The Passover Lamb – Exodus 12:13
Jul 8, 2026 5
What if an ancient Passover lamb still has something urgent to say to us today about how we are truly saved?
“But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign… When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” — Exodus 12:13 (NLT)
The Lamb Who Saves
As we continue our journey through Scripture seeking to see Jesus more clearly, we come to one of the most powerful pictures of salvation in the entire Bible — the Passover lamb.
For centuries, God’s people had been enslaved in Egypt under Pharaoh’s harsh rule. But God had a plan to deliver them. The night before their deliverance, He instructed each family to sacrifice a perfect, spotless lamb and sprinkle its blood on the doorposts of their homes. As God’s judgment swept through the land, those sheltering under the blood of the lamb were spared and set free.
The Passover lamb is a powerful foreshadowing of Jesus. Just as the lamb was spotless and without defect, Jesus lived a sinless life. Just as the lamb died so others might live, Jesus gave His life to save us from sin and death.
The Apostle Paul writes: “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The Israelites were not saved because they were stronger, wiser, or more deserving than others. They were saved because they trusted God’s provision and sheltered beneath the blood of the lamb. In the same way, we are not saved by our own goodness or striving, but by placing our trust in Jesus and what He has done for us at the cross.
The Passover was also the beginning of a journey to the Promised Land. God did not merely rescue His people from judgment; He brought them out of slavery and led them toward freedom, promise and inheritance. So too, Jesus not only forgives us — He leads us into a new life with Him, a life that begins now and will continue forever in His presence.
The Good News Is…
And the good news is that the Passover lamb helps us see Jesus clearly. God Himself has provided the Lamb of God whose sacrifice rescues us from sin and death and brings us into eternal life with Him.
Further reading: Exodus 12:1–30; John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19
Elenne Ford
Chair, Good News Unlimited