PASSOVER--- TYPOLOGY OF THE LAMB

  PASSOVER

                     UNDERSTANDINGS
                      

                  TYPOLOGY OF THE LAMB


     It is easy for us, two thousand years AFTER THE FACT, to see
that the Passover lamb was a type and a representation  of the
true lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. With the
NT and two thousand years beyond the sacrifice of Christ, it is
easy for us to see His shed blood, coming under that blood, saves
us from death. We can see quite well that coming out of Egypt by
Israel was a type of spiritual Israel (the church) coming out of
the bondage of sin. Keeping the feast of Unleavened Bread was and
is a type of the Christian putting away sin(being a slave to sin
- Rom.6), putting on righteousness(1 Cor.5), and marching on to
the promised land a type of the Christian marching on with God
leading by His Spirit, into the promised land of grace and
eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
     It is easy for us to see NOW, after the fact, that the
Passover lamb represented as John the Baptist said: "Behold the
lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world." But as we saw
in the first study, for those who did not have the NT scriptures,
but only the OT, it was NOT EASY, nay just about impossible, for
them to see the Passover lamb representing the Messiah who would
come the first time to be slain and die.

     It was revealed practically immediately after the day of
Pentecost to God's people to know this typology.
     So with this knowledge we now have let's look at the
Passover lamb in Exodus 12 and see where the typology IS carried
over to Christ, and also see where the typology of Christ's death
is NOT within the Passover lamb.

TYPOLOGY SAMENESS

     1. The Passover sacrifice was to a lamb from the sheep or
goats(Ex.12:5). The Messiah was to be brought as a lamb to the
slaughter(Isa.53:7). He was called "...the lamb of God that takes
away the sins of the world"(John 1:29).
     2. The lamb was to be without blemish(verse 5).  Peter was
inspired to tell us we were redeemed "...with the precious blood
of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot"(1 Peter
1:19).
     3. The lamb was to be a male (verse 5). Jesus was a man, a
male.
     4. The Passover lamb was to be of the first year (verse 5).
It was young. Jesus was relatively a young man(about thirty three
years old) when He was killed.
     5. The lamb slain for the Passover was on the 14th of the
first month(verse 6). Jesus was killed on the 14th of the first
month. The 15th Sabbath day was coming when they took Jesus down
from the cross (John 19:30-31 and the other gospels).
     6. Those under the blood of the Passover lamb were saved
from death(verse 13). Jesus' blood saves us from our sins and
death(Romans 3:23-25; 5:6, 8).
     

TYPOLOGY NOT THE SAME

     1. Jesus' blood was spilled at the cross, outside the city
of Jerusalem, not in a house, as was the Passover lamb (Ex.12:7
with the last chapters of the gospels).
     2. The Passover lamb was slain by having its throat cut (the
usual way to kill a sacrificial lamb or goat in Israel). Jesus
was not slain in this manner as the gospels make plain.
     3. Jesus' blood was not used in any specific way, it fell to
the ground. The blood of the Passover lamb of Exodus 12 was used
in a specific way (verse 7).
     4. The lamb of Ex.12 was roasted with fire(verse 8,9). 
Jesus was not killed by being burnt at the stake, but was
crucified on a cross (see the gospels).
     5. Nothing of the Passover lamb was to remain. That which
was left over was to be burnt by fire (verse 10). The Messiah's
body was not to see corruption (Ps.16:10).
     6. Jesus was beaten, bruised, buffeted, spit upon, and
scourged, so He was greatly marred (Isa.52:13,14; 53:5, 7,10). The
Passover lamb was not treated this way before it was sacrificed
in death.
     7. Jesus was killed along with others(two others to be
specific as the gospels show) - Isa.53:12. The Passover lamb was
the only one killed on the 14th for the Passover service and
meal. The lamb of Ex.12 was not killed with one or more lambs
during that service. There was one lamb killed for each group,
not two or three.
     8.  So severely beat was Jesus that it was foretold: "I am
poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint...."
(Ps.22:14). This did not happen to the literal physical Passover
lamb.
     9.  Jesus was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zech
11:12,13; Mat.26:14-16; 27:3-10). Nothing of this typology was
done with the Passover lamb of Exodus 12.


     There maybe other SAME and NOT THE SAME Passover typology
illustrations and marks that others could think of between the
Passover lamb of Exodus 12 and the true Passover lamb of God that
was sacrificed for us (1 Cor.5), but I have given enough to show
that NOT EVERYTHING IN EXODUS 12 with the original Passover lamb
WAS CARRIED OVER into the death of Jesus Christ.

     In our next study we shall see that THE TIME OF DEATH on the
14th of the first month was also not carried over FROM the
passover lamb in Egypt, to the time of actual death for the lamb
that takes away the sins of the world - Christ Jesus.

     Yet there is enough typology from the one lamb to the other
that shows the lamb of the Exodus was to represent the Messiah
and His death as the NT Passover sacrifice. This fact AFTER the
fact was fulfilled, could be clearly seem by the apostles and
disciples.

     Sometimes we can only see where the prophetic word and
prophetic typology is fulfilled, WHEN AND AFTER IT IS FULFILLED!! 
SUCH WAS THE CASE WITH THE PASSOVER LAMB.

                 .........................................     

Written March 1997
by
Keith Hunt