INTRODUCTION• Good Friday is said to be the most holy of all the days of the year.
• According to the Christian tradition and belief, Good Friday is the day God, in Jesus, died for the sins of people to bring them back to His Father.
• Our understanding of Good Friday begins with the birth of the Jewish Passover, which has been celebrated by the Jews from 1,500 B.C. to this very day.
PART 1: THE FIRST PASSOVER (Read Exodus 12) The setting:
• Israel is in severe bondage in Egypt. They had been in Egypt for 430 years.
• They could not worship YHWH in freedom.
• They were not in the land promised to Abraham.
• The Passover constituted last of the ten plagues God performed to deliver Israel.
1. The taking of a lamb (sheep or goat) without blemish, for each household on the 10th day of the month of Nissan.
2. The killing of the lamb on the 14th day of the month at evening
3. The sprinkling of the blood on the doorposts and lintels of the house in which the lamb was to be eaten.
4. The roasting of the lamb with fire, its head and its legs and inwards – the lamb was not to be eaten raw or boiled in water.
5. The eating of unleavened bread (without yeast) and bitter herbs. The yeast had to be completely removed from their houses before the lamb could be slain.
6. Eating in haste, with belts fastened and sandals on their feet and staff in hand.
7. Remaining in the house until the morning.
8. The burning of all that remained, the Passover could only be eaten during the night.
The
destroyer will pass through the land and would Passover each house when God saw the blood of the lamb. The
firstborn in every household, flock and heard that was not protected by the blood of the lamb would be killed. This shock was what made Pharoah finally relent and release Israel to worship their God in the wilderness. It was their deliverance.
This was to be an
annual celebration - a festival of remembering God’s gracious and powerful deliverance – by the blood of the lamb.
PART 2: FULFILLED IN CHRIST’S DEATH1. John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the
Lamb of God who came to take away the sins (read John 1:29).
2. The apostle Paul refers to Jesus as the
Passover Lamb (read 1 Cor. 5:6-8).
3. The author of Hebrews says we’re redeemed by the
blood of the Lamb (read Heb 9:11-15).
4. Because Jesus
died for us all, God considers us all to have died (read 2 Cor 5:14-15)
5. John the apostle describes how the
Lamb sits upon the throne (read Rev 7:9-10).
6.
So, who killed the Passover Lamb? In other words, who killed Jesus? Was it:
- the Romans who physically killed him, the Jews who insisted that the Romans execute him, or was it us because of our sin?
- It was God His Father
4 Surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:4, 6)Discussion Questions1. Why do people refer to Good Friday as the most holy of all days?
2. What was one significant take away from Part 1: The First Passover?
3. If you were to explain to somebody else what Jesus, our Passover Lamb means, what would you say?
4. What is the difference in forgiveness for believers in the OT and NT in terms of the difference between the blood of bulls and goats and the blood of Jesus?
5. As a group, make a list of as many items as you can about what Jesus’ shedding his blood for us actually accomplished.
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