Jesus Saves!

"Then Moses said, "Thus says the LORD: 'About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; ⁵  and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals."

Exodus 11:4-5

After unleashing 9 plagues on the gods and people of Egypt, God promised to send a final plague:  the death of the firstborn of all people and animals.  Unlike previous plagues which were restricted to the Egyptians, this plague would affect Pharaoh, his servants, and even the Hebrews in Goshen.  Though this grievous plague would affect all Egypt, God provided a way for households to be delivered from it if they would meet God's conditions.  Not one person or animal had to die.  If people would sprinkle the blood of the paschal lamb on the doorposts and lintel of their homes, having eaten the lamb in the manner prescribed, God would spare the firstborn.  The life of the lamb killed for the Passover was the substitute for the firstborn.

I wonder:  did all the people who heard God's conditions obey them, even though they had seen firsthand His wonders with plague after plague?  For those who did not apply the blood to their doorposts and lintel, all households mourned at least one death.  In the world today, death will come personally for all people as a result of sin, for the Bible says the wages of sin is death.  None are excluded from our inevitable decease.  But the same verse which reveals the wages of sin is death tells us of the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus (Romans 6:23).  Our bodies will someday go the way of the earth, and God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to be our Redeemer, Saviour, and LORD.  If a sinner will acknowledge his sin and repent, trusting in Jesus, the same will be born again and receive eternal life.

It wasn't enough for the Hebrews to eat lamb for dinner.  It wasn't enough for blood to be spattered on the doorposts of their homes.  God provided specific instructions outlined in Exodus 12 the people needed to follow in obedience to Him.  The lamb or goat was to be a male in the first year without blemish and kept from the 10th to the 14th day of the first month, and to be killed in the evening.  The lamb was to be roasted and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  They needed to remove leaven from their homes and eat in readiness to depart with shoes on their feet.  If any of the lamb was left over until morning, it was to be burned with fire.  The tradition of the Passover has evolved to require great attention to details not mentioned in Exodus, but the point is it was much more than eating a lamb or sprinkling blood.  Careful preparation and obedience was required to assure the feast was kept and the benefit of life received.

The ordinance of the Passover protected the firstborn from death in Egypt on one night, and Joshua the son of Nun was the only person by my reckoning who was a firstborn spared in Egypt who also entered into Canaan some forty years later.  Joshua means "Jehovah saves," and it is the same Hebrew name of Jesus (translated from Greek):  "Jehoshua."  Jesus is the God who saves, the "Lamb of God" who takes away the sins of the world.  Jesus was God's own Son who died on the cross as a sacrifice and substitute for sinners.  One does not need to adhere to a tradition concerning eating or drinking to meet God's requirements for eternal life, for all who repent and believe on Christ will be saved.  Romans 10:8-10 affirms, "But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  There is no hope of salvation in keeping of the Passover, but there is eternal life for all who repent and trust in Jesus.