CHRIST OUR PASSOVER
1 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV
7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
This is a bit of a challenging chapter. Paul has to deal with some serious sin issues in the church. Evidently, a man stole his father’s wife, his stepmother, and was sleeping with her. Remember, we talked about the city of Corinth being a hub of commerce and a degraded culture. So Paul is having to talk to the church about how to handle the man involved. The bottom line is that Paul advocates no fellowship with someone living this way. He is not talking about isolation from the world but not hanging out with believers who are up to their eyeballs in sin. I wonder how that would go over today?
Paul mentions getting the leaven out of the church; the leaven is referring to sin. And then Paul references that Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. If you are not familiar with the Old Testament account of God delivering the nation of Israel out of Egypt, then that reference will go right past you.
The final plague of judgment to come upon Egypt for their refusal to let Israel go was the death of the firstborn. From the palace to the poorest, the firstborn of men and animals would suffer the judgment of God against Egypt and its gods. Exodus chapter eleven is the story of the Passover. But judgment would not come upon the children of Israel provided they kept God’s commandment. They were to kill a lamb and wipe some of its blood on the doorposts and the lintel of the house. Whenever God passes through the land and sees the blood, He would pass by or pass over that house. So, the firstborn of all of Israel was saved, but there was a great outcry in Egypt. As a result of this major event, Pharoah let the nation of Israel leave Egypt. And from that time forward Israel was to celebrate the Passover. They were to eat bread without any leaven and eat lamb. All this was also pointing to what Jesus would do for us.
Now Christ, who is our Passover, has poured out His blood on the cross so that all who receive Him escape the judgment of God. God sees the blood of Christ on us and passes over our sins and failures. This is why we see so many references to the blood of Christ. We have been purchased and washed of our sins by His blood. The blood of a lamb caused deliverance to come to Israel while Egypt suffered judgment. The blood of Christ, our Passover lamb, causes deliverance to come to all who will receive His sacrifice.
In the middle of this sobering chapter on church discipline is a phrase that carries a lot of weight. A phrase with a beautiful visual of God’s mercy: Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us!
PRAYER
Thank You, Father, for Your plan of deliverance in Jesus. And thank You, Jesus, for being the sacrificial lamb for us! I am safe under Your blood!