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Psalm 149:1–9 • Exodus 12:1–14 • Romans 13:8–14 • Matthew 18:15–20

Today’s theme is God gave us a way to remember that he saves us. Our call to worship psalm reminds us to praise the Lord who takes pleasure in his people and executes judgement against their enemies. Our Old Testament reading from Exodus contains the instructions from the Lord to Moses on how to prepare and keep the Passover of the LORD, a day set apart as a day of remembrance of God saving Israel while executing judgement on Egypt. The epistolary reading from Romans speaks of the implications of salvation in terms of departing from works of darkness while putting on the armor of light. In the Gospel reading from Matthew Jesus speaks to seeking reconciliation with those who sin against you.

Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.

How to use this sermon resource.

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God Gave Us a Way to Remember That He Saves Us

Exodus 12:1–14 ESV

Over the last two Sundays, we’ve been watching God’s rescue story unfold in Exodus. First, we saw that even when God seemed absent, he was already at work. While Israel suffered under slavery and oppression, God was preserving life and preparing a deliverer through acts of courage and faithfulness. Then last week, we met Moses at the burning bush and discovered that the God who seemed silent had not forgotten his people. God saw their suffering, heard their cries, and came down to rescue them.

Together, these passages remind us that even when we cannot see him, God is at work to rescue us. God comes down. God does not abandon us. God keeps his promises.

Today we come to a turning point in the story of Exodus. So far, we have met Moses, the man God called to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt. We read of Moses’ birth and upbringing and his calling by God at the burning bush. That was chapter 3. Today we pick up the story in chapter 12. This week is a great time to read Exodus 4–11, the chapters in between.

If you do, you will meet Aaron, Moses’ brother. God gave Aaron to help Moses speak to Pharaoh and to the people of Israel. Together they deliver God’s message to Pharaoh again and again: “Let my people go.”

Pharaoh refuses. As a result, Egypt experiences a series of nine devastating plagues. Now the story reaches its most dramatic moment. One final judgment, one final plague is coming: the killing of all the firstborn in the land, humans and animals.

We’re on the edge of our seats; we want to know what will happen next.

Instead, God pauses the action and gives detailed instructions for a meal called Passover. At first, this may seem like an interruption. But we will see just how important this “pause” is.

As we listen to these ancient instructions, we are not simply studying an old religious ceremony. We are being reminded that we all need salvation, and it is God alone who saves. Salvation is God’s rescue from sin and death and their effects. Salvation is deliverance from evil and freedom to new life in him. God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

Let’s read it.

¹ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, ⁶ and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

⁷ “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. ¹⁰ And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ¹¹ In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord‘s Passover. ¹² For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Exodus 12:1–14 ESV

Here God gives Moses and Aaron detailed instructions for keeping the Passover. It is meant to be a memorial day so the Israelites will remember how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. In short, Passover is God’s way of reminding his people of his salvation and calling them to pass that memory on to future generations. Future generations will need to know that their freedom came from God. God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

Now here we are, not as Israelites, but as Christians. What do these instructions have to do with us? We may be tempted to pass over (pun intended) this section and resume the narrative to see how the story turns out. However, this section is actually packed with meaning for us today as well.

We are not living under slavery in Egypt, but we know what it is like to be trapped. We know what it’s like to feel enslaved to shame, guilt, selfishness, striving, self-hatred, and isolation.

We need that reminder too: God frees us.

The Passover points forward to Jesus Christ. What God began to reveal in Exodus would find its fulfillment in Jesus. We will see as we go on.

The Living Lord Speaks

God gives such detailed instructions for the Passover — down to the timing, the lamb, and how it is prepared and eaten. God speaks clearly and does not leave us guessing. The Living Lord reveals who he is and what he wants. He let the Israelites know exactly what he expected.

We are given a stark contrast between the Living God and the false gods of Egypt. The Living God speaks. He did not leave it up to Israel to figure out how to keep the Passover. This is a God of grace speaking in a land where people worshiped false, man-made gods. Of course, these unreal idols could not speak.

So, people were left in the dark, trying to please gods they did not understand, often through fear and harmful practices. It also gave an opening for evil rulers to control empires through deception and fear. And worshippers needed to trust false priests or magicians to tell them what the gods demanded.

Ultimately, this usually escalated to child sacrifice. Many believed giving a firstborn child would appease the gods. The firstborn is the first child in a family, often given a special status or importance.

The first nine plagues were a direct judgement on the many gods the Egyptians worshiped. Each plague was God’s announcement that he was the one true God. God is speaking and acting to reveal to Israel who he is and what he expects. He is moving them to trust him so they will be free to worship him. He is moving to save them from the slavery they and Pharaoh are in.

All other gods, one by one, were exposed as empty and powerless idols. There is only one God, and all other gods will be cast down. This gives us a partial picture of what salvation entails. It involves casting out all that is evil and all that enslaves.

We also need to be delivered from the false gods we are enslaved to, and we need to come to know the true God who speaks to us. God has chosen us for himself; God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. If we do not know this, then we will never be able to trust him or free to obey him. We will always be wondering if we have done enough or done it right. We will still be in slavery.

The Lord speaks instructions to Moses and Aaron, who will then go and speak God’s words to the people. This pattern gets repeated throughout the Book of Exodus. It’s a pattern carried out for us today as we go and share the good news of God’s salvation to others. We are merely passing on the message that was shared with us. God is not some detached ideal, value system, or projection of our imagination. God is real, he speaks to us, and he acts first to save us. Furthermore, God invites us to participate in sharing that good news with others.

A Communal Meal

What else do these instructions show us about God? Did you notice how the lamb was to be shared? It was to be consumed by a household. And if the household was too small to consume the whole lamb, then they were to join in with another household. The Passover was to be a communal memorial. Communal means something shared and experienced together as a group.

The God who was revealing himself to Israel is the triune God revealed in Jesus Christ. Triune means consisting of three; Father, Son, Spirit have existed for eternity as a relationship, sharing all things together. It shouldn’t be surprising then that this central ceremony for Israel would be observed as an exercise in sharing. It was to be a reminder that they were saved to be a community. Ultimately, this points to the fact that we are saved to share in the communion, the shared life and union, between the Father and Son in the Spirit. Salvation is to be free to belong to another and not enslaved to ourselves.

Blood of the Lamb

The Israelites are also instructed to put the blood of the lamb on the two doorposts and the beam over the door. Notice Israel is not exempt from the destruction coming, but they are given a way to be spared. The blood-soaked door is the way Israel is saved from the death angel.

Notice God provides a way for his people to be spared from judgment. And God provides the rescue. God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

We see the double reference to Jesus in this picture. Jesus himself tells us he is the Door (John 10:9), and it is by his blood we are saved (Ephesians 1:7). There is no other provision made for salvation and that is true for us as well. However, Jesus is still the blood-soaked door open for all to enter. He is calling us to enter and to dine with him.

Passover Meal

More about this special meal: Israel was instructed to eat the meal of roasted lamb with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. They were told to eat the meal in haste. They didn’t have time to wait for the leavening in bread to rise and bitter herbs did not need preparation. They were told to eat with their belt fastened, shoes on, and staff in hand. They needed to be ready to leave Egypt without delay.

When salvation comes to us, we are not to delay. When the Lord provides a way of deliverance, we do not linger. We get moving in the direction of freedom. If you are only beginning to see who the Lord is, there is no reason to wait. The Lord provides for salvation, a deliverance from evil and a freedom to new life in him. The Lord is calling you to himself and the sooner the better. There are life and communion on the other side of that blood-soaked door.

If you have been walking with the Lord for a long time, you too may need the reminder to be in haste to receive the salvation given to us. Sometimes we may be tempted to loosen our belts and remove our shoes to recline back into slavery. But freedom is found in running to the Lord, day in and day out.

Firstborn

The instructions in our passage for today conclude with the theme of the “firstborn.” First, in ancient Egypt, people believed the firstborn child belonged to the gods, and the gods could take that child whenever they wanted. So, the evil practice of child sacrifice was common.

Second, Israel was chosen by God as his own firstborn (Exodus 4:22). And finally, in the New Testament, it is Jesus who bears the title of “Firstborn.” Under the rule of evil, like Pharaoh, being a firstborn lead to death. However, being claimed by God as his firstborn leads to life.

Jesus is the true Firstborn who belongs to the Father. When Jesus gives his life for the sake of the world, he is fulfilling the role of the firstborn by doing his Father’s will. His sacrifice on the blood-soaked wood of the cross provides salvation for all. He stands in for us all who are destined for death under the rulership of evil. And he shares his firstborn status with us, making us all sons of glory.

Now, as firstborns of our Father in heaven, we too are free to serve him, free to do his will, and free to worship him. Notice Israel was not freed from Pharaoh to roam the desert in an attempt to serve themselves. No, they now had a new ruler, the Lord God Almighty, the one who reached down in grace and saved them. These instructions and all the forward-looking signs pointing to Jesus serve for us the same as they did for Israel — God’s reminder of his salvation.

Passover Lamb

On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus shared a Passover meal with his disciples. During that meal, he took bread and wine and gave them new meaning. This was the occasion Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. He showed them that he himself is the Passover Lamb, what we also call the Pascal Lamb.

Jesus is the true Passover Lamb. He lived the faithful human life that we could never live. He entered our broken world. He carried our sin. He faced our death. On the cross he took upon himself everything that enslaves humanity. And through his resurrection he opened the way into new life.

Jesus does not merely show us the way to freedom. He becomes our freedom.

The blood on the doorposts pointed forward to him. The lamb pointed forward to him. The meal pointed forward to him. Everything in this story is directing our attention to Jesus. And the wine, bread, lamb, and blood in the Passover are reflected in the Lord’s Supper.

The Passover was given so that God’s people would never forget what he had done. The Lord’s Supper, also called Communion, serves the same purpose for us today.

God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

The bread reminds us of Jesus’ body, given for us. The wine (or grape juice) reminds us of Jesus’ blood, poured out for us. Communion is a sacrament that reminds us that Jesus is the slain lamb who has delivered us from the slavery and tyranny of sin, evil, and death. He has saved us for new life in him.

On the night before the cross, listen to how Jesus connects it all to himself in Luke 22:

And [Jesus] took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Luke 22:19–20 ESV

Again and again, we come to the table in remembrance of Jesus. We remember that God saves. We remember that Jesus is our Passover Lamb. We remember that death does not have the final word.

We remember that we belong to the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. And we remember that the God who rescued the Israelites from Egypt is still rescuing us now.

Thanks be to God that God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

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Small Group Discussion Questions