Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Plagues and Exodus in the Light of Christ

From the very beginning, the Passover Lamb and Moses have been understood as prefiguring Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who is sacrificed and the New Moses who leads His people out of the bondage of sin and death to the Promised Land of eternal life with God. And the crossing of the Red Sea has long been understood to symbolize Baptism.

Are there other parallels besides the Passover Lamb and the Death of the First Born? Is there a connection between the Plagues and Jesus smashing the marketplace before Passover? Might one say that, in the Passion, Jesus (God) is suffering the Plagues upon Himself? How can we see the Plagues as the entire Trinity in action, even if veiled in mystery?

Note that the Plagues begin with water turned to blood, and the Passion begins with Jesus’ sweat turned to blood, and it ends with blood and water pouring from His side. Is there a Eucharistic significance here, as there is in the Unleavened Bread of Passover? There are three days of “darkness” between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Also, blows are inflicted on Him (hail), resulting in injuries (boils and open sores), while He endures annoying insults (frogs, flies, lice).

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