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Passover as a Sanctifying Ritual
God’s remarkable rescue of the enslaved Israelites from exploitation in Egypt is the preeminent salvation event in the Old Testament, both chronologically and theologically. God’s redemption of the Israelites comes to a dramatic climax in Exodus 12 when the Israelites’ homes are “passed over” as the firstborn sons of every Egyptian household are struck dead. By commemorating Passover annually, the Israelites remembered and celebrated the most important redemptive event in their history.
Adding to its original importance, Passover plays a unique role in the New Testament appraisal of Jesus Christ’s death. All four Gospels record that Jesus’s crucifixion coincided with the celebration of Passover. John’s Gospel observes that Jesus’s death resembled that of the Passover sacrifice because his bones weren’t broken (John 19:36; cf. Ex. 12:46). This Passover connection is made even more explicit by the apostle Paul, who writes, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7; cf. 1 Pet. 1:18–19).
By linking Jesus’s crucifixion to Passover, New Testament writers draw on the significance of the first Passover to explain how Christ’s sacrificial death brings life to those who trust in him. At the heart of this is the idea that Passover is a consecrating or sanctifying ritual—it makes people holy so they belong to God.
Consecration of the Firstborn
The sanctification of the firstborn Israelite males at Passover is highlighted in Numbers 3:13, when God declares, “On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” God makes an almost identical statement in 8:17: “On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated [the Israelite firstborn males] for myself.” In these statements, God claims that firstborn males belong to him because they were made holy at the first Passover in Egypt.
Passover is a consecrating or sanctifying ritual—it makes people holy so they belong to God.
When we turn to the Passover account in Exodus, a reference to sanctification comes in 13:1–2: “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Consecrate to me [or “treat as holy to me”] every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal’” (NIV). This statement presumes the firstborn males have already been made holy. Since the opening verses of Exodus 13 continue the story of Passover, God’s instruction confirms that the sanctification of the firstborn males is at the heart of Passover.
Consecration of the Aaronic Priests
It’s therefore noteworthy that the Passover account in Exodus 12 contains elements associated elsewhere in Exodus with the consecration or sanctification of people. Strong parallels exist between the Passover ritual in Exodus 12 and the process by which the Aaronic priests are sanctified to serve in the tabernacle. The instructions for the latter are recorded in Exodus 29:1–37, and their fulfillment is described in Leviticus 8:1–36. For both rituals, animals without defects are slaughtered as sacrifices, special use is made of blood, and those being sanctified eat a meal consisting of sacrificial meat and unleavened bread.
The circumstances differ considerably between Passover and the appointment of the high priest and his sons. Nevertheless, in both contexts, selected people are consecrated through an established process. In the case of the high priest, an exceptionally high degree of holiness is required. This explains why the ritual described in Exodus 29 is substantially more complex than the one recorded in Exodus 12 for Passover.
Three Vital Steps Toward Holiness
We’ve observed that Passover is a consecration or sanctification ritual. So how are the firstborn males made holy? Three elements are essential components of the Passover ritual.
First, the Passover animals die in place of those threatened by death. As Exodus 13:13 implies, the firstborn Israelite males are ransomed from death by a substitutionary sacrifice. Reflecting this, New Testament writers speak of how Jesus Christ offers his life as a ransom, the godly for the ungodly (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45; Rom 5:6–11; 1 Tim. 2:6). Christ bears the punishment for sin to satisfy divine justice.
New Testament writers speak of how Jesus Christ offers his life as a ransom, the godly for the ungodly.
Second, the blood sprinkled on the doorframes of the Israelite homes cleanses or purifies those within from the defilement of sin. The use of hyssop supports this understanding of what occurs (Ex. 12:22; Lev. 14:1–7; Ps. 51:7). As in other rituals, sacrificial blood is used to cleanse or purify those who are morally or ritually unclean. Similarly, Christ’s blood is understood as cleansing others from uncleanness (Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:9).
Third, the sacrificial meat sanctifies those who consume it. It’s holy and makes those who consume it holy. Notably, 1 Corinthians 10:14–22 describes how believers participate in Christ’s sacrificial death by eating and drinking the symbols of his body and blood (cf. John 6:53–56). By remembering his death this way, Christians recall that Christ’s death sanctifies them (Heb. 10:10, 14; 13:12).
As Andrew J. Gehrig helpfully observes, “With little use of ‘theological’ terminology, the first Passover in Egypt is depicted as a sanctification ritual that delivers the firstborn Israelite males from death, purifies, and sanctifies them, resulting in them becoming Yahweh’s possession.” Similarly, Jesus Christ, as the ultimate Passover sacrifice, ransoms his followers from death, purifies them from the pollution of sin, and sanctifies them so they may come into God’s holy presence.
Understanding how Passover makes people holy so they belong to God sheds important light on the New Testament portrayal of sanctification as “definitive” or “positional.” Through Christ’s sacrificial death, believers receive the Holy Spirit at conversion and are made holy. This then becomes the basis and motivation for holy living. As David Peterson writes, “The call of Scripture is to live out the practical implications of our sanctification by pursuing holiness as a lifestyle.”
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