The Perfect Lamb – March 27, 2024

Read: Exodus 12:21-30

Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”
Exodus 12:21-23

The Perfect Lamb

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Imagine living in Egypt during the time of Moses. Your parents are tired from making bricks every single day. They’re confused because of all the crazy things that have been happening: the Nile River turning to blood, the outbreaks of frogs and bugs and hail and darkness. They aren’t sure how they can possibly be rescued from their slavery to the Egyptians. And they especially don’t know what to expect from this strange new festival called Passover.

But they do know what God said to Moses and Aaron. They know that he commanded them to take a lamb and kill it at sunset. They know that God promised to pass through Egypt and put to death the firstborn son in every family—except the families who took the blood of this lamb and put it around the doorframe of their house.

So you watch as your parents kill the lamb and paint its blood on your house. You wonder why your parents picked the best lamb, a perfect lamb. You ask your father why this perfect lamb had to die. His answer is simple: “God promised us that we are going to leave Egypt and be free again. But before we can go free, someone has to die. And this perfect lamb died so that you don’t have to.” No blood of the lamb, no freedom.

This isn’t just an “imaginary” story that happened a very long time ago. The Passover looked ahead to another type of freedom that was needed. Every single person born into this world needed to be set free from sin. And so God the Father made a way for that to happen. He sent Jesus to be the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It was simple: Jesus died so that all of us won’t have to. No blood of the Lamb of God, no freedom.

It’s the middle of Holy Week, the time of year when we get to hear about Jesus’ last days and hours before he died. Tomorrow, on Holy Thursday, we’ll hear about Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. Don’t miss the reason that Jesus and his disciples were eating together that Thursday night. They were celebrating the Passover, just as God commanded the Israelites to do so many years ago. They were sacrificing a perfect lamb—and watching as the perfect Lamb of God prepared to sacrifice himself.

Closing Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for offering yourself as the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Thank you for shedding your blood to earn my freedom. Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

• What kind of lamb were the Israelites told to pick?
• What had to happen before the Israelites could leave Egypt and be free?

Questions for Elementary Age Children

• What would have happened if the Israelites hadn’t painted the blood of a lamb on their doorframes?
• Why do you need to be set free from sin?

Questions for Middle School and Above

• During his life on earth, Jesus was called the Lamb of God by just one person. Who? (Hint: John 1:29,36)
• If Jesus’ sacrifice set you free from sin, why do you still sin and do bad things?