One Day Nearer: 10 Devotions in Anticipation of Jesus’ Glorious ReturnExemplo

Day 7: Foreshadows of Jesus the Sacrificial Lamb

When Pharaoh refused to let the people of Israel leave Egypt, God sent a series of ten plagues. In the final plague, God sent an angel of death to slay the firstborn of every Egyptian family. Beforehand, God commanded the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb and brush its blood on the doorframe of their homes before nightfall. This would tell the avenging angel to “pass over” the house, protecting the Hebrew firstborns.

Much of what happened that first Passover foreshadows our Lord’s death on the cross:

• A lamb was to be sacrificed; Jesus was the Lamb of God sacrificed on our behalf.
• The lamb had to be without blemish; Jesus was without sin.
• The sacrifice was to be killed on Passover; Jesus was crucified on Passover.
• The Israelites were saved by the blood on their doorposts; we are saved by the sacrificial blood of Christ.

The prophetic accuracy of these parallels and others is amazing. The lesson God wanted to teach Israel was this: Deliverance from judgment requires the death of an innocent substitute.

Some 1,400 years later, when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He made sure to let Israel know its long-awaited sacrificial substitute had arrived.

In a plague that brought judgment and death, God powerfully declared His love for Israel and mankind. Through many more Old Testament prophecies and foreshadows to come, He repeated that message of love and His desire to save people. It’s a message God never tires of proclaiming—and it’s why He has given so many prophecies about our future with Christ!