As the Lord prepared to deliver his people, the Israelites, out of bondage in Egypt, he sent a series of plagues upon the Egyptian people. The last, and most terrible, of these ten plagues was to kill the firstborn sons of all the Egyptian families. God told Moses ahead of time what he was going to do—“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.” (Exodus 12:12).

God had a plan to spare the Israelites from suffering from this devastating plague. He told each family to take a lamb without defect, slaughter it, and put some of the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of their houses. God told them, “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.” (Exodus 12:13).

The Lord did just as he said he would. At midnight he struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, and there was loud wailing throughout the land. But the Israelite families were spared from this plague. Not a single family suffered a loss. That very night, Pharaoh finally allowed the Israelites to leave Egypt. The Lord had delivered his people.

The Israelites were to celebrate this Passover for generations to come. They would have a meal to remind them of how the Lord had rescued them from slavery in Egypt. He delivered them and redeemed them, because of the blood of the sacrificial lambs.

Jesus built on this long-standing Passover tradition when he instituted the Lord’s Supper. In the same way that the lamb’s blood brought salvation to the Israelites, the blood of Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, would bring redemption to those who would trust in Jesus for their salvation. Every Sunday Christians all over the world celebrate communion together as they remember the loving sacrifice Jesus made on the cross to purchase their salvation and deliver them from the slavery of sin.

Did you notice what God was looking for when he visited each Israelite home? He didn’t ask to see their performance record. He didn’t demand to see a list of all the evil actions they had avoided and all the good deeds they had done. All he was looking for was the blood on the doorframes. When he saw the blood, he passed over them and allowed them to live.

It’s the same way with the salvation we have in Jesus. God doesn’t weigh the good we have done against the bad. When it comes to our salvation, the Lord only looks to see if the blood of Jesus has been applied to our lives. Have you confessed Jesus as Lord and accepted him as your savior through faith, repentance and baptism? Make no mistake! The Lord will pass judgment on every human being. Those who are covered by the blood of Jesus will be saved. All others will meet their destruction.

“…But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:26-28).