Keeping The Passover

"Through faith he kept the Passover" (Hebrews 11:28) marks a high point in the life of Moses. After his preservation as an infant, his privileged years in Pharaoh's palace, and pastoral mid-life in the desert, Moses returned to Egypt with his message from God: "Let My people go" (Exodus 5:1). If you know the story, you'll recall that Pharaoh refused, and then a series of ten plagues descended upon the Egyptians. It was the tenth plague—the death of the firstborn—that finally set the Israelites free.

To protect His people from this deadly plague, God instituted the Passover. As Moses told the people, "The Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians" (Exodus 12:23). To protect their households, the Israelites were to sacrifice a lamb and mark their houses with its blood: "When He seeth the blood … the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you."

The Passover speaks to us of Jesus Christ, "The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). As we remember His death and resurrection this Easter, let us not miss the importance of His sacrifice and our need of taking shelter in His shed blood.

Like Moses, maybe your life has had some ups and downs. Our prayer is that you will come to know God by faith, as Moses did, and follow Him all the days of your life. The only way to start is by "Keeping the Passover"—trusting yourself completely to the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ.

—T. Don Johnson