Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Monday June 1 2026
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1 Corinthians 5:7-Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
Colossians 2:14-17 (ERV)-Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. 15 He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see. 16 So don’t let anyone make rules for you about eating and drinking or about Jewish customs (festivals, New Moon celebrations, or Sabbath days). 17 In the past these things were like a shadow that showed what was coming. But the new things that were coming are found in Christ.
The entire Bible points us to Jesus Christ.
Luke 24:44-47-Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
In all of the Scriptures, as well as through the Jewish holidays, the Lord’s life, death, and resurrection from the grave are powerfully and prophetically pictured for us.
One example of this foreshadowing is seen in the events of the Passover.
When the Lord was working to deliver the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, the stubborn Pharaoh did not want to let the Hebrews go. So, the Lord sent ten terrible Plagues upon that wicked king and his land. The tenth was the worst of these Plagues.
Exodus 12:4-6-Then Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; 5 and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. 6 Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again.
God had told the Israelites to prepare for this by taking a Lamb and killing him. Then they were to cover their house in the blood of the Lamb. Every house thus protected would be spared by the angel of God, who would “pass over” those families when he came to kill the firstborn of Egypt (Exodus 12:1-13).
Consider the details of the process by which the blood was applied to the homes.
When Egypt’s judgment was imminent, God commanded the sons of Israel to mark the doors of their dwellings with the blood of the Passover lamb. This blood painted on the doors set apart the houses of those who believed and obeyed God from the houses of those who did not. The “basin” mentioned in Exodus 12: 22 is not like containers used today. It is taken from the Egyptian concept of sap, meaning the threshold or ditch which was dug just in front of the doorways of the houses to avoid flooding. The people placed a container in the ditch to prevent seepage. The Israelites killed their Passover lambs right by the doors, and the blood from the slaughter automatically ran into the depression of the basin at the threshold. When they spread the blood with the hyssop brush, they first touched the lintel (the top horizontal part of the doorframe), then each side post (the vertical sides.) In doing this, they went through the motions of making the sign of a bloody cross, the prophecy of another Passover sacrifice to come centuries later. Thus, the door was “sealed” on all four sides with the blood of the lamb, because the blood was already in the basin at the bottom. Arthur Pink sees this as a picture of the suffering Messiah Himself: “Blood above where the thorns pierced His brow, blood at the sides, from His nail pierced hands; blood below, from His nail pierced feet. (Ceil Rosen, Moishe Rosen, David Brickner, Rich Robinson, Christ in the Passover/Christ in the Feast of Pentecost/Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles Set, 375-386 (Kindle Edition): Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers)
That’s right: with the blood of the lamb, every Jewish household made the sign of the cross on their door. This led to their salvation from the wrath of God, and portrayed for us how the Lord Jesus Himself would be our Passover.
1 Corinthians 5:7-Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
The cross of Jesus is where our hope is anchored. The atoning death of the Son of God at Calvary paved the way to His resurrection three days later. His death brings us forgiveness, deliverance from the power of Satan and his host, promises life, and secures the salvation of all those who will join Him in taking up the cross!
Luke 9:23-Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Romans 6:3-4-Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The cross of Jesus represents the terrible depravity of mankind, as well as the holy wrath and unsurpassed goodness of God.
It demands a response from us.
Lord, thank You for choosing the cross. Help us to find the faith to take up our cross and follow You. Amen.