主爱堂 ACCC

Sermon 231029

耶和华的逾越节 YHWH’s Passover

出埃及记 Exodus 12:1–14

Remember these points

News

Continue to pray, give thanks, …

Please don’t put away the sound system and computer after worship, we’ll be using it for rehearsal. Thanks.

Hook

逾越节: 你对此了解多少?

How much do you know about the Passover?

The picture shows a typical Passover setting (called the Passover Seder, seder means something like “order”) that Jews use today. All the food items are symbolic of their time in Egypt and their experiences of the first Passover:

  1. Vegetable: dipped in salt water (salt water symbolising tears). Usually, they break bread first at a meal, but on Passover night, they eat the vegetable first. Youngest child is then supposed to ask, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Which is the ceremonial prompt for the head of the family (usually the father) to recite the story of the first Passover.
  2. Shank bone of lamb.
  3. Roasted, hard-boiled egg: represents offering to YHWH, traditionally 1st food served to mourners at funerals, commemorates the lost of the 2 temples (Solomon’s original temple destroyed by the Babylonians in 587–586 BC, then Herod’s temple in AD 70 by the Romans). Jews are still hoping to rebuild the temple, which will then be the 3rd temple.
  4. Charoset: Mixture of apple, nuts, wine, spices. Like the brick and mortar (砂浆 Shājiāng) they used as slaves in Egypt. The Hebrew word Charoset (חֲרֽוֹסֶת‎, kharóset) comes from a word meaning clay.
  5. Maror: Bitter herbs. Usually horseradish (辣根 Là gēn), parsley (欧芹 Ōu qín), or other bitter herbs. Reminds them of their bitter lives in Egypt.
  6. Chazeret: Bitter vegetable. Optional. Some replace this with a dish of salted water.

想起什么？What does this remind us of (the two items at the top of the picture)?

Passage

Passage shown in 3 slides. In 2nd slide, try to look out for a verb that appears very often. See if you can spot this verb.

耶和华在埃及地晓谕摩
西、亚伦说:「你们要
以本月为正月,为一年
之首.你们吩咐以色列
全会众说:本月初十日,
各人要按着父家取羊羔
,一家一只.若是一家的
人太少,吃不了一只羊

羔,本人就要和他隔壁
的邻舍共取一只.你们
预备羊羔,要按着人数
和饭量计算.要无残疾
、一岁的公羊羔,你们
或从绵羊里取,或从山
羊里取,都可以. …

…要留到本月十四日,
在黄昏的时候,以色列
全会众把羊羔宰了.各
家要取点血,涂在吃羊
羔的房屋左右的门框上
和门楣上.当夜要吃羊
羔的肉;用火烤了,与
无酵饼和苦菜同吃吃生的

,断不可吃水煮的,要带
着头、腿、五脏,用火
烤了吃.不可剩下一点
留到早晨;若留到早晨,
要用火烧了.你们吃羊
羔当腰间束带,脚上穿
鞋,手中拿杖,赶紧地吃;
…

…这是耶和华的逾越节
.因为那夜我要巡行
埃及地,把埃及地一切头
生的,无论是人是牲畜,
都击杀了,又要败坏埃
及一切的神.我是耶和
华.这血要在你们所住
的房屋上作记号;我一

见这血,就越过你们去.
我击杀埃及地头生的时
候,灾殃必不临到你们
身上灭你们.你们要
记念这日,守为耶和华
的节,作为你们世世代
代永远的定例.

What’s the verb that keeps popping up in the passage?

The verb is “to eat.” It appears 7x in verses 1–14, and will appear 7x again in verses 15–20. You can count the verb’s appearance in most English Bibles, but many Chinese translations have additional 吃 Chī to make things sound smoother, or change 吃 Chī to some other synonym, messing up the count. But in either Chinese or English, “to eat” appears very often.

Outline

Section 1 New Beginning

Passage

耶和华在埃及地晓谕
摩西、亚伦说:
你们要以本月为正月,
为一年之首.

Emphasised “in Egypt,” most understand this to mean the description of the Passover applies only to this first time while they’re still in Egypt. After they leave, they’ll still have Passover, but some things will be different. We’ll see later or next week what these differences might be. Which of the rules do you think might change? It’s actually quite logical.

Lessons

  1. New calendar, new beginning! The Exodus event is so important that they’re getting a new calendar!
  2. They now have 2 calendars: the civic calendar where New Year (1st month) is in the fall (Sep/Oct timeframe), and a religious calendar where New Year is in the spring (Mar/Apr).
  3. Today’s passage marks the new religious calendar.

Section 2 The Lamb

Passage

本月初十日,各人要按着
父家取羊羔,一家一只.
若是一家的人太少,吃不
了一只羊羔,本人就要和
他隔壁的邻舍共取一只.
你们预备羊羔,要按着人
数和饭量计算.

要无残疾、一岁的公羊
羔,你们或从绵羊里取,
或从山羊里取,都可以.
要留到本月十四日,
在黄昏的时候,以色列
全会众把羊羔宰了.

In Hebrew, 黄昏 is “between the two settings,” or between the two sunsets. There are several possibilities on what the two sunsets are. Most likely it’s the hours between the time when the sun goes past its highest point (around noon), and the the time when it disappears below the horizon (round 18:00).

Josephus (a Jewish historian around the time of Jesus), wrote that in the 1st century (the time of Jesus), the Passover lambs were sacrificed between 3 to 5pm.

各家要取点血,
涂在吃羊羔的房屋
左右的门框上和门楣上.

The picture shows a typical entrance, the lintel across the top, the 2 door-posts on the left and right.

The smaller insert picture shows someone using hyssop branch to paint the blood on the doorframe.

If it was you, would you do the same? Would you paint the doorframe with the lamb’s blood? How can something like this save your firstborn?

They need faith, trusting that this strange procedure will save their firstborn from death.

Same for us. We trust that Christ died for us, and that our faith can save us.

夜要吃羊羔的肉;
用火烤了,与无酵饼
和苦菜同吃.不可吃生的,
断不可吃水煮的,
要带着头、腿、五脏,
用火烤了吃.不可剩下一点
留到早晨;若留到早晨,
要用火烧了.

你们吃羊羔当腰间束带,
脚上穿鞋,手中拿杖,
赶紧地吃;
这是耶和华的逾越节.

It emphasised that this is YHWH’s Passover. Does this mean there are other Passovers??

Lessons

功课 Lessons: 逾越节 Passover

  1. 正月10日取羊羔
    Select the lamb on 10th of 1st month
  2. 一家一只
    One lamb per family
  3. 必须无残疾
    Must not be injured or deformed
  4. 14日黄昏时候宰
    Slaughter lamb at twilight
  5. 涂羔羊血在门框门楣
    Paint lamb’s blood on doorframe and lintel
  6. 烤羔羊、不能生吃、不能水煮、不能剩
    Roasted, not raw, not boiled, no leftover
  7. 束带、穿鞋、拿杖、赶紧吃
    Put on belt, wear shoes, take staff, eat quickly

Section 3 YHWH Will Judge

Passage

因为那夜我要巡行埃及地,
把埃及地一切头生的,
无论是人是牲畜,都击杀了,
又要败坏埃及一切的神.
我是耶和华.

Moses records here that the purpose of the plagues is to destroy the gods of Egypt.

Section 4 Blood of the Lamb

Passage

这血要在你们所住的
房屋上作记号;
我一见这血,就越过你们
去.我击杀埃及地头生的
时候,灾殃必不临到你们
身上灭你们.」

I will “pass over you.” This is the origin of the name for this event: Passover.

How do the Israelites prevent this plague from killing their firstborn?

By the blood of the lamb!

Lessons

功课 Lessons: 羔羊的血 Blood of the Lamb

  1. 你是亚伯拉罕子孙:不能救你.
    You are Abraham’s descendants: It won’t save you.
  2. 你做的好,行善,每周去教会… :不能救你.
    You did good work, charitable to others, attend church every week: It won’t save you.
  3. 唯有羔羊的血能救以色列头生.
    Only the blood of the lamb can save the Israelite firstborn.
  4. 唯有耶稣基督的血能救你神的愤怒.
    Only the blood of Jesus Christ can save you from God’s wrath.

Section 5 An Everlasting Ordinance

Passage

你们要记念这日,
守为耶和华的节,
作为你们世世代代
永远的定例.

Leviticus 23 lists all the festivals of YHWH (the 7 annual feasts we mentioned earlier). We should get to Leviticus maybe next year.

Even today, Jews celebrate the Passover. Over the years, they’ve added some new traditions and procedures, but the main points remain the same.

Final Lessons

功课 Lessons

  1. 第一个逾越节:羔羊的血救了以色列头生.
    In the first Passover, the blood of the lamb saved Israelites firstborn.
  2. 你的祖先,你的行为,不能救你.
    Your ancestry, your good works, they won’t save you.
  3. 他们的信心救了他们.
    They had faith that the lamb’s blood will save them.
  4. 用血代替,避免死亡:哪里看过?
    Where have we seen this, using a blood substitute to avoid death?
    • 亚伯拉罕献以撒 (创世纪 22)
      Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac (Gen 22)
    • 西坡拉救了摩西 (出埃及纪 4:24–26)
      Ziporrah saved Moses from death (Exo 4:24–26)
  5. 预演了神的救赎计划,在复活节那天成就了.
    First Passover is a preview of God’s salvation plan, which was completed on Easter Sunday.

What does this have to do with me?

  1. 旧约都是指向耶稣基督.
    The OT all point to Jesus Christ.
  2. 约翰福音一开始就说耶稣是神的羔羊.
    Right from the start, the gospel of John said Jesus is the Passover lamb.
  3. 正月10日取羊、14日宰羊:让我们想起什么？
    Tenth of 1st month select the lamb, kill it on the 14th, what does it remind us of?
  4. 多次提到”吃”:让我们想起什么？
    We saw “to eat” quite often: what does it remind us of?
  5. 耶稣与门徒最后晚餐:逾越节晚餐.
    The last meal that Jesus had with his disciples: It was a Passover meal.
  6. 旧约到新约,羊替代越来越多的人群:
    From the OT to the NT, the lamb has substituted for a larger and larger group of people:
    以撒,摩西,一家,一民族,全世界.
    Isaac, Moses, a family, a people, the entire world.
  7. 羔羊是代替品,耶稣就是羔羊.
    The lamb is a substitute for redemption, but Jesus is the redemption.

最后功课 Final Lessons

  1. 若你还没有信主,还不认识耶稣:
    赶紧认识他信,靠他,
    If you still haven’t believed in the Lord, still don’t know Jesus:
    Hurry up and believe him, trust in him.
    这是唯一办法能避免神的愤怒.
    This is the only way to avoid God’s wrath.
  2. 已经是信徒? Already a believer?
    • 不要继续过以前旧的,罪恶的生活.
      Don’t continue to live your old, sin-filled life.
    • 神要以色列离开埃及的捆绑,
      我们已经脱离罪的捆绑,不要在回去埃及.
      God took the Israelites out of bondage as slaves in Egypt,
      we’re already freed from bondage as slaves to sin, don’t go back to Egypt!