As kids, we’re quick to get upset when we think we’ve been “passed over” by not getting the first slice of cake, or not getting picked for the team or the part in the play. We’re taught from youth that getting passed over just doesn’t seem fair … and I believe that was exactly the way God intended it.
Passed Over With Love
As I read Exodus 12, describing the first Passover, I can’t help but notice the parallel to our lives and to our final consecration. Surely the Israelites weren’t without sin — but as God’s chosen ones, He was going to ensure that they were not treated fairly. In other words, they would not be given the consequences for their sin but instead provided with undeserved mercy and an exit from bondage.
In serving a just God, we should be quick to realize that He loves justice but desires mercy and not sacrifice (Matt. 9:13). He’s a Father who loves and regularly chooses to cover His children’s multitude of sin with love (1 Pet. 4:8). And this is exactly what happened on the first Passover and will happen on the final Passover.
In Exodus 12:13 (NIV), the Lord says, “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” In this first Passover, God was referring to the blood of the spotless animal sacrifice that the Israelites were to apply to their houses as an identifier to the Spirit to ensure their safety. And while modern Christians don’t spend time celebrating “Passover,” it’s certainly still cause for a celebration.
His Unfair Treatment
The last time I checked in the mirror, God hasn’t treated fairly the person I see staring back. He has covered her filth with a primer so thick that the dark colors underneath are almost indistinguishable. Each day when my family returns home to be together, we have once again been “passed over” and treated unfairly. That is, we are shown great and new mercy in this day, not getting what we deserve.
Yet the verse in Exodus 12:13 has a much more significant meaning beyond His everyday mercies. When I eventually enter into Jesus’ presence in eternity, He will present me to His Father (1 John 2:1), declaring my innocence because of the covering He put over me — the sacrifice of His blood at the ultimate Passover.
Cause for Celebration
Nothing I will have done in this life has been beyond my Heavenly Father’s view, but despite it all, the blood has covered me — unfairly. I’m grateful to have been passed over and granted access to the holy celebration of the undeserved mercy extended to me through the all-atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ my Savior and Spotless Lamb. For that, I can celebrate my Passover, each and every day.
