THE TYPE OF THE PASSOVER LAMB
Perhaps we can use a type for illustration. We all know that in the Feast of the Passover the children of Israel had to eat the Passover lamb. This lamb first had to be killed and its blood put on the doorposts and on the lintel for their protection that they might be at peace. It was not enough, however, for the Passover lamb just to be slain; it had to be cut into pieces and roasted by fire to be eaten. To be killed, cut into pieces, roasted by fire, and set on the table means that this lamb had to go through a process. They did not eat a raw lamb. They ate one that had been processed, one that had been slain, cut, and roasted. Not only so, while they were eating, there was further processing.
To exemplify further, after we go to the market to buy groceries, we do not set them on the table and just eat them raw. That would be barbaric. Rather, we bring the groceries back and wash, cut, cook, and boil them. This is to process them. After the process, we set them on the table. Then as we are eating the food, there is further processing. We do not simply devour the food; rather, we put it in our mouth, chew it, and swallow it. The nutrients in the food are then assimilated in us.
The Lord Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” Let me ask you, without going through a process, can He become bread? The Passover lamb typifies the Lord Jesus. God said that the Passover lamb must not be eaten raw or boiled; it must be eaten roasted. For the Lord Jesus to be our bread of life, He had to undergo a process. He is not a raw Lamb; He is a processed Lamb. Then as we eat Him, He is being further processed by us.
THIS REVELATION BEING ALTOGETHER CONTRARY TO THE RELIGIOUS CONCEPT
This revelation is altogether contrary to the religious concept. The religious concept considers God as great and dignified. Therefore, one must exalt Him to the highest place and prostrate to worship Him. When you first thought about worshipping God, was this not your initial concept? When I repented around the age of twenty and worshipped God for the first time, I tidied myself from head to toe and then knelt down slowly to pray to the Lord, “O God, I worship You.” Did you do the same when you began to worship God for the first time? I do not believe that there is an exception.
In 1958 I went to Jerusalem and visited the place where the world’s second largest mosque is. There I saw the Arabs worshipping Allah. First they took a bath to cleanse their bodies, and then they put on clean clothes. When they came to worship, outwardly they truly had an attitude of reverence. However, this is religious worship. Those who are in religion do not realize that one day the Lord became a Lamb. John 1:29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” That was the Passover Lamb. As the Passover Lamb, not only was He killed to shed His blood for the redemption of sins, but He was also “cut into pieces” and “roasted” for His people to eat. This concept of being “processed” and “eaten” cannot be found in religion. To this day, some theologians oppose this kind of speaking. They believe that to speak of eating God is a blasphemy to God. However, we know that in John 6:55 and 57, the Lord clearly said, “My flesh is true food.…So he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.”
I can never forget the spring of 1958, when at the meeting hall on Jen Ai Road in Taipei, I spoke for the first time about the Lord being edible. One day after my speaking, a brother who was a university professor came to me and said, “Brother Lee, your message today was very good. However, when you said that the Lord is edible, that was too wild. Can you change your utterance?” I said, “Brother, this is not my invention. This is what the Lord said in John chapter six. I am not the one who is wild. Since the Lord Jesus has given Himself for us to eat, why would we dare not to eat Him? If you want something that is civilized or something that sounds nice, you have no way to enjoy the Lord.” If you want to enjoy the Lord, you should not care whether or not something sounds nice. Just eat.
In the past most Christians thought that to eat the Lord is to eat the Scripture. They said, “The Scripture is manna. To eat manna is to read the Scripture with meditation.” They believed that to meditate on the Word was to eat the Word. I used to have the same concept, and I even taught others to eat the Word in this way. However, no one was able to eat anything. Meditating is not eating. For example, there may be a fish here. After meditating on the fish for two hours, you still have not eaten it. Then a simple child may come; he does not meditate. While you are meditating on the fish, he will eat the fish. You are empty after meditating, whereas he is full after eating. The Bible does not tell us that to meditate on the Word is to eat the Lord.
In John 6, after the Lord Jesus said that He could be eaten, the Jewish religionists said, “This word is hard; who can hear it?” (v. 60). Thus, one by one they left Him. The Lord Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “Do you also want to go away?” (v. 67). Moreover, He said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (v. 63). The Lord was saying, “I can be eaten because I am the Spirit. The Spirit can be eaten. Those who eat Me are those who use their spirit to receive Me. The words which I have spoken to you are not merely letters or doctrines; rather, they are spirit and life. You must use your spirit to contact Me.”
Our Lord’s intention is to give Himself for us to eat. Elderly sisters, you must change your concept. Have you ever once gone to the Lord and said, “Lord, thank You that Your intention is to give Yourself for me to eat”? I often give thanks in this way. In the morning I come to the Lord and say, “Lord, I have come again to enjoy You by eating You. You are the bread of life to me.”
(The Subjective Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
