Exodus 12:1-28

Well, good evening. It's really great to be here with you.

My name's Dave. I'm a student at Union School of Theology in Wales

! And it's really good to be able to visit and open up God's Word together.

Let's pray before we do that.

Father God, it's an amazing thing, an awesome thing,

that you speak to us as we gather together as your people.

And we want to be those who tremble at your Word.

And so we pray that you would give us ears to hear,

give us soft hearts to listen and hear and understand

what you are saying to us this evening.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

New Year is a funny time, isn't it?

I think it provokes different reactions in different people.

For some of us, the fresh start of a new year makes us think,

right, I need to get my life together.

I need to be better this year.

And it's not just about joining the gym or getting fit.

If we're Christians, we want to glorify God more.

We want to serve Him more.

We want to love Him more.

To grow and to develop to maturity in Christ.

Maybe we've got New Year's resolutions and things like that.

But for some of us, the start of a year just makes us feel tired.

Here we go again.

You know, trying to summon enough energy to just keep going,

let alone making resolutions and making changes.

And after the year that we've had, I'm sure many of us are feeling a little bit like that.

Weary and flat, rather than raring to go.

But what is it that we need at the start of a new year?

What do we need as Christians?

Do we need a pep talk?

Someone to give us a motivational, rousing speech to rouse us to be better this year?

Well, God said that there's one thing that His people need every year.

He commanded them to do it without fail in the first month, every new year.

And you can summarize it in one word.

Remember.

Chapter 12, verse 14 says,

This day shall be for you a memorial day.

In other words, take a day to remember.

They were required every new year to remember one thing.

And it wasn't a to-do list.

It wasn't a list of resolutions and things to do to improve this upcoming year.

God wanted them to remember their redemption.

Chapter 13, verse 3 says,

Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt,

out of the house of slavery,

for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place.

He's saying,

Start the year looking back to that monumental event when God rescued you from slavery.

In fact, this was so important that God actually changed the calendar.

Did you see that in verse 2 of chapter 12?

This month shall be for you the beginning of months.

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

In other words, New Year for Israel used to be in September,

but God changed it to March,

because that's when he brought them out of Egypt.

You need to start your year remembering that event, God says.

Remember that I saved you.

So every year they did this special ritual of Passover

to reenact the redemption from Egypt.

And at the start of this year, 2022,

God's people need the same thing.

We need to remember our redemption.

Instead of looking forward to this new year,

we first need to look back.

Instead of what we're going to do for God,

we need to remember what he's done for us.

And this is so helpful.

It's so wise of God that he gives his people sacraments.

That he gave the Passover in the old administration.

And he gives the Lord's Supper in the new.

Because one of the things that he's doing is

he's calling us to remembrance.

To do this in remembrance of him.

And we need this.

Whether we tend to activism or cynicism.

Whether we think,

I'm going to go and do all these great things for God this year.

Or whether we're just thinking,

how am I going to keep going this year?

This reminds us that salvation is all of God.

We may be desperate weaklings,

but God is strong.

He has done it all.

And he will complete his redemptive work in us.

And that's what's going to keep us going

whatever we might face this year.

That's what we're thinking about this evening.

Remember your redemption.

But before we dive into exactly what Passover commemorates,

a quick refresher of where we are in Exodus.

If you know the plot of Exodus,

it's on the edge of your seat kind of stuff.

God's people are slaves in Egypt,

and they're having a really bad time.

They've gone through an attempted genocide

where Jewish babies were being thrown into the Nile.

They're ruthlessly worked.

They're beaten and treated like animals.

But God hears their cries.

He remembers his covenant with Abraham.

And so he sends Moses to bring his people out of Egypt.

But God knows that Pharaoh is a stubborn guy.

His heart is rock hard towards Yahweh, the God of Israel.

So God sends horrible plagues on Egypt.

Plague after plague,

but Pharaoh won't give in.

And now God says to Moses,

I'm going to send one final plague,

and this time Pharaoh will let you go.

This plague is the worst of them all,

the final judgment on Egypt, basically.

The plague of the firstborn.

And this is what we're going to see.

Here's the thing,

the first thing that Passover helps us to remember.

God's people are spared from God's strike.

That's the first point.

God's people are spared from God's strike.

Flick back a page to chapter 11 and verse 4.

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 the throne,

even to the firstborn of the slave girl who's 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.

This is a serious plague.

Every single firstborn son in the whole of Egypt is going to die.

They'll wake up the next morning,

and there'll be bodies of loved ones.

It's a scary, terrible thing.

But, verse 7,

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.

So when Israel sees this plague unfold,

what is the thing that God wants them to learn?

Did you hear it?

Yahweh makes a distinction between his people and Egypt.

They'll be weeping all over Egypt,

but you, my people,

you will be safe.

This comes out really clearly in chapter 12, verse 27.

Moses says,

When you've done this strange Passover ritual on New Year's,

your kids are going to ask you,

What is this all about?

What does it mean?

And here's what you should tell them.

Verse 27,

That's the summary of what Passover means.

It says there,

Tell your kids God struck the Egyptians,

but spared us.

He made a distinction.

God's people were spared from his strike.

You know,

if you read on a bit further,

this distinction is the reason

why only God's people

were allowed to celebrate

and join in the Passover festival.

It says in verse 43,

No foreigner shall eat of it,

but, verse 47,

all the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

You see how clear the distinction is

that God makes between his people

and the other nations.

In fact,

the only way that strangers

could participate in the Passover

was to become one of God's covenant people.

Verse 48,

it says,

Let all his males be circumcised,

then he may come near and keep it.

He shall be as a native of the land.

God makes a distinction

between his people

and the other nations,

between Egypt

and between his people.

Imagine being one of those Israelites

who'd been redeemed,

whose family had been spared

on that first Passover.

A few years later,

you're gathered around the table

celebrating this Passover meal

like you do every year.

And you can't help

looking at your older brother,

the firstborn son,

thinking,

the only reason that he's alive right now

is because God stayed his hand.

He spared us.

It was literally a destroying angel

slaughtering the firstborn sons

all over the country,

in the palace,

in the servants' quarters,

even in the fields.

Even the cows didn't escape.

But we escaped.

You remember the wailing in Egypt

when all the firstborn died.

And you remember the relief

when your family,

when your people were spared.

It could have been us.

It should have been us.

But God spared us.

So remembering God's redemption

involved remembering

that they were spared

from God's strike.

That's the first point.

But if God makes a distinction,

what is it?

What is it that marks God's people out?

What makes us any different

from the world?

What made Israel any different

from Egypt?

You might say that

Egypt were the oppressors

and Israel were the victims.

Or you might think

Israel were just better

than Egypt.

They followed God's commands

whereas Egypt were rebels.

But even if you don't know

the story of Israel

and how completely awful

they were most of the time,

this chapter really shows us

that it's got nothing

to do with that.

The only difference

was blood.

Israel was ransomed

by the blood.

That's our second point.

Ransomed

by blood.

What do you think

was at the center

of the Passover ritual?

There are lots of

little details involved

but the main thing

was slaughter.

A lamb was slaughtered

and its blood was painted

on your doorpost.

It's strange, isn't it?

It's unpleasant.

But if you're a Christian

this bloody ritual

strikes to the very core

of who we are

and where we come from.

Look down with me

to chapter 12 verse 3.

God said to Moses,

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.

Then verse 6,

You shall keep it

until the fourteenth day

of this month

when the whole assembly

of the congregation

of Israel

shall kill their lamb

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.

What was the point of this?

Why did they need

their doorposts dripping

with blood?

This is a strange thing

to do, isn't it?

Can you imagine

doing this every new year?

Squirting a load

of sheep's blood

on your front door?

Why?

Well, verse 12

tells us the reason.

God says,

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 before you

to destroy you

when I strike

the land of Egypt.

The only difference

between an Israelite

and an Egyptian

was the blood

on their doorposts.

The difference

between God

striking you

and God sparing you

is the blood.

It was the sign,

it was the thing

that marked you out

as one of God's people.

And this is so important,

it's repeated again.

Verse 23,

For the Lord

will pass through

to strike the Egyptians

and when he sees the blood

the Lord will pass over the door

and will not allow

the destroyer

to enter your houses

to strike you.

When the destroyer came,

was he looking for

how righteous

they'd been?

How well they were doing

spiritually?

No.

He was looking for one thing.

The blood.

Is the blood

on the doorpost?

It's all about the blood.

God's people were spared

because they were

under the blood

of the lamb.

Isn't that surprising?

The mark of God's people

is the blood

of a baby sheep.

What does it mean?

And it's all about

ransom.

What comes to mind

when you hear

the word ransom?

I tend to think of

a hostage situation.

A bit like in films,

somebody's being kidnapped

and the kidnapper

sets a ransom.

Pay me

a million pounds

and they'll live.

And so that person

is ransomed

with that price

of a million pounds.

And it's a similar

idea here

except this time

imagine the kidnapper

sets the ransom price

as a swap.

A life

for a life.

The hostage

will live

if you come

and die

in their place.

And that's the kind

of thing that's going

on here

with the lamb.

Israel has sinned

and rebelled

against God.

They deserve judgment

just like Egypt.

Someone has to die.

It's not that

God said

it's okay

I'll let you guys

off because

we've got history.

No, judgment

still fell.

It just fell

on someone else.

How many lambs

do you think

were slaughtered

on that day?

A lot.

A lot of blood

on a lot of doorposts

to ransom

sinful Israel.

They were ransomed

by the blood.

This is

at the center

of who we are

and of our story.

These ancient

historical events

this ancient ritual

is for us today.

It was never

intended to be

purely about rescue

from Egypt.

It was always

about the Lord

Jesus Christ

and his great

redemptive work

for his people.

Do you remember

what Jesus did

when he celebrated

the Passover

with his disciples?

They were doing

exactly what

Exodus 12

says to do.

Remembering the

redemption from Egypt

through this ritual.

And Jesus

breaks the unleavened

bread and he says

take this.

This is my body

which is given

for you.

Do this

in remembrance

of what?

Of me.

You see that

Jesus is

telling them

celebrate the Passover

not just in memory

of Egypt

but in memory

of me.

It's about me.

He takes the wine

and says

drink it all of you

for this is my blood

of the covenant

which is poured out

for many

for the forgiveness

of sins.

In other words

I am the lamb.

I am your Passover

lamb

whose blood

ransoms you

whose flesh

you eat

in remembrance

of me.

In a few hours

his blood

will be spilled

not on the doorpost

but on a wooden cross

the ransom price

for our freedom.

Did it ever

impact you

how high

our ransom price

was?

When we were

hostages

to sin

and death

what was the ransom

price

over our heads?

What was the

father willing

to pay

for our redemption?

One Peter says

it wasn't

perishable things

like silver

and gold

there would never

be enough gold

in all the universe

to pay our ransom.

No, we had to be

ransomed

at the highest

cost imaginable

something of

infinite value

the precious

blood of Christ

like that of a lamb

without blemish

or spots.

he gave up

his own son

for us

his only son

God the father

gave his beloved

beautiful son

to be slaughtered

like an animal

for our ransom

it's actually

impossible isn't it

for us to

really take that in

but as the

Holy Spirit

applies that

to our hearts

it changes everything

we've been

ransomed

by the precious

blood of Christ

and that is

an awesome

fact.

you know

one day

Christ will

come again

and God

has appointed

him to judge

the world

this time

it won't just

be Egypt

but everyone

multitudes

billions

of people

before the throne

of judgment

how will he

know

who to spare?

Revelation

tells us

that God

has a book

of life

where the names

of all his

elect

all his chosen

people

are written

every single

one who's

been redeemed

everyone

who's been

ransomed

none of them

are missing

this one

is under

the blood

this one

and that one

are under

the blood

we are spared

the strike of

God

because we're

ransomed

by the blood

we've seen

that Passover

calls us

to remember

our redemption

we've seen

that's not a

vague kind of

thing

we're remembering

specifically

that we're

spared from

God's strike

his strike

of judgment

because we've

been ransomed

by Christ's

blood

so finally

we're going to

circle back

around to that

main point

of remembering

our redemption

what does that

actually look like?

how should we

apply this to

ourselves

as God's

people?

well for the

original readers

the main application

was pretty simple

keep the Passover

chapter 12

verse 14

says this day

shall be for you

a memorial day

and you shall

keep it

as a feast

to the Lord

throughout your

generations

as a statute

forever

you shall keep

it as a feast

or verse 17

you shall observe

this day

throughout your

generations

as a statute

forever

again verse 24

you shall observe

this rite

as a statute

for you

and for your

sons

forever

it was obvious

what Israel

was supposed

to do

keep it

observe it

do it

we're under

the same

covenant of

grace

but it's

administered

differently

isn't it?

we don't

celebrate the

Passover

in our

churches

we saw

earlier

that Jesus

transitioned

really naturally

from the

Passover

to the

Lord's

Supper

Passover

was always

about Christ

and now

in the

Lord's

Supper

we celebrate

him

as our

Passover

lamb

we participate

in his

body

and in his

blood

shed for us

so a very

simple application

is let's

continue

celebrating

the Lord's

Supper

together

as his

people

and we're

going to

do that

I believe

in a moment

I think

it's

particularly

helpful

at the

beginning

of the

year

to let

this

root

and ground

us

in grace

as we

share

in this

sign and

seal

of our

redemption

we remember

that we

are the

redeemed

people of

God

ransomed

by blood

so we

enjoy

we celebrate

the fact

that we've

done

absolutely

nothing

to earn

our

salvation

if nothing

else is

clear in

the Lord's

Supper

that is

we were

ransomed

by someone

else

we participate

in him

in his

body

and in

his

blood

it's a

bit like

that hostage

who's been

ransomed

he was

sitting there

tied to a

chair with a

blindfold on

in bondage

to his

kidnapper

but someone's

paid the

ransom price

for his

freedom

he walks

out the

door blinking

in the

sunlight

he's

free

but can

you imagine

if he goes

around

congratulating

himself

on his

daring

escape

boasting

about how

he managed

to survive

that would

be ridiculous

delusional

someone else

paid for

him to be

free

do you know

what's even

more ridiculous

if the

freed hostage

went around

moping

saying I

don't deserve

to be free

I'm too much

of a bad

person

it's my fault

I ended up

a hostage

in the first

place

I don't

deserve

to be free

and he

continues to

live as if

he was still

a captive

even though

the ransom

has been

paid

that would

be crazy

too

wouldn't it

we've been

ransomed

by God

and we did

nothing

to contribute

and God

won't let us

forget that

he commands

us in his

grace to

remember

our redemption

he's given

us this

gracious

sacrament

of the

Lord's

supper

saying do

this

continually

remembrance

of me

what a

gracious

God

you have

so let's

start this

year

resting

in his

redemption

enjoying

our freedom

celebrating

his finished

work

on our

behalf

let's

cheerfully

press on

in full

dependence

on Christ

our Passover

land

Amen