In Genesis 49:9 we have the type of the lion of Judah: “Judah is a young lion: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he couches, he lies down as a lion” (lit.). We need to see the picture portrayed here. A lion dwells on the mountain. When he goes after some prey, he descends from the mountain. As he is waiting to seize his prey, he couches. But after he has taken his prey, he brings it up to the mountain with him. Thus, the words, “from the prey, my son, thou art gone up,” indicate that the lion has gone up the mountain to devour his prey. After eating it, the lion couches, that is, lies down in satisfaction.
We need to apply this picture to Christ. Christ was first the young lion crouching as He waited for His prey. After seizing the prey, He brought His captive to the heavens, where He enjoyed him. Hence, the figure of the couching lion describes Christ as the One enjoying His rest in the heavens. After gaining the victory and enjoying the prey, He was satisfied. Now He is resting in the heavens in His satisfaction. This satisfaction is the result of Christ’s victory over the enemy. Christ went to the cross and there defeated His enemies. Then in resurrection He led a train of vanquished foes to the heavens for His enjoyment (Eph. 4:8). Now in the heavens He is resting.
The fulfillment of the figure in Genesis 49:9 is in Revelation 5:5, where we are told that Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, has overcome. Here the Lion is a symbol of Christ, portraying Him as a strong fighter against the enemy. Christ is the fighting, victorious, and overcoming Lion. As the Lion, Christ has defeated Satan, the enemy of God.
Christ is also typified by Moses (Exo. 3:4; Heb. 3:1-6). Moses is a type of Christ as our Apostle, the sent One. When the children of Israel were suffering persecution under the tyranny of Pharaoh, God appeared to Moses and charged him to go to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh. Thus, Moses became an Old Testament apostle. Moses was God’s sent one, the apostle who was to take Israel out of Egypt and lead them through the wilderness for the purpose that they might be constituted God’s house and be formed into a habitation of God on earth. This habitation of God was symbolized by the tabernacle made by the children of Israel in the wilderness.
Christ is the first Apostle in the New Testament. He is the One who was sent to us from God and with God (John 6:46; 8:16, 29). As the Apostle typified by Moses, Christ came to us with God to share God with us so that we may partake of the divine life, nature, and fullness.
No matter how much Moses prefigured Christ, he was still only a part of the house, whereas Christ is the Builder of God’s house (Heb. 3:3). As God’s sent one to take care of God’s house, Moses was faithful to God in all His house. This typifies that Christ, as the Apostle from God for God’s house, is faithful to Him who constituted Him (Heb. 3:2). Moses was an apostle sent from God to constitute God’s house on earth, and Christ was also the Apostle doing the same thing. However, Christ is not only part of the building—He is also the Builder. Christ, therefore, is superior to Moses.
The Passover portrayed in Exodus 12 is a clear type of Christ in redemption (vv. 3-11; 1 Cor. 5:7). The word “Passover” indicates that the judgment of God passes over us. In Exodus 12:13 the Lord says, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Eventually, the Passover became a proper noun in English, a noun that has its source in the words “pass over” in Exodus 12:13.
The Passover is a type of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 5:7 Paul says that Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Here Paul does not say that Christ is our Lamb; he says that Christ is our Passover. Christ is not only the Lamb; He is every aspect of the Passover. In Exodus 12 the lamb, the bread, and the bitter herbs are all related to Christ. In principle, therefore, Christ is not only the Lamb of the Passover but the very Passover itself. In order to be our Passover, Christ was sacrificed on the cross for our redemption and reconciliation to God. Now we may enjoy Him as a feast before God.
According to Exodus 12, God passed over the children of Israel because the blood of the Passover lamb had been sprinkled on the lintel and the doorposts of their houses. The house was to be their covering under which and in which they could eat the flesh of the Passover lamb. When God saw the blood sprinkled on the lintel and the doorposts, He passed over the children of Israel. Hence, this passing over was due to the sprinkled blood. According to Paul, however, the Passover is related not only to the blood but to Christ Himself. First Corinthians 1:30 says that we are in Christ. Because we are in Christ, He Himself becomes our Passover. Our Passover is based on Christ. This is the reason Paul could say that Christ is our Passover.
The items of the Passover in Exodus 12 include not only the lamb, the flesh, the blood, the unleavened bread, and the herbs but also the house. The house here is a type of Christ in which and by which the children of Israel were covered. Because Christ is the house that covers us, He is our Passover.
As typified by the lamb in Exodus 12, Christ, our Passover Lamb, is without blemish. Exodus 12:5 says, “Your lamb shall be without blemish.” To be without blemish is to be perfect. This signifies that Christ is perfect, without fault (John 8:46).
Exodus 12:5 goes on to say that the lamb had to be “a male of the first year.” To be of the first year is to be fresh and not to be used for any other purpose. In the sight of God, when Christ was on the cross, He was of the first year. He was fresh, never having been used for another purpose.
Just as the Passover lamb was examined for four days (Exo. 12:3, 6), so Christ was examined for the same period of time. After He was arrested, the Lord was subjected to six examinations, three at the hands of the priests, who examined Him according to the law of God, and three under the Roman rulers, who tested Him according to Roman law. Eventually, Pilate declared three times that he found no fault whatever in Him (John 18:38; 19:4, 6).
Speaking of the Passover lamb, Exodus 12:6 says, “The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.” Christ was killed by the congregation of God’s people. This means that we all had a part in killing Him.
Exodus 12:7 says, “They shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side posts and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it” (lit). The blood put on the lintel and on the doorposts was for redemption. This blood typifies the redeeming blood of Christ (Matt. 26:28; John 19:34; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). As the children of Israel applied the Passover lamb, they were in houses that had been sprinkled with the blood of the lamb. This indicates that redemption is based on union. The blood of Christ cannot redeem us unless we are in union with Him.
In Exodus 12:8-10 we see that the flesh of the Passover lamb was to be eaten for life supply. The same is true of Christ as the fulfillment of the type. The Gospel of John says that the flesh of Christ is edible. In John 6:53 the Lord Jesus tells us that we need to eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and in verse 55 He declares, “My flesh is true food.” Flesh here signifies the life of Christ. The life of Christ is edible; it is our life supply.
In Exodus 12:8 the children of Israel were given the proper way to eat the flesh of the Passover lamb: roasted with fire. Fire here signifies God’s holy wrath exercised in judgment. When Christ was on the cross, the holy fire of God judged Him and consumed Him. He cried, “I thirst” (John 19:28) because He was being burned by the holy fire of God’s judgment. On the cross Christ suffered for us under God’s judgment. He was “burned” and “roasted” by the holy fire of God’s wrath. As our Redeemer, Christ was judged for us.