The Jewish festival of Passover was established to commemorate and recount the story of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt. The lamb that was sacrificed, which served as the main course of the Passover meal, symbolized the cost paid for Israel's protection and redemption from slavery in Egypt. God “passed over” the homes of those Hebrews who had applied the lamb’s blood to their doorways (Exodus 12:12-27). The Biblical text indicates that the Lord passed over each house to cover and protect it, rather than merely passing by it. This protection was meant to prevent the destroyer angel from killing the firstborn of the Egyptians, as declared in Exodus 12:23 and later described poetically in Psalm 78:49.
During Passover, the Jews also consumed unleavened bread and bitter herbs, which served as reminders of the suffering endured during their bondage in Egypt and the sustenance God provided for the Israelites during the Exodus (12:39). By eating the sacrificed lamb, the Hebrews not only remembered their history but also shared the Passover story with others.
On the night when Jesus and His disciples celebrated Passover, a significant change occurred. He took bread, gave thanks, and told His disciples, “Take and eat. This is My body” (Mark 14:22). Then, taking the third of four cups of wine traditionally consumed at Passover, known as the “cup of redemption,” Jesus proclaimed, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (14:24). Notably, the fourth cup—the “cup of consummation”—was left untouched. Jesus explained, “I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God” (14:25). What remained was a substitute sacrifice in place of the guilty sinner. The next day (our Good Friday), Christ would be that substitute sacrifice.
Isaiah had prophesied that, like a lamb led to slaughter, the Messiah would be pierced for our transgressions, and the punishment we deserved would fall upon Him (Isaiah 53:5-7). The Bible teaches that all have sinned and deserve one punishment: death. The following day, Jesus was executed on a Roman cross. It fully paid the cost of redemption. Paul wrote that Christ Himself is the Passover lamb, sacrificed for our sins (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Jesus Christ has come forward: the Lamb of God, provided by God in God’s plan, who bears our guilt as a substitute in his own body. From the Bible’s point of view, God owes us justice. God owes us condemnation. But because of God’s mercy, love, and grace, what he gives us is his Son, to die on the cross and to take our sins in his own body on the cross. Trust the Lamb of God and you will be set free of guilt and shame.