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Exodus 12:1
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The Passover Instituted

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2 a“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.  
3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the atenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.  
4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb.
5 Your lamb shall be awithout blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.  
6 Now you shall keep it until the afourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.  
7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.
8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that anight; broasted in fire, with cunleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.  
9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but aroasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails.  
10 aYou shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.  
11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. aIt is the Lord’s Passover.  
12 ‘For I awill pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and bagainst all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: cI am the Lord.  
13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 ‘So this day shall be to you aa memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a bfeast cby an everlasting ordinance.  
15 aSeven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, bthat person shall be cut off from Israel.  
16 On the first day there shall be aa holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you.  
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< Exodus 11:10   Exodus 12:2 >>

What Does Exodus 12:1 Mean?

The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, before they ever left Egypt while they were still slaves in Egypt. This command sets the time for Israel to observe the Passover just after sunset as the 14th day of Abib begins. Yet Jesus Christ observed the Passover with His disciples at the beginning of the 14th, while His death occurred around 3:00 pm on the preparation day. When His death is chosen as the standard, observance shifts to the afternoon of the 14th or into the 15th, requiring a different explanation for when the Israelites killed the lambs and left Egypt, often drawing on Jewish tradition.




Exodus 12:1-14

Historically, the church of God has observed the Passover just after sunset as the 14th day of Abib begins, as commanded in Exodus 12:1-14 (see also Leviticus 23:4-5; Numbers 9:2-5). However, it is also plain from Scripture that Jesus Christ was not sacrificed at that time—His trial and crucifixion took place during the daylight portion of the 14th, and He died around 3:00 pm on the preparation day for the first day of Unleavened Bread (Matthew 27:45-50; Mark 15:33-37; Luke 23:44-46; John 19:30-31). Since He is our Passover (I Corinthians 5:7), why did His death not occur at the time the Passover lambs were to be slain—at the beginning of the 14th day? Or should His death set the standard for understanding the instructions given to Israel?

To add to the complexity, the gospel accounts show Jesus observing the Passover with His disciples at the beginning of the 14th. Which of His actions should we use as our guide for observing Passover: the time when He observed it or when He died? And why are those events at different times?

When the time of Jesus' death is chosen above all else, the typical result is a change in the observance of Passover from the beginning of the 14th day of Abib, just after sunset, to the afternoon of the 14th or even into the 15th. Further, those who make this change must then find a different explanation for when the Israelites killed the lambs and later left Egypt, which frequently involves leaning on Jewish tradition for support—for those Jewish sects that follow Talmudic traditions promote this divergent perspective.

David C. Grabbe
Why Was Jesus Not Crucified as Passover Began? (Part One)

Related Topics: Christ's Final Passover | Divergent Perspective for Keeping Passover | Do This in Remembrance of Me | Jesus Not Crucified as Passover Began | Jesus Observed Passover with Disciples Early 14th | Observing Passover When Christ Observed It | Passover | Passover, Timing of | Talmudic Perspective | Talmudic Traditions | Time Passover Lambs Were Slain




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Exodus 12:1:

Exodus 12:1-14
Ezekiel 45:21-22


 
<< Exodus 11:10   Exodus 12:2 >>

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