When dealing with sexual sin in the church, Paul instructed the Corinthians to remove the sexually impure man from their church because, “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.” Let’s reread his instruction:
“Get rid of the old 'yeast' by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. 8 So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.”
1 Corinthians 5:7-8
The gospel of Jesus Christ is both freeing and cleansing. When you look at the cross, you see your Passover Lamb dying to free you from slavery to sin, yet you also see the cleansing power of His blood, in that the cross was “a fountain opened to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity” (Zechariah 13:1). To ignore sin in your life is to deny the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus.
And this is Paul’s point: the cross is a powerful cleansing to all who believe; it removes sin and sets us free. Not that we never stumble, indeed we all struggle with sin, but the cross breaks the back of life-dominating sin, breaks the power of sin.
Paul said, “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.” Today and tomorrow, we want to consider the lessons taught through the account of the Passover Lamb slain, as recorded in Exodus 12. Some of this lesson content is from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible.
The first instruction regarding the Passover was to reset the Jewish calendar; the Israelites would begin their new year with the month of the Passover.
“While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the LORD gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.”
Exodus 12:1-2 NLT
Question 1. What spiritual truth do you see in Exodus 12:1-2 NLT?
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When a person sees Jesus dying as their Passover Lamb, protecting them from destruction and setting them free from slavery, and they believe this good news, all things become new for them. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
This new life is wonderful news for those of us who wish for a do-over, a reset, a reboot from our previous life of sin. The cross is a new beginning, a fresh start with a clean slate. Put faith in the message that “Christ died for your sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), and you will receive a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27) and a new life (Acts 5:20 NIV).
Second, the Passover sacrifice was to be a Lamb:
“Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household.”
Exodus 12:3 NLT
John the Baptist identified Jesus as “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus came as a “Lamb,” meek and innocent, silent before his butchers, which fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.”
The reality that “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed” means that He has removed the sin of every believer. He has completely forgiven you, released you from your debt of sin, cleansed you, and given you a new life!
Question 2. Of the two truths stated in this section, which means the most to you, and why?
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