The Lamb :: By Sandy Howard

A study of the comparisons between the Passover lamb and the Lamb of God:

1. Passover lambs are born in Bethlehem. So was Jesus born in Bethlehem.
2. Passover lambs are sacrificed in Jerusalem. So was Jesus sacrificed in Jerusalem.
3. Passover lambs are bred and born for the sole purpose of sacrifice. So was Jesus conceived and born for the sole purpose of sacrifice.
4. Passover lambs must be spotless and without defect. So was Jesus spotless and without defect.
5. Passover lambs are born in a stable. So was Jesus born in a stable.
6. The Passover lamb was the first-born. Jesus was the first-born son of Mary.
7. When born, the Passover lamb is wrapped in swaddling clothes (which are actually long strips, about 4″ wide, of linen or cotton, wrapped around and around the lamb in mummy-like fashion) to prevent him from hurting or scarring himself. Jesus was also wrapped in swaddling clothes.
8. Passover lambs are selected on the 10th day of Nisan. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on the 10th day of Nisan.
9. The Passover lamb must be a young (year old, which is the prime of life) male. So was Jesus a young man in the prime of his life.
10. Each house must have its own Passover lamb. So, each heart must individually accept Jesus’ sacrifice in order to be saved.
11. Until the end of the 13th (just before sundown), the Passover lamb is meticulously and thoroughly inspected to make sure there are no defects found. Jesus was grilled by the priests for those same 3 days, and they could not find any fault in Him.
12. Passover lambs are sacrificed on the 14th of Nisan. So was Jesus crucified on the 14th of Nisan. (In that day, the 14th became known as “preparation day” because, during the day, they were to prepare for the feast day beginning at sundown, which was the Sabbath; therefore, no work could be done on that day. Also interesting is that since Passover always falls on the 14th, and since the Jewish calendar is lunar (moon) rather than solar (sun) oriented, there is always a full moon on Passover.)
13. The Passover lamb must be eaten entirely before sundown. Jesus was taken down from the cross before sundown, which was not the normal custom.
14. Passover lambs are slaughtered and, of course, go willingly to their death. So was Jesus slaughtered and went willingly to His death.
15. The Passover lamb was hung (after the slaughter and blood collected) on hooks or sticks. Jesus was hung on a wooden cross.
16. The blood of the Passover lamb is placed on the wooden doorposts & lintels in a “t-like” fashion. So was Jesus’ blood shed on a wooden cross.
17. The Passover lamb must not have any broken bones, neither during the slaughter or during eating. So was Jesus (as prophesied) slaughtered without any broken bones.
18. The Passover lamb is killed publicly. So was Jesus killed publicly.
19. The Passover lamb was slaughtered as a sacrifice and to save. So was Jesus slaughtered as a sacrifice and to save. (Difference is, of course, that the Passover lamb is sacrificed every year, but Jesus was sacrificed once for all.)
20. The blood of the Passover lamb saved the Jews from destruction and freed them from their bondage of slavery in Egypt. So also, the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), saves us from destruction and frees us from our bondage of slavery to sin.

**Is it just me, or does it seem like God was practically SCREAMING to the Israelites “Yeshua HaMashiach” (Jesus the Messiah).

References:

1. Luke 2:4-5 “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.”

From Artisan Ministries: ‘Known as the ‘Tower of the Flock,’ Migdal Eder was located just outside the city of Bethlehem (in Bethlehem’s suburbs, if you will). Migdal Eder was the tower from which Levitical shepherds carefully watched over the lambs on the hills around Bethlehem. The shepherds’ sole purpose was to raise unblemished (paschal) lambs that would be offered as sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple a few miles away. As the sacrificial lambs were born, those Levitical shepherds in the Tower of the Flock would wrap them in birthing cloths to protect their unblemished state. So when the amazed shepherds (recorded in Luke 2) hurried to see the great wonder that the heavenly host proclaimed, they arrived to gaze upon a baby born in the place where Passover lambs were born, swaddled like a Passover lamb.

The spiritual significance would not have been lost on those Levitical shepherds: Jesus’ birth pointed to Jesus as the Messiah, the paschal lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

2. Luke 1:30-32 “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.'”

Also, from Perspective Ministries: “Everyone in Israel knew that Bethlehem was known for their sacrificial lambs. The place where these special lambs were raised was in a place called ‘The tower of the flock.’ The actual name for this tower was Migdal Eder on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Sacrificial lambs were raised in this area. In ancient days, Migdal Eder was a military tower created to stand on the edge of Bethlehem defending the city. This watchtower was used by the shepherds for protection from their enemies and wild animals. In this sheltering building the priests would bring in the ewes, which were about to give birth to their lambs, for protection. These special lambs came from a unique flock that was designed for sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. This watchtower was not for ordinary lambs but for lambs prepared for temple sacrifices.

Micah 4:8 prophesied about this special place where the Savior would be born: “As for you, O tower (Migdal) of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

It would be the Migdal Eder where the arrival of the Messiah would be declared first (the Tower of the Flock – the place where sacrificial lambs are raised).”

3. Exodus 12:5 “The animals you choose must be …without defect.” 1 Peter 1:19 “but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

4, 5, 6. Luke 2:6-7 “So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

CBN: “The bawling of sheep rang across the fields of Bethlehem. Migdal Eder, the Tower of the Flock, was the place where lambs destined for the Temple were born and raised. Every firstborn male lamb from the area around Bethlehem was considered holy, set aside for sacrifice in Jerusalem. Generations of hereditary shepherds tended the sacred flocks.”

7. Exodus 12:3 “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month (Nisan) every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.'” John 12:1 “Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany…” John 12:12 “The next day a great multitude had come to the feast…” Six days before Passover puts Jesus in Bethany on Nisan 9. “The next day” would have been Nisan 10—the same ‘date’ the Israelites were to bring “lambs without blemish” into their homes. So, almost 1,500 years after the first Passover in Egypt, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, on Nisan 10.
8. Exodus 12:5 “The animals you choose must be year-old males…”

No one knows for sure, but it is believed that Jesus died on the cross at the age of 33, the prime of his life.

9. Exodus 12:3 “…each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.” Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
10. Exodus 12:6 “Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.” Matthew 22:46 “No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on, no one dared to ask him any more questions.”
11. Mark 15:42 “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath).” Luke 23:54 “It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.” John 19:31 “Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath.”
12. Exodus 12:8 “That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire…” Luke 23:50-54 “Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.”
13. Luke 22:41-42 “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.'” 1 Corinthians 5:7 “…For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.”
14. Wikipedia: The (Passover) lamb was then hung upon special hooks or sticks and skinned.
15. Exodus 12:7 “Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses…”
16. Exodus 12:46 “In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. John 19:36 “For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken.'”
17. Wikipedia: The sacrificial service of the Passover lamb took place in the courtyard of the temple at Jerusalem.

Mark 15:10-22 “For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again, ‘What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?’ So they cried out again, ‘Crucify Him!’ Then Pilate said to them, ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ But they cried out all the more, ‘Crucify Him!’

“So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified. Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

“Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.” (Golgotha is a hill, easily visible and overlooking the city of Jerusalem.)

18. Exodus 12:13 “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Acts 20:28 “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Hebrews 9:14 “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Colossians 1:20 “and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” Hebrews 9:28 “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

19. Exodus 6:6-7 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.”

John 1:29 “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Rev 5:6 “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne.”

Sandy Howard