In a sermon for the Easter vigil, eighth-century Northumbrian monk Bede reminded his congregation that the Christian festival was rooted in Passover, the yearly commemoration of the Exodus. At the heart of that feast lay the Paschal lamb, whose blood was smeared upon every Israelite door so that Death would pass them by.

The Paschal lamb, said Bede, found its fulfilment in Christ. The devil slew this Lamb as would a ravening lion, but the Lamb proved mightier even than death; and when the Christian is signed with the cross, as the Israelites’ doorposts were signed with the blood of the lamb, the Christian is armed against every assault of his enemy.

112 words