The tradition of the Passover lamb originates in the book of Exodus during one of the most pivotal moments in Israelite history. As the Israelites languished under Egyptian oppression, God sent Moses to demand their release. Pharaoh’s repeated refusals led to a series of plagues, culminating in the tenth and most devastating one—the death of the firstborn. To protect the Israelites from this judgment, God established a sign of deliverance: the sacrifice of a lamb.
Each household was instructed to take an unblemished lamb on the tenth day of the month, care for it until the fourteenth, and then slaughter it at twilight. The blood of the lamb was to be applied to the doorposts of their homes, marking them as set apart. That night, as the Lord passed through Egypt, He struck down every firstborn but spared the homes covered by the lamb’s blood. This event, the first Passover, became the defining moment of Israel’s liberation, and God commanded that it be remembered each year as a LASTING ordinance.
From that time forward, the Passover lamb became an integral part of Israel’s worship and identity. As the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness and later settled in the Promised Land, the sacrificial system was formalized. At the heart of this system was the Passover observance, a yearly reminder of their deliverance. Families would continue to select a lamb without defect, as prescribed in the Law, ensuring that each sacrifice met the standard of purity and perfection required by God.
With the establishment of the Temple in Jerusalem under Solomon, Passover took on even greater significance. The centralization of worship meant that the sacrificial lambs were now brought to the Temple where priests oversaw the slaughter according to strict guidelines. The blood of the lambs was poured out at the altar, and the meat was taken home for the Passover meal, where families would recount the story of their ancestors’ exodus from Egypt. This sacred meal included unleavened bread and bitter herbs, reinforcing the themes of haste and suffering that characterized the Israelites’ flight from bondage.
Throughout Israel’s history, even in times of exile and oppression, the observance of Passover persisted. Though the people faced conquest and displacement—from the Babylonian exile to the later rule of the Persians, Greeks, and Romans—the command to remember the first Passover remained unchanged. When the exiles returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple, the tradition of the lamb’s sacrifice was restored, ensuring that each generation would continue to participate in this act of remembrance.
By the time of the first century, Passover had become one of the most significant festivals in Jewish life. Tens of thousands of pilgrims would travel to Jerusalem to offer their lambs in accordance with the law. The city swelled with worshipers, and the Temple courts were filled with the sights and sounds of sacrifice. The priests performed their duties with precision, ensuring that each lamb was offered in accordance with tradition, just as it had been since that fateful night in Egypt.
For centuries, the blood of the Passover lamb marked the homes of the faithful, a sign of deliverance and a promise of redemption. Year after year, families gathered around the sacred meal, retelling the story of their ancestors’ exodus, their liberation from bondage sealed by the sacrifice of a spotless lamb. Yet, as time passed and the sacrifices continued, the question lingered—could there ever be a final Passover, one in which deliverance was not just remembered but fulfilled? The traditions remained, but the deepest longing of the human soul still cried out for a greater redemption, a liberation not just from earthly oppression but from the weight of sin and death itself. And so, in the fullness of time, the ancient echoes of that first Passover would find their answer—not in the blood of countless lambs, but in one Lamb, chosen before the foundation of the world.