Exodus 12:9, commentary and pictures

On the night of the last and most severe judgment upon Egypt, each household was to eat the Passover lamb roasted with fire, whole with its head, legs and inner parts, not eaten raw nor boiled at all with water.
The slain and innocent lamb symbolized Christ Himself, the sinless Lamb of God whose coming death is the only true propitiation for human sin.
The blood placed on the lintel and doorposts was a sign of faith in the blood of Christ, marking the dwelling places of His followers so the destroying angel would pass over them and shelter them from wrath.
Eating its flesh represents receiving Christ by faith, and all who so eat His flesh and drink His blood receive spiritual food and the hope of resurrection to immortal life.
Israel's deliverance that night typified the great salvation Christ brings, and their safety when the firstborn were slain is a picture that the true Israel of God will be protected in the time of divine judgment.

Night of Final Judgment

The ordinance to which this command belongs was instituted on the night of the last and most severe plague upon Egypt, a night terrible to the Egyptians and glorious to the people of God. Moses first made known beforehand to Pharaoh, to the people of Egypt, and to the Israelites the nature and effect of that last plague. It was given while the king and his idolatrous priests still opposed letting Israel go to the last, though the Egyptian people desired that the Hebrews be permitted to leave. That opposition continued after the dreadful plague of locusts and the plague of darkness with its oppressive atmosphere.

That midnight judgment slew the firstborn of man and beast and executed judgment against all the gods of Egypt. It came on the last night of bondage, when there appeared no token of deliverance. Through Moses God gave directions for Israel's departure and for preservation from the midnight destruction of the firstborn. Each household, alone or joined with others, was to slay an unblemished lamb or kid.

How the Lamb Was Eaten

The lamb was to be eaten roasted with fire, whole with its head with its legs and with its inward parts, not raw and not boiled at all with water. It was eaten at night inside their own dwellings, with the families gathered together in the house. It was eaten as a supper, with the people gathered around a table with dishes.

It was eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, and the bitter herbs represented the bitterness of Israel's slavery. The people ate dressed for a journey and in haste because it was the Lord's passover, with loins girded, shoes on feet and staff in hand. They ate thus prepared for immediate release, ready to journey at once when set free from bondage.

Remembering Deliverance From Egypt

The Passover was instituted to keep yearly in memory God's wonderful works in deliverance from Egypt. It was to call minds away from world-loving interests and from cares and anxieties about temporal concerns, to review His miracles, mercies and loving-kindness. That review was to increase love and reverence for Him. It was to lead His people ever to look to Him and trust in Him in all trial, and not to turn to other gods.

The paschal service recalled the sprinkled blood, the death-dealing angel, and the march out of Egypt, impressing the story of deliverance on the worshipers. The meal and its ceremonies were rehearsed in solemn silence, with the story of the sprinkled blood, the death-dealing angel and the grand march from the land of bondage. They were of a nature to stir the imagination and impress the heart. Recounted to Hebrew children on the journey and at the feast, and chanted with God's commandments amid nature and kindly human association, they fixed the past deliverance forever in the memory of child and youth.

The meaning of the service was bound up with Jesus' own life and mission to save the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the covenant promises. The directions for preparing the Passover lamb belong to this service and point to the sacrifice central to His work.

Lamb Foreshadowing Christ

The slain, innocent lamb eaten at the feast was a symbol of Christ's body and of His own future death as the Son of God, and those who celebrated were to associate its slaying with that death. It represented Christ Himself standing among the Jews as Saviour, the sinless Lamb of God who gave Himself for the life of the world. His approaching death was the only true propitiation for human sin, and His merits alone avert the judgment and condemnation of fallen humanity.

The blood marking the doorposts was a symbol of the blood of Christ, efficacious for the believing sinner in cleansing from sin and sheltering from the wrath of God to come upon the impenitent and unbelieving world, just as the wrath of God fell upon the Egyptians, for His blood preserves from the wrath of a sin-hating God. In this way Israel's deliverance typified the great salvation Christ brings. The Passover cannot be fully explained apart from Christ, who was revealed in the Old Testament and represented in its ceremonies, for Christ is the key that unlocks the Old Testament and gives access to its rich treasures, including the meaning of the Passover.

The religious services and ceremonies had no value if the Saviour they represented was rejected, and the Jews made the symbol all-important and missed its meaning, not discerning the Lord's body in it. The Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah agree with the life and teachings of Christ, and the testimony of Moses and the prophets proves His identity in His mission, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension, foretelling a Saviour to come in humility and poverty to be rejected, despised and slain, with His voice speaking through the prophets and patriarchs from the days of Adam onward. The ceremony was instituted by Christ Himself before His incarnation, and Christ is the foundation of the whole Jewish economy and religious system.

Type met antitype when Jesus stood in their midst with divinity clothed with humanity as the ceremony's reality, while priests, scribes and rulers would not enter the judgment hall lest they be defiled that they might eat the Passover. The antitypical Lamb was slain and lay in Joseph's tomb while the Passover was being observed.

Faith Obedience and Protection

Each household was required to obey God's directions in faith, gathering everyone including the children inside the house to eat the Passover ready to leave for departure. The blood struck on the lintel and the two side-posts, the side and upper doorposts outside, was the sign the angel was to respect, recognizing the houses thus marked as the dwelling places of Christ's followers and passing over them without entering to destroy. That blood means faith in the blood of Christ and marked those who trusted in God's provision and in the only begotten Son, whose promise is everlasting life to those who believe. Carelessness or refusal to follow the instructions, or neglecting the directions, would not protect even a Hebrew firstborn from the judgment, for without this protection Israelites were not distinguished from Egyptians.

None is benefited by God's special provision for salvation unless he performs the work the Lord leaves him to do and by his acts manifests faith in the provision made, for their actions showed faith in the salvation He provided. The Israelites' obedience in marking their doorposts with the blood of a slain lamb displayed their faith in Christ, the promised Redeemer and great Sacrifice, showing a household that trusted and obeyed God. That blood signified the efficacy of Christ's blood for sinners and shielded the household from the destroyer when judgment came on Egypt's firstborn, with the parents' faith extending to and covering their children, as the destroying angel passed over every marked house.

Israel's safety on that perilous night when Egypt's firstborn were slain is a picture that the true Israel of God will be protected during the time of divine judgment. Today parents must gather their children about them and have that faith to save them from the destructive power of the evil one and to pass safely through the perilous times just before the end of this earth's history, as the conflict between Christ and Satan increases in intensity until the end. Christians are to gather their families under this protection amid deception and false teaching, with blood-marked homes illustrating the duty of parents to separate their children from harmful influences and follow the light God has given. The blood placed over the doorways was a sign identifying them as God's people and preserving them from the general destruction, compared with the sign God appoints for His people now: keeping His holy law, especially His Sabbaths.

Receiving Christ for Life

Eating the flesh of the Passover lamb was to remember the Lamb of God and Israel's protection on the night when the firstborn of their enemies were slain in Egypt. The lamb's flesh represented the Lamb of God, pointing to Christ whose sacrifice provides salvation and whose life gives hope. Receiving Him through that symbol is the same truth as eating the flesh of the Son of man and drinking His blood for eternal life.

Eating represents receiving Christ by faith, and all who by faith eat His flesh and drink His blood receive spiritual food. This spiritual food gives believers a well-founded hope of resurrection to immortal life in the kingdom of God. That is because the bread Christ gives for the life of the world is His flesh given in future sacrifice. All who so receive Him will finally be raised from the dead.

That salvation is offered to all who accept Him clothed in humanity as Redeemer, having access to the Father and invested with divine authority.