About the Hymn
The Passover is one of the most memorable historical narratives of the Old Testament. It’s a thrilling drama set in the Hebrew slave quarters of Egypt. At God’s command, the Hebrews sacrifice a flawless lamb at sunset and paint the lamb’s blood on their doorframes. Then they hastily eat a special meal, which includes the lamb, and wait for the coming of death at midnight. How their blood must have chilled when they heard the keening cries in the streets of Egypt.
And how they probably cried as well—cries of relief and gratitude—as they realized that God had kept his word: his hand of death had indeed “passed over” them, sparing the lives of their firstborns.
In one sense, the central character in this drama is the lamb. The lamb gives its life. The lamb is the
meal. The blood of the lamb is the means of rescue.
As such, the lamb is a potent symbol that points to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God himself. (Note how Lamb of God is uppercase in the second half of the hymn, stanzas 4–6.) Our Lord Jesus sacrificed himself about 1500 years after this night in Egypt. His blood saves us and all people from the chains of sin and certain death. His body and blood constitute our Sacramental meal.
Truly—both in Egypt and here—freedom comes in crimson shades. Life itself depends on the blood of the lamb.
The hymn should be performed at a lyrical♩= ca. 60.
Text
1. The Father sees his children’s chains.
From Pharaoh’s land they cry in pain.
To rescue them, he makes a way:
the blood of the lamb.
2. The lamb is slain as sun is set—
a perfect lamb, without defect.
They stain their doors with innocence:
the blood of the lamb.
3. As midnight looms, the hour of death,
God seeks the firstborn, steals their breath,
but passes o’er doors drenched in red:
the blood of the lamb.
4. Children of God, we too were slaves:
our master—sin! Our end—the grave!
But freedom came in crimson shades:
the blood of the Lamb.
5. This perfect Lamb is Jesus Christ.
He gave himself as sacrifice.
His poured out—the final price:
the blood of the Lamb.
6. The blood he spilled, the life he spent,
he gives us now in sacrament.
Eternal life on Christ depends:
the blood of the Lamb.
© 2017 Laurie F. Gauger
Lectionary Reading
Maundy Thursday: Exodus 12:1–4, (5–10), 11–14
Year A, Season after Pentecost, Proper 18 (23): Exodus 12:1–14
The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
