This exposition of Exodus 12:43-13:10 by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, September 30, 2018.
Intro:
It used to be funny, then it was annoying now it’s frightening! I can’t remember anything. I get up and head to the kitchen and by the time I get there I wondering, “What did I come in here for?”
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People ask me, “What’s your phone number?” I respond, “Uh…” If I start out the door without my phone I now say, “Excuse me I need to grab my brain.” Names and numbers are in my phone. My calendar with meeting alerts and reminders are on my phone. I like to think it’s because I’m just so busy but no, I’m forgetful. I know that’s not unique to me and it is not a recent development in the history of man. That’s why God was so big on reminders back in the Old Testament. That’s the reason for feasts and festivals. That’s what is behind the institution of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. God was putting a reminder in the national calendar of His people. Every year on this date you are going to rehearse and remember the events of this night. There will be a week-long celebration and a dietary change and special services to drive home to you the meaning, the significance of this night. I’m not going to let you forget. Really? After such a momentous event they needed a reminder? Yes! Why? Because we are prone to forgetfulness. Besides it is not just for those who experienced the event but for those who will follow. I don’t “need” a reminder for April 19,1995 because I remember that day. I was there a couple of days later and saw the devastation and witnessed the carnage. I don’t need a reminder for 911 I spent a week at ground zero. But as a nation we need it because of those who were not yet born or who were too young to remember. The Exodus was a nation shaping event for Israel. The Exodus is for the Old Testament what the Cross is for the New Testament. It was a gospel event, a demonstration of the power and glory of God in the salvation of His people. There needed to be a way to set before the people, on a regular basis, the meaning and the significance of that event. So on the evening of that event God told Moses to instruct the people in how they were to observe this day as a memorial. Later more detail will be given but this morning I want us to look at this initial institution of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Our text is found in Exodus chapters 12 and 13.
Text: Exodus 12:43-51; 13:3-10
This is a gospel event.
It is about God delivering His people.
That’s clear from Paul’s use of it in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.
The big picture: God is sovereignly at work saving a special people for His own glory.
The gospel is a Bible doctrine - Genesis through Revelation.
As we consider our text this morning I want us to note…
Thesis: Through the institution of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread we are reminded of some essential gospel truths.
Theses feasts, celebrations are a means of preaching the gospel.
They are a way of proclaiming God’s deliverance of His people.
The Passover is a shadow, a type for the cross and God’s ultimate deliverance of His people.
There are three great gospel truths declared through these signs & symbols.
- While salvation is personal it is not individualistic. (12:43, 47, 50)
- The gospel draws clear lines of distinction between those who believe and those who do not. (12:43-51)
- The future of the church demands that we intentionally teach the gospel to our children and those who come after us. (13:3-10)
Conclusion:
No one inherits eternal life from their parents. Each person comes to faith for him/herself. Each one must believe but how will they believe unless there is a preacher and how will there be a preacher unless we preach? Yes, I know that Christ is building His church and the church isn’t going anywhere until He says so, but how does He accomplish this work? Through us! Thus we are commanded to pass the faith along. We are commanded to teach our children and those who follow after us.
- Salvation is personal but not individual.
- There is a clear distinction between those who believe and those who do not.
- We have an obligation to intentionally pass the truth along to our children and the generation following.
These great truths are bound up in the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
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