We are in chapter twelve of Exodus with our word for today with both the noun and verb forms. פֶּ֫סַח Passover, the meal eaten at the Passover celebration, a sparing, immunity. This is the noun used 49 times in the Old Testament. פָּסַח be lame, limp, limp by, pass by, spare. This is the verb it is used 7 times in the Old testament. The noun is used 5 times in our chapter and the verb 3 times. Let’s look how it’s used in our chapter. Exodus 12:11-13, 21, 23, 26-27 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's פֶּ֥סַח 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 וּפָסַחְתִּ֖י pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt… Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the הַפָּֽסַח Passover lamb… 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 וּפָסַ֤ח pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you…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 פֶּ֨סַח Passover, for he פָּ֠סַח 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 worshiped. I like the phrase פֶּ֨סַח ה֜וּא לַֽיהוָ֗ה repeated 3 times in our chapter because the emphasis is that YHWH is the one saving his people. He is the one providing the sacrifice for sins and he is the one passing over them this is why the Passover is referred to as the LORD’s Passover. Notice why YHWH or the LORD passes over the houses who did what God said to do. They saw the blood. We will look at this word tomorrow for today I’ll just point out that it was not just that the Hebrew people did what God said to do in other words they obeyed God but it was specifically because God saw the blood. We will talk more about that tomorrow. It is not a coincidence by the way that Jesus set up the Lord’s supper or communion in the context of the Passover meal. He did this on purpose to make the connection that he was the lamb that was slain. He was the lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Luke 22:14-20 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. I’ll close with these two great passages about God passing over us to spare us instead of judging us for our sins. John 5:24 Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
