X
info

Bible: YouVersion
Loading...
Sermon Outline

Exodus

The Passover

Lesson #5 for August 2, 2025

Scriptures:Exodus 11:1-10; 12:1-30; 13:14-16; Micah 6:8; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:28.

  1. Why did God send the plagues on Egypt? What is the significance of the Passover?

[From the Bible study guide=BSG:] The tenth and last plague is about to fall. The last warning is given; the final decision must be made. It’s truly a matter of life or death. Not only the life of an individual but [also] the prosperity of families and the entire nation is at stake. Pharaoh and his officials will be responsible for the fate of many people, either for life or for death. Pharaoh’s attitude toward the living God of Israel will determine not just his future but that of his nation.

How do we feel, and what do we do, when the gravity of circumstances lies heavy upon us and we have to choose the next step and direction, a choice that can greatly impact the lives of many others besides ourselves?―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon, July 26.‡

The “Death Plague” or Tenth Plague of Egypt

  1. God told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him there was one more plague coming.

Exodus 11:1-3: 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will send only one more punishment on the king of Egypt and his people. After that he will let you leave. In fact, he will drive all of you out of here. 2Now speak to the people of Israel and tell all of them to ask their neighbors for gold and silver jewelry.” 3The Lord made the Egyptians respect the Israelites. Indeed, the officials and all the people considered Moses to be a very great man.—American Bible Society. (©1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation®* [GNT] (Today’s English Version) [TEV], Second Edition,Exodus 11:1-3). Philadelphia: American Bible Society [abbreviated as Good News Bible-TEV*=GNB-TEV*].†‡

  1. Why did God tell the children of Israel to collect gold and silver from the Egyptians?

Exodus 11:4-8: 4 Moses then said to the king, “The Lord says, ‘At about midnight I will go through Egypt, 5and every first-born son in Egypt will die, from the king’s son, who is heir to the throne, to the son of the slave woman who grinds grain. The first-born of all the cattle will die also. 6There will be loud crying all over Egypt, such as there has never been before or ever will be again....’ ” 8Moses concluded by saying, “All your officials will come to me and bow down before me, and they will beg me to take all my people and go away. After that, I will leave.” Then in great anger Moses left the king.—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

  1. Moses was angry. He realized how many would be hurt by the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart!
  2. Do you think the three-day plague of darkness was intended to be an opportunity for the Egyptians to think seriously about what they had learned about the true God?

Exodus 13:15: “‘When the king of Egypt was stubborn and refused to let us go, the Lord killed every first-born male in the land of Egypt, both human and animal. That is why we sacrifice every first-born male animal to the Lord, but buy back our first-born sons.’”—Good News Bible-TEV.*† [CompareExodus 12:12,23,27,29. We do not know the mechanism of their deaths.]‡

[BSG:] The tenth plague is the climax of the plagues. The people must properly prepare themselves beforehand for its coming because lives are at stake. Either life or death awaits the firstborn, thus placing families on highest alert. Each family will answer a crucial question: Will we trust the Lord and His provision for life, or will we ignore it? The only path to life is marked by accepting the blood of the innocent lamb. At this time, the celebration of the Passover is inaugurated, so that, together, whole families may experience God’s deliverance.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 65.†‡

  1. The tenth plague is a foretaste of the final judgment: Every individual who has ever lived will be judged by God, and the results will be eternal life or eternal death!
  2. When we say that Christ’s death was “substitutionary,” we are saying that if He had not come and died to demonstrate the correct way to live and the results of sin, we would all die of our sins! The life and death of Jesus give us a choice: (1) We can either ask Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the angels to help us overcome our sins; or (2) We will die the death that Jesus died, separated from His Father, the only Source of life. (Isaiah 59:2)

Romans 5:6-8: 6 For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time that God chose. 7It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person. 8But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!—Good News Bible-TEV.*

  1. Our loving and wonderful Father God is more than willing to grant us wisdom, understanding, even power, to do what is right. We just need to allow Him to do it in us.

[BSG:] The problem, however, is that, in our own stubborn hearts, we don’t always want to do what is right. We know what it is, but we refuse to do it. In the account of the Exodus, one man’s [Pharaoh’s] refusal to submit to God, even in face of overwhelming evidence, brought tragedy upon many others besides himself, which is often how it works, anyway. [SeeDeuteronomy 29:19.]―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon.‡

Deuteronomy 29:19: “Make sure that there is no one here today who hears these solemn demands and yet convinces himself that all will be well with him, even if he stubbornly goes his own way. That would destroy all of you, good and evil alike.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*

  1. It is important to remember that Moses is the one who wrote the book of Exodus, as well as the other four books of the Pentateuch and Job. Thus, it was written from the perspective of the Hebrew people. We need to remember that while we focus on the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, as we should, the big event of that day was the death of the firstborn! Why did God feel that such a drastic step was necessary?

[BSG:] Thutmose III (1504–1450 b.c.) appointed his son Amenhotep II (1453–1425 b.c.), who was not his oldest son, to be co-regent with him, but only for a short period of time. Amenhotep II was probably not present in Egypt during the ten plagues, as he was engaged in a military campaign. After his return, he would receive the devastating news that his father had died in the Red Sea while pursuing the Israelites (Exod. 14:28,Exod. 15:4,Ps. 136:15) and that his brother, the firstborn of Pharaoh, had died in the tenth plague (Exod. 12:29).

God’s executive judgment struck, as predicted, in a three-pronged attack on the firstborn Egyptian males, their animals, and their gods (Exod. 12:12). Pharaoh was clearly warned, but he defied both the divine admonishment and Moses’ repeated pleas to submit to God’s request so that this calamity might be averted. Pharaoh stubbornly refused to obey God, and his recalcitrance led to further unprecedented devastation for the Egyptians. Every family was affected. The influence of this tragedy was immediate, and the Egyptians begged the Israelites to leave Egypt.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 65-66.†‡§

[From the writings of Ellen G. White=EGW:] At midnight “there was a great cry in Egypt: for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” All the first-born in the land, “from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle” had been smitten by the destroyer. Throughout the vast realm of Egypt the pride of every household had been laid low. The shrieks and wails of the mourners filled the air. King and courtiers, with blanched faces and trembling limbs, stood aghast at the overmastering horror. Pharaoh remembered how he had once exclaimed, “Who is Jehovah, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go.” Now, his heaven-daring pride humbled in the dust, he “called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said.... And be gone; and bless me also.” The royal counselors also and the people entreated the Israelites to depart “out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 279.4-280.0.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p84.1221&index=0]‡

  1. Notice those words from that same Pharaoh who a few days later was determined to force the Israelites to come back!

[BSG:] The last Egyptian plague fell on the firstborn. It was a divine judgment on all the gods of Egypt and upon all the families who worshiped these false gods, which were worthless idols that reflected the people’s own passions, desires, and fears.

As the earlier plagues had shown, these idols were unable to save the people. Their worthlessness was even more apparent now, during the tenth plague, which brought, by far, the greatest consequences on the Egyptians.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Thursday, July 31.†‡

[BSG:] Pharaoh represented the ultimate power and god of Egypt, and his firstborn son was considered a son of a god. Isis [sic] was a goddess protecting children; Heqet [sic] was a goddess attending women at childbirth; and Min [sic] was a god of reproduction. Besides these, there were several Egyptian gods of fertility. All these gods were powerless in comparison to the living Lord. Moses says: “ ‘Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?’ ” (Exod. 15:11, ESV). Jethro later testified: “ ‘Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly’ ” (Exod. 18:11, NIV).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Thursday, July 31.†‡§

[See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heqet & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_(god).]‡

  1. We need to remember that the Egyptians had killed many newborn sons of the Israelites on the command of Pharaoh to kill all the Hebrew baby boys at the time of the birth of Moses. Was it fair that God was later striking back at the Egyptian firstborn?

[BSG:] How can we understand the “fairness” of the Lord in striking dead the firstborn, many of whom were surely “innocent”? How can we harmonize this with the powerful reality of God’s love? Think, too, of the Flood. How do we understand this?―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Friday, August 1.†‡ [Remember that Pharaoh had tried to kill all Hebrew boys!]‡

  1. It is absolutely necessary that we realize that God only killed the firstborn of Egypt because that was the only way He could convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go! And even then, it was only a few days until Pharoah changed his mind again and tried to force Israel’s return!
  2. Don’t you think that some of the Israelites had friends who were Egyptians? Were they worried about what would happen to their friends’ firstborn?

Sacrifices

  1. Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh that the Israelites needed to go to offer sacrifices to their God.
  2. God had given the children of Israel instructions about how to offer sacrifices to Him. Remember that they had not been allowed to offer animal sacrifices while in Egypt because the Egyptians considered those animals to be sacred.

[BSG:] God can accept a sacrifice given only from a contrite, humble, and thankful heart. The gratitude for what God has done (not for what I have achieved or performed) must be the key motif that springs out of a heart that praises God for the gift of salvation. The prophet Isaiah stresses that we should encourage one another because God’s judgment on behalf of His people is not condemnatory but redemptive. Our loving, gracious, and caring Lord teaches believers how to understand His judgment: “Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you’ ” (Isa. 35:4, NIV).―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 67.‡§

  1. What was the difference between the sacrifices that God requested and the sacrifices that the Egyptians and other pagans offered to their “gods”?

[BSG:] Many do not understand the true meaning and purpose of sacrifices and the motives behind them. There is a vast difference between pagan sacrifices, offered in temples or houses to different gods in the form of idols, and the genuine sacrifice offered to the living God. God regulates these offerings and gives precise instructions on why and how they should be offered to Him, along with what should be offered and who should officiate over the sacrifices.

Behind all unbiblical sacrifices lies the understanding that they are food for the gods, who depended on them for sustenance. In contrast, the living God provides food to everyone (Ps. 104:14–27); so, He does not need sacrifices to feed and sustain Him. In short, sacrifices are not food for the God of heaven.

But the principal difference between pagan sacrifices and biblical sacrifices goes much deeper. The pagan’s underlying motive is that he sees his sacrificial gifts as a powerful means to influence the gods, pacify their anger, and appease them so that he might receive their favor. Pagan worshipers needed to bring offerings to the gods in order to appease them, to obtain their blessing, and to calm them in order to prevent the gods from harming them. Pagan worshipers needed to give their gods the best so that they might receive, in return, divine protection, prosperity, fertility, security, and favor.

In contrast, sacrifices, according to the Bible, are God’s means and provision for us to approach Him. God condescends to us and provides reconciliation and salvation. When believers sacrifice, they are not manipulating God. They give in view of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus to whom all sacrifices point. Thus, they accept Christ as their Savior who alone can forgive their sins, save them, and bless them.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 66.†‡§ [Is that what the Israelites understood?]‡

Passover

  1. God had told Moses to tell the children of Israel exactly what His plans were. The time had come for God to give His final instructions to the children of Israel before they departed from Egypt. He had already instructed them about how and why to place the blood on the door posts; but then, He instructed them in detail about the ceremony that they were supposed to carry out as celebration for their departure.

Exodus 12:12-14: 12 “On that night I will go through the land of Egypt, killing every first-born male, both human and animal, and punishing all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood on the doorposts will be a sign to mark the houses in which you live. When I see the blood, I will pass over you and will not harm you when I punish the Egyptians. 14You must celebrate this day as a religious festival to remind you of what I, the Lord, have done. Celebrate it for all time to come.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

[BSG:] At the time of the Exodus, the blood on the doorposts was a sign (Exod. 12:13) that the particular household acknowledged the Lord and wanted to live according to His teachings. This sign of the blood brought the judgment of salvation to the family. God proclaimed: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (Exod. 12:13, NIV). This judgment was not one of condemnation or destruction but a positive judgment of redemption that was experienced by believers. In the English language, there is a pun in the word “Passover,” which is a composite of two words: “pass” and “over,” thus “Passover.” The biblical translation plays with this pun and underlines the fact that the Lord’s judgment of destruction will “pass over” those believers who obeyed God by placing a blood sign on their doorposts.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 66-67.‡§

[BSG:] One would expect God to instruct Moses and Aaron about how to organize the departure from Egypt: that is, how to make provisions for the escape, especially for the elderly, mothers with small children, animals, and so forth. Instead, God’s instruction is surprising: He tells them how to celebrate the Passover. In other words, the focus is on worshiping the Lord, who was going to redeem them. Everything else would follow in due time.

Each family was to prepare a lamb, with nothing wasted. Everyone had to eat his or her portion, and if the family could not consume the entire lamb, they were to eat the meal together with another family.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Monday, July 28.†‡

  1. God gave the Passover to the children of Israel as a perpetual memorial about their history from the point when they were released from Egyptian captivity to the time when Jesus will come again. Why is it important for us to remember the good that God has done for each of us in the past and trust that He will do good for us in the future as well? Is it important to remember and avoid the consequences of rebellion against God? We need to remember!
  2. ReadExodus 12:17-23. Many instructions were given to the children of Israel about how to keep this memorial fresh in their minds and the minds of their children.

Exodus 12:24-28: 24 “You and your children must obey these rules forever. 25When you enter the land that the Lord has promised to give you, you must perform this ritual. 26When your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean?’ 27you will answer, ‘It is the sacrifice of Passover to honor the Lord, because he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. He killed the Egyptians, but spared us.’ ”

The Israelites knelt down and worshiped. 28Then they went and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

[BSG:] Parents were the first teachers in Israel and were to recount the story of the Exodus to their children. It was not to be told as a past historical event only but to be presented as their own experience, even though it happened a long time ago. By celebrating this festival, they were to identify with their forefathers, and the history was to be relived and actualized. The father would say: “I was in Egypt, I saw the defeat of the Egyptian gods and the plagues on Egypt, and I was set free.” In the book of Exodus, it is twice underlined how parents should answer their children’s questions regarding the Passover (seeDeut. 6:6–8 andExodus 13:14–16).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, July 30.‡§

Deuteronomy 6:6-9: 6 “Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. 7Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. 8Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. 9Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*

[BSG:] It is worthwhile to notice that the Israelites were still in Egypt when told to celebrate their liberation from Egypt. The whole celebration, then, was an act of faith. After receiving their directions, “the people bowed down and worshiped” (Exod. 12:27, NIV [as quoted just above in Item #19 from Good News Bible-TEV*]) their Redeemer, and then they followed the Passover instructions.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday.‡§

[BSG:] To this day, observant Jewish families around the world celebrate Passover, Pesach. They have what they call a “Passover Seder” (“Seder” means “order/arrangement”) during which they recount the Exodus and then enjoy a special meal as a family. Amazing that this has been kept since, literally, the time of the Exodus! Only the seventh-day Sabbath, which observant Jews keep as well, goes back even farther into antiquity.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Friday, August 1.†‡§

  1. What is the meaning of “blood” in the Bible? To the Hebrews, blood meant life. To the Christian, blood is a code word for the death of Jesus.

Leviticus 17:14: The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has told the people of Israel that they shall not eat any meat with blood still in it and that anyone who does so will no longer be considered one of his people.—Good News Bible-TEV.*

Romans 3:25-26: 25–26 God offered him, so that by his blood [Footnote: by his sacrificial death] he should become the means by which people’s sins are forgiven through their faith in him. God did this in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. In the past he was patient and overlooked people’s sins; but in the present time he deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate his righteousness. In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus.—Good News Bible-TEV.*†‡

[BSG:] The blood of the sacrificed animal is a key element in this celebration. Those who participated in this feast had put the blood of the slain lamb on the doorframes of their houses. In this way, they demonstrated their faith in God, believing that He would deliver them from what those not covered by the blood would face. [Is that really how to avoid death at God’s hands?]

What a powerful expression of the gospel!

The Passover lamb had to be without blemish because it pointed to Jesus Christ, “ ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” (John 1:29, NKJV). The animal’s blood played a crucial role: it symbolized protection and was the sign of life at a time of death.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Tuesday, July 29.†‡§ [There are other, very different interpretations of this!]‡

  1. How clearly do you see the plan of salvation spelled out in all of these sacrifices and actions taken by the children of Israel?
  2. Do we understand what the death of Jesus is supposed to teach us? The life and death of Jesus give us a choice: (1) With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can choose to live lives as close as possible to the example of Jesus, or (2) We will die the death He died, separated from His Father who is the only Source of life. (SeeIsaiah 59:2.)
  3. Very important stories of the Bible are often repeated, sometimes even several times, usually in slightly different context. Think about the four Gospels. By telling and retelling the story of the Passover, parents are supposed to teach their children very important lessons. This is one of the important functions of the Bible: To correctly recount the stories of how God has led in the past and what He plans to do for us in the future.
  4. Today, Adventists observe “Passover” as Jesus did on the night before His crucifixion and instructed His disciples to do, through the communion service during the Lord’s Supper.

[BSG:] Only in Him [Jesus Christ] do we have true life and life eternal. This life was secured on the cross (John 11:25; John 12:32; Rom. 5:6–8;1 Cor. 1:18, 23, 24). The celebration of the Passover led Jesus to establish for His followers a new ceremony. At the Last Supper, Jesus ate with His disciples the lamb, which pointed to Him. In so doing, Christ redirected His followers’ focus to a new celebration that would repeatedly remind them of the most important event in earth’s history and the history of the entire universe: His ultimate sacrifice on the cross on our behalf. We celebrate this communion during the Lord’s Supper when we remember His life and death for us (Matt. 26:26–29,1 Cor. 11:23–26). This Passover redesign from the sacrificial lamb to the living Lamb, Jesus Christ, is an unfathomable lesson to be keenly remembered during Communion, as well as in one’s daily personal acceptance of Christ’s substitutionary death for humanity (2 Cor. 5:15, 21).―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 65.†‡§

[EGW:] …. The followers of Christ must be partakers of His experience. They must receive and assimilate the word of God so that it shall become the motive power of life and action. By the power of Christ they must be changed into His likeness, and reflect the divine attributes. They must eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God, or there is no life in them. The spirit and work of Christ must become the spirit and work of His disciples.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 277.4-278.0.‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p84.1212&index=0]‡

  1. Ellen White sometimes wrote in forensic language or very “legalistic” terms.

[EGW:] The Passover was to be both commemorative and typical, not only pointing back to the deliverance from Egypt, but [also] forward to the greater deliverance which Christ was to accomplish in freeing His people from the bondage of sin. [How many of the Hebrews had any idea about this?] The sacrificial lamb represents “the Lamb of God,” in whom is our only hope of salvation. Says the apostle, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”1 Corinthians 5:7. It was not enough that the paschal lamb be slain; its blood must be sprinkled upon the doorposts; so the merits of Christ’s blood must be applied to the soul. We must believe, not only that He died for the world, but [also] that He died for us individually. We must appropriate to ourselves the virtue of the atoning sacrifice.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 277.1.†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p84.1209&index=0]‡

  1. We need to remember that God’s judgment is not just for condemnation of the wicked. First of all, God’s judgment will be for the salvation of the righteous.

[BSG:] God is the Judge, and He is against pride, injustice, discrimination, arrogance, exploitation, cruelty, and selfishness. He is on the side of the sufferers, the abused, the mistreated, and the persecuted. God will execute justice, which truly is another expression of His love. (SeePs. 2:12,Ps. 33:5,Ps. 85:11,Ps. 89:14,Ps. 101:1,Isa. 16:5,Jer. 9:24.)

We too should try the best we can to be both loving and just. However, we can easily fall into extremes, one way or another. Out of “love” we turn a blind eye to wrongs, to things that need to be corrected. Or we can coldly execute justice as if it were something made of steel. Neither extreme is correct. Instead, this is the ideal: “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, NKJV).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sunday, July 27.‡§

Micah 6:8: No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

Leaven or Yeast

  1. What are we supposed to understand from the talk about leaven or yeast? Yeast was a symbol for sin. Removing the old leaven is a code expression for stopping sinning.

1 Corinthians 5:7: You must remove the old yeast of sin so that you will be entirely pure. Then you will be like a new batch of dough without any yeast, as indeed I know you actually are. For our Passover Festival is ready, now that Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

Exodus 12:8,15-20: 8 “That night the meat is to be roasted, and eaten with bitter herbs and with bread made without yeast….”

15 The Lord said, “For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast—eat only unleavened bread. On the first day you are to get rid of all the yeast in your houses, for if anyone during those seven days eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people. 16On the first day and again on the seventh day you are to meet for worship. No work is to be done on those days, but you may prepare food. 17Keep this festival, because it was on this day that I brought your tribes out of Egypt. For all time to come you must celebrate this day as a festival. 18From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month to the evening of the twenty-first day, you must not eat any bread made with yeast. 19–20For seven days no yeast must be found in your houses, for if anyone, native-born or foreign, eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*†

  1. What are bitter herbs?

[Internet:] The Mishnah [sic] is the first major written work that describes Jewish traditions and it specifies five types of bitter herbs that may be eaten as maror [sic]. They include lettuce, chicory, horseradish, dandelion greens, and possibly clover. Other potential bitter options would include parsley, endive, green onion, and celery.—Anita Schecter, “A Guide to Buying and Cooking With Maror.” The Spruce Eats, 09/13/22.‡ [Retrieved on May 13, 2025, from https://www.thespruceeats.com/—what-is-maror-4160504#:~:text=The%20Mishnah%20is%20the%20first,%2C%20green%20onion%2C%20and%20celery]‡

  1. So, if leaven is a symbol of sin, we must recognize that unleavened bread is a symbol of the sinless Messiah. We now know the entire history of the Bible as it has taken place and understand how it relates to the life and death of Jesus. Did the Israelites understand?
  2. Only Jesus because He was God could die the death that is a result of sin (although He was not a sinner) and, thus, demonstrate what sin does to a person, and rise on the third day!

[EGW:] When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at Christ’s tomb, saying, Thy Father calls Thee, the Saviour [sic-British spelling] came forth from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Now was proved the truth of His words, “I lay down My life, that I might take it again.... I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”John 10:17, 18; 2:19.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 785.2.†‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3866&index=0]‡

The New Covenant

  1. This entire lesson in the Bible study guide talks about the details of the old covenant which was repeated by God at the foot of Mount Sinai. However, God has given a new covenant. How does that new covenant relate to the old covenant which this lesson talks about?

Jeremiah 31:31-34: 31 The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. 33The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the Lord, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest [of those who know the Lord]. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the Lord, have spoken.”—Good News Bible-TEV.*†‡

  1. God knows that there is nothing even He can do about our past sins! They are part of history, a part of the permanent record of sin. But, we can become changed people.
  2. It is not only God who has a good record of our past sins, but it is also Satan!

[EGW:] Satan has an accurate knowledge of the sins that he has tempted God’s people to commit, and he urges his accusations against them, declaring, that by their sins they have forfeited divine protection, and claiming that he has the right to destroy them. He pronounces them just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God. “Are these,” he says, “the people who are to take my place in heaven, and the place of the angels who united with me? They profess to obey the law of God; but have they kept its precepts? Have they not been lovers of self more than lovers of God? Have they not placed their own interests above His service? Have they not loved the things of the world? Look at the sins that have marked their lives. Behold their selfishness, their malice, their hatred of one another. Will God banish me and my angels from His presence, and yet reward those who have been guilty of the same sins? Thou canst not do this, O Lord, in justice. Justice demands that sentence be pronounced against them.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings* 588.3.†‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p88.2625&index=0]‡

[Compare Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, 474.1-2. SeeZechariah 3:1-5.]‡

  1. Can you think of times when people have suffered because of someone else’s sins? Adam’s? Who else’s sins?

©2025, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version. †Bold type is added. ‡Brackets and content in brackets are added. §Italic type is in the source.

Last Modified: June 9, 2025                                                                                                                        Email: Info@theox.org