In God’s last plague against Egypt, he slays every firstborn, both of people and of animals. By displaying the blood of an unblemished lamb on their doorposts, as God had instructed Moses and Aaron, the Israelites save their firstborn children. Because of this final blow, Pharaoh sends Israel away from his people and land. The Passover and the Exodus mark God’s first great salvation of his people, and he requires them to remember it across generations, as Jesus and his disciples did in the first century. Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper while celebrating the Passover reveals his fulfillment of the original salvation in Egypt. As Paul says, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7). - ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
THINKING: Questions aimed at our minds to help us understand God’s word.
How is God portrayed as supremely sovereign in Exodus 11:1–3? What does he control? How does this inform our understanding of our own salvation?
This section starts off by rearranging Israel’s calendar around this deliverance from Egypt (12:1–2). What benefits would this have for future generations of Israelites?
What is the doctrine of substitutionary atonement? Where do we see it in the Passover? Elsewhere in Scripture?
FEELING: Questions aimed at our affections to help us love God.
Read John 19:36 in conjunction with Exodus 12:13, 12:46 and Psalm 34:20. How does Jesus ultimately fulfill the Passover?
How does the Passover in Exodus deepen your affection for your Passover Lamb?
DOING: Questions aimed at our hands to help us live for God (Personally, Communally, and Missionally).
How will the Passover in Exodus shape how you approach the Lord’s Supper, and where you focus your mind as you eat and drink?
The Passover and Exodus show us that God delivers us from both Slavery to sin and the penalty of sin. How do these truths impact the way you live your life every day?
Questions adapted from Knowing the Bible: Exodus (Crossway Publishers) & Exodus for You (Tim Chester)
