.

And the call to faith is no

respecter of persons.

Just as the judgment of God

falls on everyone from the

throne room to the prison cell,

so the delivering act of God,

the delivering offer of God,

the delivering call of God,

comes to all.

And friends, the most beautiful

thing about it,

the response to the people who

listen to God and obey, to

those who take hold of the lamb

and do what God has said with it,

those who sit under the covering

of the blood of the lamb,

God passes over.

This is why it's called

Passover.

If you haven't ever put that

together, now is the time to do

it.

He passed over the households

that had blood because they had

obeyed God and were covered by the

blood of a lamb.

Verse 23, the Lord will pass through

to strike the Egyptians.

And when he sees the blood on the

lintel and on the two doorposts,

the Lord will pass over the door

and will not allow the destroyer

to enter your houses

or strike you.

Friends, can you imagine what it

would be like that night?

At midnight, in the dark,

waiting, wondering.

You've done what God has asked you

to.

There's blood on the door.

You're trying to fall asleep,

but it's uncomfortable because

you have your belt on and your

sandals on.

And you're using your bag as your

pillow.

And then a loud cry rises up

throughout the nation,

wailing,

weeping,

mourning,

but for you,

joy.

There is no death in this household

for the death has already happened

because of the blood of the lamb.

God has spared us

and God has freed us

and God has delivered us.

God has set us free

to go and serve him.

And not only has God set us free

to go and serve him,

but he's provided everything we need.

We don't have to fight Pharaoh

to leave because he's telling us,

get out.

We don't have to fight our neighbors

because they've given us

stuff

that we didn't have as slaves

so that we could go

and worship him.

They've given us

golden jewelry

that in Exodus 35

will be offered

to the Lord

for the adorning

of the tabernacle

and for his worship.

God has set us free

and this is the beginning

of the rest of our lives.

And we start a new year

and a new day

and a new calendar

at this time

because God has done

the most amazing thing

in delivering his people.

God did not simply

judge,

but he provided

graciously

a deliverance

from that terrible judgment

to save a people

for himself.

Well, friends,

we're not Egyptians

or Israelites.

We don't,

we're not living

4,000 years ago.

We're living today.

How are we to respond?

Well,

we're to respond

knowing that the same God

who did that

for his people in Egypt

has done that

for his people

throughout the world.

God did not simply

judge the world

in its sin,

but in fact,

God sent his very own son,

his firstborn son,

to be the Lamb

of God.

By his blood shed,

we are covered

and rescued

and delivered

and redeemed

to be his people.

Friends,

consider with me

for just a minute

this Jesus.

Jesus who was

a greater Lamb,

the one who

John the Baptist

called the Lamb of God

who comes to take away

the sins of the people

of the world.

Jesus,

who is perfect

in his sinlessness

like the Lamb.

Jesus,

who is dedicated

to one purpose,

to glorify God

by coming

to be the ransom

for many,

not by exalting himself,

but by laying himself down

as a sacrifice

that he might be

poured out

to save sinners.

Jesus,

who took on

human flesh

and blood

so that he might

be a perfect identifier

with us.

The Lamb

was never quite sufficient

and as you look

through the book

of Leviticus

and then as you read

the book of Hebrews,

you know

all of this was saying

this isn't enough,

this isn't the final act

of God's deliverance,

but this is pointing

to an even greater

deliverance

because Jesus

in his incarnation

identifies with us

fully

so that he can be

the perfect one

to die in our place.

He who is our substitute,

who hung on the cross

bearing the terrifying

judgment

against the firstborn,

the terrifying judgment

against us

in our sin.

He bore

the full wrath

of it.

He endured

the beating.

He endured

the scorn.

He endured

the shame.

He endured

God's anger

against sin.

He endured

being forsaken

by his Father.

He endured

death itself

for us.

the author

of life

put to death

for us.

But friends,

this Jesus

is not only

the perfect

Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world,

but he is also

the firstborn

Son of God,

firstborn

from before

the foundations

of the earth,

but also

the firstborn

from the dead.

for this Jesus

did not stay

in the grave.

This Jesus

did not,

having submitted

to all of that

judgment,

did not then

leave,

but instead

showing his

perfection

and showing

his sinless

power over

sin and death,

he rose from

the dead

to be the firstborn

among many

sisters and

brothers.

others.

This Jesus

is alive

today that

he might be

the firstborn

of a whole

people who

by faith

in him,

by trusting

in his blood

shed

on our

behalf,

this Jesus

now is

making for

God a

people from

every tribe

and tongue

and nation

that we

might worship

him,

that we

might leave

the land

of slavery

to sin,

that we

might forsake

the idols

and the worship

of other

gods,

that we

might abandon

our self-exalting

nature and

live instead

for him.

This is the

great salvation

that God has

worked for us.

He calls you

to respond

this morning.

Will you

believe in this?

Will you

believe that

this Jesus

is enough

for you?

Will you

entrust

yourself

to him

as God's

provision

for the

forgiveness

of your

sins,

for the

breaking

of your

idolatrous

heart,

for the

new life

that he

now offers

you in

Christ?

Friends,

will you

paint the

doorposts

of your

life

with the

blood of

Jesus?

Will you

put on

your sandals

and tighten

your belts

and set

your sights

not on

the things

of this

earth,

but on

the kingdom

that is

to come

with God

when he

comes in

his glory

and his

righteousness?

Will you

live your

life now

worshipping

him,

worshipping

this God

who is not

only a

terrifying God

who will

judge sin,

but a

loving God

who has

borne that

terrifying

judgment for

you,

that you

might be

his people?

Friends,

this is the

good news

of the

gospel.

This is

what we're

going to

celebrate

for the

next two

weeks as

we come

into the

Easter season

and Palm

Sunday and

Easter,

Good Friday

and Easter,

we're going

to remember

these events

more fully.

God calls

you today.

Will you

believe?

And will

you

worship?

Let's

pray.

Lord,

we have

touched on

mighty and

weighty things

this morning.

And Lord,

we are

humbled before

your righteous

wrath against

sin.

We are,

we tremble,

Lord.

before your

judgment seat.

Lord,

if we stood

in our own,

on our own

before you,

what a fearsome

place it would

be.

But God,

you have

provided for

us one who

would intercede,

a lamb whose

blood was shed

for us so that

we might stand

before you,

forgiven,

accepted,

called to be

yours because

we're covered

by Jesus.

Lord,

I pray this

morning for

those here who

might be

exploring Christianity

and wondering,

what kind of God

are you and

what does it look

like for you to

be a God who

saves people from

their sin?

Lord,

I pray that they

might know,

Lord,

the glorious

provision that you

have made in

Jesus,

that they would

come to faith

in you.

I pray for

those here this

morning who

have known of

Jesus' death on

the cross for

their sins.

Lord,

I pray that it

might be precious

and sweet.

And Lord,

that it might not

be simply a

peripheral part of

our lives,

but that it might

be central,

central in our

heart,

central in our

worship,

central in our

everyday lives.

Lord,

that we would

believe and

trust and

worship as you

have called us

to.

We pray these

things in Jesus'

name.

Amen.