In this post we will begin a journey of discovering our dearest Jesus in the institution of the Passover or Exemptions. You know, this Passover took place just before Israel moved out of Egypt.
We will read about that from Exodus 12:1-13. But, we will do it in piecemeal, as we break each Scriptural-piece down, to extract ‘parts of our Lord Jesus’ and His Kingdom system in them.
From slavery to ruler-ship
Before we start, please remember that Israel had been in captivity to Egypt or the world’s system for 430 years.
Whilst there, although they were already the people of God, practically, they were not enjoying the Kingdom or Royalty, Rule and Realm of God.
It is because they were tightly hemmed in by the world’s system or arrangements or scheme.
And so, God’s original purpose for them was to liberate His ‘children’ from the sway of the worldly system in order to practically enjoy the Kingdom arrangement that we potentially now have under Jesus Christ – See Ex. 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:9.
The benefit we can have from this teaching is that, the way Israel was finally liberated to start enjoying the Kingdom-system is prophetic of the way God wants us to enjoy it now, even as modern-day children of God i.e. by the Royal Blood.
So now, let us begin the journey from the world’s religious-order, symbolized by Egypt, to God’s Kingdom-order brought about by the Blood of Jesus. This Blood of Christ is prophetically represented by the blood of the Passover lamb in the Bible and so in this royal book.
The Kingdom Setting
“Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, this month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.”
In other words, God was saying to His people that although they had long been in the world’s system, they should change their reckonings and re-link to their true source or beginnings.
This was the foundational setting Israel needed to have in order to move from slavery to rulership.
The Kingdom setting or source was literally the Pass-over month called ‘Abib’ or ‘Nisan’ – Ex. 13:4.
Now, ‘Abib’ means ‘tender or green’. This means that throughout your life or months, you should be tender and not set in your own religious ways, reckoning, works and personal efforts before God.
Back to your Kingdom origin
However, figuratively, today your Kingdom source is Jesus from above and not Adam from the earth – 1 Cor. 15:47. You know, the world’s religious system traces its source to Adam; and that makes them lead a low life of sin, complaining, compromising with Satan etc.
But, the Kingdom system traces its beginning beyond Adam to our dearest Jesus Christ. And that makes you lead the Kingdom-life of righteousness, peace and prosperity, pleasure, passion or love etc.
You know, your ability lies in the source out of which you came. So, understand that before you were put into the loins of Adam, you were in Jesus – Eph. 1:3-4a,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ, just as He (God) chose us in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world…”. Emphasis mine.
So my friend, you are blessed already in Christ in Heavenly places or the Kingdom above.
Therefore, you must have a Jesus and Kingdom-mentality on earth to start experiencing them practically. This mentality starts with reckoning or counting your beginning from Jesus Christ, and not Adam. This is be-cause you were chosen in Jesus Christ before Adam was created. Hallelujah!
Adam vrs. Christ Jesus
The world’s system thrives on the half-good-half-evil choice of Adam, secular wisdom, self-righteousness, human ingenuity, survival-of-the-fit-test, working to earn things without regard to Jesus’ grace, etc.
The Kingdom arrangement (on the other hand) thrives on the Person, Principles and Performance of Jesus Christ.
So, you should go by God’s Kingdom reckoning, ways, values, wisdom and the results of the works and efforts of Jesus Christ.
This is in order to move you from the religious-arrangements of the world to practically experience God’s Kingdom- scheme, with its unspeakable blessings now.
The Jesus Factor
Thus, as a beginning, reckon yourself as dead to sin and alive to God, once you are a believer in Christ Jesus – Rom. 6:10-11.
You need to consider yourself as righteous and alive to God because of Jesus’ death for you. Yes, my friend, you are not dead but alive to God. So, He can reach you and you can also reach Him all by yourself through the Blood of Jesus. Hallelujah!
Please, understand that the effect of the death of Jesus is not access to God, but direct access through Jesus to God. There is a difference here.
Therefore, you are so alive to God that you do not have to access God’s mind through another human being like a priest or Prophet.
That would be a mockery of Jesus’ suffering and death. It would be living as if you were in the Old Testament of the Law. But not so my friend!
Beloved, although you are in this world, you have to consider yourself differently from unbelievers, who have revelation of Jesus’ Person and Performance.
You are the righteousness of God spiritually. So inside of you is the Righteous Jesus who will make you get it right.
Even all your physical body parts are weapons of righteousness because of Jesus’ Blood that He shed for you on the Cross – 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 6:13.
Jesus’ Blood gives you a head start
Yes, understand that all the benefits of the Kingdom system that you can enjoy from God are derived from being righteous before Him. This is why He makes you righteous for starters.
“But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you”.
So, your liberation from the world’s mediocre arrangements as a child of God begins with a Kingdom-mind-set about the benefits of the Blood of Jesus.
The Head Start
This is why Jesus died on Golgotha, a place of the skull – Jn. 19:17, “And He, bearing His Cross, went out to a place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha”.
Therefore, my friend, your mind-set about Jesus is important to practically experiencing Kingdom life in this hostile world.
So, you must rid yourself of all anti-Kingdom mentality, because Jesus came to make you experience Kingdom-life both now and later.
Kingdom-minded about the Blood
Verse 3 tells us: “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: on the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household”.
I want you to note: “a lamb for a household”, not for an individual. In other words, God does not want you to transition from slavery in the world’s system, to ruler-ship (over self, sin, situations, society and Satan) in His Kingdom arrangement, alone.
This is a Kingdom-mind-set you need to have about the Blood, that is: it is for your whole house.
Yes, God wants you to be-come a king and priest with your whole family. So as an individual, you take a lamb for your family.
This is worth commenting on because Jesus the lamb, (in principle), even spiritually saves us on family basis – Acts 16:30b-31,
“…what must I do to be saved? So they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved and your house”.
Note how the apostle Paul and Silas brought in the family of the Philippi Jailer into his personal desire to be saved as an individual.
This happened at mid-night, just as the first Passover celebrated in Egypt. It seems to be an enactment of the first Passover-night of old in Philippi.
Jesus is more than enough
As was clearly articulated by God at the time, Jesus’ Blood is too big for you alone. It is because He is an over-payment for the sins of even the whole world.
This is why for five times, in the fifth chapter of his letter to the church in Rome, apostle Paul uses the phrase “much more”, in comparing the fall of man in Adam to our restoration by Jesus’ Blood – See Rom. 5:9, 10, 15, 17, 20.
This provision of family-wide salvation does not mean that if you get ‘born again’ your unbeliever family members who are alive are automatically saved.
Rather, it means that, God is committed by His Blood-agreement to get your household ‘born- again’ as well before they die.
So, even if He has to directly reveal Himself to your family member just before they die, He is committed to that. You know, the Scriptures call God the Saviour of all men, who saves those who believe to the greatest degree – 1 Tim. 4:10.
So, God will live up to this description of Himself, as you co-operate with Him to bring it about. Hallelujah!
