In this message we need to see how God could reach such a point in His dispensing. First of all the people of Israel got saved by the Lamb of God who typified the redeeming Christ (Exo. 12:3). Don’t forget that the Lord Jesus Christ is the very embodiment of God. The Lamb of God is the embodiment of the Triune God. John 1 says that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. This Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (vv. 1, 14). This very One is the Lamb of God (John 1:29). How wonderful! We have the Word, God, the flesh, the tabernacle, and the Lamb. The Lamb is the totality of the eternal Word of God in the beginning, of the flesh, and of the tabernacle. We all have been saved by such a Lamb who is the embodiment of the Triune God.
We have not only been saved, but we are also partaking of the Lamb. It is not a matter of just being saved by Christ, but also a matter of partaking of Christ. To partake of Christ means to eat Him. A number of times in John 6 the Lord indicated that we should eat Him. (vv. 35, 50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58).
When the children of Israel received the passover they struck the blood of the lamb and were saved (Exo. 12:7). Following that they ate the meat of the lamb (Exo. 12:7b-8a). Through their eating the redeeming Lamb got into them, and eventually the redeeming Lamb became them. This is why they were so strong and vigorous and bold to walk out of Egypt. They were full of energy. To be full of energy means to be full of the Lamb. Today many Christians have been saved by Christ, but they have remained so weak and not vigorous. Why? Because they have not partaken of Christ. They have not eaten Christ. How about you? You must be vigorous! How can you be vigorous? By partaking of Christ. By partaking of the Lamb. You have to eat the Lamb. The Lamb whom we can eat is the crucified Christ. Through His crucifixion Christ was “cooked” so that we may eat Him.
At the Passover the Israelites also ate unleavened bread made of barley or wheat (Exo. 12:8b; 13:6-7). Barley or wheat bread is produced from grains which have passed through death and entered into resurrection. The unleavened bread typifies the resurrected Christ. Christ was not only crucified, but also resurrected. He was crucified to be our Lamb, and He was resurrected to be the unleavened bread. We have to enjoy the resurrected Christ.
Why, since they had eaten the Lamb, did they still need to eat unleavened bread? Let me illustrate in this way. After you were saved you partook of the crucified Christ, and He became your inner energy to give you the strength and boldness to walk out of the world. But you were not so strong to overcome sin. You were very vigorous to walk out of this world, but you could not overcome your temper or your besetting sin. You had the strength to get out of the world, but you did not have the power to overcome the sinful things. I have seen many dear Christians who got out of the world, yet who were still beset by sin. They couldn’t overcome their temper. They couldn’t overcome their lust. They were beset by certain sins. They needed the unleavened bread. This is bread that has nothing to do with sin. It is the bread that overcomes sin. This is the resurrected Christ. When the resurrected Christ becomes your food in your experience, this resurrection life overcomes sin. He that is born of God does not sin (1 John 3:9). What is it to be born of God? That is to have the resurrection life. Only the resurrected Christ is the life that overcomes sin. When you live on this unleavened bread, you will live a life without leaven. Eating the Lamb enables you to walk out of Egypt, but it is unleavened bread that enables you to live a life without leaven. To get out of the world you need the crucified Christ. This is why Paul could say that to him the world was crucified, and to the world he was crucified (Gal. 6:14). This is the experience of the crucified Christ. But for us to live in newness of life without any leaven, we need the resurrected Christ. We need the unleavened bread.