The Passover Lamb Exodus 12:5-11, NIV “The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire?head, legs and inner parts. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.” (Choir) The great glory of God, the Creator of all the universe Give praises to God with all our hearts for ever Give praises to God for His glory for ever Praise, praise Him. Amen. Do you love our Lord Jesus? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Let us greet each other by saying, “The Lord Jesus is with us.” I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “The Passover Lamb,” based on Exodus 12:5-11. Could you please repeat after me? “The Passover Lamb” Non-Christians are apt to easily speak of despair. They meet together and speak of the frustration of their hearts with heavy sighs. They speak of despair but do not have any solutions to their problems. However, as Christians, we must speak of hope. We can speak of hope because Jesus Christ our Savior is our absolute hope. No matter what kind of problems or suffering we may face, we must speak of hope in the Lord. We must march forward with absolute hope and gratitude. We should not despair like other people do. We should not be dismayed with them. We have hope in Christ Jesus. We can have victory, miracles, and the abundant grace of God in the Lord Jesus. The whole Korean community is being shaken. We are going through a huge economic recession now. We are swamped with various problems only to despair, without knowing what to do. This shows that a human-built kingdom is collapsing. No matter what we do, nothing that man makes can last forever. It is bound to collapse. Jesus Christ is the only hope, and He alone can solve the problems in our lives. The background of the problems can be traced back to sin. Hatred, jealousy, envy, murder, war and all darkness are rooted in sin. Who can resolve these problems? Only Jesus Christ can. When the problem of sin is resolved, we will become the children of God, and we will prosper spiritually and physically and in all circumstances. The Passover is a most important historical incident, because it was on that day that the Israelites were delivered from the 430 years of slavery in Egypt. In gratitude for the redemption on the Passover, the Israelites observed the Passover, and they are still observing the Passover even now. Even 3400 years later, they still give thanks to God on the Passover. I want to share the grace of God upon us by looking into the first Passover. 1. The Lamb without defect (Ex 12:5). The core of the Passover lies in the lamb without defect. First, I would like to speak of the lamb without defect. Could you please repeat after me? “The Lamb without defect.” Exodus 12: 5 says, “The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.” God commanded the Israelites to take the lamb without defect that was to be slaughtered for their sins. In order to deliver Israel, God struck Egypt with 10 plagues. The tenth was the death of all the first-borns. On the other hand, at the time of the tenth plague, God delivered Israel from the hands of the destroyer by the blood of the lamb. All the Israelites prepared a lamb for each family, one for each household. The lambs were sacrificed instead of the Israelites. The sacrificed lamb without defect signifies Jesus Christ who took all our sins. That is what John the Baptist says in John 1:29. The Scripture says, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John the Baptist was a man of prayer. He was a spiritual man. The moment he saw Jesus, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Hallelujah! To be without defect means to be without sin. The Son of God has nothing to do with sin. However, Jesus Christ who is without sin came to earth for sinners like us, took our sins, and died for us. Jesus himself became a sacrifice and shed His blood on the Cross. Just as the lambs without defect died for the Israelites, sinless Jesus was crucified for us. Jesus, the Lord of love, died for us. Who in the world would die for us? No one! No one in the world would be willing to die for us but Jesus Christ, the lamb without defect, who was crucified instead of us. Therefore, we must give thanks to God for this wonderful grace. We cannot thank Him enough no matter how much we thank Him. Let us confess to Him, throughout our lives, “Lord, I thank You for laying down Your life for me. Thank You for opening the door to salvation through Your death while I was a sinner. I want to live for the glory of God.” 2. The blood of the Lamb (Ex 12:7). Second, I would like to speak about the blood of the lamb. Verse 7 says, “put it (the blood) on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.” God told them to kill the lambs, to take some of the blood and to put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses. This blood saved the Israelites from death. The destroyer saw the blood on the doorframes of the house and passed over them. That was where the name “Passover” came from. The blood of the lamb symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ that has brought us forgiveness of sin. In the Old Testament God established the sacrifice of blood for the person who sinned. Hebrews 9:22 says, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” If a person were to be killed each time he/she committed sin, human history would have been severed thousands of times. However, since God is a God of love and a God of justice at the same time, He could not forgive their sins for nothing. That was why He established the ordinance of animal sacrifices. When the Israelites saw the animals die, shedding their blood, they felt sorry and were determined not to commit sin again. God opened a way for their redemption through this ordinance. Ever since the time of Adam and Eve, numerous animals have died in front of their owners. Why? It was because of the sin of their owners. The sinless animals shed their blood for them. Similarly, when the Israelites escaped from Egypt, the lambs without defect had to shed their blood and die to be ransoms for the Israelites. Their blood protected and saved people from the hands of the destroyer. On the other hand, all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of all Egyptians, and to the firstborn of all the livestock were struck down. Exodus 12:29-30 says, “At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.” All their firstborn children and the firstborn of all the livestock in Egypt were killed. The entire land of Egypt was covered with loud wailing that night?the wailing of woe. They woke up in the middle of the night only to find out that their firstborn child had died. Their firstborn animal had died, too. They held their dead bodies and cried bitterly. On the contrary, the Israelites who put the blood of the lamb on their doorframes were rescued from this disaster. They must have lifted their hands and praised the Lord, “We thank You, God for saving us from death. Thank You for saving my precious child.” Jesus came to earth as the Lamb of sacrifice 2000 years ago. He took all our sins and offered himself as an atoning sacrifice on the Cross. Just as the Israelites were saved by the blood of the lamb, we will be saved when we believe in Jesus. God puts the blood of Jesus on our hearts and saves us from death. He makes us into His children. Now we are no longer the slaves of the devil. We have been delivered from slavery. We can have blessed lives as the children of God. You are the precious children of God. Let us say to one another, “You are a blessed child of God.” In Old Testament days, they had to sacrifice animals every time they sinned. The animal sacrifice was only temporary and repetitive. On the other hand, however, the sacrifice of Jesus was a complete sacrifice that has brought the forgiveness of sins once for all. Hebrews 9:12 says, “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.” Jesus brought the atonement of sins once for all. Trust in the power of the blood of Jesus. Just as the Israelites put the blood of the lamb on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses, let us put the blood of Jesus on the doorframes of our hearts. Let us put His blood on our hearts lest sin should enter into our hearts. Let us prevent the destroyer from coming and killing us. We are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” Hallelujah! Selma Lagerl?f from Sweden was the first woman to win the Nobel Literature Prize. She wrote a story called, Bird with the Crimson Chest. The following is the story. When God created all the animals on earth, He created a bird with gray feathers and called it, The Crimson Chest Bird. The bird said, “God, I am all gray. Why do you call me the crimson chest bird? I have no red feathers at all.” God said, “When you realize what true love is, you will have feathers that suit your name.” A long time passed by. Near the nest of the crimson chest bird, some people put up a cross and nailed a person on it. The bird was so sorry at the sight and flew to the man. She saw thorns on his head, and blood was flowing from the thorn scars. Feeling so sad and sorry, the bird began to pluck out the thorns one by one with her beak. When the thorns were being plucked out, blood gushed out and soaked the bird. She plucked as many thorns as she could and returned to her nest, because the man had died. A strange thing happened. The bird came home all soaked with blood. The blood did not come off. She rubbed her feathers and tried to wash the blood in the stream, but the blood stains stayed on her chest. Even rainfalls could not wash it off. What was more surprising is that all the baby birds were hatched with red chest feathers. The story of the bird with the crimson chest is our story. After believing in Jesus Christ, we are born again as the children of God, being soaked in the blood of Jesus. All God’s children are born with the blood of Jesus in their hearts, being soaked in His blood. The blood of Jesus has changed each and every one of us, without exception, has made us into the children of God, and has kept us till this moment. Those who have not experienced the blood of Jesus cannot know God. We did not know about the blood of Jesus. We insisted on our own way and committed sin. We do not know what happened, but we have come to salvation and have become the children of God. It was the blood of Jesus Christ that brought us to God. The blood of Jesus Christ covered us and changed us into new beings, new beings belonging to God, the blessed children of God. The blood of Jesus carries great and wonderful power. It has the power of salvation, the power of forgiveness, the power of healing, the power that brings prosperity, and the power of heaven. Hallelujah! Trust in the blood of Jesus Christ. Praise His blood. We must thank God for the blood at all times. We must repeatedly thank God for the power of the blood of Jesus. Hallelujah! 3. The meat of the Lamb (Ex 12:8-9). Third, I want to speak about the meat of the lamb. Repeat after me, “The meat of the lamb.” Exodus 12:8-9 says, “That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire?head, legs and inner parts. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.” The Israelites were ready to leave Egypt that night. Their cloak was tucked in their belts and their sandals were on their feet. Then they roasted the meat of the lamb over the fire. They ate it all. After finishing eating, they left Egypt for Canaan, the Land of Promise, while the Egyptians were bitterly wailing. The meat signifies the Word of God. Jesus came to earth as the Word, the Bread of Life. After coming to believe in Jesus, we must feed on the Word of God as our daily bread. We must gain strength by feeding on the Word and then march through this sinful world, the wilderness, with faith. We must march forward toward heaven. When the Israelites ate the meat of the lamb, the meat entered into them, became one with them, and gave strength to them. Likewise, when we read the Word, Jesus will come into our hearts and will become one with us. Then we will be able to walk with Him, taking steps of faith. The Lord told the Israelites to eat the meat of the lamb roasted over the fire. They were told not to eat the meat raw or cook it in water, but to roast it over the fire. It was precisely written. The fire signifies the Holy Spirit. Since the Word of God was inspired by the Holy Spirit, when we read the Bible, we must pray and meditate on it, being filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit and read the Bible, the Word works in us. It will bring miracles and blessings to our lives. When we read the Word without the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we are likely to get into rationalism and criticize the Bible, speaking of unbelief. Those who study liberal theology are likely to deny the authority of the Bible, not believing many parts of the Bible. They try to judge things according to their reason. Herein lies a problem. When we receive the Holy Spirit and read the Bible by the grace and help of the Spirit, miracles will come upon us. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Hallelujah! Only those who are inspired by the Holy Spirit can understand the Word correctly. When we read the Word, being illuminated by the Spirit, the Word will bring miracles, blessing, and grace upon us. I pray that you will always be filled with the Word and the Spirit. The Bible also told the Israelites to eat the meat with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Unleavened bread is baked without leaven. Leaven is a substance, especially yeast, added to dough to make it rise. Unleavened bread signifies that we must maintain a pure state in serving the Lord. We must keep out worldly things from coming into us. Now that we believe in the Lord Jesus, we should never compromise with the world. If we commit sin and live unrighteously, we cannot expect the grace or miracles of the Lord to come upon us even when we come to Him and call upon Him. God will perform miracles in our lives only when we have pure faith and when we are washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Why can’t we get rid of our problems? We must closely look at ourselves. We must check whether we have leaven in our lives. 1 Corinthians 5:7 says, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast?as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.” The Bible tells us to get rid of the old yeast, meaning our old self which was tied to sin. When we trust in the power of the blood of Jesus, not compromising with sin, we will experience God’s blessings and miracles. Wonderful things that we have never seen will be shown to us. The Bible also told them to eat the meat with bitter herbs. Bitter herbs symbolize the suffering of Israel in Egypt. Do not be afraid of suffering for the Lord in serving Him. Sometimes we have to encounter suffering, sorrow, and problems in life. Endure them patiently. Overcome them. Swallow the suffering. Romans 5:3-4 blesses us and says, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Suffering leads us to hope. We will learn perseverance during the time of suffering and it will build our character. Such discipline will enable our dreams and hopes to come true. When suffering comes, swallow the bitter herbs. Although they may taste bitter, they will be good for your health. Most medicine is bitter. However, bitter medicine will cure you and make you healthy. When suffering comes, we should not be afraid of it. We must see it as bitter medicine and swallow it, saying, “God, I trust in You. I have won.” I urge you to march forward by faith. Let us hold on to the Cross and claim victory. The victory is yours. 4. A lasting ordinance (Ex 12:14). Fourth, God told the Israelites to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; a lasting ordinance. Repeat after me, “A lasting ordinance.” Verse 14 says, “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD?a lasting ordinance.” God told them to remember it and celebrate it generation after generation. What a celebration the Passover was! It was the day of deliverance after the 430 years of slavery. We were under Japanese occupation for 36 years. It almost destroyed our spirits as Koreans. We cannot imagine how terrible it must have been to be slaves for 430 years and how happy they must have been when they were freed. Let us consider ourselves. We were born in sin and were doomed to live in sin and to die in sin. How wonderful it is for us to be saved and to become the children of God! We must celebrate salvation for generations. Psalm 146:1-2 says, “Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” We must praise the Lord throughout our lives with love for Him and with the enthusiasm of salvation when we first believed. Just as the Israelites obeyed God and put the blood of the lamb on their doorframes, we must obey God and put the blood of Jesus on our hearts and praise the Lord. Since we put the blood of Jesus on our hearts, and since we came to trust in Him, we have become the children of God and can dwell in His blessing. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith?and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” We have received a gift, a free gift from God. Through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we have received the grace of salvation as a free gift from God. This is why we must keep praising the Lord until our last moment on earth. Let us praise the Lord, serving Him with joy, giving glory unto Him. Let us not forget the grace we have received. Psalm 103:1-2 says, “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul.”? Repeat after me, “And forget not all his benefits.” Forget not all His benefits. Let us not forget the grace of God, especially the grace of salvation. I want you to make a confession of gratitude to God, “Thank You for saving me, for I am a sinner. I want to be grateful throughout my life.” How thankful should we be, since we have become the children of God by believing in Jesus? Giving thanks to God should be the first priority in our lives. It should be the second and the third priority as well. Somebody sent me a book about Rev. Yang-Won Sohn. As you know, Rev. Sohn adopted a young man who had killed his two sons. His daughter, Dong-Hee Sohn, a senior deaconess, wrote a book about the biography of Rev. Sohn. The title of the book is, Rev. Yang-Won Sohn, My Father. I was so blessed by reading the book that I want to introduce a part of the book to you, in which her brothers Dong-In and Dong-Shin were martyred. It was October 21, 1948. There was a revolt in Yeo-Soo and Soon-Chun. Communist students started a revolt. Since Dong-In and Dong-Shin had preached the Gospel at their school, at the time of revolt the communists wanted to harm them and came to get them. Being bloodthirsty, they rushed into the house of Rev. Sohn. They made Dong-In and Dong-Shin kneel down before them. The rebels accused them of being minions of American Imperialism, hit them with bats, trampled on them, and beat them until they fell unconscious. Then the rebels dragged them out to a place near a police station and shot them. Dong-Hee heard that her two beloved brothers had been killed. She ran to the spot and saw her brothers lying blood-soaked. Wailing loudly, she protested, “God Almighty, why did you let them die? Why, God? Why should the living God let my brothers die?” She kept crying out to God at the top of her voice. She was so overwhelmed by bitterness, anger, and resentment that she protested to God. It was then that she heard the voice of her brother in her heart, “Do not cry, Dong-Hee. It will ruin your pretty face. Do not be sad. We will meet in heaven. Now you know why I called you three times when you set out on the field trip.” In fact, on the day of her field trip, Dong-In had called her three times and said, “Have a good trip.” He continued, “Dong-Shin and I had short lives on earth. Go and comfort Mom and Dad. You must take care of our parents now instead of us. I wanted to care longer, but I cannot. Bye, now.” Her two loving brothers could not come back. They had been model students. Dong-In had been a student representative of his school. However, they were martyred at such a young age. Suddenly God comforted her with His Word. Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” No matter how terribly you may despair, listen to the Lord saying, “Do not fear; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Hallelujah! Her two beloved brothers went through suffering and were martyred, being inspired by the love of the Lord Jesus shown on the Cross. The blood of Jesus in their hearts made them unafraid of death but gave them boldness to preach the Gospel of Jesus to the communist rebels up until their last moments on earth. A witness of their death described their last moments as follows. Dong-In was blindfolded and tied. Moments before he was shot to death, he shouted, “I will go to heaven when I die. How can you stand the guilt of your sin? Repent of your sin and believe in Jesus.” The rebels said, “Shut up and speak your last words.” Dong-in, still blindfolded, lifted his face toward heaven and sang a hymn. Dong-In had a great voice and was preparing to go to the United States to study music. Dong-Shin was preparing to be a pastor. Dong-In sang the first verse of hymn number 545: “The bright, heav’nly way before me, Lies clearly in my sight; And though sorrows sore beset me, And troubles black as night, At the splendor from the skies Ev’ry darkling shadow flies, While we trust the grace of Jesus, And look ever to that Light.” As soon as the song ended, the rebels shouted, “Aim. One, two, three. Fire.” There was a burst of gunfire. A bullet penetrated Dong-In’s heart. He dropped his head, gasped, and said, “Father, take my soul,” and died. Dong-Shin was right there, watching all of this. He shouted, “I will go to heaven with my brother. You must believe in Jesus.” He was shot to death, too. A young man named Chul-min Kang came to their bodies and shot them again. Although they were dead, the grace and love of the Lord Jesus that they preached about is eternal. Their hearts were soaked with the blood of Jesus. They were not afraid of death. They went up to heaven singing hymns. The same blood is flowing in our hearts. I want you to sing praises for the grace of the blood. Let us trust in the power of the blood and live for the glory of the Lord. We live only once, and we want to live for the glory of God. Let us testify to the power of the blood of Jesus all over the world. I pray that you will live with this Great Commission as precious children of God. Let us pray. Our Father of endless love and grace, we have been saved and have become Your children through the blood and death of Jesus. Dong-In and Dong-Shin were not afraid of death but trusted in the blood of Jesus. They preached the Gospel, looking to heaven, and were martyred. Pour Your grace upon us, and help us all to have the spirit of martyrdom and to dedicate our lives for Your glory. Help us to testify about the power of the blood of Jesus to the ends of the earth. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.