Good Friday Series – GOD’S PASSOVER LAMB

Jesus is the Lamb of God. It is only through His blood–His perfect sinless blood–that we can receive forgiveness for God for our sins.

Follow the full GOOD FRIDAY series

Do you know why every year Good Friday and Easter Sunday is always on a different calendar day (usually in March or April)? The date changes in order to coincide with the yearly Jewish feast of the Passover (which is on the Jewish calendar system).

Do you know (and do your children know) that Jesus Christ was taken to be crucified on the night of the Passover? And do you know why this is so significant?

The Old Testament feast of the Passover is filled with symbolism and prophecies — all pointing to Jesus Christ and His crucifixion on the Cross. He is our Passover Lamb!

Our Passover Lamb: JESUS!

This Jewish celebration is to remember how God delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and how the death angel “passed over” their homes.

A special dinner called “Seder” includes unleavened bread (Matzah), lamb, and bitter herbs.

Jesus celebrated the Passover every year, and through His death on the cross, He fulfilled it. God has provided freedom from the bitterness of sin and eternal death, for:

“. . . Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.”
(1 Corinthians 5:7 NLT).

An excerpt from The Scarlet Cord

After Jesus died on the cross, the Bible says that Jesus took His own blood and sprinkled it on the mercy seat of heaven. He did not have to repeat this daily, weekly, or yearly, as required in the Old Testament sacrifices.

Once, and one time only, Jesus offered His blood.

Jesus’ blood is more powerful than all the sacrificial blood combined throughout history. Hebrews chapter 9 declares that Christ came as our High Priest, with a greater and more perfect sacrifice, not with the blood of bulls and goals and calves, but with His own precious blood. Jesus’ offering on the cross was once and for all.

As we see in Hebrews chapter 10, the blood of Jesus Christ was the final sacrifice for sins:

“By that will we have been sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
–Hebrews 10:10

“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down at the right hand of God.”

“For by one offering He has perfected forever
those who are being sanctified.”
–Hebrews 10:12, 14

Before the cross, the children of Israel celebrated the Passover every year to remember how the death angel “passed-over” every believing home that was covered by the blood of the Passover lamb.

After the cross, we as Christians celebrate Christ’s final sacrifice by taking Communion, as we remember how Jesus Christ fully paid the final penalty price for our sins. All previous sacrifices, including the Passover sacrifice each year, pointed forward to the cross. Today, we look back to the cross of Calvary and thank God that no further sacrifice is necessary.

Jesus Christ’s blood was not the same as the blood of animals, which had to be offered up continually–over-and-over–as periodic coverings for sin.

It is by faith we believe and understand that Jesus’ blood was pure enough, life-giving enough, and strong enough. He only had to offer it up one time.

This excerpt is from Chapter 2, “God’s Only Way,” from
Jon & Ann Dunagan’s book, THE SCARLET CORD: Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. It’s a concise call to world missions, emphasizing God’s only way of salvation through the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Learn more . . .

Passover Prayer Focus:

Pray for God’s blessing and peace for the people of Israel, and for Jewish people from all over the world. Pray for Jewish families, especially as they are celebrating the Passover, that they would recognize Jesus Christ (Y’shua) as their promised Messiah.

Jesus Christ was (and is) the
“Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”
(Revelation 13:8).

Even before God created our world, He knew there would be sin, and the need for the Cross. Yet out of His incredible love, He chose to create us anyway . . . and to die for us.

Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lamb of God.

5 ideas – to remember JESUS as our Lamb of God

#1 – Celebrate Communion.
Partaking of communion, either as a family or even all by yourself during a quiet time, is a powerful way to remember Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. This week, perhaps on Thursday (to remember the Last Supper) or on Good Friday (to remember the day of the crucifixion), this communion time can be especially significant. Sing together a simple song you know about the cross or the blood of Jesus.

Read aloud I Corinthians 11:23,
“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you,
That the Lord Jesus the same night
in which he was betrayed took bread…”

#2 – Watch a movie about the Passover.
The classic movie, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston, can be a great Holy Week tradition, especially as you focus on the scene of the Passover and the blood of the Lamb. Also, children’s cartoon videos about Moses and the Passover can help teach a child about the spiritual significance of this special day of the year.

#3 – Watch a film about the Cross and the Resurrection.
The JESUS Film by Campus Crusade for Christ (from the Gospel of Luke, translated into about 1000 languages and is utilized in missions and evangelism throughout the world). Also recommended is the Matthew Video, The Gospel of John, and (for adults and older children) The Passion.

#4 – Pet Baby Lambs.
Visit a nearby farm or petting zoo (or look online for a local 4H group). Think about how Jesus came as the perfect innocent Lamb of God.

#5 – Watch a Live Passion Play.
Search your local area to see if any church or Christian ministry is performing a live Passion Play to attend with your family (and invite a friend or a family to join you!).