Many see the Old and New Testaments as two different books which portray two different Gods— yet they are a continuous work that speaks of Jesus Christ from beginning to end.

So, as we observe Passover and Holy Week, it is important to understand the focus of what is being commemorated and to see that both are a celebration of the unmerited mercy and salvation given from the one true God.

Passover celebrates the Israelite’s liberation from Egyptian slavery and the passing over of God’s destruction in the midst of the last of the ten plagues on the eve of their exodus.

In order to be saved from God’s wrath against the Egyptians, the Israelites were instructed to take some of the blood from an unblemished lamb and “put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lamb…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. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” ( Read Exodus 12 )

Notice what was required for their salvation.

God wasn’t looking for the “good people.”

He wasn’t going door to door conducting interviews; He wasn’t looking through their resumes of righteous works in order to decide whether or not they were worthy of His mercy.

The Lord was only looking for one thing: The Blood.

The account of the Passover in Exodus is a for-telling of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross— For just as the Israelites were saved by the blood of the sacrificial lamb when they painted it on their door posts in faithful obedience to God’s instruction, so too are you saved by the blood of Jesus Christ when you trust in Him alone as the “Lamb of God” who was the only acceptable sacrifice for your sin.

We see this in Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth:“Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” – 1 Corinthians 5:7

And in his letter to the Romans:

“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished”— Romans 3:25

In light of this, you and I must understand that we can contribute nothing toward our own salvation.

We can’t work for it, we can’t give away enough money or do enough community service to turn away God’s wrath and be reconciled to Him now and for eternity. There is only one way to be forgiven of sin and liberated from it.

“For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God…” – Ephesians 1:7

As Billy Graham used to preach, “When I get to Heaven and The Lord asks me to give the reason as to why I should be let into His kingdom, I will simply say, “Nothing but the blood.”

Repent Believe Persevere