Examination of the Passover Lamb

The last week of Jesus' life here on earth was not glamorous or easy by any stretch of the imagination. Each day brought with it a new challenge and greater pain. Yet each day brought Christ closer to the cross of freedom. Tuesday of this Passover week was no exception.

On this day the enemies of Jesus did their best to "trap" Him with a series of questions. Through the cleansing of the temple and the parables He used as object lessons, Jesus had exposed the evil intentions of the religious leaders and they were out to get Him; they were out for blood. They wanted so badly to trap Him into saying something that they could use to have Jesus arrested.

Beyond the scope of thinking on the part of the religious leaders, there was a much bigger plan for this time of questioning and examination of Christ; it was a God sized plan that their blinded eyes could not see. According to Exodus 12:3-6, each lamb that would be presented as a sacrificial lamb had to be carefully examined in order to make sure there were no blemishes of any kind on him before he was deemed an acceptable sacrifice.

3) "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying,

'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves,

according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household.

4) 'Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he

and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according

to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat,

you are to divide the lamb. 5) 'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old;

you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

6) 'You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month,

then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.

Exodus 12:3-6, NASB

From the tenth day to the fourteenth day of the month the people were to carefully examine the lamb making sure it would be an acceptable sacrifice. Little did the religious leaders know, Jesus was going to be sacrificed as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world; THE perfect, unblemished sacrifical Lamb.

"The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming to him and said,

'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!' "

John 1:29, NASB

It was all according to God's plan that these religious leaders question Jesus in this public arena. If any fault had been found in Him, He would not have been the perfect sacrifice. They, themselves could find no fault in Him and as we will see, they pass Jesus on to Pilate. Pilate will also find no fault in Jesus and will pass Him on to Herod. Herod will find no fault in Him and send Jesus back to Pilate. And, once again Pilate will find no fault in Christ. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God was without fault, without blemish. He was perfect in every way. He was sinless, righteous, holy, and just. He was the only perfect Lamb who could forever free His people from their sins.

The questioning of Christ that day wasn't so the religious leaders could trap Him, the questioning that day was part of God's plan so that all could see that this man, this King, this Lamb was the perfect sacrifice.