No.
This came up today due to a recent series on Christianity Today’s site. The series has good intentions. “Christ is our Passover Lamb” is a series of entries organized by Ed Stetzer. Part 8 was “The Atonement and the Passover: Exodus 12 by Matt Capps.”
UPDATE: It appears that CT removed my comment from their site. The substance of it remains below.
I posted a rather long comment on their site, but it doesn’t seem to be appearing for some, so I will include my critique here. But first, a little background so you do not have to click through. Mr. Capps’s error is in conflating atoning sacrifice with the Passover sacrifice.
Israel’s involvement in the last plague is significant. If the Israelites did not trust in God’s word and follow His instructions; their firstborn would also die. The need for salvation is made clear and the atoning sacrifice is provided on Israel’s behalf (Ex. 12). The conditions for atonement are laid out, but Israel must respond in faith.
Undoubtedly he is correct about Israel’s involvement, but the problem is his identifying this as an “atoning sacrifice.” So without further preamble, my comment left on CT’s site:
This piece (part 8) is interesting but VERY misleading. Passover, the Exodus account, is NOT an atoning sacrifice. It is NOT about atoning for sins or the purification from sin. (That offering comes later, in Lev. 16.) The author is reading back into Ex. 12ff the NT understanding of Jesus’ sacrifice. This is highly problematic and, as I said, misleading. So let’s walk this back a bit.
Exodus 12ff speaks of the Passover sacrifice. As Mr. Capps points out, unlike the other plagues, in this case the Israelites were required to follow God’s command rather than be automatically spared. If they were obedient then the angel of death would passover their household. The lamb is thus not an “atoning” sacrifice for the sins of the Israelites, but rather simply offered in obedience to God’s command, similar to peace offerings or grain offerings. (The consequences in this case would be more dire, presumably, than missing a peace offering…) It is later, in Lev. 16 that we find the “kippur” offering instituted.
It is on this “day of atonement” that the sacrifice was offered which would “atone” for the sins of Israel. Literally, covering over their sins. Tyndale rendered the Hebrew kippur as “at-one-ment” translating the concept of the action rather than the literal meaning of the terms. This is a VERY different sacrifice than the others and than the Passover lamb specifically.
So let’s now jump to the NT. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem and is crucified at the time of Passover. Thus, Paul equates Christ’s sacrifice with the Passover offering. But the author of Hebrews also sees Jesus as the atonement sacrifice, the one and only sacrifice offered in the Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:12). So Jesus is both/and the Passover sacrifice and our atoning sacrifice. BUT this does not mean that we should conflate the two in the Old Testament.
I have explored this before in my Easter sermon several years ago. I do think there are very important reasons why Jesus chose Passover as the time to offering himself up and it is important to meditate upon Ex. 12 and its relevance for us as Christians. But we also should understand the differences and uniqueness of each sacrifice. And the fact that Jesus uniquely fulfills them both.
24 thoughts on “Was the Passover sacrifice an atoning sacrifice?”
This came up in class the other day. I made essentially the same point as you, but what do you make of John 1:28, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ where John seems to conflate passover with atonement?
Peter, that is only if you assume the only lamb that John could have in mind is the Passover lamb. I think that is a likely assumption, however, since the Yom Kippur sacrifice is a “young bull.”
My point was, in fact, just that, the NT in various sources is indeed conflating the two. But that doesn’t mean that we should when examining the Old Testament. I do not think that the view of John, Paul, and
RingoHebrews that Jesus is both priest and sacrifice, Passover and atoning offering means that we should view the historical Passover of Exodus as also being an atoning sacrifice. It simply isn’t and does not function as an atoning sacrifice.So rather than rewriting the OT I think Christians ought to understand the OT passages in their context and then consider, what does it mean that Jesus is both the Passover and Yom Kippur sacrifice? (And high priest!)
Yes, I follow that part of the argument. I suppose my question was more how did John (the gospel writer not the baptist) get away with writing ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’? I guess his audience must have already conflated the two so nobody really caught the conflict.
Well, the other possibility is that John just has in mind a general sin offering which could be a lamb/goat. So rather than either Passover or Yom Kippur, he might have simply been thinking of your run-of-the-mill sin offering. Hebrews obviously takes that much further and make the Yom Kippur analogy explicit.
I’ve been thinking and conversing on this subject for some time. I think the N.T is the full revelation of what the old Testament foreshadows.
We read that Christ is actually the Rock that allowed the He rews in the wilderness giving them water. We also read that Christ is the manna from heaven. We even are told by the Hebrews we’re baptized in the cloud and the sea.
While no law was given to the Hebrews before the Exodus, sin remained. As written in the N.T. sin was already in the world before the law but wasn’t imputed.
Thus the Hebrews had sin and sin brings death. The imputation might be that God didn’t exact judgment right away for those who faltered to his standard. Nonetheless, sin would still bring death. As it did upon the Old World of Noah with the flood. No law but judgment still came as a result of sin. Even in the Egyptian’s conduct the Hebrews who adopted some of their customs and ways had sinned. This is why the plaiges against them were so great and of course because of Pharo’s unwillingness to let the Hebrews go. If the Hebrews didn’t money the instruction of God then that firstborn would die as well. This the scope of death coming is a sin because of Adam. So it seems that there’s a hidden layer God is putting forth. This is seen more clearly in the revelatory act of Yeahua on the cross.
We note that before the law was given and the day of atonement instituted. The Hebrews sin against God by Go;den calf worship. This is a tur ing aside and a turning back to the ways of Egypt that God delivered them from.
I enjoyed that sermon and the distinctions that you draw out. Why though, I wonder do we depend on a functional translation of kphr when it is itself such a rich word in itself suggesting both the cover, (almost sounds like the Hebrew) and the lion cub. We seem to gloss this word in many differing directions from purge to propitiate and so on, losing somehow – I almost want to say – ‘the furnace’, I mean fire of wrath that turns to mercy.
I have been thinking this morning about remembering – due to Jim Davila’s post on Yad Hashem. It is good to see, as I had already noted here, that the Passover is most like a sacrament, or should I say, the Eucharist is most like the Passover, since it is an act of memory making present the reality it remembers.
PS – I was just looking up atonement in the OED – true enough it makes its appearance in Tyndale 1528, but gets a 1513 mention from Thomas More also. So it is in use at the time with the intent of ‘making one’. This suggests to me an allusion, in the English thought process, to the Shema.
I confess I have not researched the English etymology too deeply, but when I did back in 2008 all I saw was going back to Tyndale. I appreciate the further reference.
I am not sure I buy the connection to the Shema, however. Making God’s people “at one” with him is not at any point in Jewish or Christian theology the same as God being אחד “one.”
Here’s a bit more on ‘at one’ showing how much it precedes Tyndale
a1300 K. Horn 925 At on he was wiþ þe king.
c1400 Gamelyn 166 And went and kist his brother, and than they were at oon.
a1440 Sir Degrev. 435 Y rede ye be at ane Or there dey any moo.
Re יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד, I expect one could meditate on this for ever – It feels like a fractal.
Bob – regarding the “functional” translation of כפור I would say that it is because the term is being used in a very technical sense in these contexts. That is not to say the it cannot have broader meanings in other settings (although the semantic range is not that broad). My point has been that the term is used in a very specific manner in Torah, as is Pesach, and we should recognize that and not elide them.
An additional source I find interesting is in the use of hilasterion in the LXX. Could that term have influenced a possible conflation in the NT writers? Two strands in Christian theology seem to have evolved from there that argue 1) the sacrifice was to appease God’s wrath, or 2) it was to make an amends for the consequence of sin. Western theology has tended towards the former and Eastern theology towards the latter.
The inferences on hilasterion are important – but I wonder if we infer in the right direction. How does the experience of the ancient (to us) Hebrew life within Israel and in the Diaspora (LXX) relate to the experience of Jew and Gentile (not to mention for a moment other religious) in the last 100 years? It seems to me we cannot avoid the engine (our brain in our culture) from which we see and hear (sorry for missing out a critical part of the Shema – hear O Israel). God calls, God speaks, we hear, we respond in every generation. And we have no agreement on how reconciliation ‘works’ but if we believe, then somehow we know it does work. Certainly this post and the sermon raise some good thoughts for me as to how to begin to approach this question. (Personally, I like the phrase ‘mercy seat’ as an English rendering for hilasterion, rather than atonement – a word that has come to ‘mean’ something different from ‘at oon’). I note that AKMA has a recent series of posts on inference.
Yes. The Passover offering is more properly a “redemption” or “sanctification” offering, in line with Exod 13:2 and 34:20. It is associated with YHWH’s adoption/ownership of Israel and setting apart the people for himself.
On another note, I think it’s often helpful even to avoid the term “sacrifice,” as I’ve found most English speakers associate that with either atonement or self-deprivation, which only apply to a limited number of the offerings prescribed and described in the Hebrew Bible.
I have thought of the Passover sacrifice as a sign of Gods salvation. The blood of the lamb was spread on the doorpost as a sign that God would safe the inhabitants. The NT theology could then be that Jesus’ sacrifice was as a sign that those who accepted his blood would too be marked as saved by God.
This quality of theology is a clear indicator of why I make my living with computers 🙂
Although I prefer a continuing email conversation, this will have to suffice:
Yes indeed, Israel had nothing to atone for. There was no Law and therefore no sin, since where there is no law there cannot be any sin to atone for, (Romans 4:15; 5:13) and there was no Priesthood to administer atonements.
However Israel’s firstborn were NOT at risk here! The whole of the People Israel, the flock of Jacob in slavery in Egypt were.
That is encapsulated in God’s pre-plague instruction to Moses and Aaron Exodus 4:22: “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, Israel is my son, my first-born” ASV
Bye
Dieter G
Thank you, but that can’t be true, “no law mean there is no sin.” Consider all of Genesis. There are lots of examples of people clearly sinning even when the law had not yet been promulgated. It is a thorny question for sure, clearly people are sending before the law is given on Mt. Sinai.
Actually, Passover is an atoning sacrifice. You are wrong. The real reason you believe this is that you do not know what atonement really means. Essentially, what I am saying is you don’t know what you are talking about. Sorry for sounding so rude, but that is exactly what I believe. Of course, this means that a lot of people don’t know what they are talking about either, but that’s ok, because that is true also.
No, you’re wrong. Ok. Now it’s your turn. Shall we keep doing this?
Frank, I don’t mind people being blunt but you offer no evidence whatsoever for why my view (held by many other scholars) is wrong and yours is correct. I do indeed now what atonement means and have a fairly strong grasp on the myriad ways in which people understand and try to explain atonement and atonement theory. What is yours?
Of course if this is just name calling then there is no merit here and I will ignore it.
Insightful and helpful as it certainly makes understanding the various events of that week clear. The Passover meal preceded the Atonement where the lambs were examined. This fits.
Hi,
I had always assumed that the Passover Lamb could serve as an atoning sacrifice for the people for a number of reasons (some of which you dealt with below but hear me out):
1) The life blood of the animals that serves as a sin covering could be argued before the Levitical laws were even in place. When Adam sins in Genesis, his own coverings of sewed fig leaves sewn together. are insufficient. God provides new coverings for him out of tunics of skin. It could be argued that these new greater coverings of animal flesh were provide to cover up their guilt/shame, and therefore serve as a pointer to the sacrificial system as a means for covering sins.
2) Similarly, during the Abrahamic covenant, Abraham falls asleep, so the covenant is “cut” between the divine and the divine by walking through animals who were cut in half (to serve as a self-maledictory oath). When you understand self-maledictory oaths, this is critical. It suggests that God Himself will pay the price if/when the covenant is broken between God and the Abrahamic line. Again, just as with Isaac, He takes our place in fulfillment of the oath.
3) The story of the ram in Abraham’s call to sacrifice Isaac serves as a prefiguration of Christ’s substitution for us. Granted, it is not a sin offering (so you may just dismiss this point altogether), but it is a sacrifice offered in the place of Abraham’s own son. In that sense, it offers a prelude to substitionary atonement that only God will provide. Similarities include:
——–a) Abraham as the Father of Isaac. God was the Father of Christ.
——–b) Isaac was the “only son”. Christ was the only begotten Son
——–c) Isaac was taken to the land of Moriah (Gen 22.2). Christ was crucified near or on Mt Moriah.
——–d) 2 unnamed men are with Isaac. 2 unnamed men are with Christ.
——–e) Wood was cut to lay Isaac on the altar. Wood was cut to make the cross.
——–f) The 3rd day Abraham saw the place. Christ was raised on the 3rd day.
——–g) The wood was laid on Isaac. The cross was laid upon Christ.
——–h) God would provide a “lamb”. Christ was considered the lamb of God.
——–i) The ram, male lamb’s horns were caught in the thistles; Christ was given a crown of thorns.
——–h) Isaac got up from the altar. Christ rose from the dead.
4) Perhaps the redemptive nature of the Passover is most clearly conveyed in Exodus 13:11-16 who is referring to the REDEMPTION of Israel’s first-born animals and sons by means of the lamb. And if these lambs at Passover redeem the next generation of Israel and bring Israel “out of the house of bondage” in Exodus, isn’t it possible that the blood of the “perfect lamb” without blemish, whose bones were instructed not to be broken (like Jesus whose bones weren’t broken on the cross) was an imperfect portrait of the Messiah who would die for our sins?
Isaiah also refers to the Messiah as one who “was oppressed and He was afflicted,
But He was wounded[k] for our transgressions, He was [l]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him….Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter…..For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken…..By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities…And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
5) There are also rams and female lambs (Lev 5:1-13) used as sin offerings for both unintentional sins (Lev 5:14-19) and intentional sins (Lev 6:1-7 and Lev 7:1-7). That doesn’t necessarily point to the Passover lamb at all, but there are arguments that the lamb was worshipped by the Egyptians, and the sacrificial blood of the lamb at Passover had nothing really to do with protecting the Israelite people, and more about the desecration of those who worship false idols in the face of the one and true God. But there is something about the blood of the lamb that’s shed and how it covers the family (and the family line through the 1st son), protecting them from the angel of death who passes over, as well as serving as the moment that the Israelite people are liberated from the bondage of Egypt.
6) Many scholars also contend that Isaiah 40-55 could be referred to as “Isaiah’s New Exodus” b/c the parallelism in terminology is so vividly present throughout. Throughout Isaiah 40-55 there are 4 passages referred to as “The Servant Songs” (42, 49, 50, 52:13-53:12) where a singular servant is highlighted as a 2nd Moses who through the power of God will bring deliverance, redemption, freedom to Israel….as well as drawing them back into the presence of God. Here are some parallel passages:
——–a) EX 14:10- The Lord has [c]made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
ISA 52:10- The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
——–b) EX 14:19- 19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
ISA 52:12- For you shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; For the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
So, if it’s reasonable to link the Exodus account with the new Exodus account of Isaiah 40-55, then clearly Isaiah is drawing a parallel between the Passover lamb and the this “Lamb who bore our iniquities” and “made intercession for transgressors”?
7) John the Baptist refers to Jesus as “the Lamb of God” who takes away the sin of the world!” I’m not really sure how you get around that, unless you excuse John the Baptist’s claim about Jesus or try and offer up Jesus’ offering as the lamb as one of the other offerings within the Levitical system. But if that’s not the case, then John’s statement doesn’t make much sense. And that’s just one NT reference of many- The New Testament establishes a relationship between this prototypical Passover lamb and the consummate Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7). The apostle Peter links the lamb without defect (Exodus 12:5) with Christ, whom he calls a “lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19). Jesus is qualified to be called One “without blemish” because His life was completely free from sin (Hebrews 4:15). In Revelation, John the apostle sees Jesus as “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). Jesus was crucified during the time that the Passover was observed (Mark 14:12).
8) Jesus’s death at the time of Passover draws a direct link between the 2 events, indicating how the timing points to Him as the Passover lamb. His death as THE Lamb could reinforce the redemptive aspects of the original Passover lamb in Israel’s redemption, salvation, liberation, and re-connection back to God.
9) All 7 Feasts provide a prophetic timeline, beginning with the Passover. The unleavened bread is a pointer to the death of Jesus. The first fruits are those who believe, Pentecost was when believers received the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. But the fuller Passover with Jesus as the Passover lamb is all about God’s forgiveness, redemption, liberation, and restoration of His people (those who put their faith in Him).
10) You wrote, ” The lamb is thus not an “atoning” sacrifice for the sins of the Israelites, but rather simply offered in obedience to God’s command, similar to peace offerings or grain offerings. But grain offerings don’t use animals and peace offerings just don’t make sense contextually with the purpose of the Passover lamb’s blood and how it covered the family.
Having said all of that, I don’t think it’s a perfect picture, but when you connect all of the dots I think you could say that the lambs offered at Passover served as the sacrifice that covered the Israelites from the curse, and ultimately released them from the slavery and bondage of the Egyptians (Exodus 13:3). Likewise, Jesus is the sacrificial lamb who covers the sins of the believers and sets them free from the bondage of sin and death.
Not sure this necessarily disagrees with your yes/and point, but I do think there’s MORE to the connection between the Passover lamb and Jesus’ sacrifice for sin. Cheers. Sean
Yes, the passover sacrifice was a command of Yahuwah, and fulfilled in the renewed covenant by Yahushuah in the garden on passover eve when Yahushhuah sweated blood and celebrated passover eve with his disciples. Redemption came on the next day, passover day when Yahushuah gave his faithful sacrifice because of our sin, fulfilling where it is stated in exodus, all the firstborn of Israel belong to Yahuwah, redeem them with a lamb. The passover lamb to protect the firstborn and the redemption lamb for all being grafted into Israel. I can cancel only see Yahushuah as the our high priest, placing the sins of Israel on the goats which represent rebellion. Shalome.