Lamb

Tonight is the beginning of Passover, and it is also "Good Friday" of the Resurrection season. Good Friday marks the death of Jesus on the cross. It also is the Sabbath tonight.
For Christians, I think we lose a great deal of the depth of the accomplishment of the crucifixion of the Lamb of God, when we do not know the meaning of the Passover.
Something very deep occurred on the night of the Passover, as God brought the plague of death to the households of Egypt, in order to force Pharaoh to release His people, Israel, from slavery.
Moses had warned the enslaved people of Israel to prepare their houses for the coming plague of death. They had to sacrifice a lamb, and cover their doorposts and lintels with its blood, and they had to be ready to leave Egypt suddenly. The LORD promised:
"...and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."   Ex. 12:13
The LORD was not only doing battle with a man, Pharaoh, but with the spiritual principalities that ruled over Egypt (v. 12). Only the blood of the lamb would separate God's people from the judgment that was about to fall on every household in Egypt:
"And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn of Egypt, 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. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead."   Ex. 12:29-30
Not only did the night of the Passover deliver the Israelites out of slavery, but it was a prophetic portrait of the deep work of the blood of Jesus, whom John the Baptist identified as the Lamb of God, shed to deliver us all. Passover was not limited to a look into the future sacrifice of Christ, but was a depiction of God's provision of the sacrifice that was already accomplished in the spirit before man was created:
"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."  Rev. 13:8
Passover was not a one-time event, but reached from before creation to the cross of Calvary (meaning "skull", root: horn, particularly as the apex of an altar: see also 1 Ki. 1:49-51). It will reach into the eternal future, as well, as each one of us must apply Christ's blood to ourselves in order to receive deliverance from slavery and death.
That Passover night in Egypt, each family had to collect the lamb's blood in a basin (meaning goblet, cup for holding wine or blood; root meaning: door or gate-see Jn. 10:7-9), and dip it (to plunge, to immerse oneself) with hyssop, and strike the doorposts and lintels with it (Ex. 12:22). Hyssop was an herbal bush that was used for healing, and in spiritual purification. Striking it upon the doorframe would release its aromatic fragrance. The Jews even understood that the aroma of the hyssop could actually do a transformative work involving one's thoughts and emotions*. Hyssop, because of its healing and cleansing property, was also associated with "the divine voice". The cleansing is not only for the outside of a man, but for an inner work as well. David, guilty of adultery and murder, pleaded before God:
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."    Ps. 51:7
Also, the action of "striking" those doorposts must have caused the blood on the hyssop branches to splatter and splash onto he who was applying it. Applying the blood was not a "hands off", neat process. One had to have an intimate contact with it. We can't have a distant knowledge of that precious Lamb's blood, but must experience it, immerse ourselves in it.
The blood of the Lamb is still doing its work. Each one of us must collect that blood from the foot of the cross, and apply it to ourselves in order to be cleansed from our sins, and to be delivered from evil's oppressive slavery. We are delivered from bondage and into the freedom of the Son of God. There is a reason why we, like Jewish children around the world tonight, should be asking the question, "Why is this night different from all other nights?"


Our Father has commanded us to observe the Passover.

Scene from "The Ten Commandments"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW2EMthD56E

"Watch the Lamb"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNT1AThOgME

*Hyssop Information