Understanding Easter – Lesson 2 – Passover – March 8, 2026

Introduction

Have you ever thought that salvation sounds too simple? The Christian faith teaches that we can be forgiven of our sin, escape eternal torment in the Lake of Fire, become the children of God, be made joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, and enjoy the joys of heaven for eternity, all through the blood of Jesus Christ, by trusting what God has done and obeying what He has said. For many people, that sounds too simple to be true.

Others struggle to believe it because they are crushed under the weight of their sin. They are tormented by things they have done, things they cannot undo, words they cannot take back, and damage they know they caused. They assume that something so serious must require ongoing effort, personal suffering, unending shame, or personal loss before forgiveness is possible

That way of thinking is reinforced by the world’s major religions, which teach that forgiveness must be earned through effort, religious duties, self-denial, and personal suffering to atone for one’s own sins.

But the good news is that salvation really is that simple, and God shows that clearly in the picture of Passover, where the Jews were spared from death by a simple act of faith. Because God has made salvation simple, you can get out from under the burden of trying to earn God’s grace and forgiveness.

History of Passover

Not everyone is familiar with the biblical meaning of Passover, so it is important to look back at how and why God established it. Today, Passover is an annual observance in Judaism. It is kept every year in the spring, on the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish calendar, the month of Nisan (Ex 12:2, 6; Lev 23:5).

The first Passover took place about 3,400 years ago, during the time of Moses. Israel was living in Egypt as slaves (Ex 1:13–14). God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let His people go, and Pharaoh refused (Ex 5:1–2). God brought ten plagues upon Egypt (Ex 7–11). The final plague was the death of the firstborn throughout the land (Ex 11:4–6; 12:29–30). That final plague is what Scripture identifies as the first Passover (Ex 12:12–13).

For the Jewish people, Passover serves as a yearly reminder of two realities. God delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and that deliverance came through the blood of a lamb that died in the place of the firstborn (Ex 12:3–7, 13). At the same time, Passover reminds them that they stood under the same judgment as Egypt, and the difference was the blood God provided (Ex 12:12–13).

God instructed fathers to explain the meaning of Passover to their children, so each generation would understand what the LORD had done for them (Ex 12:26–27; 13:8–9).

While Passover was a historical event for the Jews, we now understand that it was God’s way of teaching that salvation, which is our most critical need, is possible because God accepts Jesus death as our substitute. It is that simple.

Next, we will learn how God taught the Jews the value of a substitute death.

The Promise of Judgement and Death

After the first nine plagues, Pharaoh still refused to release the people of Israel. God then told Moses that one final plague was coming. This plague is the one we know today as Passover, as found in Ex 11:4-6. In those verses, we learn that a death sentence is pronounced upon every home in the land of Egypt. This death sentence applied to every home from Pharaoh to the poorest servant. It included both the Egyptians and all foreigners living in the land, which included the Jews.

This promise of death establishes the universal nature of judgment. Scripture teaches that sin brings death to all people (Rom 5:12; 6:23). When Israel heard that death would come to every household, they were forced to face a single reality: judgment was coming, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

The Promise of Deliverance

While the Jews were processing the reality and horror of this death sentence, Moses was able to share the good news; NO, the best news they could hear. God had also promised deliverance to those who believed & obeyed His instructions (Ex 12:3-7, 12-13).

Right now, use your imagination to feel what they felt in that moment. Imagine what it was like for them to hear that a death sentence had been pronounced upon the firstborn in every home. Imagine looking at your firstborn and realizing there is nothing you can do to protect them.

Now imagine what it was like when they heard Moses say “BUT GOD!”

He told them, “But God has said if you take a lamb on the 10^th day of the month, make sure it is spotless and perfect. Keep it set aside for four days to finish inspecting it; then on the 14^th day of this month, kill the lamb, catch his blood, then apply his blood to the two door posts, and over the top of your door frame. That night, cook the lamb over an open fire, and eat the lamb as a family. If you trust and obey God, He will accept the lamb’s death as a substitute for the firstborn. When He passes over the land, and He sees the blood on the door, God will pass over your home, and your firstborn will live.

Imagine looking at your firstborn after hearing that news; how would you feel?

The Simplicity Question:

At this point, I am sure someone in that group was asking the question: “Is it really that simple?”  Is that really all we have to do? And the answer is YES!  Just trust what God said, and do what God requires.  In fact, to try to add to this or do something different would result in death. The only way to escape the sentence of death was to believe in God and practice the simple steps He gave.

Now we have to consider that Passover was a picture of how Jesus would become our substitute lamb. But instead of His blood being applied to a doorpost, it was literally applied to the altar in Heaven.  And God accepts Jesus death and Jesus blood as a substitute for our death sentence. Look at how the New Testament teaches this truth:

New Testament Teaching on Passover:

First, we will look at the Gospel of John. But it is important to understand that there are two men named John who play key roles in this Gospel. There is John, who is the author of the Gospel. He later became an apostle of Jesus and a former fisherman.  Then there is John the Baptist. He pointed people to Jesus but died early in Jesus’ ministry, so he never became an apostle.  This John pointed to Jesus and called Him the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

He was drawing a parallel between Jesus and the role the Passover Lamb played in the original Passover.

Next, we can look at the word from the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7: “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”  Paul also drew a connection to Jesus dying in our place so we can live, just as the Passover lamb did for the firstborn that night.

Now that we have established that salvation is simple, we are left with a question: Why must there be blood applied before a substitute is accepted?

The Necessity of Blood:

To understand the necessity of blood in salvation, we look at Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin are death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

This verse confirms what God told Adam in the Garden when He warned Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He said, “In the day you eat of the tree, you will die.  Death means separation, and sin separates us from God.

The Bible teaches we are dead in our sins, but the death of a proper substitute can appease God’s justice. That is, Jesus is sinless, and He can die in our place as our substitute, and God can let Him take our sin and our death.  Next, we learn that the life Jesus laid down in our place is represented in His blood. God said in Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

First, notice that God stated that life is in the blood. No one can argue this point. We know what happens if a person loses too much blood: they die.  Life is in the blood. This means the blood represents life. When Jesus took His blood to the altar of God, His blood represented His life and death.

Next, notice that God said, “I have given it to you upon the altar.”  God was saying it was His gift of life that was given for us. Even though the Jews had to physically take the lamb’s life and apply the blood on the doorpost at Passover, God was reminding them it was He who provided a substitute so they could live.

Sin required a death for payment. The blood of the substitute represents the life that is given in place of the one who was to die. God is both willing to accept a substitute and provide that substitute for our sin.

Jesus Our Passover Lamb:

We have already seen that John the Baptist declared Jesus was the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And we have seen that Paul declared Jesus is our Passover lamb. Now we will look at the scriptures that speak of the blood of Jesus securing forgiveness, cleansing, and salvation.

Jesus’ Blood Cleanses Us from Sin

• 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
• Revelation 1:5 “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”
• Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Jesus’ Blood Atones for Sin (Substitution & Satisfaction)

• Romans 3:24–25 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood…”
• Leviticus 17:11 (foundation text) “For the life of the flesh is in the blood… it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

• Hebrews 2:17 “To make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”

Jesus’ Blood Saves Us from Judgment

• Romans 5:9 “Much more than, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
• Exodus 12:13 “When I see the blood, I will pass over you…”
• Hebrews 12:24 “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”

Jesus’ Blood Redeems Us (Purchase & Ownership)

• Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins…”
• Colossians 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
• 1 Peter 1:18–19 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things…But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Jesus’ Blood Brings Forgiveness Once for All

• Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
• Hebrews 10:10 “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
• Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

Jesus’ Blood Establishes the New Covenant

• Matthew 26:28 “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
• Luke 22:20 “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”
• Hebrews 13:20 “Through the blood of the everlasting covenant…”

Summary Verse:

• 1 Corinthians 5:7 “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.”

Conclusion:

We began by asking if you ever thought salvation sounds too simple.  We talked about how the major world religions add works to God’s simple plan of salvation. They teach that we must make a great effort or suffer to some degree for our own sin. But the Christian faith relies on the truth that Salvation is very simple: “God tells us that we are all under a death sentence, doomed to face the wrath of God. But the same God tells us He is willing to accept a substitute death in our place. And what makes this even better is that God has also provided the substitute (Jesus Christ), God’s own Son.  All we can do is believe what God has said and trust in what God has provided.

Now the only thing left to do is get out from under the burden of trying to earn forgiveness; get out from under the burden of trying to clean ourselves from the filth of sin; and get out from under the burden of trying to earn God’s favor. God has already provided all this for us. It is time to rest in this truth.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________