Cross Motif: The Passover

I would like you to see the picture depicting the application of blood on the door posts so that this post makes sense. I could not post the picture because it is copyrighted. You can view it at the following link: http://www.bible-history.com/art/images/passover.jpg

The Passover was celebrated by the Jews the week leading up to Christ's resurrection. It was a reminder of the night the Israelites were able to escape slavery in Egypt to begin a journey to the Promised Land of Canaan. God made an odd request of the Israelites that night. They were to sacrifice a lamb and put its blood on the right and left sides of the door and the top. This is where that visual will come in handy. God was sending the tenth and final plague that would convince Pharoah to let the Israelites leave freely. God sent an angel of death to take the life of the firstborn son of all people and animals in Egypt. The night was called Passover because if the angel saw the blood on the doorposts, he would pass over that family and spare the lives of their firstborn sons. That is what happened that night and the Egyptians could be heard wailing over their dead. Pharoah's son was not spared either so he relented and let the Israelites go. Egyptians even gave the Israelites money and jewels to get them to leave.

The thing I find interesting about the Passover is that we already see the symbol of the cross with the blood markings on the doorposts. Look at the picture and imagine a cross superimposed across the door. Where the markings are placed is where the edges of the wood would intersect with the door (at the top and on the sides). Cool, huh! This took place 1,475 years before the crucifixion and long before the Romans had invented crucifixion on crosses as a method of capital punishment. Already, believers were trusting in the Messiah to save them. It is also symbolic that a lamb's blood was used because Jesus is described as the sacrificial Lamb. Many people probably don't realize that the cross is in fact a motif (a literary term meaning the repetition of a symbol throughout a piece of writing) throughout the Old Testament. It did not show up for the first time at the end of the 4 gospels. I know many shy away from reading the Old Testament because it may seem to them, well, "old." But to me it is rich with symbolism, truth, guidance, and lessons for life. I will be adding further installments to show where the cross shows up at other times in the Old Testament so stay tuned.

Here is another excerpt from Steven James' book "Story." It is an incredible poem about the Passover:

the sweet wine of your blood is on my lips,
the tender mystery of your body is on my tongue.

in the background of this meal i can hear
the desperate shrieks of the egyptians
and the gentle whisper of death passing over
the doorframe of my soul.

your heart was broken on that cross,
and your blood has soaked deeply
into the wood of my days.

remembrance.

At least 1,475 years later, the Father did not spare his own firstborn Son, so that all of us have the opportunity to be redeemed by His blood and given eternal life rather than death.