Hello Everyone. As you know Resurrection Sunday is coming up. This year, Passover also coincides with the traditional celebration of Easter. Passover has deep meaning not just for the Jewish people. It also holds significance for all those that trust in Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Christ Is Our Passover Lamb

The crucifixion of Jesus happened at the exact time when the Passover lambs were traditionally sacrificed in the temple. This means that the first “Good Friday” was actually the day of preparation for Passover. Jesus was the ultimate Passover Lamb who became the sacrifice for humanity.

God gave Israel the ordinances around the celebration of the Feast of Passover. He commanded them to keep this as a feast to the Lord. They were to pass it from generation to generation as an everlasting ordinance. As Christians, we can celebrate the Passover too. We draw from it as a time of deep spiritual reflection and celebration which is ultimately fulfilled through Jesus.

During this time, I am engaging in my own spiritual reflection. I am going through the story of the first Passover in Exodus 3-15. I am also walking through the last week of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection in the New Testament. I believe the Lord is giving me some fresh insights. I feel inspired to share some of these with you today.

History of Passover

Traditionally, Passover is the feast celebrated by the Jews to commemorate their deliverance from hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt. They were suffering unjustly at the hands of the Egyptians, and God saw their suffering and sent the deliverer Moses.

Moses went before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He asked him to allow Israel to go out of Egypt and worship God in the desert.

As the story unfolds in Exodus chapters 5 through 15, we see God using Moses to do mighty signs and wonders in Egypt. These acts are meant to cause Pharaoh to fear the God of Israel so that he will let His people go. God sent ten different plagues through Moses’ hand before Pharaoh finally agreed to let Israel go.

In the tenth and final plague, the Lord pans to strike all of the first born in Egypt dead. But before this last plague takes place, the Lord commanded Moses to celebrate the first Passover meal. In Exodus 12:1-12 He instructs:

“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb…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…For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast…”

The Power of the Blood

The Lord goes on to say that the blood on the doorposts of the homes of His people will be a sign that will protect them. He says, “And 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.” (Exodus 12:13)

After this absolutely devastating last plague comes to Egypt, Pharaoh finally lets God’s people go– but not completely. Pharaoh and his armies decide to pursue Israel, and the story culminates in a mighty deliverance.

God parts the waters of the Red Sea for Israel to escape. As the armies of Pharaoh follow God’s people on the dry land created by the miracle, the water closes over them as Israel arrives to the other side. Pharaoh and all of his armies are drowned in the Red Sea, never to enslave Israel again.

When we read the Exodus story through the lens of Jesus Christ, it takes on rich meaning. We see in this story a picture of a God Who is full of compassion for His people. He is moved to do something about their suffering and intervenes to deliver them.

We know the same God Who delivered Israel from Egypt. He can also save, heal, and deliver us through our faith in Jesus.

God Sees You

I want to back up to the calling of Moses in Exodus Chapter 3. I believe this story is full of insights that show us the compassionate heart of God for His people.

God comes to Moses through a burning bush in the desert. We have reason to believe this is the first time Moses has encountered the God of His forefathers. Understanding this helps us comprehend Moses’ response.

“‘I am the God of your father– the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.” Exodus 3:6

The next part is what I want to highlight for you today. The Lord responds to Moses,

“I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.”

Exodus 3:7

One of the greatest human needs is to be seen, heard and understood. We see through this story how the Lord meets this need in a profound way.

The Lord says to Moses that He SEES what His people are going through and how they are suffering. He HEARS them when they are crying in their afflictions. He also KNOWS their pain.

The Hebrew word for “know” that is used here is the same word used for when Adam had intimate relations with Eve. It means to be intimately acquainted with something.

This means God felt Israel’s suffering in Egypt as if He was going right through it with them.

God doesn’t stop at feeling compassion for His people. He actually is moved to do something about their situation.

God Comes Down

The next part is very interesting. God says to Moses:

“So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.” Exodus 3:8

Have you ever thought of God coming down? How does that work? He is Spirit. He is omnipresent. He can be everywhere all at once. He is omnipotent. He can do anything. Now He’s coming down personally to do something about His people’s pain?

It’s an intriguing phrase when you think it through.

If we go back to where the encounter begins in Exodus 3:2, it says that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire. This occurred in the midst of a bush.

According to other Scripture passages, the Angel of the Lord was a visible manifestation of God. Scholars believe this could actually be the preincarnate Christ. We see a similar appearance of the Angel of the Lord to Abraham in Genesis 18.

God’s actions in the story of His visiting and delivering His people during the first Passover is a picture. It shows what He has done for us through Jesus.

Jesus: God’s Deliverance For Us

There is so much sin, pain and suffering in this world. God looked down and saw, heard and felt deeply all of it. His answer was to come down from Heaven through the Man Christ Jesus.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

John 1:14

The New Testament teaches us that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and offered Himself in sacrificial death. He is the eternal Passover Lamb Whose blood spares us from God’s judgment on our sins. Through Him we can experience God’s mercy and miraculous intervention just like Israel did in the Exodus story.

Where Do You Need God’s Deliverance Today?

Where have you been crying tears of heartbreak over some difficult situation that never seems to end? Where have you felt trapped by harmful habits of sin? You know they are damaging, but you just can’t seem to stop.

Do you need healing from a physical illness that you’ve had for years? Do you have a long-standing issue with anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues? Have you been praying for many years for someone that you love to have a life-changing encounter with God?

God SEES you. He HEARS your cries. He UNDERSTANDS what you are going through today.

He is the same God Who saw Israel suffering. He felt their pain. He came down to deliver them from their cruel slavery in Egypt. He is also the God who came in the flesh as Jesus Christ more than 2000 years ago.

Jesus is here with you right now, through the Holy Spirit. He is ready to meet you where you are at. He is prepared to heal you. He wants to set you free. He is here to bring your breakthrough.

I have been meditating on these things over the last several days. I believe that this Passover is a time for us to believe for God’s deliverance in our lives.

This is a time of HOPE. Let’s believe that God will intervene in situations that we have been praying about for a very long time.

Before Jesus went to the cross, He spoke these words:

And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!

John 16:22 TPT

And indeed, Jesus’ resurrection gives us the hope that nothing is impossible for God. Whatever we may be facing, Jesus has conquered it for us.

Let’s draw near to Him this Passover. Let’s believe Him for the breakthrough and for His victory to be manifested in our lives.

Put it into Practice

• Over the next several days, read through the Passover story in Exodus chapters 5-15. Invite the Holy Spirit to read the story with you. Ask Him to speak to your situation today. Notice any insights He gives you, and turn these insights into a conversation with God. Journal about what He shows you.
• Set aside extra time to pray this week about a particular area where you need to see God’s deliverance. Find a friend who also needs God’s intervention, and spend some time praying together for a breakthrough.
• Leave in the comments anything that you want me or others to pray for you. We will stand together.

I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

Matthew 18:19