Behold the Lamb of God

In Exodus 12, God gave us a powerful picture where judgment and mercy came together in a striking yet beautiful way. It was a foreshadowing of His eternal plan of salvation. God was justly going to judge Egypt, where the firstborn in every household was about to die because of the demonic rebellion rooted in the worship of false gods. The entire land was under God’s judgment.

Yet even in His justice, mercy was not absent. Through the Passover (pasach), God opened a way of escape for all who believed His word.

On the night of the first Passover, each Israelite family sacrificed a spotless lamb and carefully spread its blood on the doorposts of their home. They ate the lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread, ready to leave Egypt at a moment’s notice. That night, as God moved through the land to strike down Egypt’s firstborn, He passed over every home marked by the lamb’s blood, sparing those inside.

For those whom God had passed over, the wailing cries of mourning that filled Egypt must have been a haunting reminder of what could have been their fate.

In Exodus, God’s judgment passed over the homes marked by the lamb’s blood, sparing them from destruction. This act of mercy was not only protection from harm, but also a sign of God’s grace — an invitation to know Him, the one true God. The blood on the doorposts marked those inside as covered by His mercy. It was freely given, but came at the cost of another.

In Isaiah 31:5, pasach also carries the sense of protection and shelter. The Lord’s care is pictured like a bird hovering over its young — vigilant, tender, and protective. Here, God’s intervention isn’t just to spare from harm, but to actively shield and rescue. Just as birds protect their young, so the Lord will pass over Jerusalem, offering both deliverance and care.

And here we see the cross of Christ pictured.

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

The lamb slain in Egypt foreshadowed the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world.

The cry of “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” should be an eerie reminder of what I deserved. The rebellion in Egypt had filled my own heart. I had worshipped created things, trusted in idols, and had gone my own way. The just sentence for sin is death — I deserve to be struck down. Yet, in His mercy, God provided a Lamb.

O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, Thine only crown.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered
was all for sinners’ gain;
mine, mine was the transgression,
but Thine the deadly pain.

Jesus became the Lamb in my place. He was spotless, without sin — yet He was slaughtered so that I might live. His blood now covers the doorposts of my life. Because of Him, judgment passes over me. I am not spared because I’m good, but because He is.

God not only passed over — He hovered. Like a bird over her young, He guards, shields, and shelters me. His mercy isn’t distant or detached — it is near, present, and tender. In Christ, I am not only spared from wrath but held in love.

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honour and glory and might
forever and ever!”

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honour and glory and blessing!”