A Shared Lamb

Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire . . . And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.

EXODUS 12:8–11

We’re talking about Mary’s little Lamb, Jesus, the One born in Bethlehem to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Today we will finish our look at the Lamb in prophecy. 

Exodus 12:7 makes it clear that the only salvation for the Israelites in Egypt that first Passover night was to put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. The Israelites could have encrusted their doors with jewels and gold, but that would have done no good. They could have tied an unblemished, living lamb outside their doors, but that would not have satisfied God’s demand. 

Salvation does not come from the life of Christ, but from the death of Christ. Salvation is not learning lessons from what Jesus did in life, but receiving life from what He did in His atoning death. The Bible says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). This special Lamb, Who was also a slain Lamb and a saving Lamb, then became a shared Lamb. 

Exodus 12:8 instructs the Israelites to roast and eat the lamb they had slain, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs to remind them of the bitterness of their slavery. But the key was the shedding of blood and sprinkling it on the entrance to the house. Exodus 12:12–13 spells out the judgment that was to fall that night. Praise God for the blood! “. . . when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” 

Can you imagine what it must have been like that night in Egypt? All the Egyptians smelled lamb roasting, because a quarter of a million or so households were preparing the Passover meal. As those Hebrews sat down to eat the lamb they had roasted, a bunch of slaves became a nation. When they walked out of Egypt, a lamb walked out inside of them!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Mary's Little Lamb

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"  - Luke 2:8-14

68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 

69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 

70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 

71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 

72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 

73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 

74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 

75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 

76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 

77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 

78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 

79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."  - Luke 1:68-79

and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. - Luke 24:47

10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-by him this man is standing before you well.

11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." - Acts 4:10-12

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, - 1 Timothy 2:5

22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things."

26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." - John 4:22-26

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-

7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.

9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. - Galatians 1:6-10

19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. - 1 Peter 1:19-21

1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"

3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,

4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

5 And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 

10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." 

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,

12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" 

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" 

14 And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. - Revelation 5

9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world-he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. - Revelation 12:9-11

We sing Hallelujah! 

We sing Hallelujah!

Amen and Amen!

Life and Death at Christmas

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

As I was about to begin this devotional, I received word that Marion Newstrum had just died. Marion and her husband Elmer had been part of our church longer than most of our members had been alive at the time. She was 87. They had been married 64 years.

When I spoke to Elmer and told him I wanted him to be strong in the Lord and not give up on life, he said, “He has been a true friend.” I pray that all Christians will be able to say at the end of life, “Christ has been a true friend.”

Each Advent I mark the anniversary of my mother’s death. She was cut off in her 56th year in a bus accident in Israel. It was December 16, 1974. Those events are incredibly real to me even today. If I allow myself, I can easily come to tears — for example, thinking that my sons never knew her. We buried her the day after Christmas. What a precious Christmas it was!

Many of you will feel your loss this Christmas more pointedly than before. Don’t block it out. Let it come. Feel it. What is love for, if not to intensify our affections — both in life and death? But oh, do not be bitter. It is tragically self-destructive to be bitter.

Jesus came at Christmas that we might have eternal life. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Elmer and Marion had discussed where they would spend their final years. Elmer said, “Marion and I agreed that our final home would be with the Lord.”

Do you feel restless for home? I have family coming home for the holidays. It feels good. I think the bottom-line reason for why it feels good is that they and I are destined in the depths of our being for an ultimate Homecoming. All other homecomings are foretastes. And foretastes are good.

Unless they become substitutes. Oh, don’t let all the sweet things of this season become substitutes of the final, great, all-satisfying Sweetness. Let every loss and every delight send your hearts a-homing after heaven.

Christmas. What is it but this: I came that they may have life? Marion Newstrum, Ruth Piper, and you and I — that we might have Life, now and forever.

Make your Now the richer and deeper this Christmas by drinking at the fountain of Forever. It is so near.

John Piper 

A Slain and Saving Lamb

Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.

EXODUS 12:6–7

...but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 1 PETER 1:19

We are considering the wonderful story of the birth of Mary’s Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. At this Christmas season, we rejoice in God’s gift of His sinless, spotless Lamb. Today I want to take you back to the book of Exodus. Your celebration of Christmas will take on new meaning when you see that the Babe of Bethlehem was the Lamb of God. 

Did you know that the symbol of ancient Egypt was a serpent? I once visited the British Museum in London and saw the crown that the Pharaohs would wear. There on that crown was a coiled serpent. Here in the book of Exodus is a battle between a lamb and a serpent: a defenseless, gentle, meek, and mild lamb, against a venomous, hissing, poisonous serpent. 

The Passover lamb had to be a very special lamb (Exodus 12:5). One blemish would disqualify a lamb from being used for the Passover in Egypt. For generations after that night, Israel’s priests would examine the Passover lambs very carefully, checking for the slightest flaw. Jesus, the Lamb of Bethlehem, was also “without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19). 

But not only was Jesus a special lamb, He was a slain lamb (Exodus 12:5). On the appointed day, the father of the Israelite family was to slay the Passover lamb and catch its blood in a basin— another prophetic picture of Mary’s little Lamb, Who would be slain on a Roman cross. 

This lamb was also a saving lamb. God told the Israelites to take the Passover lamb’s blood and put it on the doorposts and the lintel of the house (v. 7). Whoever came into the house would be saved from death because they came in through and under the blood (Exodus 12:13). If you know the Christ of Christmas, you are safe under the blood!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Making It Real for His People

Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant, according to Hebrews 8:6. What does that mean? It means that his blood — the blood of the covenant (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 13:20) — finally and decisively purchased and secured the fulfillment of God’s promises for us.

It means that God, according to the new covenant promises, brings about our inner transformation by the Spirit of Christ.

And it means that God works this transformation in us through faith — faith in all that God is for us in Christ.

The new covenant is purchased by the blood of Christ, effected by the Spirit of Christ, and appropriated by faith in Christ.

The best place to see Christ working as the Mediator of the new covenant is in Hebrews 13:20–21:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The words “working in us that which is pleasing in his sight” describe what happens when God writes the law on our hearts in accord with the new covenant. And the words “through Jesus Christ” describe Jesus as the Mediator of this glorious work of sovereign grace.

So, the meaning of Christmas is not only that God replaces shadows with Reality, but also that he takes the Reality and makes it real to his people. He writes it on our hearts. He does not lay his Christmas gift of salvation and transformation under the tree, so to speak, for you to pick up in your own strength. He picks it up and puts it in your heart and in your mind and gives you the seal of assurance that you are a child of God.

John Piper 

The Prophecy of the Lamb

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. . . . And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger . . .

LUKE 2:4–7

 . . . every man shall take for himself a lamb . . . Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. . . . EXODUS 12:3–5

When I was a little boy, I learned a nursery rhyme that went like this: “Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.” Well, Mary’s Christmas Lamb was the virgin-born Son of God! 

We read in Luke 2 that when the Roman decree went out for a census of the Roman world, Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem. Now, we know that it was not incidental or accidental that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. That little village about five miles south of Jerusalem would probably have passed into obscurity except for that one wonderful night. The event that took place that first Christmas had been prophesied centuries earlier by the prophet Micah (5:2). 

It was fitting that Mary’s Lamb would be born in Bethlehem. Why? Because for centuries, the Jewish priests had been raising Passover lambs in Bethlehem! In those shepherds’ fields outside Bethlehem, a very special breed of sacrificial lambs was raised and nurtured, that those lambs might be brought to Jerusalem. At Passover, those lambs were sacrificed to cover the sins of the people. 

Mary’s little Lamb came to be the final Passover lamb, the one sacrifice for sin forever. The destiny of the entire world is wrapped up in Mary’s little Lamb. 

Today I want you to see the prophecy of the lamb. That’s why you found Exodus 12 listed in today’s Scripture reading. This chapter has some crucial things to say about the Lamb of Christmas. The Israelites were in slavery in Egypt, groaning under the cruel bondage of Pharaoh. They needed to be redeemed. God had a plan to redeem His people and set them free, a plan wrapped up in a little lamb (Exodus 12:1–3). 

Notice the qualifications for this lamb: It had to be “without blemish, a male of the first year” (v. 5). This lamb had to be perfect. Why? Because it was going to die to redeem God’s people. What a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of Bethlehem!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Final Reality Is Here

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. . . . They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” (Hebrews 8:1–2, 5)

We’ve seen it before. But there’s more. Christmas is the replacement of shadows with the real thing.

Hebrews 8:1–2, 5 is a kind of summary statement. The point is that the one priest who goes between us and God, and makes us right with God, and prays for us to God is not an ordinary, weak, sinful, dying priest as in the Old Testament days. He is the Son of God — strong, sinless, with an indestructible life.

Not only that, he is not ministering in an earthly tabernacle with all its limitations of place and size while getting worn out and being moth-eaten and being soaked and burned and torn and stolen. No, Hebrews 8:2 says that Christ is ministering for us in a “true tent that the Lord set up, not man.” This is not the shadow. It’s the real thing in heaven. This is the reality that cast a shadow on Mount Sinai for Moses to copy.

According to Hebrews 8:1, another great thing about the reality which is greater than the shadow is that our High Priest is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. No Old Testament priest could ever say that.

Jesus deals directly with God the Father. He has a place of honor beside God. He is loved and respected infinitely by God. He is constantly with God. This is not shadow-reality like curtains and bowls and tables and candles and robes and tassels and sheep and goats and pigeons. This is final, ultimate reality: God and his Son interacting in love and holiness for our eternal salvation.

Ultimate reality is the persons of the Godhead in relationship, dealing with each other concerning how their majesty and holiness and love and justice and goodness and truth shall be manifest in a redeemed people.

John Piper