Commentary - Exodus 12:21-28

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we move from the divine instruction to the human implementation. Moses, acting as God's covenant mediator, delivers the commands for the first Passover to the elders of Israel. This is not simply a historical narrative of an escape plan; it is the formal institution of a sacrament, a visible sign of an invisible grace. The central elements are all here: a substitutionary sacrifice (the lamb), the application of its blood as a sign of faith and protection, the necessity of remaining within the sphere of that protection, and the command to perpetuate this ordinance as a means of catechizing future generations. The passage culminates in the only two appropriate responses to such a staggering display of God's wrath and mercy: worship and obedience.

This entire event is a shadow, a magnificent type, of the substance that would come in Jesus Christ. The lamb slain, the blood applied, the destroyer passing over, the deliverance from bondage, all of it points forward to the cross. This is the gospel in its embryonic form, teaching us that salvation is accomplished by a bloody sacrifice, received by faith, and remembered in perpetual worship.

Outline

The Blood on the Doorposts

The central image here is the blood. It is crucial to understand that the blood itself possessed no magical, talismanic power. Its efficacy was entirely derived from the command and promise of God. God appointed it as the sign He would look for. When Yahweh passed through Egypt in judgment, He was not looking for righteous Israelites or well-behaved children. He was looking for the blood. The blood was the sign that a substitutionary death had already occurred in that household. A life for a life. The lamb died so the firstborn might live. This is the principle of substitutionary atonement in its rawest form.

This points directly to Christ, our Passover Lamb (1 Cor 5:7). It is not our good works, our moral striving, or our sincere intentions that shield us from the wrath of God. It is the blood of Jesus Christ, applied to the doorposts of our hearts by faith. God's judgment on sin passes over us not because of who we are, but because He sees the righteousness of His Son covering us. We are safe, not in our house, but in His house, under the sign He has provided.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Bring out and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.”

The instruction flows from God, through Moses, to the elders, and from the elders to the people. This is covenantal order. The elders, as the heads of the clans, represent the people. The instruction is specific: this is not a personal, individualistic religion. The lambs are taken "according to your families." Salvation is a household affair. From the very beginning, God deals with His people not as a collection of disconnected individuals, but as covenant families. The head of the house acts on behalf of all those under his roof. This principle carries right through the Scriptures. When the Philippian jailer believed, he and his entire household were baptized (Acts 16:33).

v. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the doorway of his house until morning.

The means of application is hyssop, a common, humble plant. God uses ordinary things for extraordinary purposes. The blood must be applied. It is not enough that the lamb was slain and its blood collected in a basin. The benefits of the sacrifice must be personally appropriated. The blood in the basin saves no one. The blood on the doorposts saves. This is a picture of faith. Faith is the hyssop branch that takes the finished work of Christ and applies it to our own lives. And once under the protection of the blood, they were commanded to stay there. "None of you shall go outside." To step out from under the sign of blood was to step into the path of judgment. There is no salvation outside of Christ. To abide in Him is life; to wander away is to face the destroyer alone.

v. 23 And Yahweh will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and He will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.

Here is the heart of the matter. Yahweh Himself is the one executing judgment. But He is also the one providing the way of escape. The "destroyer" is an instrument of God's wrath, entirely under His sovereign command. God does not just happen upon the blood; He is actively looking for it. When He sees it, He "will pass over" (pasach), the verb that gives the feast its name. He actively protects the house, not allowing the destroyer to enter. This is not a passive overlooking, but an active, guarding deliverance. God's mercy is not a blind eye; it is a protective shield, purchased by blood.

v. 24 And you shall keep this event as a statute for you and your children forever.

This deliverance was so foundational that it was to be memorialized forever. This was not a one-and-done event. It was to become the central liturgical act of Israel's worship. Why? Because we are forgetful creatures. We need to be constantly reminded of the basis of our salvation. This ordinance was a gospel sermon in ritual form, to be preached again and again down through the generations. For the Christian, the Lord's Supper fulfills this role. We proclaim the Lord's death until He comes (1 Cor 11:26), remembering the sacrifice that delivered us from a bondage far greater than Egypt's.

v. 25 And it will be, when you enter the land which Yahweh will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep this service.

Worship is tied to promise and fulfillment. Their remembrance of deliverance from Egypt was to take place in the land of promise. This connects God's redemptive work (what He did) with His covenant faithfulness (what He promised). Our worship is not an abstract exercise. We worship a God who acts in history, who keeps His promises, and who brings His people out of bondage and into an inheritance.

v. 26-27 And it will be when your children say to you, ‘What is the meaning of this service to you?’ that you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to Yahweh who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but delivered our homes.’ ” And the people bowed low and worshiped.

God builds a catechism right into the sacrament. The ritual is designed to provoke questions from the children. And the parents are commanded to have an answer ready. The meaning of the service is not some mystical secret; it is a story to be told. It is the story of God's judgment and God's deliverance. This is the fundamental duty of covenant parents: to explain the gospel to their children. When the people heard this, this provision for their immediate safety and for the faith of their children for all time, the only proper response was to bow in worship. True worship flows from a right understanding of God's gracious work.

v. 28 Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

Worship is followed by obedience. And not a half-hearted, sloppy obedience. They did it "just as Yahweh had commanded." When it comes to salvation, there is no room for human creativity or improvisation. God provides the lamb, God provides the instructions, and our duty is to obey precisely. Faith is not simply believing a set of facts; it is acting on them. The Israelites were saved that night because they believed God enough to do exactly what He said.

Application

The Passover is not just a quaint story from Israel's history; it is the framework for our salvation. We, like the Israelites, are slaves in Egypt, bound to sin and facing the righteous judgment of God. God, in His mercy, has provided a Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ.

First, we must recognize that salvation is by blood alone. There is no other way to avert the wrath of God. Our good intentions and moral efforts are like houses with no blood on the door. They are defenseless against the destroyer.

Second, the blood of Christ must be applied by faith. It is not enough to know that Christ died. We must personally take that sacrifice and, through the hyssop of faith, apply it to the doorposts of our own lives, trusting in His finished work for our deliverance.

Third, we must teach these things diligently to our children. Our homes should be places where the story of redemption is told and retold. When our children ask about baptism, about the Lord's Supper, about why we worship, we must be ready with the answer: "It is because of what the Lord did for us, delivering us from sin and death."

Finally, our response to this great salvation must be the same as that of the Israelites: worship and obedience. We bow down in gratitude for a mercy we did not deserve, and we rise up to walk in obedience to the one who saved us, doing all that He has commanded.