Passover and A Betrayal

I think most people have a general idea of what Passover means - we've heard the stories about Pharaoh and the plagues, and how God used the last plague to kill all the firstborn children...except for those who believed in God, those houses he passed over and the children were saved.

But, if you dig a little you can find out some interesting things.  First - the last plague fell on Egyptians and Israelites alike if they did not follow God's instructions.  He was bringing judgement for sin, but mercifully providing a way of escape.

The instructions (Exodus 12):

• Take a Lamb...but it had to be perfect (no deformities), year-old, and a male.
• Kill the Lamb...but it had to be done at the right time.
• Blood on the Door...now wipe the blood from the lamb on the door posts and frames.
• Stay Inside...don't go outside until morning.
• No Broken Bones...you can eat the meat, but not outside, and don't break any of the bones.
• I Will Pass Over...when God's judgement came, He would pass over any house who obeyed.

With the passover, a lamb died in place of the firstborn children, and the Israelites were delivered from their slavery in Egypt.  Passover is a time to remember being protected by the blood of the unblemished male lamb.  The symbolism of this just starts to pour out as we read the beginning of how Jesus comes to be betrayed and put to death on the cross.

He's betrayed by Judas Iscariot....one of the disciples chosen by Jesus just three years earlier.  (Interesting note - 1000 years before this time, King David wrote about this in Psalm 41:9 "Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.")

Only the book of Matthew (probably because he used to be a tax collector) records the exact amount that Judas accepted to betray Jesus...30 silver coins.  The exact price of a slave...some places I read say that it's the compensation for a dead slave.